The tale of Harriet's tail

Dear friends,

I've seen some strange injuries and illnesses in my years as a centre dog at Animal Tracks but I have to say that this one is a first.

Harriet the dog was brought to the centre by a lady who told the staff that the dog had been abandoned by her owners when they returned to their home country.

Harriet had been left to her own devices and one day this lady discovered that Harriet was running around with a big lump hanging from her tail. It looked like a big bag had been attached to her backside and turned out to be a tumour!

She subsequently brought Harriet to the centre and requested for the tumour to be treated and the dog set free in a different location or put up for adoption as she didn't want to take responsibility for her. It was explained to her that it is impossible to release dogs in random locations because of the danger that it might be attacked by other dogs in the territory. And putting Harriet up for adoption presents other problems because there is never a guarantee that a home can be found.

In the end the lady agreed to let Harriet return to her neighbourhood and she promised she would keep an eye on her and make sure she was fed. So, the vets went to work and successfully surgically removed the tumour. It was a tough job because the tumour it was in a tricky place, but thanks to the skills of our staff the operation went well and Harriet is now under observation until the surgical wound has healed and she can go home.

I hope the lady who brought her will keep her promise and take care of Harriet. She's such a sweet dog and she'll do well once released as long as she has the security of knowing that she’s not completely alone in the world.

Bye for now,

Olive

Betty the cow is nearly more than footsore

Hello all!

There are so many dangers to animals living on the streets in Goa. You must be really clever and street smart to steer clear of all the perils. At Animal Tracks we frequently receive calls about animals that have been unlucky and gotten injured because of unforeseen dangers.

Betty the cow was terribly unlucky recently when she stepped on a metal tin and got it stuck around her foot. The tin cut right into her leg and left a nasty wound that could have maimed her for the rest of her life.

Luckily our staff were informed and the informer was kind enough to tie Betty up so she wouldn't run away when the ambulance arrived. She was bleeding heavily from the wound and it was no easy task to remove the object from her foot.

Poor Betty, she must have been in agony. I was watching the procedure of removing the tin and it must have been very painful. She was sedated during the procedure and afterwards she was placed under treatment. She will be with us until the wound has healed up and it's safe to let her back home.

I wish people would stop, think and dispose of their rubbish carefully. Some people have an attitude that it is ok to dump anything anywhere. Apart from being bad for the environment it is also very dangerous for all the animals living on the streets. They step on things, get hurt and eat things that make them sick. It is so sad because we may not always reach those animals in time. If we hadn't been informed about Betty her wound would have become maggot infested, leaving the infection to spread and slowly killing her. All because of a metal tin that should have been disposed of with a bit more thought.

I hope Betty recovers soon so she can go home but in the meantime I'll make sure I pop round to see her every day to give her a bit of encouragement.

Bye for now!

Olive x

Skipper the dog is let off the hook!

Dear friends,

The monsoon has finally arrived in Goa and although it brings very wet and windy days we are happy to get the chance to cool off! Besides, it's great fun to go out and jump in the puddles.

The dog I am going to tell you about today has not had much fun lately. We named him Skipper and he was brought to the centre with a fishing hook stuck in his mouth. The call came from a man in Anjuna who informed us that Skipper was running around outside a Pizza takeaway place.

He was not able to shed any light on how the hook got stuck there in the first place. Luckily we had an ambulance in the nearby town of Calangute and the driver immediately set off for Anjuna. Fortunately Skipper didn't give the boys too much trouble and allowed himself to be caught and brought to Animal Tracks where vet Aparajita quickly sedated him and removed the hook.

After the removal Skipper was placed under observation and treatment to prevent the wound from getting infected. Since he was brought quickly after the incident the wound had not gone septic so the recovery time was not long.

I'm happy to be able to tell you that he has in fact already been released and is back in Anjuna minus fishing hook. Let's hope he's a bit more careful in the future about what he sinks his teeth into.

Love from me,

Olive!

The sad tale of the cow, the calf and the c-section

Hello,

First a piece of very good news: it started raining yesterday! You may not think that's a big deal but when you've been toasting in temperatures soaring above 100 degrees F it's the biggest relief when the first storms hit us. The air instantly cools down and we can all breathe again.

Last week we were visited by a mother in great distress. It was a cow who had been in labour for two days but was unable to get her calf out. The owners put her on the back of a small truck and drove her to Animal Tracks. It was obvious that she was in great pain. Her eyes were wide open with fear and distress and the vets went to work on her straight away. It turned out that the calf was breach, meaning it was turned the wrong way inside her, hence she couldn't push it out. The neck of the calf was twisted back and without bringing it around there was no way it was going to come out.

