Animal Aid Saturday Oct 9

When we went to the vegetable market today (my 3rd time there) the guys got a little bolder. They followed us out to the truck and just...stared.
Saka giving special love and food to a dog in kennel A.
One of the calls today was for a "pig that needed to be rescued from a well". Although I wouldn't call this a well, it WAS a large, deep, water holding area. And it was full of trash and tree branches. The pig had fallen in somehow (or been thrown? As we rescued him, the local kids pelted him with rocks. I told them to stop) and Ram ji and Heera lal managed to loop a rope around it 3 times. The first 2, he wriggled free. The 3rd time was a charm, and up and over he went, with absolutely no appreciation for it whatsoever. He took off squealing his displeasure loudly. Pigs. Not exactly pets.

One of the stops was to the chicken factory. We needed to get eggs.
I love how nothing escapes the attention of the dogs roaming around in kennel A. Especially if food is involved.
Trudy doing paperwork. She has been reluctant to let me photograph her. This is pretty good, I think she's getting used to me!
Morning treatments.


They have 37 staff at Animal Aid. 37!!! Amazing.

Animal Aid Friday Oct 8

One of the pickup stops today...the dog has a hurt paw.
Suraj with a puppy. We were trying to capture the mother, but she wouldn't let anyone near her. She has mange, and needs to be treated. We took the puppy with us...he will need treatment, too.
Suraj, carrying a huge bag of old vegetables.
Another dog in need of help. Suraj is holding it, and is being watched by a curious neighbor.
I saw this cow in the dumpster yesterday...and today we drove by and she is still in there. Now, my question is...is she getting in and out, or is she basically stuck there? How nimble are cows, anyway? They don't strike me as the kind of creature that can jump into a dumpster.
One of the calls today was for a dog with a wound. It was hanging around this recycling place...and the guys were climbing all over these huge bags of plastic and glass. Couldn't catch the dog. Suraj (on the right) is barefoot. The ground is covered with broken glass and nasty things. He says he has to go for 9 days with no shoes, something to do with his Hindu religion.
The dump...we went there again with a few things today. It's messy yet beautiful all at the same time.
Breakfast at Animal Aid...kennel A. The dogs tend to jump right in, before we've had a chance to distribute all of the bowls to the kennels. They can get pretty defensive with food out in the open. They were snarling at each other here.
An interesting mix of color, movement, and shadows.
Mixing the giant vat of food. They make this up twice a day. It's a lot of food, and requires a small army to make and distribute it.

Animal Aid/Udaipur: October 7th

Udaipur looks good after the monsoon! There's water in the lake again...

Pramod. What a great smile he has.
Fateh Lal. Another great smiler!
Chai time.
Fergus scratching while everyone has chai.
Mixing up special food for the sicker dogs...milk, eggs, and lots of chapatis.
I cannot remember her name right now...but she loves the animals and gives them massages.
Minnie is getting a bath. Minnie only has 2 legs, but she gets around quite nicely and can pick up her entire hind end when she wants to get somewhere. (Not for long distances, but still...)
A dog that came in today was very scared, and the guys had to get it muzzled before it could be evaluated and treated.
When Suraj pulled out the sugar block, the cows went bonkers! (They give some sugar with the cows pills...it's a good incentive to eat the pills.)

Ram Ji and Pramod checking paperwork after the morning's pickups...3 dogs, 1 donkey, and a cow.
Unloading the cow was interesting. :)
This was right after we picked up the donkey. All of the other animals in the truck needed to be rearranged to accommodate the donkey.
The cow probably has a broken leg. It was hit by a car on the highway.

While running all around Udaipur picking up dogs and supplies, Ram Ji makes lots of phone calls to confirm the location for the next pickup.
We made a trip into the dump today. It reminded me of La Chureca in Managua. Except less people live there, thankfully.
Breakfast bowl abstract.

Animal Aid has been transformed!

Deepak, Pramod, Laxman, and I looking at photos from March.

Today I was at Animal Aid for the first time in 6 months...and so much has changed! They have made some major improvements: planted trees, poured concrete flooring in "A" Kennel, painted walls, added a special cow treatment area, changed some things about how their place is organized (scheduling) and overall the place had a very peaceful feeling about it. There seem to be less dogs there, only one puppy, and the dogs seem to be getting along pretty well.
Because of the monsoon finally having arrived (like normal this year, the last 4 or 5 years have been way below what was expected), the place is a veritable jungle compared to March. Besides the trees they planted (which are flourishing), they also have "grass"...sort of. Weeds? At any rate, it's green, and not nearly as dusty. Still hot, though!
Minnie getting a scratch from Neil, a volunteer from England.
The cows and donkeys were very excited about a delivery of old vegetables. They had to wait...things were getting chopped up into smaller pieces before they could be handed out.
Fatah Lal with a favorite dog.
A volunteer from Canada...cannot remember her name at the moment. She's sitting on the new concrete floor in A Kennel...I love it! It's amazing the difference that will make in general cleanliness for the area.
This baby donkey is named "Princess". There are lots of babies there right now...calves and donkeys. They are all so beautiful.
Fatah Lal in kennel A. All of the kennel walls were painted and designs added. It looks so great!
Trudy nursing the calves with a bottle. There were 4 of them gently fighting for it, she had to separate them.

Suraj!!!
Rachel, a volunteer from England, with the only puppy at Animal Aid.
One of the resident dogs playing in the water.
It is HOT. All the dogs do is lay around. Not a bad idea.
The guys offered to share lunch with me today, but I had already eaten. So I photographed it instead. :)