At around 3 AM, when most of Dhaka has gone quiet, Sabina Rahman Mukti steps outside to feed dogs. Not 5 or 10, but around 200 community dogs scattered across the neighbourhood. By dawn, she returns to another responsibility waiting at home: more than a hundred rescued cats and dogs, many elderly, injured, disabled, or unlikely to ever be adopted.

This is the world behind Choko Poko & Family, a Facebook page managed by Mukti’s daughter, Sinthia Tanzim Srayoshe. Together, mother and daughter have turned a deeply personal commitment into years of rescue, feeding, treatment and advocacy.

For Mukti, it began in childhood.

She grew up surrounded by animals. Their family home had cats, dogs, ducks, chickens, cows and goats, sometimes 40 or 50 animals at once. Her mother, in particular, gave special attention to cats and dogs at a time when veterinary care for companion animals was limited and spaying or neutering was uncommon.

After moving to Dhaka in 2001, Mukti continued rescuing animals. What began with four or five rescued animals gradually grew. Today, Mukti says more than a hundred animals live in her home. Some recover and are adopted, but many stay permanently because of age, illness or disability.

“My oldest cat is 14,” she shares. Another dog has lived with paralysis for five years after being injured as a puppy. For Mukti, the animals that cannot be adopted are no less deserving of care.

“I’ve seen animals lying injured for three days while people simply pass by,” she elaborates. “Even if I have no space, I cannot leave them there.” Sometimes, she knows an animal may not survive. Even then, she brings it home.

“I would rather bring them here so they can spend their final days in peace, with good food and love.”

That commitment comes at a significant cost. Mukti estimates that caring for the animals at home and feeding roughly 200 dogs outside costs around Tk 120,000 a month. Her daily food expenses can reach Tk 4,000.

Image

Her husband helps, and Srayoshe contributes as well. Occasionally, Srayoshe uses Choko Poko & Family to ask followers for support, but appeals are infrequent because the family is uncomfortable with repeated requests.

Negative comments make it even harder.

Srayoshe says some people accuse rescuers of turning animal welfare into a business. For her, however, the page is not only about raising funds. It is also about making the realities of rescue visible and drawing attention to problems that individuals cannot solve alone.

“Many people in Bangladesh are now coming forward to support animal welfare, but the laws have not yet been effectively implemented,” she says. Srayoshe believes two areas require urgent attention: stronger enforcement of animal welfare laws and systematic population control through spaying and neutering.

“When the number of stray dogs increases on the streets, people tend to harm them, and if the numbers are high, the abuse is even worse,” she remarks. Srayoshe stresses that such work cannot depend on individual rescuers forever.

“My mother has performed thousands of these procedures, but she cannot keep up with the population on her own. It is simply impossible.” She also believes effective laws could deter casual cruelty.

“Just as I cannot simply strike a person while walking down the street, people should not be able to do the same to animals,” she opines.

Image

Meanwhile, Mukti continues the work that rarely makes itself visible during daylight hours. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has gone out around 2:30 or 3 AM to feed community dogs, partly to avoid conflicts with residents, landlords and guards.

Festivals can be particularly difficult. During Eid, she says, the smell of meat fills the streets, but extensive cleaning often leaves hungry dogs with almost nothing to eat.

“They suffer the most during festivals,” she says.

There is no large shelter behind Choko Poko & Family. There is a family home crowded with animals, nights spent feeding dogs, money stretched to cover food and treatment, and a daughter trying to turn that experience into broader awareness.

Mukti rescues the animal lying on the roadside. Srayoshe tells its story and asks why it was left there in the first place.

Their work is rooted in compassion, but their message goes beyond compassion alone. Real change, they believe, will require laws that are enforced, humane population management and a society that stops treating vulnerable animals as disposable.

Until then, Mukti will still be out on the streets at three in the morning.

In-frame: Fatima (child); Sabina Rahman Mukti