Top fashion designer Sanjana Jon loves desi dogs – she has four of them! The leather-free designer recently hosted a star-studded event in New Delhi to support PETA and Friendicoes SECA and to encourage anyone with the time, love and resources to adopt a homeless Indian (desi) dog rather than buying an animal from a pet shop. Actor Nasir Abdullah, Ramola Bachchan, politician Alka Lamba and fitness expert Vesna P Jacob were just a few of the celebrities who came out to support the "Paws for a Cause" event, walking, playing and posing for photographs with homeless dogs from Friendicoes' animal shelter.

L-R (Sanjana Jon, Benazir Suraiya, Arpita Mona Bansal, Vipul Gupta)

Dogs from Friendicoes

Alka Lamba & Executive Director of The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, Vipul Gupta

Sanjana explained that the loveable, personable dogs at Paws for a Cause "are just a fraction of the dogs in India who need the right person to come along and make them part of the family. If you're ready to make a lifelong commitment, I hope you will consider visiting your local animal shelter – you might just find your new best friend".

You can make a difference by opening your home and your heart to a homeless dog or cat). Every time someone buys a dog from a breeder or a pet shop, a dog on the streets or in an animal shelter loses his or her chance at finding a good home. And please help stop animal homelessness at its source by always sterilising your animal companions.

Photo Courtesy: Monica Dawar

Scene-stealing canine star Uggie won hearts and awards for his performance in The Artist. Now the world's favourite pup is the star of a PETA India campaign encouraging everyone  always to adopt, never buy. It's a subject close to Uggie's heart because the energetic dog was passed off by three families before he found his forever home – and he knows that every animal deserves the same happy ending. 

Twenty-five million homeless dogs are struggling to survive on India's streets. They go hungry, are hit by vehicles or are abused by cruel people. The luckier ones are in animal shelters waiting for a family to call their own. 

When you are ready to welcome a new animal into the family, please don't support pet stores or breeders. Always adopt – never buy.