We welcome Peggy back into the family

It has been FAR too long since you've had any news from me but believe me, it's not because nothing has been happening at Animal Tracks. In fact there has been so much going on that I'm having trouble picking out the stories these days!

Last week an old member of the centre dog gang returned to us. Her name is Peggy and she first came to the centre about a year ago when she had suffered severe injuries following a road accident. She had a badly fractured front leg and a bad wound on her side. She belonged to a local family but the vets agreed to admit her because her injuries were so severe. They had no choice but to amputate the leg and the recovery time was long.

It was prolonged by the fact that Peggy was too active just to sit still in the kennel and wait for her wounds to heal and her jumping around kept breaking the stitches open.

She won the hearts of all the staff and volunteers so imagine the heartbreak everyone felt when the owners announced they didn’t want her back because of her leg amputation! There was no doubt that Peggy had to make Animal Tracks her new home because let's face it... what would the alternative have been...?

She soon settled in as part of the gang and we all took care of her because we knew she'd been through a lot. I must admit I was a little jealous at first. Suddenly I was not the centre of everyone’s attention any more. Peggy was the first real rival to the spot of IAR mascot!

Peggy soon made Sandy her best friend. Do you remember Sandy? She was the one that got adopted with Sfinx a while ago by a lady in Assagao. The pair were inseparable.
One day a lady from Saligao came and fell in love with Peggy. She had a lovely house and wanted to adopt Peggy. Naturally everyone was very sad to see her go. On the other hand it's always nice to see a friend go off to a loving home. I for one was a little relieved that I could go back to being favourite centre dog with the staff and volunteers but once Peggy left I must admit I kind of missed her.

A couple of weeks ago news came that Peggy could no longer stay with the lady who had adopted her. She had run into some unforeseen changes of circumstances and contacted the centre to ask if she could come back. And of course she could! Even I was excited about the news.

Peggy came back and we were all pleased to see that she was as happy and active as she had always been. She has settled right back in and all the centre dogs - even the ones that have joined the gang since Peggy left - are pleased to have her back.

Love from Olive x

Trussed-up tree snake gets set free

Dear all,

Well, the monsoon is coming to an end in Goa and soon we'll have nothing but lovely sunshine for months. The tourists are going to start returning and hopefully this means that lots of people will come and help us at Animal Tracks (and play with me!)

A little while ago our team was sent out to rescue a snake. For a change it was not one that had been illegally captured and tortured by a snake charmer. This was a wild one that had got itself trapped in a fishing net. The snake was a common tree snake and it had somehow found its way into the net and was unable to find its way back out. In its efforts to get out it had simply become muddled up in it even more and in the end it was completely entangled.

We have a trained snake handler on the IAR team. His name is Sarvesh and he has taken courses in how to handle all types of snakes. The more poisonous the snake the more dangerous a rescue operation becomes but luckily Sarvesh knows what to do. This particular snake is non-venomous but it can still bite and cause injury if it feels threatened.

When the team reached the snake they assessed it and deemed that it was unharmed albeit a bit stressed. The call to the centre had been made by a man who rescued the snake from scared villagers who simply wanted to kill it because they didn't know what to do with it. The man assured them that he would make a call to IAR and that the snake would be released in the wild.

Despite the snake seeming in good health the rescue team decided to take it back to the centre for a thorough examination by our vets. The vets could not find any injuries but kept the snake overnight for observation before releasing it into the forest the next day.

I saw the snake when it was brought to the centre. It was very thin and long and I must say that I get a bit frightened regardless of whether the snake is venomous or not! They all seem a bit slithery and jittery and you never know what goes through their minds! I'm glad though that nothing bad happened to this one and I'm sure it's enjoying life as a free and happy tree snake again.

Love from me!

Happy endings for two homeless boys

Hello hello,

As most of you already know International Animal Rescue runs an adoption programme alongside all its rescue work. Many pups and adult dogs and cats find a new home with local residents and some even find homes far away from Goa. Today I want to tell you about two furry friends who have had a helping hand from destiny.

Hari was first admitted at Animal Tracks a long time ago in October 2008. He could not be dropped back where he was collected as it was suspected that he did not originate from that area. He was therefore sterilised and put up for adoption. His photo was put in the local newspaper and before long a local family turned up to adopt him. They wanted a male guard dog with a good bark and Hari fitted these criteria well, as well as being a friendly and playful dog.

