Christmas Week Adoptions

Yes, that's Paulo. You saw him earlier under the Christmas Tree in the Deonar garden. He must have made a wish! This sweet person came and adopted him this morning and now he's got his very own home.
We wish him all the very best for a happy and comfortable future life.
Just to make sure everything is going well, our mobile van will visit Paulo in his new home and our Vet will check his health. Selvi our Asst will go along to check that conditions are as comfortable as they can be for this lovely little chap.
The young man below adopted a lovely little black pup who looks quite like a fox. From a litter of seven, born to a mother who suffers from tremors, he and his sister were the only survivors. This happens as from each litter, there are some pups who are too weak to make it. All the little ones were at our Centre for about a month. It is very difficult for a tiny animal to thrive and grow surrounded by hundreds of other animals, some of them injured or ill. This small chap made it: good for him. Now he also has a safe home and we will be in touch to see that all is well and he also enjoys his new life.

It's Nice to Have a Friend

Thought it was that time of year to show all of you more pics of our resident dogs. Most of these guys (and girls) are here because they had been declared aggressive. See what happens when they get to meet caring members of the human race. They are absolutely socialised and friendly. Balu in the first picture is enjoying his session with Asst Selvi. He's a dear little dog with a back foot missing. This doesn't stop him rushing to where the action is!
Keeno is happy to sit with her friend, one of our younger wardboys who fits in very well at our Centre. Our Senior Wardboy is indulging Sanju with a tummy scratch and Bruno our big boy is always happy to bond with whoever is close by.
Last of all, is old Bharat, who is a little unwell because of the cold. He can't see from one eye but he looks as if he is enjoying the company of his young friend on the bench in the blind ward.

Christmas Week in the Deonar Garden

Our labrador mix Maxine, enjoyed a walk around the Centre this morning, then she made an inspection of the garden. Our little Christmas tree is up all this week. Doesn't it look great? And best of all are the little charmers standing under the tree. Paulo is a beautiful male pup with light eyes to match his coat. He's very healthy and would love to be adopted.
Amber is a sweet little girl, found and rescued by another little girl in Powai. She kept her overnight safely in her home, and next day, Amber was brought to Deonar. All the pups have perfected the art of escaping into the garden - they just love to dig into the mud and smell the plants and sleep under the trees when they are tired. Amber is also a healthy happy puppy and we hope some wonderful person adopts her soon.

Christmas Eve Party at Deonar

The small party was held in our little garden. Check out who is relaxing inside before the party started. Next picture shows our hard working Vets Dr.Shashikant and Dr. Parab enjoying a well earned break. Our Asst Selvi got a small gift for the hard work she does and the way she helped us out at the iDA Jumble Sale.
You can't see them in the pics, but the garden also had three small pups running around and playing while the guests had refreshments. Reminded me of those little kids who race around playing at wedding receptions. Not much difference at all!!

Time For Christmas Treats

Pommy is so shy, that you can't make out that she has just enjoyed her Christmas treat, sent all the way to her from her loving Sponsor, Katrina, in Australia. In fact, Katrina sent treats for all three of her sponsor dogs and you can see how Prema enjoyed hers, licking her lips in anticipation of the next. Our Asst Selvi had fun feeding the treats to them one by one. And last but not least, old Jumpy enjoyed eating his as well.
Happy Christmas Guys. Eat up!!

In The Resident Cats' Enclosure

There are always generous people thinking of us and this is how we got this comfortable chair at our Deonar Centre. At once we thought of installing it in the Resident Cats' enclosure as it looked like something the cats would truly appreciate. It is large, laidback and very comfortable with cushions on the back and seat.

The first to try it out was our lovely Snuggles, who instantly assumed a most comfortable position as only cats can do! This cat is handicapped, but you wouldn't notice. He has a front leg and one back foot missing; lost in a long ago accident. Snuggles does not find this a limitation. He leapt onto the new chair and made it his own! In a few minutes, he was joined by Tiger, who made him push up a bit so that he too could be quite comfy.

Footnote: Next day there were three cats on the seat and two seated underneath the chair itself, probably waiting in the queue. Cats love comfort, and we are more than happy that they just love this chair.

A Fond Goodbye to Our Deepak

One of our much loved blind dogs, Deepak, passed away on Tuesday. He had been with us for many years as he was completely blind, perhaps born that way. Inspite of his handicap, he was one of our most handsome males. A spitz mix, he was of a very unusual colour - thick black coat and orange fur around the head and ears.

When we constucted the small garden at Deonar, Deepak became the most important visitor. He spent a lot of quality time in this small patch, patrolling all around, sniffing the plants and settling himself comfortably in the sunny patches or under the bushy plants if he felt hot. He also enjoyed the company of his human and doggy friends, the last being a sweet little female lhasa. His lack of sight did not diminish his own sweetness and he would eagerly come forward wagging his tail and searching aromas in the air if he had a friendly visitor. One could see Deepak "smiling' at these times.

