24-Year-Old Runs Delhi Shelter for 200 Rescued Animals

When Naman Sharma found an injured pigeon as a sixth grader, he stayed up all night checking if it was still breathing. The bird didn't survive, but that loss sparked something in him that would grow into a full-scale animal rescue operation.

Today at 24, Naman runs Aashiyana By Naman & Welfare Trust in New Delhi, a registered shelter housing 200 rescued animals. His team of 12 staff members and volunteers responds to between 10 and 20 emergency calls every single day, often well past midnight.

The shelter operates out of Bobby Farms in Khera Khurd village near Rohini. Their rescue zone covers northwest Delhi and stretches into underserved parts of western Uttar Pradesh, where emergency animal care is scarce.

While most calls involve stray dogs and cats, Naman frequently rescues monkeys injured by electrocution or traffic accidents. Occasionally, wildlife cases like golden jackals and nilgai come through their doors.

Three months ago, the team invested Rs 6 lakh to build an in-house clinic that can perform spay and neuter surgeries, tumor removals, and amputations. Before this, they transported animals across the city in a donated cargo van or on scooters, spending heavily on outside treatment.

But there's still one major gap. Every time an animal needs surgery, the team must transport them to an external clinic for a blood test, paying Rs 400 each time and losing precious minutes.

The Ripple Effect

A Complete Blood Count machine would let Dr. Vikas Jaiswal and his team run blood tests on site within minutes. For a poisoned cat or a dog hit by a vehicle, those saved minutes could mean the difference between life and death.

The machine costs Rs 3 lakh, but it would eliminate recurring testing costs and treatment delays. More importantly, it would give the team the diagnostic power to make swift, informed decisions when an animal's life hangs in the balance.

From a schoolboy who couldn't walk away from a dying pigeon to a young founder serving hundreds of animals annually, Naman has built something remarkable. His shelter proves that one person's childhood compassion can grow into a safety net for an entire community's most vulnerable creatures.

The journey from that first rescue to 200 animals hasn't been easy, but Naman's team shows up every single day because the calls never stop coming and neither does their commitment to answer them.