Good vibes only? Why India must step up with donations and charity

When Sameera Mehra’s dog , Diesel, passed away from a kidney infection in 2019, the Delhi-based financial consultant was, naturally, devastated. It took weeks before she realised she’d have to get rid of his bowls, toys, beds and mats. Throwing them away seemed cruel. So she took them to the local animal shelter. “Watching all the rescues there, some of them in terrible condition, I had an epiphany,” she recalls. “I didn’t have Diesel, but these dogs had nobody.” Mehra donated ₹11,000 to the shelter that day – Diesel was 11 when he passed.