Muffin and Alfie the Foster Pup

Remember Alfie the foster pup yo saw in an earlier post? He's growing well and has made great friends with the resident dog in his foster home. She is a small little terrier type who was rescued by IDA India last year at the height of the monsoon when she was abandoned on the streets. She's safe and sound now and is a very happy dog: a real pleasure to have around the house. Alfie is her great pal and they both chase each other around the house, play with their toys together and generally have a ball. Alfie's horrible injury has healed well and soon he will go to his new home. He's a great litle pup.

IDA India Pre-Divali Jumble Sale

The Sale was held at our lovely venue in Bandra and was a great success. This was solely due to our wonderful volunteers you can see in the pictures below. Our merchandise again proved to be very popular and we had a lot of other items on sale as well. One kind person had donated a brand new Mixer still sealed in the pack!! The venue is Goodicia Vaidya's Office and she has a number of lovely resident cats and dogs whose space we had occupied for two days. They didn't mind and we loved having them around snoozing on the floor and on the merchandise! By the way, our new calender is about to be ready for sale just before Divali. It is truly fabulous, at least we think so! Will give a glimpse of the cover in another post.

Mothers at the Deonar Centre

It's always sad when a mother is brought in with her pups. They are banished from some Society premises or a public place because the mother is declared aggressive. People forget that she is merely protecting her little ones and she needs all the help and understanding she can get from the public. This same public has not a single member who remembered to get this dog operated in the first place so that she would not have had puppies at all. We feel sad when they come in because we know what is slowly going to happen. One by one, the little ones will pass away. The mother will have to stay put for two months as she can only be operated after the pups are weaned and then she is supposed to go back to her old location and adjust to life on the street, among hostile people and dogs who have not seen her around for 2 months. It's a tough situation all around and it is totally unnecessary. The brown dog in the picture had three spectacular pups who we desperately tried to get fostered or adopted, the only way to "save" them. It was too late for 2 of them but little Fudge made it. May he live a long and happy life. The black dog has arrived along with 6 pups in tow. That's why she looks so thin inspite of getting double meals. The little gold pom had 7 pups and was brought in the month of June. She has lost all except the alpha male, who has been adopted. She herself is so delicate and charming that we are trying our best to get her a good home. She will not last long if she is put on the street again. This is the sad plight of canine mothers in Mumbai. We should all do our best to see that these type of dogs are sterilised before any more puppies arrive into the dangerous environment of this city.

Two New Fosters

The puppy pen is suddenly over-flowing with patients and the irony of it all is that there is no Asst to attend to them. The last girl we had was very careless with the pups and had to be dismissed. At present they depend on the good graces of the wardboys, who clean, feed and medicate but don't have time to linger around and bond with them. It is great when one of us can visit. They are overjoyed! When these two little ones came in, there was no question of leaving them at the Centre. The little orange and white had a horrible wound on his entire back and was only 11 days old. The little black male had an even worse injury and he had suffered it some time ago, much before he was rescued. His entire small back leg was broken at the joint and in a terrible condition. Anyway, they were whisked out to a foster home. Have to be kept in separate rooms as Inkspot's injury is open and can get infected. Alfie, the orange and white looked like an Alphonso mango when he came in and now by a coincidence, he looks like a small pumpkin!! He is absolutely greedy and adorable and only lives to eat. His wound has healed very well and as both pups are now 1 month old, he will be put up for adoption in about a month's time. Hope Inkspot recovers well but he will always be handicapped, poor little mite. This is what happens when these delcate creatures are born on the road; a most hostile and dangerous environment for them and their moms.

Lions Club of Juhu Waves Visit to Deonar

On Saturday 6th October, the President, Vice President and Treasurer of Lions Club of Juhu, visited our Centre along with Poonam Jaikar, our hard-working IDA India supporter and also member of the Lions Club. They enjoyed the visit, even though they came from very far away - Juhu to Deonar is a very long drive! They particularly liked inspecting our kitchen where meals are prepared for over 500 animals, the blind and handicapped ward, the Puppy Pen and the Cat Ward. You can see Poonam with one of our puppy patients, sitting along with the others outside our small garden. Sunaina, our volunteer turned up to help out and she did some wonderful work. You can see her standing in the "garden" photo. What would we do without our volunteers? God bless them all, especially the ones who turn up!

Mother and Pups at Deonar

This young mother and her three charming pups had to be brought to the Centre as she was very protective and therefore aggressive towards anyone approaching the pups. Mumbai is one crowded city and this is the price these type of moms have to pay for trying to look after their little ones. She will be incarcerated for about two months. she cannot be sterilised before that - that is the age when the pups are weaned. Two or three months is a long time and if the pups are also forced to stay in the Centre, that is, if they cannot be adopted or at least fostered, they are in danger or getting sick or worse. The unfortunate mother will be taken back to her old location after months and this for her will be very difficult and traumatic as she has to adjust and get on with the dogs from that locality. That's why we keep urging people and the public to contact us if any dogs remain unoperated. Sterilisation is mandatory for all strays and with good reason. Please help us prevent this happening again and again. Mother and pups are brought in, the happy little infants play and enjoy their little lives until the inevitable happens (the ABC Centre, in fact any large Shelter is the worst place for the very young). After months the mother has to go out alone into a hostile world. We really need help from the public to prevent all this needless suffering.

New Patients in the Puppy Pen

The youngest is about 11 days old with a horrible wound on his back and the oldest is about 5 months. All of them are in need of care, medication, rest and good nutrition. They have been brought to the right place. At Deonar, our Vets and Assistants tend to injuries, monitor progress and are happy when any patient is ready for release. This is where the problem occurs. If the pup has recovered, he/she should be out of the Centre and back to the his locality without delay, as there is much learning to do for a young fit pup. Another danger is that the pup might pick up some other infection - this is quite likely as there are hundreds of dogs housed together in one area. People tend to take very long to collect the pup and take it back to its area. This is where our IDA supporters have stepped up and intervened. Now a very obliging couple, Priya and Raju, pick up the pups that are RFR and actually deliver them to the person who brought them in, so that they can be supervised and released. This has really helped as before the pups used to be left for weeks on end, unnecessarily, at great risk to their health and at great expense to us. This exercise has turned out to be a great success. Many pups, healed and cured at our Centre are now back in their own localities, doing quite well. Their next visit will be for the sterilisation operation when they are at the correct age to go through it.