CUPA — Compassion Unlimited Plus Action

Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) was set up in Bangalore in October 1991 by the animal activist Crystal Rogers, then 85, with Suparna Ganguly and the veterinarian Dr Shiela Rao as founding trustees. Its early work helped end the city's practice of killing impounded street dogs, and it began sterilising and vaccinating street dogs before animal birth control became the law. It says it has helped more than 1.2 million animals in over three decades.

CUPA now runs seven centres in and around Bengaluru. The Trauma & Rescue Centre, on the veterinary college campus in Hebbal, gives free medical care to sick and injured community animals and is open every day. The Mylappanahalli Geriatric Centre is a permanent home for more than 60 blind, disabled and senior dogs. The Large Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre takes in abandoned and injured cows, bulls, buffaloes, horses, donkeys and goats. Its Spay & Neuter Centre on Sarjapura Road sterilises street dogs outside city limits, and a separate programme offers subsidised sterilisation for community and pet cats. Fees from its Small Animal Speciality Hospital, which treats pets, are put back into the rescue and shelter work.

Dogs and cats ready for new homes live at the Second Chance Adoption Centre in Dommasandra, which you can visit by appointment (11am to 4pm, closed Wednesdays). If you can't take an animal home, CUPA's passive adoption scheme lets you sponsor a resident dog, cat, cow, horse or goat from Rs 3,000 a month and visit it at the shelter. It also takes reports of animal cruelty, runs volunteer and corporate (CSR) programmes, and campaigns on animal law and the welfare of captive elephants.

How to help: donate online through CUPA's own website (Indian and international donors, including PayPal), by bank transfer or cheque, or give to a particular centre or animal. CUPA is a registered charitable trust; donations are tax-exempt under Section 80G, it is permitted to receive foreign contributions under the FCRA, and it is recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India.