Stray animals are a part of the everyday life of Pune. From busy streets to small lanes, you can see dogs and cats living without permanent shelter or guardianship. While many people feed them, there remains a larger challenge that directly affects their lives—overpopulation. With thousands of strays roaming freely, the cycle of breeding leads to new litters being born every few months. This increases suffering for animals, as many do not survive due to accidents, malnutrition, and untreated diseases. One of the most effective solutions to break this cycle is sterilisation. And for this crucial step, when people choose to sponsor a dog or sponsor a cat, they help directly fund free sterilisation programs that reduce the population humanely while also ensuring better community health.

Sterilisation, commonly known as Animal Birth Control (ABC), is more than just a medical procedure. It is a long-term welfare program that addresses the root cause of animal suffering. In Pune, Blue Cross Society of Pune (BCS Pune) has been working for decades to provide sterilisation facilities for dogs and cats, supported by donors, volunteers, and kind-hearted citizens. Every sponsorship given towards a stray animal plays a part in enabling free sterilisation programs that reduce stray births, improve animal health, and make neighborhoods safer for people and pets alike.

Why Stray Animal Sterilisation Matters

Uncontrolled breeding of stray dogs and cats creates a cycle of hardship. Female dogs can have litters twice a year, and cats even more frequently. With each litter, multiple puppies and kittens are born into uncertain conditions. Most of them struggle to survive, while the mothers face weakened immunity and malnutrition. By supporting sterilisation drives, donors who sponsor a dog/cat indirectly save not only one life but also prevent future suffering of many unborn animals.

Sterilisation also has medical and behavioral benefits. It reduces the risk of certain diseases like mammary tumors or infections, while also calming aggressive behavior that can arise during mating seasons. For communities in Pune, it brings down incidents of dog bites, reduces territorial fights among strays, and lowers the overall stray population gradually but effectively. This is why donations in the form of sponsorships become more impactful than many people realize.

The Cost and Process of Sterilisation Programs

The sterilisation of a stray animal involves several steps. First, the animal is safely caught and brought to the hospital. At BCS Pune, the sterilisation surgery for dogs is conducted free of cost under the Animal Birth Control scheme. For cats, the sterilisation is offered at a very nominal price of ₹1000, which also includes seven days of post-operative care at the facility. Each sterilisation also comes with a free anti-rabies vaccine and other essential vaccinations like the 9-in-1 for dogs or Tricat for cats whenever available.

The actual expenses, however, go beyond the surgery. They cover anesthesia, medicines, sutures, food during recovery, and medical supervision. When an individual decides to sponsor a dog or cat, their contribution directly helps in bearing these costs. For example, even a single sponsorship can help cover the sterilisation of one female cat, which in turn prevents the birth of dozens of kittens each year. Similarly, sponsoring a dog helps in ensuring that large-scale sterilisation programs can be sustained and offered at no cost for rescuers and animal lovers who bring strays for treatment.

How Sponsorship Connects to Stray Welfare

Sponsorship is not adoption. When you sponsor a dog or cat, you are supporting their medical and day-to-day needs without taking them home. In Pune, this model works effectively for strays who may never find homes due to old age, disability, or health conditions. By sponsoring such animals, donors indirectly free up hospital resources so that more funds can be diverted to sterilisation drives.

This connection is important because sterilisation requires consistent effort. It is not a one-time campaign but a year-round program. For instance, in areas where sterilisation rates remain low, the population of strays grows again quickly. To avoid this cycle, continuous sterilisation backed by regular sponsorships ensures that progress is not lost. Every animal that undergoes sterilisation becomes a step towards reducing long-term suffering.

BCS Pune – Giving Voice to the Voiceless

Since 1994, BCS Pune has been a trusted name in animal welfare in the city. Located in Keshavnagar, Mundhwa, the organization provides free OPD services, limited IPD facilities, free vaccinations, and sterilisation programs for stray dogs and cats. What makes their work significant is the scale of compassion that has been built over decades. The sterilisation of dogs is entirely free under their program, while cat sterilisation is provided at cost to ensure affordability for community feeders and rescuers.

When people choose to sponsor a dog/cat at BCS Pune, they are contributing to a system that runs on kindness and shared responsibility. This sponsorship not only provides food, medicines, and care for animals like Mumma, Mawa, Pikoo, and many others at the shelter, but also supports broader welfare programs such as sterilisation. Without such sponsorships, sustaining free services for thousands of strays every year would not be possible.

The Wider Community Benefits

Sterilisation does not only help the animals but also brings peace of mind to communities. With controlled stray populations, cities like Pune see fewer cases of rabies, reduced traffic accidents involving animals, and better coexistence between humans and strays. Children can play in neighborhoods without fear of aggressive packs, while feeders can care for smaller, healthier groups of strays more effectively.

When sponsorships fund these sterilisation programs, the impact multiplies. For instance, sterilising just one female dog can prevent over 60 puppies from being born in the next three years. Each of those births avoided reduces potential suffering and health risks for both animals and humans. The same applies to cats, where unchecked reproduction leads to colonies growing in urban spaces without proper food or care.

Real Examples of Change

At BCS Pune, several animals highlight the transformation that sponsorship and sterilisation bring. Dogs like Guddu and Trishul, who have faced permanent injuries, are cared for through sponsorships while other resources are allocated for sterilisation programs. Cats like Mawa and Molly not only received treatment but also benefited from vaccinations given during sterilisation. These stories show that the impact is both individual and collective, with each sponsorship saving lives in multiple ways.

Why Sponsorship Matters for Long-Term Impact

Many animal lovers want to help strays but are unable to adopt due to personal limitations. Sponsorship provides them with an alternative that is equally meaningful. By choosing to sponsor a dog or sponsor a cat, they ensure that animals are not left untreated, unfed, or unsterilised. More importantly, it creates a cycle where every contribution supports prevention, treatment, and care simultaneously.

Sterilisation is a humane solution that requires steady financial and community backing. Once an animal is sterilised, its health improves, its life expectancy increases, and the larger population pressure reduces. When combined with vaccinations and medical care, sterilisation programs create a foundation for sustainable welfare. Sponsorship ensures that this foundation does not weaken.

Conclusion – Sponsorship as a Lifeline

Stray animal welfare in Pune cannot rely only on emergency rescues or adoptions. The real solution lies in prevention, and sterilisation is the cornerstone of that prevention. By deciding to sponsor a dog or sponsor a cat, donors take part in this larger mission. Their support helps hospitals like BCS Pune to continue offering free sterilisation for dogs and affordable sterilisation for cats, along with life-saving vaccinations and medical treatment.

Every sponsored animal is a symbol of compassion, and every sterilisation funded through these sponsorships is a step towards a kinder, safer city. For animal lovers who want to make a lasting difference, sponsorship offers the chance to reduce suffering not only for one animal but for entire generations to come.

How Dog or Cat Sponsorship Supports Free Sterilisation Programs in Pune