Sadly in June 2009 the family brought Hari back because allegedly he didn’t bark. Well, I remember going for walks with him and volunteers and believe me, the dog could bark! He would have given Boris a run for his money had he become a centre dog.

Anyway, he was put up for adoption again but this time no one came to take him. He was spoiled rotten by our volunteers and seemed happy to be the centre of attention so frequently. He even got on well with us centre dogs because by then we knew him well. Unfortunately it is not possible to keep dogs like Hari in the kennels forever and the time was drawing near where a decision had to be made.

Once again the volunteers jumped to Hari's rescue at the eleventh hour and he is now the proud guard dog of a private residence in Vagator. The volunteers who adopted him are famous for finding last minute solutions for the dogs who seem to have run out of options and we all breathed a sigh of relief that we didn't have to witness the demise of yet another abandoned friend.

The other lucky fella is a little dog called Mowgli. He's not a Goan dog but I met him briefly when he came to Animal Tracks for treatment. He was found in Pondicherry at 4 weeks old by a German couple, Daniel and Barbara, and they fell in love on the spot with this little pup. He was in a bad way and had a broken jaw which was treated here in Assagao because Daniel and Barbara had brought Mowgli to Goa hoping to take him to Europe.

EU regulations make it a cumbersome task to take a stray dog out of India and into Europe but Daniel and Barbara embarked on this very mission and nearly lost their sanity and all their money trying to sort things out.

In February 2009 Mowgli was left with a breeder in South Goa whilst waiting for permission to travel. Lots of tests had to be performed and cross-checked and arrangements had to be made with the airline.

Finally in August 2009 Barbara went to pick up Mowgli and take him back to Germany. Sadly he had not been looked after at all well by the breeder who had neglected all of Mowgli's needs in spite of having received money from Daniel and Barbara towards his care. He was starved, full of fungus and ticks and fleas.

Luckily Mowgli has now settled into his new life in Germany and all he has to battle with is the occasional sniffle caused by the cold European autumn. Stories like these are heart-warming and inspiring: they give us hope for the many homeless dogs who could end up suffering and starving to death on the streets.

Woof!

Olive x

We say a sad goodbye to Boxer

Dear Friends,

I write to you all today with a heavy heart. In amongst all the happy endings we experience at Animal Tracks there are always stories that don't go so well...

Do you remember Boxer, the ill and depressed dog from Saipem village that was covered in mange and had a bad ear infection? Well, when Boxer came to the centre his condition was indeed very bad but not bad enough to justify him being euthanised as requested by his owners. Instead he was admitted, treated for his skin condition and operated in the ear to get rid of the infection.

We always knew it was going to take time for Boxer to recover and nothing can drive a dog loopy like weeks and weeks of confinement in a cage in the kennels. That's why we have so many great volunteers coming to the centre every day. They ensure that all the dogs get walked and cuddled at least once a day and the patients love all the attention they get... well, most of them do!

Anyway, back to the story. Boxer was given first-class treatment by the staff and volunteers because everyone felt he deserved a second chance now that he had been abandoned by his owners. The plan was to make Boxer one of us centre dogs when he was well enough. We all regularly got to meet him up close so we could all get used to one another.

Sadly Boxer never made it that far. His condition was not improving satisfactorily and the poor fella was still suffering after several weeks of treatment and care. His owners never made sure he was properly vaccinated and this fact, combined with his age and weakened immune system, made him an easy prey for all the infections that are passed around between the stray dogs in the kennels.

A tough decision lay before our vets: it was clear that Boxer would never recover at Animal Tracks. He had to get away from all the other sick dogs and the stressful environment. Should they send him back to his owners and hope they would continue the treatment and make Boxer well, despite knowing that the owners wanted him dead just a few weeks before? No, that would be sending Boxer back to an ill fate.

Only one thing could be done for Boxer to ensure that he would get rid of the pain and sadness…he was put to sleep on a late summer afternoon and although this brings sadness to us all we know that he is now free from pain and that he’ll never feel unwanted again.

Olive x

Poor injured cow makes slow and steady recovery

Hello everyone,

Guess what...? I have another cattle story for you all. We nearly always have a full cattle pen at Animal Tracks because so many of these animals are hurt in road accidents or they get infections in their hooves and horns.

