The season has drawn to an end here in Goa and most of the foreign tourists have gone home. The weather is getting hotter and more humid and it takes its toll on both 2 and 4 legged creatures. All us dogs here at Animal Tracks are queuing up for the best places in the shade and if you’re not fast someone else will have taken your favourite spot. With so many centre dogs around there also tends to be a line for the water bowls so I like to nip round the front court when the plants have been watered and have a drink there... no one else likes that idea so I’m left in peace.
As always the coming of the monsoon means extra work for the staff at the centre. When most of the beach shacks and restaurants shut down along the tourist strip many dogs that have been well fed during the season are left without food and they therefore take to the villages in search for something to eat. Here they get into fights with packs of dogs already occupying the territory and sometimes they inflict terrible wounds on one another. Without proper food females become weak and unable to care for their pups and whenever possible families are brought to the centre to be cared for until the pups are old enough to be put up for adoption.It is a pattern which repeats itself every year and luckily it is anticipated so resources are set aside to cope with the increase of starving, injured and orphan dogs during the coming months. Homes are found every day for abandoned pups which would have stood only a slim chance of making it on their own and vets are working tirelessly at sterilizing the stray dogs so the numbers don’t increase. Every so often some new members are added to our centre dog gang and we always welcome new arrivals. I just hope that one day no dog living on the street will have to worry about where the next meal is coming from.
Lots of love,
Olive x
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