Arya News - When St. Martin’s quieted down, the island’s four-legged residents were suddenly left without a voice or a meal. Now, a sanctuary is stepping in to give thousands of vulnerable strays the care, healing, and dignity they deserve.
DHAKA – For the stray dogs of St Martin’s Island, a better chapter has begun. A voluntary organisation, Bidyanondo Foundation has opened its doors, offering food, treatment, and a safe place to rest for animals who have gone without for far too long.
The idea began with Kishor Kumar Das, Founder and Chairman of the foundation, who felt that animals, especially dogs, are far more grateful than human beings. When he witnessed the suffering of the island’s dogs, he decided to do something for them.
With the shelter, that could change what each day looks like for the island’s dogs. An injured dog that once limped from one empty doorway to the next will now be lifted, treated, and given a safe place to rest. A sick one will no longer have to suffer alone in the heat and rain, and a hungry one will have a meal waiting.
Sterilisation matters just as much, because when the number of stray dogs increases in a specific area, it disrupts the ecological balance. And on the island, the number of dogs has now risen to almost 4,000. Though its impact is slow, it spares the island’s dogs from bringing more puppies into a world with too little food, and over time, it means fewer hungry mouths and fewer lives lived on the edge of survival.
Mohammad Jamal Uddin, Board Director of the foundation, paused for a moment, as he recalled how this initiative began its journey, “For years, St Martin’s dogs lived largely off scraps from the tourists, hotels and restaurants that crowded the island. When the government restricted tourism to protect Bangladesh’s only coral island, with the crowds gone, so was the food.”
The shelter is set up to tackle both the healthcare and shelter. It is made up of 20 units, each capable of housing up to 12 dogs, allowing for a total capacity of about 240 animals at a time. Two veterinarians supervise medical care. Dogs are rescued from the streets, treated, and sterilised on site. Only the ailing or injured canines, who need extra care, will remain at the shelter; the healthy, happy ones will be treated and set free on the island again.
The effort is not limited to the islanders and the foundation’s team. Volunteers from Germany and Peru have also made their way to St Martin’s, lending their hands to the shelter’s work. For Jolpia and Jessica, the island’s strays are not a distant problem but animals in need, and the care they offer shows that kindness for a hungry dog needs no common language.
Jamal Uddin hopes more people will join in. He emphasises that the shelter is not meant to be admired from afar. He encourages islanders, visitors, and animal lovers to come and experience the facility first-hand: to walk through the units, meet the dogs, and observe how they are cared for during the tourist season. Most importantly, they welcome honest feedback, highlighting what is working well, what could be improved, and where assistance is most needed.
Still, the challenge is large. The organisers of the shelter aim to balance the needs of the island’s environment, its residents, and its animals. Whether a single facility can significantly impact a population of thousands will depend on several factors, including funding, the availability of veterinary staff, coordination with government sterilisation programs, and the willingness of residents and visitors to support humane management.
