Winter is Pup Season!

IDA Deonar is awash with puppies and kittens. Still waiting for all those foster parents to contact us and let us know which pup or kitten they would like to take care of. Trust me, it's more fun than trouble and you will be doing some little soul a world of good. This is the only way an infant animal can get used to living in somebody's home. Otherwise, he or she is milling around with a whole bunch of other orphans at our Centre, fooling about, waiting for lunch time or taking a nap because there is no where to go. Most importantly, fostering gives them a fighting chance at staying alive.

Have a look at Whisky in the previous post. He was such a great looking pup. On his first day at the Centre, he was as frisky as a new born lamb. After two weeks, he had begun to droop. It's been a month since he came. Yes, he got sick and now we've lost him. I still can't believe that such a beautful animal is lost to us. If somebody had fostered him, he might have had a chance. He's gone and it's our loss.

The lovely little pup in the picture below was subjected to the most horrible cruelty by an unknown sadist. Her brother also was subjected to the same cruel treatment. He responded to treatment and fortunately was soon adopted and is doing well. This little girl was too sad and sick to survive even though all of us at the Centre did our best. One good thing is that we have many volunteers coming to the Centre to help us in whatever way they can and the pups benefit a great deal from the attention they get. So if you can't foster, come help with the feeding of the little ones, or pick up one or two and sit in the garden in the sun- good for them and for you! Help to give them their medication or just wrap up some of the tiniest in a cloth and hold them close until they get warmed up, They have been deprived of their chief and expert care giver, their mom, and they need all the help they can get.

Tiny Tots and Their Toy Elephant

All our little ones love toys, especially the soft type. Here is Whiskey and his companion in the puppy room with their stuffed elephant. As soon as any such toy is available, they go into attack mode. The el in the picture has already been 'attacked' and thrown and carried about. At least this way these youngsters get some much needed exercise and also use their teeth on an inanimate object instead of each other!!

If you have any old stuffed toys available, don't forget to send them our way. Our kittens need such toys too. At the end of the day, they make great pillows and mattresses to rest on, especially if one's mom is missing. Most of these little guys are orphans and they really like to play.

Little Girl Lost

She was one of the best looking pups in the puppy pen.
A very large pup, she had a magnificent black coat with lovely colouring around the head, ears and her legs. Her eyes were a beautiful tiger yellow. I'm speaking of her in the past tense because we've lost her. This great little pup was paralysed. Her back legs had stopped working altogether. She was probably lying under a vehicle on some road when it started and ran over her, injuring her spine and back.

This handicap did not stop her enthusiastic approach to life. Every time there was "company" in the puppy pen, she would come racing, dragging her helpless hind legs behind her. Every time food showed up, she would show the same enthusiasm. She loved to be cuddled and we were quite willing to oblige, she was such a bundle.
But now she is gone and this small piece is just a way of remembering this dear little soul who loved life and humans. It was a pleasure knowing her and taking care of her for the short time she was with us.

Just a foot note in memory of her: If you ever consider fostering a handicapped animal, just go for it. They are as joyous, happy and loving as any other animal that may come into one's life.

In the IDA Garden

This is exactly what this little space was made for. Don't miss our young volunteers pampering the young and the old comfortably on one of the benches. We also bring the pups from the nearby puppy pen into the open to enjoy the sun. In the last picture you can see one of our oldies getting his dose of Vit D and enjoying the warmth.

Of course our garden doesn't look much like a garden at all yet but we are very optimistic. We hope it can only get better and slowly become a green refuge in the not too distant future. Wish us luck and watch this (garden) space!

Our Puppies Wear Tees Too !

The weather has been so cold since mid-December, we have been very worried about how to keep all our delicate little charges as warm as possible. Many types of cloth and designs were tried, but all proved to be difficult to get on, difficult to do up or difficult to keep on! Then one day, looking at Maggi T Pup, a thought struck me. Why not try a part of an actual T shirt which would need no sewing. The T shirt sleeve seemed to be the most logical part of the T to use.

The first picture shows Maggi modeling the first doggie T shirt. The pretty collar is the opening of the sleeve and little Maggi was quite comfortable walking around in her T. The preparation was simple. Cut the sleeve out of the old T shirt. Cut out two small holes at the sides for the front legs to come through. Back at the Centre it took very little time to get some more Ts ready.

Of course the garments are not very fashionable, but they served the purpose. The pups were as warm and comfortable as we could make them and that's all that matters.

Two Tiny Kittens Waiting for a Home

Aren't they just beautiful? They are just two of a large number of lost little kitties who find their way to our Centre. They are deprived of their mother's specialized care and have no access to her precious milk. As soon as these infants are on their own, they are in deadly danger. Not just from other animals, heavy traffic or cruel humans, they are highly susceptible to disease. They are sad and frightened and their immune systems do not work well at all. It's an extremely difficult job to keep them alive and well at the Centre in the middle of hundreds of other animals, and the IDA staff do the best they can. But we need a little help from our friends.

If you really love animals, make a small space in your life for one of them. It is worth the trouble and the benefits are immense. If you can't possibly adopt one of them, help us search for people who would really like to do so. And do remember, fostering is fun and it is not a long term commitment. It also helps you to find out how to get on with an animal companion and if you would be actually willing to keep one long term.

Inaugurating the New Garden at IDA Deonar

Got the garden area ready at last! It being Christmas time, we installed a small Christmas Tree right in the centre and always eager to make our great animals known to the public, we decorated the tree with small cards containing photos of our cats, pups, dogs and so on. These consisted of animals who have not yet been included in our Sponsor and Guardian Angel programmes. We made a special Christmas offer and I am happy to say that 11 of them got sponsored straight off the tree!
As the garden was ready, we decided to have a regular inauguration. Our Chief Guest was Ms Doreen Aranha from Igatpuri. She is quite isolated there working really hard for all the stray dogs that are in dire need of all kinds of help. She manages a lot of work even though the going is very tough. No NGOs around to help, so one can imagine the difficulties she faces.
For her unstinting efforts, IDA India awarded a Champion for Animals certificate to Doreen on the inauguration day. You can see her cutting the ribbon placed across the small garden gate. All those who attended had quite a nice time. Now we are waiting anxiously for the small plants to grow. In the meantime, there are a lot of wonderful animal related activities that can be carried out in this truly precious space.

New Enclosure for Mothers and Pups

We are always on the lookout for whatever space is available to keep our animals safe and comfortable. We have managed to construct a small enclosure especially for moms and pups. Of course we can only keep one or two mothers with their young ones in there at a time. But it has proved to be quite helpful as they need privacy and some extra space.
In the second pic you can see Selvi with the first mother to use the enclosure. Building this enclosure was possible as we also were considered during Give India Week. Our generous donors remembered that IDA needs continuous support and encouragement. You can see the result!

Meet Maggi T-Pup

This sweet little girl is in foster care. She's got a double barrel name for a reason. Maggi is as fierce as a T Rex when it comes to chasing a passing pair of pyjamas or jeans! Hangs on with her little teeth (playfully). She also loves tea. Everytime tea is served, she comes running and reminds you that she would like some too.
She has a special small cup which contains 4 teaspoons of the beverage and she loves to lap it up after it has been cooled a bit.

Maggi is a very courageous and smart little pup. She doesn't cringe or cry when the older dogs in the house "shout" at her. She was found on a road in
Dharavi by a kind young lady who rescued her. She had to be rescued. A man was beating this little thing with a stick for some unknown reason! She's safe and sound now and waiting to be adopted by anyone who would like the privilege of having her as a companion at home.