Gali Dogs, Gavel Laws, Paws, Laws and Disorder

This is an article which is close to my heart, since I love animals, not as an activist but as compassionate humane being with just lots of love and compassion for animals. This article is written as a reaction to the laws that were introduced by the Government of India on stray animals.

Access the complete article here.https://meghalayamonitor.com/short-story-gali-dogs-gavel-laws-paws-laws-disorder/

Stray Animals and Birds-Every Paw and Wing Needs Kindness (My Booklet)

My love for animals and birds is very strong. I have put together my experiences and some anecdotes-happy, sad and funny in this booklet-"Voices of the Voiceless-Stray Animals and Birds: Every Paw and Wing Deserves Kindness". You can read it here.

You can access the booklet here https://www.flipbookpdf.net/web/site/2a9ef2cdb408261d4297ece75436c64f675fbaba202509.pdf.html

An Ode to Pixie

Pixie came into our life way back in 1996 as a birthday gift to my son Rohit. I used to work in an animal welfare organisation in Vadodara, when we got s call from a client saying that they wanted to give away puppies. So off I went with my colleague (who worked as an Inspector) to check on the puppies and the owners. When we entered the house 3 powerful and active Pomeranians ran to us. Apparently one was Pixie’s father, one Pixie’s mother and the other her aunt. We were taken into a room where 3 puppies were kept in a carton with a small fan to keep them cool. Vadodara is quite warm throughout the year. I just sat down on the floor when I saw the 3 adorable puppies.  I beckoned to them and one (which I picked up) jumped out of the carton and ran towards me. She was a female (while the other 2 were males), I swooped her and decided to take her home.

When I brought her home my parents were with me, my mother was an ardent animal (doggy lover-we always had a dog at home- Sheela, Danny, Priya, Toffee) while my father was a silent animal lover. When my son came home from school, he jumped with joy when he saw this small fluff of wool wagging her tail ran towards him. My husband Ravi was not too gung-ho and he did have his reasons. He stated 1) I work in an animal welfare organsisation the whole day-will I do justice in taking care of this little pixie? 2) If we need to travel who will take care of Pixie? I did agree with him, but did not want to give Pixie back and stated that we will handle these situations when required.  That is when friends like Neeta, my sister Uma and her family, Veena, Parul (though she is not very fond of animals), my neighbor Shilpa came to our rescue.

My mother was Pixie’s 1^st foster mother, she bathed, gave her Vydalin drops, brushed her and ensured that she was fed well. When my mother died in August 1996 I had to rush to Bengaluru. I left Pixie with Veena and family, I remember her ears were still floppy (not standing up) when I returned to Vadaodara, I found this excited pup with one ear managing to stand erect.

There are several instances which we will never forget thanks to Pixie. Her patience, love, kindness and the most obedient person.

She even turned Ravi around to love and adore her, so much so, when he went on his official tours, he would call to enquire if Pixie is fine, did she eat, dis she go for her walk etc. etc? Pixie also ensured that   she made people Pixie lover, if not dog lovers.

Every evening her routine was to wait for us to come back from work, Rohit from his school while she used to be the companion for my father who lived with us. She was a possessive and self-appointed care taker of my young niece Arundathi (who was then 3 years old).

One incident I will never forget is when we moved from Vadodara to Bengaluru, she flew with us. The airlines (Jet Airways I think) did not allow her to be checked in with us. So I had got a special cane basket made for her, slightly sedated her (so that she is not scared of being alone) and checked her in. We had to change flights in Mumbai so I sought special permission to go and check on her. When I opened the basket to feed her some water, she looked away and as probably angry with me. I tried to take her for a walk, trying to find a small piece of grass on the tarmac so that she could relieve herself. She refused to be walked. It was time for us to get on the flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru (perhaps a painful 1 hr. 20 minutes’ flight for both Pixie and I). Once we landed in Benagluru I rushed to bring her, placed her on the luggage trolley. She proudly sat there with full of glee (and perhaps forgave me instantly-since that was her nature).

She dies after living with us for over 14 years. Personally she taught me patience, thankfulness, kindness to name a few. I miss her a lot but have my brownies, whiteys and several other strays I meet every day.

Thank you Pixie for coming into our life. I will always miss you.

Diabetic Dog

One day a saint from a temple nearby brought a lovely dog (which was a mixed breed of a stray and golden retriever). A handsome guy, but unfortunately was diabetic. Apparently he was fed every morning with a big Ladoo (which was obviously made with sugar and lots of ghee). This 'Prasad' was offered to this dog every morning. One day he fell ill and no medicine would help him recuperate. He was admitted in our shelter and our vet patiently tried every medication to treat the dog, but in vain. On diagnosing, we discovered that it was highly diabetic and that it was incurable. Every day the priest from the temple would visit the dog and spent some time talking to it and petting it. However, one day the dog died in its sleep. This was a sad day for all of us and the priest was uncontrollable.

