Animals and Shelters

camelgirl

The dogs do get hit by vehicles, & kicked & stoned by people & there are alot of crippled dogs. You may never get really used to seeing it, but it won't feel so raw & upsetting after awhile. You'll see alot more than badly treated dogs--like badly treated children, women & men.

Since cows are worshipped (sacred cows ) & goats are owned by people, they are likely to be treated better (though not necessarily very good).

Noodle has it right! Congrats & I hope other people follow your lead (though you are right that they don't have the resources). Feeding strays is not ever an answer--it only adds to the problem, unless you also spay & neuter them.

It's a problem right here in the USA. We had a neighbor who fed a stray cat, then there were six, then there were 12, then we moved. She wouldn't stop feeding but wouldn't take any further responsibility. Before that we had a neighbor do the same thing until the rest of the neighbors finally called the local animal sheler who came an trapped them. Unfortunately, they were euthanized that time but woman created the cat explosion by feeding them without neutering.

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birds

The situation is really not great. There are lots of good people but not enough. As Camelgirl points out the ONLY solution is sterilisation.

The animal rights movement needs much support, but also a more nuanced understanding of the larger picture. A lot of genuine concern and effort often goes waste because the people involved don't see this. Worse still, a lot of us don't say anything for fear of attracting criticism.

Even so, slightly misdirected activism is better than none at all. The worst are those who complained about stray nuisances but will not make even the slightest to help towards a solution.

Noodle

Hi arianex!

I'm from Germany, btw

Street dogs are mostly friendly. If they follow you they usually hope you will give them food, shelter etc.

I urge you to step in when you see someone kicking a dog or sth similar. Just shout at them, it's ok! Tell them what you think about this kind of behaviour. They might not understand the words, but they will understand what you are on about, and hopefully think twice next time.

I have never gotten used to seeing these animals in need, but like camelgirl said you kind of learn how to deal with it emotionally. Otherwise it'll drain you too much and you're no use anymore to anyone.

If you see a sick dog you can call Animal Farm, they will come with an animal ambulance and pick it up, although you would have to be there with the dog and wait, and it can take some time till they arrive (until they driver is found, and they made their way into town and have found you). Their number is 9822477276.

Animal Farm is located a bit outside of Pune and is very beautiful and well kept. It's the only shelter I would bring an animal to, the others are too poor and overcrowded - chances are high that the dog won't get adequate attention there.

If you see an injured or sick cat or abandoned kittens call Mitali - Adopt-A-Kitty - , she takes care mostly of abandoned kittens, vaccinates, spays/neuters them and finds homes for them. She will also take injured or sick adult cats. Her number is 9423065571 or 9422006396.

Spaying/neutering really is the only solution to the dog problem, but here for example the Blue Cross is so overwhelmed that not enough dogs are being fixed. We had planned to bring two of the females in our street to the Blue Cross for spaying, but they kept postponing and postponing, simply could not take any more dogs. They don't have enough staff. The two vets operate 40 dogs a week, and can't do more. 40 dogs a week is far from enough.

So in the end we had them fixed by our own vet who charged us only half the usual fee.

How long are you planning to stay in Pune?

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arianex33

Hehe you are the best thanks so much!
Yes, I will get stronger about it.. I'm pretty sure...
Most people know it's bad but they either don't have the money or the judgement to do something about it. It's sad.

So let's say I take a dog to the vet to get it spayed/neuter, then what happens with it? You can't just put it back in the street can you??

Noodle, thanks for the phone numbers, I'll save them in my cellphone right now And yes, I will let them know next time I see something like this happen, except this time it was a police man, so I wasn't too sure...

I'll be here for a year.. and maybe more

Have a nice week end.

arianex33

Also, I tried to locate Jeev Raksha, but my only tool is google maps and wikimapia... and I can't fin it at all.

Do any of you have more info than : 4A, Queen's Garden Road, Pune 411001

??

Noodle

Oh, a whole year! Then you will be doing a lot of good here, I'm sure!