We all wish him a fond goodbye. This little dog taught us compassion and patience, like so many other handicapped dogs and cats at our Centre. We will always love him and miss him. He had an official Guardian Angel on earth and we are sure this lovely dog has a heavenly one looking after him from the moment he left us.

Our Super Moms

This mother has done such a good job of looking after her seven beautiful pups, that it is just amazing. The main reason being, that she had suffered from distemper some time in the past, had recovered, and then developed a side effect of this disease, namely constant tremors.
She has a great bunch of small pups who are growing well and each one looks so attractive. Now all we are waiting for are some deserving people to come along and adopt them one by one.
Below, you can see Asst Selvi holding the beautifully marked fluffy black female. This little one can be seen with one of her brothers, sitting on the bench in the garden.

Volunteers at Deonar

In the first picture you can see our Volunteer Sayanti, who gives up many of her Sunday mornings to help out at the Centre. Priya, one of our Sponsor dogs, is enjoying the pat on the head. They all really love human company!
Payal, in the picture below, is a busy physiotherapist, who also finds time on Sundays to come to the Centre. IDA India is blessed to have such dedicated people who all subscribe to the cause of animal welfare.
There is lots of work for volunteers to do and those who are serious about this work are more than welcome. Each one becomes quite an expert after some guidance and practice and being among these sweet animals is extremely rewarding. The pictures say it all!

Our IDA India Intern

Meet Pranitha, our very first Intern, busy learning the ropes at our Deonar Centre. She is very young but also very enthusiastic in everything she does and we really appreciate having her working for us at the Centre. This is an assignment she has to complete for her course in college and she chose to work in the field of animal welfare.

Pranitha helps out with the young ones at the Centre and has become quite an expert in infant handling. She is also busy on the computer working out projects to take animal welfare into schools and doing a good job of it too. Recently, she helped out all day at the IDA India Pre-Christmas Jumble Sale. It's great having an Intern and we are thankful that Pranitha chose our NGO to work with.

Ain't She Sweet?

This abandoned Lhasa Apso, rescued by IDA at the height of the monsoon, has turned out to be a real bundle of joy. She's so happy when she has visitors, many people like to go and check her out, that she keeps bouncing up and down on her hind legs, small front paws in the air.
Her eyes were crusted and closed when she was brought in, now with lots of love and care, she is bright-eyed and bushy tailed! This is her favourite perch, up in the world, on top of the medicine chest in the Puppy Pen.
We are really happy for her as she has recently got a good home where she will be well cared for.

Sara's Charming Son

While his mum recovers from her grievous injury at our Deonar Centre, this little chap is safe and comfy in a foster home. He's really tiny but that doesn't stop him from racing as fast as his little legs can take him, whenever food is around! He has a hearty appetite and enjoys his baby mix as well as steamed carrots, which he loves.
He's very strong and playful and manages to pull a small carpet backwards right across the room to his playing area. If he manages to find a shoe, even though it is twice his whole body size, he manages to drag this also.
He visits his mum every few days at the Centre and we noticed, he has the same lovely eyes as she has. But while she is calm, beautiful and elegant, this naughty chap is a little devil. He'll be up for adoption in a couple of weeks time. Until then he will be treated with loving care.

IDA India Pre-Christmas Jumble Sale

Our Jumble Sale was quite a success and over a period of two days, 10th and 11th Dec, we managed to sell a lot of our wonderful IDA India merchandise, some great other items on sale, including some lovely clothes and a set of tablas (!) check them out in the picture below. Yes, they were sold! We also had a wonderful collection of books going very cheap.
All our volunteers worked very hard throughout the days, setting up everything in readiness, selling things enthusiastically to visitors and also educating the public on various matters re animal welfare. Poonam, Angel, Anisha, Vasuda, Sharmee and our Intern, Pranitha along with our Asst Selvi, worked very hard to make this event a success. Everything we earned will go towards the care and welfare of all the hundreds of animals we are responsible for and we are thankful to all the members of the public who took the trouble to come to the Sale.

Miss Beautiful Eyes

When this little pup was first brought into our Deonar Centre she had been rescued after being knocked down on the road by an unknown vehicle. For days she just lay helplessly on her side, crying piteously. The crying would magically stop as soon as she was picked up by one of the staff. She just wanted to be held. As she lay on the ground, her head at an odd angle, her lovely eyes would follow us everywhere and she used them to very good effect! Somebody or the other would pick her up for a cuddle.
We treated her carefully and were very glad when she started eating by herself and slowly trying to sit up. One day she actually managed to stand and take a few wobbly steps! After that she has been walking around the puppy pen, even engaging in play with the other young ones. Our homeopathic treatment of these little ones, always helps a lot and all of us were so happy when she got back her balance, strength and health. She's a real charmer!

Latest Family at Deonar

These beautiful pups are three from a litter of seven who all arrived when their mom was brought in a bad condition to our Deonar Centre. She had contracted distemper earlier, had recovered and is now suffering from an inevitable condition that follows this sickness. She suffers from tremors which don't stop. Inspite of this, she is an exceptional mother and all seven are thriving, even the two tiny runts of the litter. The big boys and girls are quite like bear cubs and are all those irresistable puppy types. Mom is fast running out of milk, they are all growing fast and ravenous, so we have to supplement their diet with weaning food. They have started walking and playing with each other now and will soon be ready for adoption. Wish them luck and good health.

