Benjith Mylaady: An entrepreneur who loves dogs

What do you expect at the office of a corporate enterprise which is well on its way to expansion? Not stray dogs lying around the entrance, right?

But Benjith Mylaady, MD of the TBS group, does not mind. An ardent lover of animals, he says he values the lives of his four-legged friends more than his corporate image.    

Pay a visit to the TBS ‘Smiley Card’ office at Mylaady Chambers, Pottakkuzhy, and you will find a handful of ‘stray’ dogs lying around. But you will also notice that they are all clean, well-fed and have collars around their necks. Business goes on as usual, but no one drives away the dogs, obviously they are a part of the office. During tea breaks its playtime for the employees and the dogs; the latter are generously fed by the former.

“I believe that my employees should be my friends,” says Benjith. “Some of them were afraid of dogs but seeing me they thawed, and one has become a regular supplier of food for them now.”

It was following the sudden disappearance of his own pet dogs - Jikki and Tippu - that set Benjith off on his tryst with ‘dog rescue.’ All his attempts at tracing the duo were of no avail and Benjith did the next best thing - he took in a stray dog that was wandering about the premises of his office, had it cleaned and vaccinated against rabies and named it Jikki, after his lost dog. Benjith had just relocated from Bangalore to Kochi to set up office for his new business venture, the Smiley Card.

Another dog which had been abandoned by its owners joined them soon. “At first Bruno was terrified of human beings but with love and care, he became friendly.” Jikki had two puppies, one of which was named Tippu. The second puppy turned out to be a notorious chappal stealer and now answers to the name ‘Cherippukallan.'

Benjith and wife Susmi have two more dogs at home, one of which suffers from a chronic foot injury. Ruby lost both her paws in an accident and the wounds need to be dressed every day. “It has been a daily morning ritual for me for the past six years but I don’t mind,” says Benjith. The option suggested by the doctor was to put it to death. All are local breeds. “I don’t distinguish between breeds, they are all dogs to me.”   

The office ‘gang’ currently spend their days in the upper floors of the building which are empty and unused. Benjith proposes to build an enclosure for them soon as the upper floors are to be rented out. And one more has joined them now. “The problem is that I cannot keep more than four or five dogs here. These dogs don’t trouble anyone other than rag-pickers and suspicious looking people. But the corporation authorities are bent on getting them killed at the slightest pretext,” he says.

Had it not been for Benjith’s insistence, the dogs would have been killed long back. “I wish I could start an establishment, employ people solely to look after stray and abandoned dogs and get them sterilised. But I don’t know how to go about it. If there are more animal lovers to help, it could become a reality.”

Those who claim they don’t have a minute to spare a day could sure take a lesson or two from this dog lover entrepreneur whose business is also, apparently, thriving. Benjith can be contacted at 9995344744.