If you want to spay/neuter a dog you need to have some kind of space with a small futon, for example, where he can recover for about a week until the stitches are taken out. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, as I'm experiencing right now - the vet was just here to take them out (a week after the op) and said we will have to wait for a couple more days as it is not quite healed yet. And the female we did last month had complications during surgery and was very very weak afterwards, lost a lot of blood, and needed two weeks of special care. But usually you can say one week.

Of course, during that week you will take fully care of the dog, food, meds, and take him for short walks two or three times a day while it recovers. Hence you need a collar and leash as well (get it in MG Road in the Pet Shop, or next to Bata shoe shop).

You could theoretically do such a thing in your own flat, the problem is that afterwards the dog will assume that you have now adopted him and it will break yours as well as his/her heart when you put them back on the street.

I let them recover in my front garden. It's also a little problematic, as they quickly make the garden their territory, but I kind of phase them out - first after recovery letting them out in the day but allowing them to continue to sleep in the garden at night for a while, then stopping that too.

It's not really easy emotionally, but it's the only way I could figure out.

One important thing is that you tell the vet that you want the dog marked. The Blue Cross brands one leg - you will sometimes see dogs with a triangular shaped mark on one hind leg, where no fur grows - this dog is spayed/neutered by the Blue Cross. The SPCA clips one ear. This is also what my vet has done. If they are not marked they might get picked up by the feared "truck" and brought again for spaying/neutering.

Queens Garden is close to Koregaon Park and also close to the railway station. It's the plot behind Residency Club. Rikshaw drivers usually know the location. Around Residency Club you can ask for "Kuttiwali Bai" (woman with the dogs), Lila's nickname, most people will know her.

arianex33

Thanks Noodle,

I'll bear that in mind, but my boyfriend said he remembers seeing a "no dog" sign in the hall of the apartment we're moving in too...


But I think I will contact Leela as I live 5 minutes away from Koreagon Park. yay!

I don't know what she will say, but I hope they need help over there :P

Right now I'm babysitting this little boy, but it's just to keep me busy while I find a place to volunteer at.

When I lived in Spain, my mom and I fed stray cats and we ended up with about 10 of them... wasnt too bad because we were aloud and had quite a big garden hehe. My mom even brought back the youngest kitten to Canada with my puppy because they were best friends... I miss them haha
hahah annnyyyywayyy...

Thanks for helping me!

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skk

Lovely pic of the dog and the cat.

As camelgirl said, you will get used to seeing ill-treatment - casual, deliberate and live-and-let-die types of ill-treatment - I dread to think what the abattoirs are like - they are pretty awful in the UK and USA; hardens the heart so to speak. I've seen the hardening - a stoic sadness yet steely determination - in the eyes of those who set up and/or volunteer for many years at animal welfare organizations in the UK and USA. India is gonna be pretty raw.

-skk

Noodle

Absolut wonderful pic of the dog and cat! I downloaded it so I can look at it whenever I need a giggle

Let us know what Lila said!

Nick-H

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arianex33

haha Thanks, they always play together, I loooove them :P

Today, I was thinking...
Right now it rains a lot, so dogs actually find water to drink, what about when the dry season comes??? What is there to do about it??

Btw, it turns out my appartment is 1.7 Km from jeev raksha, it's perfect so I hope it works out :P

Noodle

Who wouldn't love those two. They are utterly adorable!

The streetdogs are smart creatures, they manage to find a dripping tap somewhere or hang around restaurants or places where people put out a water bowl, like we do.

The problem is when you put the water in anything made of metal and put it on the street it will get stolen by scrap collectors. So we use small and cheap plactic bowls, which often end up as a toy for bored street dogs

But never mind ....

Have you been to Jeev Raksha already?

arianex33

haha Well, that makes me feel better :P Maybe I worry too much but they look miserable.. I also noticed if I pay attention to them, they think I have food for them...Cats think that too haha but they are all so cute

Anyway.. I haven't yet because I have many things to do everyday..we should move in our apartment in 2 days, but I want to get my pre exposure rabies jab, and I also have a job for the first month. So I'm thinking next week end I'll go visit Jeev rashka

Are you in Pune at the moment? If so what do you do??
Just wondering hehe

Noodle

Yes, I live here

arianex33

Do you work in a shelter or??