Compassion at Work

We were all horrified when this poor dog was brought to the Centre at Deonar. She was lying helplessly on her side, eyes completely sunken, breathing her last. We were shocked because we could see she had a very old injury; as you can see in the picture, her right foot as probably lost in a railway accident on the tracks. Worse still, she had small puppies about three weeks old. The only consolation was that some kind person had taken the trouble to inform us and call the ambulance after seeing her plight. If this had not happened, one shudders to think what would have happened to her and her three little ones.
But she reached our Centre and treatment started.
She was in the last stages of starvation. Fortunately she responded to treatment and in a few hours, could sit up and eat some food. We feed her multiple times a day and it is proving to be a difficult haul for her. She is a very tall and slender dog, with a beautiful long face and almond shaped eyes which in a few days, became brown and glowing. Of her three little ones, all in bad condition as she had no milk whatsoever, two passed away after a few days in the puppy pen. They eagerly had their formula, slept close to their mom, played a little - puppies are like that. But we lost them. The third was taken into foster care as he managed to pull through. More snaps of him later in his foster home. He's a real cutie.
We thought his mom would benefit if we arranged for them to meet now and then. You can see in the pics that both of them enjoy the visits! She has improved now and loves to sit or lie in a sunny corner. She finishes all her food with relish. Her poor leg will have to be dealt with if she recovers fully.
All involved are totally concerned about this elegant dog who has suffered so silently. She has not even whimpered, not even during treatment. She has somehow brought out such concerned feeling among all those who surround her, even the wardboys want her to be as comfortable as possible and recover as soon as she can, and this is what we are all working for. She likes to be petted and her eyes say it all. She knows she is safe with us, loved and card for.

Banned In 2007 !

Check the temperature every day for the next week in Mumbai, exactly at 12.00 noon. That's when this elephant was being walked down the main road in the middle of Powai, day before yesterday. The road surface is burning hot but that doesn't matter to the "mahouts" sitting high up in the air, on the poor creature's back.
Of even less interest to them is the ban that was instituted in July 2007 on plying captive elephants on city roads. This has been so ineffective, that the senior-most forest official himself has expressed helplessness and suggested that the ban be lifted!
IDA India is taking action against this. Forest officials are supposed to be qualified to deal with any problem regarding wildlife and we want to remind them that this specific problem, namely captive elephants being made to walk all over Mumbai and the surrounding areas, whatever the weather, however heavy the traffic and the crowds of people all over the place, had better be dealt with, and fast. Maharashtra has no Rescue Centre for elephants and we are campaigning for one to be opened. If this happens, then the forest officials can arrest the mahout and offending "owner" of the animal, fine them, imprison them for keeping the elephant captive in the most horrendous conditions, and finally send the rescued elephant to the Rescue Centre.
At present they are 'helpless' because nobody, namely the police and the forest officials, knows what on earth to do with an elephant that they might rescue.

IDA Foster Kitten at "Home"

This pretty kitty is in fine shape and health thanks to the foster care she has been enjoying in IDA volunteer, Karan's home. When she first went into foster care, straight from the Centre, where she had been living for about two weeks, she was very sick with a terrible cold and chest. But with Karan's devoted care and nurturing, she managed to shake off the life-threatening symptoms and now is as playful as curious as any normal kitten usually is. Check out the first picture, where she manages to sit very comfortably, inspecting everything on the small table.
She loves to lounge on the comfortable bed or couch, and again, like any other cat, sitting in absolute comfort, she looks a pure work of art.
She's waiting to be adopted. As soon as she finds a permanent home, Karan will take another needy kitten home to foster. He's a wonderful example to all who are toying with the idea of fostering a small animal. He doesn't hesitate and enjoys the whole experience. Way to go, Karan! May your tribe increase!!

Alyosius Club Visits the IDA Centre

This small band of intrepid visitors made it to our Deonar Centre on 23rd October, to meet the different types of animals and find out about the work we do. After a small session in the garden when they were informed a little about how IDA India started and the many projects it is engaged in at the moment, the group had a conducted tour of the premises.
There are two picture because both include the resident dogs. In the first you can see two oldies. In the second, check out the German Shepherd. He's a magnificent looking dog, and he is at the Centre because he was abandoned. He happened to develop the sad medical condition that many GAs suffer from. His back legs are weak and bent. This is a genetic defect due to careless breeding.
Also in the pictures are Dr. Nitin, in pale orange shirt, and Selvi, our capable Assistant who is in charge of the puppy pen. She's near Dr.N, and dressed in blue.

These good people enjoyed the visit and brought a lot of goodies for the dogs and cats. We like to have visitors - all feedback we receive is valuable as it helps us to try and keep on improving the way the Centre is run.