about us
Welcome to a world of compassion and care.
WELCOME TO KALOTE ANIMAL TRUST
It was in November, 2017 that a small flame of hope was lit and it soon spread its warm glow in many a heart. The Kalote Animal Trust was initiated and today it’s a home sweet home to over 600 animals. Dogs, cats, cows, buffalos, goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys, horses and a variety of birds have found a loving shelter. Each of these animals has an amazing rescue story that will melt your heart and make you marvel at their ability to choose love over a traumatic past.
​
The Heart Warming Evolution
As the number of animals grew, Sameer ran the shelter with whatever money he could earn from his job and a few random donations from family and like-minded friends. But then things changed with a chance encounter with Sridhar Gorthi and Munish Makhija. Together they nurtured a vision of a land where destitute animals could roam free and happy. They acquired a beautiful plot in Kalote on the outskirts of Mumbai and created their dream animal shelter. Although the first step had been taken, the shelter still needs more financial support in the form of donations or partners who share their vision and belief.
The Shelter
The monthly costs of running the shelter
​
The Kalote Animal Trust is a labour of love. We try to keep costs at a bare minimum without compromising on the quality of life of the animals. But it is an uphill task as we do not have regular sponsors and currently we run on the goodwill donations of people. However, these donations are sporadic and we are looking for sponsors and partners who can donate regularly to our cause.
​
Present status
​
Today, the Kalote Animal Trust is spread over almost 4 acres. The property is pictured here with the wire fence. The aim is to build state-of-the-art enclosures for our rehab program, space for paddocks as well as to grow our own organic fodder for our grazing animals.
Our Trustees
Sridhar Gorthi is a Partner at Trilegal, and is part of the corporate practice group of the firm. His areas of expertise include M&A, joint ventures and private equity.
Moreover, he is an alumnus of National Law School, Bangalore India and is also a member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. When not actively practising law, Sridhar is either diving, writing and performing short stories or spending time at Kalote.
Pia is a famous model and ex VJ with Channel V. She is also a popular anchor for TV shows and has participated in reality shows like Life mein ek baar and Khatron ke khiladi. Pia has been an avid animal lover since she was a little girl. An active member of Peta, Pia has always been someone who fights for the rights of animals. She is also an animal communicator and has volunteered for numerous animal welfare NGOs.
Rukhsana Vohra Mithani is a Director at her family owned shipping business and a part time yoga teacher. and all proceeds from her teaching goes to the shelter. She is an ardent animal lover and activist, and looks after the needs of the cats that live in her apartment building as well as around her office. She is also aunt to Sameer Vohra who gifted her a stray wounded cat 17 years ago and thereafter her family has grown to 4 cats, all adopted from the streets. Her other hobbies are baking, reading and travelling with her husband on his Royal Enfield Bike.
His feelings for animal wellbeing were evident when Sameer associated with the ASPCA all the way in America. Those sentiments were further enhanced as he returned to India and worked closely with Vets. Today his dreams and vision have eventually become a heartwarming reality in the form of the Kalote animal shelter...and as he believes, this is just the first milestone in his wonderful journey.
K.A.T. Family
Our Residents
Bertha was found tied to a pole by the side of the road. She was starving, dehydrated and had a huge maggot wound above her eye. Bertha had been much abused and she was frightened and aggressive due to her fear. Bertha was rescued by an NGO, but she was deemed unmanageable and a prime candidate to be put down. But Sameer would have none of that. He brought Bertha to his shelter and with care and love, Bertha gradually began to trust and come out of her shell. Her wound healed and so did her emotional scars. Today, Bertha is a hurricane of love.
The cheeky little guy on the right is Kalote. His name has an interesting story behind it. Kalote was a little puppy who managed to sneak into the construction site of the shelter while it was getting ready last monsoon. Kalote was sick with the Parvo virus and he was found wet and shivering in the rain. He was sent to Mumbai with an animal lover who happened to be visiting that day. He managed to pull through his treatment in Mumbai and came back to the shelter a few weeks later as a chubby, naughty puppy.
Our Miracle baby Choti, has been through much. At just two weeks old, she found herself separated from her mother and caught in the middle of a fight between two dominant male monkeys. In the ensuing chaos, she was attacked by one of them and had her arm ripped. In shock, she fell into the lake below.
Fortunately, a kind soul was passing by and jumped into the lake and rescued her. Choti was terrified, almost comatose from the pain and the huge bite on her right arm soon became gangrenous and her arm had to be amputated.
Hero was found as a little baby in a ditch, on a field. He had been attacked by dogs and his wounds were so ghastly that he had been left for dead by the shepherds. But Hero had other plans. After arriving in the shelter, Hero chose to heal and love instead of giving up the fight. The funny thing is since he grew up with dogs, he has no idea that he is actually a sheep. You'll see him running around with the dogs as a part of the pack. Although, he does decide to settle most of his disputes with them with a head butt.
Tiny was found hit by a car and paralyzed on the side of a highway. She was rescued and taken to the Animal Hospital in Parel. There Tiny did not give up her fight for life. This tenacious girl gradually started moving her limbs and got on her own feet. That's when the Animal hospital contacted us. Would we take in Tiny and give her a chance at a happy life? The answer was a unanimous yes. And so little Tiny came to Kalote. A year later, she is still as Tiny and hasn’t grown an inch. Looks like she takes her name rather seriously.
“My name is Pandu…hey, wanna play?”
Pandu joined us at the shelter to live out his life. He has been a resident of Chembur all his life and lived next to Dr. Deepa Katyal's clinic and cared for by her whenever he got ill. Now that he has gone deaf, the busy roads aren't safe for him.