Eva Ruppel sits with a small pack of rescued dogs in her kitchen near Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ruppel does not cage the approximate 170 rescued dogs living with her, allowing them freedom to roam and interact in small packs in multiple pens throughout her property and home. Ruppel created Tikiri Trust, with the financial assistance of her father, to rescue and rehome Sri Lanka's street dogs.
Eva Ruppel left Germany for a three-month visit to Sri Lanka, which included time in a Buddhist meditation retreat, and she remains in this island nation 37 years later.
Ruppel is fluent in German, English and Sinhala.