Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Jojo in his Foster Home




Jojo is becoming a big boy now but he still loves to play with all his toys. Now the one he favours is his panda who is as big as he is. It's good fun to play attack as the panda is so big and soft.
Jojo plays all by himself for about 15 minutes, roughing up each toy, rolling on his small carpet, and then he is ready for a nap. He is also skilled at 'fetch' when a small play rope, or any of his toys, thrown a distance away. The racing up and down to fetch the object is excellent exercise for this growing boy. Hope he has a lovely person out there, waiting to adopt him.

Monday, January 30, 2012

IDA India Workshop: Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Laws




As part of the celebration of Animal Welfare Fortnight, IDA India held a Workshop on Laws to Prevent Cruelty to Animals. The aim was to try and understand the laws better and also figure out how to implement them when dealing with cruelty cases.

With two High Court Advocates, Mr Ashok Shahani and Ms Jennifer Michael, and the well-known activist, Mr Ajay Marathe, to guide us through the legal maze, the Workshop proved to be quite a success.

Participants were divided into groups and given various cases to deal with. After a fixed time, each Group Leader made a presentation of the case and how they had dealt with it. With valuable input from our three experts, we all came away with some idea of how to react in a difficult situation re cruelty.

The entire process will appear on our website, as our experts are still providing answers to questions re difficult situations which are quite common to all when it comes to animal suffering. That day we learnt some more about how we can go about stopping different kinds of cruelty. All our participants were inspiring in their own right. All of them quiet champions for the animals in their various localities.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

BGWMM Day Continued





Pictures you have to see. Lalu as usual was the star of the day. He has such a beautiful personality that everyone who meets him is a fan. He was bathed, groomed and then of course, he walked like a dream. This was unexpected as these dogs are not used to the leash. But no problem for Lalu. His aim in life is to please, and he does this with the greatest of ease.
In one pic you can see our little lhasa getting a bit of a shout from our Volunteer. She is a Groomer and had just given the lhasa a good drying out after the bath, with a hair dryer. The little thing objected vociferously! But look at her in the garden going through the next step in her grooming session. Now that she liked and the young lady enjoyed the session too!

Monday, January 23, 2012

BGWMM Day at IDA India Deonar Centre






It was Bathing, Grooming, Walking and Medicated Massage Day at the Deonar Centre on Sunday, 22nd Jan. 26 Volunteers of all ages came in to share the work. It's true. Many hands make light work and it was light hearted as well. You can see the whole group at the end of it all, hands well washed, tired out after all the hard work. Jumpy and Chingut have managed to get into the pic as well.
In the other pictures you can see much of the activity. Show you all some more later. Now you can see Balu and Bruno having their baths, Jumpy being massaged with a special oil for his skin problem and two young volunteers, sitting on the warm stone bench, treating our small kittens with love and affection. One of the infants is paralysed and the hot bench is good for him in this cold season.
More to come. Pinky managed to escape all her well-wishers and went into hiding to avoid her bath. You will see her peeping out of the OT watching out for any signs of soap and towel!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

IDA India Stall at ALM Powai, Eco Mela


On Saturday 11th January, an Eco Mela was organised in Powai by the local ALM members as well as the BMC Officials in charge of waste management. IDA was there to inform people of how to be responsible Guardians of their animal companions. We distributed a carefully prepared leaflet dealing with many aspects of dog care, needs and responsiblities. We even made some hostile people smile a bit at the end of the discussions we had with them with regard to the presence of stray/community dogs in various localities.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

IDA Foster Pup Jojo



It's getting very cold and Jojo, Sara's little son, keeps bundled up for protection. At night and most times in the day, he can be found warm and snug in his little bed. This is a small plastic basin which protects a little guy like him from the cold. Puppies are always close to the ground so arrangements have to be made!
His small garment is made from an old T. Very handy to cut up and use for doggies and pups in the cold. The basin is also lined with old T material.
In the other picture you can see he likes to relax in the sun, just like the very old house dog relaxing near him. This is old Mylo's favourite spot, because of the sun and he gets very irritable when Jojo tries to get near him. The solution? Jojo's basin was shifted into the sunny spot as well and in the day he relaxes there along with Angry Bird and his other toys. Mylo's okay because then he doesn't bother him and everybody is happy (and warm).

Walking and Feeding an Abandoned Dog at Deonar



This beautiful dog is the latest animal to be rescued from the streets. She is a mix - part Great Dane and requires three (3) kg food a day. Who in India can afford to feed a dog this amount of suitable food? So the result is this type of dog is always found and sometimes seen with the 'owner' in a state of positive starvation.
She has to be carefully fed at our Deonar Centre where she is housed. We give her food four times a day as her stomach has virtually disappeared it is so empty.
Besides this we take her for small walks around the Centre, which she enjoys. She is suffering from a mild case of mange and this is being treated. We are waiting for the day when she puts on weight and looks more like a genuine Great Dane.
These are magnificent dogs who really need enormous amounts of food and exercise, which they seldom get as pets.
Point to Ponder: A full grown well-fed Great Dane is the size of a small couch.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Chingut welcomes a Visitor to IDA Deonar

Our little Chingut is so pleasant and makes a very happy Reception Committee of one. Here she is smiling and welcoming a visitor to IDA India Deonar in our small garden.
Many people come in just to check out the place and see what is going on. It is really good for the public to be aware of our work in animal welfare and slowly, become a welcome part of that work. We function so well because we have so many supporters, volunteers who really work hard and other people also working very hard quietly for street animals in their different areas of residence in the city.
When they do visit our Deonar Centre, the bonus is they get to meet the most wonderful dogs like Chingut, who are always there to remind us what a beautiful part of human life a little dog can be.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Group Visit to Deonar Centre

It is truly amazing how many youngsters make time to visit our Deonar Centre. This group comprised students from different Institutes who came to Deonar for a Career Orientation Programme organised by skyKpaar. They were brought by a wonderful young couple who are totally engaged in social welfare activism, Monica and Chintan.
The students have been taken to different Companies and Organisations to widen their horizons and make them more socially aware.
They seemed to enjoy their visit to Deonar, explored the place and asked pertinant questions. One enlightening moment they experienced came when they were surprised to see on of our fat cats, casually sitting and cleaning himself in an exposed position, between our wandering Centre dogs who were quite okay with his presence.
A small lesson in how easy it is to get on with other species.