SBM

SBM (Single Black Male) was the name given to this baby buffalo. A warm and gentle creature who was picked up from the streets as a hit-and-run case. We had to treat him for some major injuries and also castrate him. Every day at 1.00 p.m. he would walk to the window which was behind my desk in the office. He would push his wet nose and sniff and snort to announce his arrival. I used to feed him 2 chappatis (which of course was not sufficient for his diet J)), but perhaps served as a snack. 

The ritual continued every day, and soon I did not have to check my watch for my lunch time. At the stroke of 1.00 p.m., I would have this wet nose snorting and sniffing through the window and I would feed the 2 customary chappatis. The sweet and gentle looking SBM would just stroll around the campus, checking on the other inmates and minding his own business the rest of the day.

Minkey

Not Original Minley and Ma

This was one of my cherished rescues. I remember it raining heavily and we received a call for the Railway Administrative Quarters, stating that there was an abandoned baby monkey which had fallen from a tree. Along with my driver of the ambulance, l went to the rescue the monkey with great apprehension. The rains had blocked and flooded the roads and it was difficult to reach the quarters. However, once we reached, we swung into action. The family had carefully wrapped the little one, since the baby monkey was completely drenched.

At the shelter, we prepared a large cage and put in a branch with leaves, to give the monkey a ‘’homely’’ atmosphere. We decided to call it minkey (based on Peter Sellers movie-Pink Panther).  We tied a red ribbon on its neck to give it a nice look.

Every morning, I would feed it bananas, actually I used to peal a banana in front of it and it followed the action and learned to eat the same. We fed it on some other fruits and it started linking wafers (which of course was given very rarely).

We used to remove its cage and place it in the sun while cleaning the shelter. One day we saw a group of monkeys coming and sitting on a well which was lose to the shelter. They used to chatter and minkey used to respond to the same. These visits started becoming regular and minkey started looking forward to the same. After a lot of deliberations, one day, we decided to release minkey from the cage and hand it over to the group of visitors, specifically to one female (who I assumed was its mother).

With a heavy heart and apprehensions, my team and I gently took minkey to the well and waited for the reactions from the group. It was such a wonderful sight when the female just engulfed minkey in her arms, and minkey likewise hugged the mother.

Immediately the whole gang left the shelter with minkey (with her red ribbon). On the one hand, it was very a very sad day for us, but on the other, minkey found a family and which would care for it.

Lalyo

One of the gentlest and kindest dogs I have ever seen, despite his fierce look. Lalyo was rescued from Shiv Mahal, when one of our well-wishers called and said that there is this huge dog, could we come and take it to the shelter. Initially we were all apprehensive when we saw Lalyo, and I suspect he was equally reluctant and apprehensive to see us. We used a muzzle to close his mouth and took him in our van to the shelter. The first week was tough for both, Lalyo and us. Every day I would go to the place where he was tied and talk to him. He would look at me with his soulul and gentle eyes. This routine, helped me to get closer to Lalyo and win his confidence and Lalyo also started looking forward to these sessions. This 2-way interaction helped both of us to accept each other and soon Lalyo decided to accept his new home and settled very well. Children who visited the shelter would feel happy petting the wonderful , gentle and gigantic Lalyo.

Ruby the Bitch

Ruby was the one of the 1^st rescues that I attended when I started working with an SPCA. She was abandoned at the gates of one of our Executive Member in Alkapuri along with 6 puppies. We did not have a driver for our ambulance, so I took one of our helpers (Khodabhai) and went in an auto rickshaw. Initially Ruby was very scared and protective of her pups, which was quite understandable. For me it was my 1^st rescue, expect for loving animals, there was no other experience whatsoever, and I guess it was the same for Khodabhai. However, all the 3 of us braved it, trusted one another and ensured that the rescue was completed without any mishaps.

Ruby was brought to the shelter, and fed, bathed, vaccinated and over a period of time she became a friendly dog walking like a queen. Ruby was not in any way worried about her crooked ears or her (so-called) not so pretty face. She use to strut along the campus, stare in to every other four-legged creatures, threw her authority around.

Every day when I went on my rounds she would walk along and inspect (go alone knows what) and have that satisfying look which probably said, Ok everything seems to be under control”. However, one thing that bothered was her scabies, which did not seem to reduce or vanish with all the medications that she was administered to.

Solution came in the form of a student from a homeopathic college student, who said that he would give us some medication, which may help Ruby. After consulting my vet, we saw that with homeopathy we were not going to lose anything. The medicine worked wonders and Ruby got a nice brown shine and smooth hair which helped in reducing scabies.

Animal Welfare

Animals, animals the best thing that was created. Dogs especially are so expressive. Every morning when I go for my walk, I am welcomed by Blackie, Spotty and Brownie. I have a feeling that they are mama's puppies (whom we nurtured when they were pups-check my earlier post).

Mama of course has moved on with her new set of friends. I see her leading a small team very often. I do get her company once in a while, when she demands for biscuits and waits patiently till I feed her.