By Baida Al Zadjali and Ray Petersen
“The song has ended, but the melody lingers...” go the words of an old song, that echo of Pramod MarchOne’s kindness to stray animals. This extremely gentle young man passed away recently, a pillar of the local animal rescue community.
Nicknamed by fellow rescuers as ‘the Dogfather’, his passing is keenly felt, and he is deeply mourned. “Pramod was a savior” according to Nada al Moosa from Omani Paws, herself arguably the Sultanate’s leading small animal care advocate.
Pramod moved to Oman seven years ago after working at several different jobs in his hometown, in India. He was as actor in the movies and was so proud of his photos with many of India’s Bollywood cinematic celebrities. It was indeed a life he missed greatly and always longed for, but circumstances and, maybe in a sense, a higher calling, brought him to Muscat.
He was a caring individual, full stop, people, animals, whatever, it made no difference, as his kind manner and good nature were evident in every word and gesture. The young man would never hesitate to assist anyone who needed help and bore the hardships of his tasks with stoicism and his exceedingly good nature. Another, independent animal rescuer in Noha al Riyami explained that, from her perspective, “He found his true and authentic self in saving them.”
When he first came to Muscat, he was fearful of stray dogs, thinking they would attack him, but a chance encounter with a dog he had never met before that stood, and protected him from a wild pack of dogs, completely changed his view. He understood that kindness with the helpless strays takes little of us but goes a long way. His life would change, and he would dedicate so much of his time, energy and money towards helping stray, abandoned, homeless and mistreated pets, not only canines.
He embarked on countless rescue missions with nearly every pet rescue group in town, was always the first to respond, no matter how hard the rescue seemed, or what time of day or night, the call came. Vanessa de Vyt, from the Wave Cats and Dogs Rescue Centre described him as an “Angel with a heart of gold, always helpful, always there for the strays, defined by the sacrifice of his time and energy for such a good cause.” Poignantly, he once posted on social media a little rescued kitten, captioned, “Where did my family go? They put me on the streets and drove away. I thought they loved me’’, illustrating a situation he became all too familiar with.
Everyone, whether in the rescue groups or the veterinary sector, and more importantly every stray puppy, kitten, cat, or dog, came to admire, respect, and depend on the quiet young man whose deeds spoke so much more eloquently than his words. The great philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote, “You can judge the heart of a man by the way he cares for his animals’’, so Pramod was defined as sound as any man you will find, as he worked at his job during the day and rescued stray animals, abandoned and injured pets, almost every night.
He used his social media platforms seeking to educate the public about the plight of stray animals in Oman, to tell the stories of his rescues, and of his adventures with his adopted dog, ‘Peanut.’ He once wrote, displaying his compassion and concern for those in any kind of need evident, “Never be the reason for the death of a starving innocent soul.” This ‘Dogfather’, will always be remembered fondly, lovingly, holding, comforting and caressing a tiny puppy, patiently waiting his turn at the veterinary clinic waiting room... his concern not for himself, but the tiny one, now safe in compassionate arms, a sight Dr Peter Nolosco, of Capital Veterinary Clinic was to see often, noting that Pramod was “kind, patient and dedicated to his mission.”
His loss is profoundly felt, and it seems that the calling that was to become, tragically, lifelong, is one the animal rescue community may never truly recover from. Pramod MarchOne, the young man who gave a voice to the voiceless... was himself, quietened.
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