Several of nearly 170 rescued street dogs take over Eva Ruppel's kitchen on her rural property near Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ruppel does not cage the approximate 170 dogs she has rescued, allowing them freedom to roam and interact in small packs in multiple pens throughout her property, as well as inside her home. Ruppel created Tikiri Trust, with the financial assistance of her father, to rescue and re-home 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.
With the support of her father, she started Tikiri Trust. Her father passed away in 2011, and he left her an inheritance, which she continues to use to support her cause.
Ruppel is fluent in German, English and Sinhala.