Sadly the calf was already dead inside the mother when she arrived for help but still, it had to come out. The vets worked relentlessly trying to bring it into a better position but without luck. At one point it looked like the only option was to cut off its head inside. You can imagine things looked pretty bad for the vets to consider such a hideous option!

After a bit of debating it was decided instead to perform a caesarean section on the mother and bring the calf out that way. First the owners had to agree to leave her behind for recovery and post op treatment, which luckily they did. The cow was anaesthetised and the c-section went smoothly. It broke my heart to realise that the poor mother was going to wake up to nothing but an empty belly and no baby to love and care for at the end of this horrible experience. I hope the other cows in the pen look after her and cheer her up. I'm not allowed in the cattle pen, otherwise I'd do it myself. I'm happy though that mother cow is recovering well and hopefully she'll be able to return home soon.

Love,

Olive

Puppy Prince lands on his paws

My recent stories may lead some of you to think that we have completely stopped rescuing stray dogs at Animal Tracks. Stories of goats, kites, rabbits, pigs, cattle etc. almost takes the focus away from what takes up the vast majority of our resources here: sterilising, vaccinating and treating stray dogs. Do not be fooled. Hundreds of dogs continue to be brought in to the centre and most of them leave us happier and healthier than they were when they came in.

This story is about Prince, a stray that was abandoned as a pup but rescued by IAR supporter Tracey. She has an apartment in North Goa and contacted the centre because a very large number of unsterilised strays were roaming the area and causing problems for the residents. IAR managed to catch and sterilise 19 of these dogs using trap cages. Tracey watched the trap cage and informed the office every time a dog went in. It was a very successful project.

Prince was only a few weeks old when his mother abandoned him outside Tracey's apartment and she took him in and cared for him. She was unable to keep him as she was going back to the UK so work began o find a suitable home for him. With the help of local residents a home was found in South Goa so when he was around eight weeks old Tracey and Prince said their goodbyes and off he went.

I didn't meet Prince until he came to Animal Tracks for sterilisation. With his pink nose and cute face I can imagine he was a lovely little fluff ball when he was small. I went out to greet him on arrival and to reassure him that nothing bad was going to happen to him. He was sterilised and vaccinated and went straight back home after the surgery. I always catch myself thinking what fate these puppies would have met if they hadn't been lucky enough to find a loving family to look after them. Given Prince's circumstances I doubt he'd still be in this world had it not been for Tracey, IAR and his new family.

Our feathered friends join the family

Hello!

Do you remember our two magnificent kites? I told you their story recently. I remember ending the story by making a wish that they would come back and tell us stories from the big world once they had been released. I was somewhat sceptical back then though because I expected that they would simply rise to the sky and disappear when they got the chance.

How wrong I was! The kites were released a week or so ago and guess what? They are still right here with us at Animal Tracks. They simply refuse to stray far as this has been their safe haven since they were so young they barely had feathers. They have remained tame and spend their days lazing around on the various walls surrounding the centre. They must have observed us centre dogs when they were in their cage and thought 'Well, they seem to have it sussed' and decided to live almost like we do.

We share our food with them and even put up with them hovering very close waiting for their turn to eat. The staff are able to go right up to them without them feeling the slightest bit threatened. They consider us family and we are happy to welcome them among us. In the end my wish came true. They decided to stick around. Who'd have ever thought we'd end up not only with centre dogs and cats but with centre kites as well?

Love from me, Olive!

Mickey the mini chipmunk makes himself at home

Hi everyone!

Today I want to tell you about the smallest resident at Animal Tracks. His name is Mickey and he's a small chipmunk rescued by our team when he was found on the ground unable to find his way back to where he was meant to be. He is only young and getting used to being handled by humans has been a big challenge for him. Generally rodents are shy, timid animals and they are easily stressed and even traumatised when they are taken away from their familiar environment.

Mickey was brought in about one month ago and, with no injuries, the main task at hand was to keep him fit and healthy so he could be released when he was a bit older and able to look after himself. He currently lives in an enclosure in the vets' office and he's doing great. He's become such a lively and friendly character and has learned to trust the staff at the centre. He actually loves the attention and is not even the slightest bit fazed when we centre dogs pop our heads in to say hello.

Mickey's favourite person in the whole world is Abby who tends to his every need. It is unusual for animals like Mickey to adapt to an environment so different to their own but with Abby's love and reassurance he has got used to his caged existence. I imagine it's a bit like staying in a fancy hotel. Food is served and pampering sessions are given and no work is required to get this.

Hopefully it won't take too long before Mickey can be released. The vets will have to assess if he's capable of surviving in the wild and if not he needn't fear for anything. We'll look after him for as long as it takes and make sure that he stays happy and healthy.

Love from me,
Olive x