This cow's injuries were a little out of the ordinary though. She was caught in a bit of clutch cable wire which had become wound around the top of the hoof and cut deep into the skin. It is unknown whether the cow had got caught in the wire by accident or whether someone had tied it around her leg on purpose as a sick and cruel joke. The injured cow was all the way out in the village of Sanquelim, which is almost a one hour drive from Assagao but luckily the person who informed the International Animal Rescue team was kind enough to go back and tie the cow to a tree until our ambulance arrived. If she had gotten away she would almost certainly have died from her injuries as an infection would have set in and caused her to suffer in unimaginable agony.

The injury around the hoof was so severe that the cow has been under treatment since July. The wound is healing but it's a slow process and the cow must receive antibiotics for a long time to prevent any infection which would worsen the condition and could potentially be fatal. No owner has come forward to claim the cow and it is yet to be decided if she is to be put up for adoption or whether she can be returned to her location.

I will write again soon!

Happy ending for little burnt bull

Hello hello!

For some animals having an owner means you are cared for and safe from harm, or at least safer than if you were left to fend for yourself. Sadly some animals suffer even in the hands of their owners either directly - because the owner maltreats them - or indirectly - because the owner doesn't take action when the animal is in need of medical attention.

This little bull, I never learned his name, was brought to the attention of International Animal Rescue because a passerby had spotted it wandering around with severe skin injuries. When the vet and drivers located the bull and examined it, it became apparent that the skin injury was in fact burns caused by either acid or boiling water having been thrown at it. This is not an uncommon way for local people to ward cattle off their property. I wonder if they realise the damage and pain they are causing. The animal may die from its injuries if left untreated and needless to say the agony is unbearable.

This particular bull was only around 6 months old and it was brought to the centre for treatment. As no owner could be identified at the time when it was picked up it was treated as a stray and admitted to Animal Tracks. He was such a gentle soul and took all the painful treatment really well. Even Nicky, who normally likes to flex his muscles in front of any new cattle at the centre, left him alone. I think he realised that this one was particularly sensitive.

Then suddenly after spending one month at the centre a person turned up at the centre claiming the bull to be his. He also claimed that the bull was receiving treatment at the time when it was collected by our staff but this quite clearly was not the case. He just didn't want to be seen as uncaring in the eyes of the centre staff, I think. He was informed he could take the bull home when the treatment had been completed but that he was expected to cover at least some of the charges for it. This applies to all owned animals when it is deemed that the owner has the means to pay.

The owner promised to come back and pay and collect the bull when it had recovered but when that time came he did not turn up nor could he be contacted. It was obvious he didn't want to foot the bill and equally obvious that he had no care for his animal what so ever. The bull was instead adopted by one of the centre staff and he now lives happily with the other bulls owned by his family. No doubt this outcome was the best this little fella could have hoped for.

Warm woofs!

Ding dong bell, doggy in the well!

Hello everybody,

I have been feeling a little lazy lately hence my lack of stories for you all to read. Please forgive me... it's a dog's life in Goa sometimes!

This little story dates back to 27 July when the centre received a message about a dog that had fallen in a well in the town of Mapusa. The silly little beggar was chasing a chicken and didn't pay attention to where he was putting his paws. Alas, he fell and dropped around 22 metres into the water. Luckily a local resident heard him yelping and called out the rescue team. By the time the call was made and everyone got the well rescue equipment ready and reached the location three hours had passed and the poor chap was exhausted from struggling to stay afloat. The delay was also caused because the team were out saving an injured cow at the time when the message about the dog was received. Wouldn’t it be a blessing if we could be in two places at the same time!?

Once at the site a team of four people got everything in place and began wiring the cage down the well. It was a very steep and slippery climb for the boys but thankfully they made it in time to get the dog out safe and sound. It was half swimming and half trying to hang on to a protruding rock on the well wall. Apart from being exhausted the dog escaped the ordeal with just minor injuries such as a few scratches and aching muscles. It was taken to the centre for observation and recovered well.

In cases like these it's not just the physical injuries that have to be taken into account. There is always an element of psychological distress and the dogs need to be given time to recover mentally and regain faith in the environment around them. It is not uncommon for dogs to fall into wells and the team at Animal Tracks always do their best to rescue them before it's too late. In the past the centre has also received calls about puppies in wells and it is not unlikely that these have been thrown in by people who didn't want them. It’s a dangerous and sometimes sad world out there! I hope this fella has learned from his mistake and thinks twice before chasing the neighbour's chicken again!

Love from me!