Embark takes Adoption Day to Kandy

Saturday, 1 February 2014 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Kandy’s ‘pashionable people’ – the Odel term for fashionistas with a passion for dogs – will have an opportunity to help their own street pooches this February, when ‘Embark’ conducts its first Adoption Day in the Hill Country capital. More than a dozen healthy bundles of gambolling canine joy will be waiting to find kind homes on the top floor terrace of Kandy City Centre on Saturday, 8 February at Embark’s first Adoption Day programme outside Colombo. The event takes place from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. All of the dogs up for adoption have been rescued off the streets of Kandy and vaccinated against Rabies, Distemper and Parvo and the females among them have been sterilised. They are currently in the care of the Tikiri Trust, which runs a shelter dedicated to the rescue, treatment and rehoming of puppies and dogs from Kandy and its surrounding areas.

The Embark Adoption Day in Kandy will be conducted on the lines of the popular Adoption Day programmes held every last Sunday of the month at Odel’s flagship store at Alexandra Place. “We are delighted to take the Adoption Day program to Kandy,” Odel and Embark founder OtaraGunewardene said. “Embark is a brand for those who love fashion and are driven by passion, and the Adoption Day program fits in well with our Valentine’s Day theme this year, which is ‘Find Your Soul mate.’ This Valentines we are encouraging people to adopt love, adopt a friend and be pashionable.” Launched in 2007, the Embark program has improved the lives of more than 39,000 street dogs to date, and built a large base of followers who have adopted the brand’s youthful, tongue-in-cheek slogans on fashionable clothing as well as its animal-related cause with enthusiasm. Embark’s key activities encompass anti-rabies vaccinations, sterilisation surgeries, re-homing campaigns, and caring for injured street dogs. Embark works closely with partners and service providers, and carries out all community activities in collaboration with local government and regional departments. In 2013 alone, 435 puppies were re-homed by Embark.