Horrified by Dog Beating in India, Rescuer Risks His Own Safety to Step In
When Niall Harbison, founder of the Thailand-based animal charity, Happy Doggo, traveled to India, he witnessed something that shook him to his core. While driving through a neighborhood in Delhi, he spotted a group of men surrounding a dog, one of them striking the helpless stray with a stick. (Watch Video Above)
Horrified, Niall immediately stopped the car and stepped into the tense scene, risking his own safety to intervene. With the help of a courageous local woman, he managed to pull the terrified dog away from danger and bring him to safety.
A Rescue Fueled by Fear
Niall and his companion, Anupam Mehta, immediately rushed to the scene when they saw the dog being brutally beaten with sticks. Unfortunately, being in a rough neighborhood, they were hesitant to intervene since they were afraid of their own safety.
That’s when a brave woman named Ghoshani changed everything. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, shouting at the men and filming their cruelty on her phone. Her courage startled the group, and one by one they backed off, scattering away from the terrified dog.
Only then could Niall and Anupam step in, finally lifting the dog out of danger. Once Niall got close to him, the dog heartbreakingly collapsed right in front of him. Niall later described the ordeal as deeply traumatic, caught between the mob around them and fears of rabies, but in that moment, he admitted he was “running on adrenaline,” just like the shaken pup he had saved.
Resilient Pup Refuses to Give Up
They gently carried the battered dog into their car and rushed him to the nearest veterinary clinic. Niall feared the worst, admitting he didn’t know how the animal was even clinging to life during the drive.
But against all odds, the dog refused to give up. Though dazed and broken in spirit, his fragile body kept fighting. After a tense evening at the clinic, the vet revealed the dog was in severe shock and had suffered a head injury, but miraculously, no bones were broken.
They named him Bhola, meaning “innocent” in Hindi. Niall took full responsibility for Bhola’s care, covering his medical bills and promising him softly that he would never return to the streets again.
Sharing the entire story on his Instagram, Niall called the entire incident deeply upsetting but applauded the help from his friend Anupam and the bravery of Ghoshani.
Bhola’s Update
Niall shared a heartbreaking update on August 27: after four days of fighting with incredible courage, Bhola passed away peacefully in his sleep. In his post, Niall wrote, “This one hurts a lot. I had his little life planned out in my head with recovery and lots of offers of homes. Sometimes it is the hope that kills you.”
In his memory, Niall personally donated funds for twenty sterilizations in Delhi, helping prevent the endless cycle of suffering for countless street dogs. He admitted this was only “the tip of the iceberg,” but it marked the beginning of a promise: Bhola’s legacy would not fade.
Startling Reality of Stray Dogs in India
Unfortunately, Bhola’s story is far from unique. As an Indian, I see these cases of cruelty against stray dogs far too often, and most never even make it beyond a few social media posts.
Countless Indies, the pariah dogs native to India and a part of our culture for centuries, live and die on our streets without their stories ever being told. For years, they’ve been overlooked in favor of foreign breeds, and that’s why they continue to make up the majority of our street dogs today.
Rising Cases of Cruelty
In recent years, reported cases of violence against street dogs have sharply increased, especially following a Supreme Court ruling in India that emphasized solving the issues of dog bites and rabies. Unfortunately, this has emboldened some people to act with hostility toward street dogs.
Some recent incidents include:
- Delhi: A viral video showed a stray perched on a car, its mouth and paws bloodied after being beaten with sticks. In the same city, protests erupted outside a dog sterilization center over allegations of abuse.
- Asansol (Eastern India): Fifteen stray dogs were poisoned to death.
- Ghaziabad (near Delhi): A man was arrested for repeatedly slapping a woman, simply because she was feeding stray dogs.
These are just a few examples. The reality is that countless similar incidents never make it to the headlines.
The Media’s Role
What makes it worse is how the mainstream narrative has shifted. News channels endlessly highlight dog bites and label strays as a “menace,” without ever questioning why a dog might bite in the first place.
There is little to no education about canine behavior, and instead, a culture of fear and hate is being built. That hate often translates into violence, like what we witnessed in Bhola’s case, where the men assaulting him looked at his rescuers with pure disgust, as if helping a dog was something shameful. Sadly, that’s how many people in this country view dog lovers.
