As a 12-year-old, Meet Ashar sold off his silver bracelet to help a stray dog run over by a vehicle. “It fetched me Rs 2,500 which I used for the dog's treatment, but I told my parents that I’d lost the bracelet in school,” smiles the Thane resident as he recollects the 2006 incident.

Senior animal activists noticed Ashar’s work and recommended him for the post in 2011. He got the approval two years later. Pic/Datta Kumbhar