The Plight of Stray Pups A female was brought in almost two weeks ago to our Deonar Centre. She was seriously ill and had delivered 7 pups the day before. She died within 24 hours. Two little ones followed her within hours and the remaining five were whisked away into foster care. You can see this precious little bundle of pups in one of the pictures. The other picture is of the only one who is still alive. Inspite of our best efforts, these tiny creatures, deprived of their mother's presence and her precious milk, can almost never make it. The mother was a stray, living a difficult life on the roads. If she had been sterilised earlier, she might still be alive. She had to contend with the terrible heat that engulfed Mumbai for the entire Summer and she was pregnant with 7 pups! This is why all of us should actively participate in the ABC Programme. IDA India can't be everywhere. We need public intervention at least for locating the dogs, male or female, who are not operated. Meanwhile, this beautiful little female is still healthy, demands her food and finishes her bottle with great zest and energy. She might make it. She is the Alpha pup and there is always one in every litter, especially evident among stray pups. She opened her eyes yesterday - 10 days after she was born and she is simply lovely. Keep you updated.

New Addition to Deonar Centre

The garden at IDA Deonar is a great place for photo ops. Here's is our latest little inmate, a most charming Spitz. She has a great personality, nevertheless she was carelessly abandoned outside the Deonar gate as she had a bad case of fleas and ticks. This happens because the people in charge of grooming and cleaning these dogs, namely the loving "owners" do such a bad job. All we had to do was medicate her a bit, apply tick lotion, do a bit of picking off and she was as good as new and beautiful as ever. What type of person would desert a delicate angel like this? I shudder to think who we share this world with. Now we are getting her ready for a brand new home. Let's hope a good one materialises. Good homes for these lovely animals are really hard to come by. Maybe this girl will be lucky.

The Littlest Pup

The previous picture was not clear so here is another one. She is so sweet, I couldn't resist. Her mom's wound is healing well and her fur has been cut off from the surrounding area so as not to contaminate the small open wound. Hope the little one is having all her food in her new home! She is really small and will remain so even as a grown dog.

Pups for Adoption at IDA Deonar

Three of the seven pups are now safe in good homes. The mom was getting a little upset with her little ones disappearing one by one, so we put the adoption process on hold for some time. There are many enquiries as to whether the pups are male or female. As if it matters at all. Each one is unique and simply loves the family it is adopted into. Nowadays, with the sterilisation operation so easy to carry out, we always advise people with pets that neutering is best. As soon as the pup is the correct age, he or she can be neutered and then of course it doesn't matter whether the operated dog is male or female. There are many benefits for the dog itself, it will be protected from certain cancers later on in life. Neutering does not effect the personality of the dog at all. A dog lives for only about 15 years and it's whole life can be rich and fulfilling, full of exercise, nice long walks, fun play and good food and lots and lots of love from the concerned family. Let's hope all these little ones get to enjoy their doggy lives. We will try our best to see that they do. The smallest one in the picture, with a red ribbon around her neck, was adopted. She is enjoying a drink from her loving mom, who has done an excellent job in keeping all these pups spotless and white, giving them a good grooming every now and then. Hope she too gets a wonderful home.

IDA India Sponsor Cats

The young visitor in the Resident Cat enclosure spent quite some time bonding with the IDA cats. He had come to choose which ones he would like to sponsor and couldn't quite make up his mind. They are all so irresistable and charming. His first choice was Shifu who is standing up obligingly. You can see our famous pugilist Tiger in the other picture and he was another choice. Sponsorship of the cats helps us make their lives more comfortable and now and then they will get some interesting stuff to play with, relax on or eat. In turn, the Sponsor will get information about the welfare of the cats and also get to come and interract with them whenever he pleases.

Rescued Mom and Pups

This little dog, mistakenly called a Pom, is actually a Spitz. She doesn't belong on the road and was probably someone's discarded pet. Alone and unprotected on the streets, she gave birth to these lovely little pups, seven in number. She was located close to a Building Society, and it was decided by the residents, to throw her and her pups away from the premises. The place they chose was near a large deep drain and just by luck we were able to rescue the family before any of the babies fell in and died. They are all lodged at Deonar Centre now and are safe except from infection that the little ones might pick up from all the strays that are brought in for sterilisation on a daily basis. What is so puzzling is that animals have so many well-wishers all over the place, and this little dog was allowed to get pregnant and deliver a huge litter of pups on the streets. Our ABC programme is going on for the last 16 years. Thought everyone was aware that NGOs are around who are trying to sterilize dogs that are on the road. Besides being mandatory, this spares the female the truama of being pursued for about 2 weeks by a pack of aggressive male dogs, it stops males from fighting practically to the death and it prevents puppies from being born on the dangerous streets of Mumbai. Keep in mind that we need serious help from the public in identifying and locating dogs that need to be sterilised. Now these little ones are born and face an uncertain future at best. We are hoping for the best for this unfortunate little family. They have only experienced the cruelty of humans upto now. Let's hope they experience kindness and care in the future.

Blind Dogs at IDA Deonar Centre

We have quite a large number of blind and handicapped dogs, rescued and brought to our ABC Centre. All of them are kept in a large pleasant enclosure, open on all four sides. Of course, we have to close it in during the monsoon, but otherwise it is quite airy and comfortable for them. They wander from one end of the enclosure to the other, sit, stand or lie on the benches and use their sensitive noses to good effect when friends or food arrives. Who knows why so many blind dogs are found in Mumbai? A few of them are old so in their case it is understandable. Maybe it is the terrible heat, the fierce sun or the polluted atmosphere that acts in combination to allow them to go blind. The three in the pictures are quite young and strong. The brown chap relaxing on the ground is an escape artiste and had to be confined in another enclosure with bars till the roof. He used to clamber over the sides of the blind enclosure quite often, so he had to be put somewhere else. As soon as one goes near, the tails start wagging. They like their friends to visit. We've started a cooling, neem sponge treatment for skin problems and all of them love to be sponged in this hot weather. They stand very still and enjoy the 'treatment'. It's good to have them in our care where they can live out their lives in peace and safety.