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!