There’s no count and there’s no end,” she said as the pack of “Indies,” as Indian strays are affectionately known, play in the nearby grass. For a period, a quiet desperation cast a shadow on Varma’s daily act of compassion.

India’s top court has ordered authorities in New Delhi to start removing all stray dogs from its streets and to sterilize and relocate them to shelters permanently.

The countless stray dogs that wander India’s capital and environs have been granted a reprieve, after outcry over a court order to round them up.