Feathered friend pronounced fit and healthy

Hi there!

It had been a while since we’d had the pleasure of a visit from a feathered kind of friend. We’ve had a new aviary built on top of our surgery to accommodate all the birds that are in our care and that certainly is a step up from having very limited means to cater for them. Sadly this means I don’t get to mooch around and look at them as much as I used to. I’m not agile like some of the centre dogs so I can’t get up on the roof like they can.

This owl was brought to the centre from a resort in Calangute a few days ago. It had been sitting on one of the balconies and the occupier of the room had started to wonder why it wasn’t leaving. Maybe it had been injured? So she called us and the rescue team had no problems catching the fella and taking it to the centre for a check up.

When the vets had finished a good all round examination of the owl the diagnosis was... absolutely fit and healthy! They even tested the owl’s flying capability and nothing pointed towards physical or mental distress. After a good lunch and dinner the owl was therefore released into the woods in the evening.

Who knows why it had been sitting on the balcony for so many hours? Perhaps it liked it there... perhaps it had lost its way…or maybe it was just looking for a different kind of company, of the human kind, for a change. The main thing is that he is back where he belongs and hopefully happy to be able to settle somewhere else.

Love from Olive

Lucky pups find a loving home together

Dear all,

First I want to wish you all a very happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the festive season. I hear from our volunteers that you have got lots of snow in Europe... brrrrrr... I'm happy to be here in the warm sunshine.

I'd like to tell you a little story about two lucky little souls who were brought to our centre recently. As you probably know International Animal Rescue runs an adoption programme in Goa for orphan pups and kittens. Over the years more and more people have come to recognise the benefits of owning a local breed dog, hence more and more puppies find a home.

Spot and Sparky are two such puppies. They were found wandering along the N17, the busiest highway in Goa, without a mother and obviously frightened and distraught. Whether they are brothers remains uncertain but they were spotted by our drivers and picked up to save them from being run over or getting into trouble with other dogs. Being young makes them unable to fend for themselves and their chances of survival would have been slim.

Sadly for a pup of only five or six weeks old Animal Tracks doesn't offer an entirely safe haven. Owing to the volume of pups and kittens being admitted - some of which may be carrying infections - it is impossible to prevent germs from spreading completely and some animals fall sick and never make it out of the centre again. The staff and volunteers do their very best to minimise the risk and ensure that the animals are well cared for during the time they spend here with us and it's a cruel and sad aspect of life out here to witness some of these poor babies succumbing to illness.

Luckily this was not the case for Spot and Sparky. They both found a home within 24 hours of being admitted and put up for adoption! And do you know what the best thing is? They both went together to their new home. A local family from the town of Mapusa had come to adopt just one puppy but could not decide which one was the cutest so they took both. I wish them a long and happy life with their new family and I look forward to meeting them again when they come back for vaccinations and sterilisation.

Love from Olive

Celestial story from Goa

Dearest friends,

It's Christmas and I'm just SO excited! There’s always a special atmosphere at the centre during the festive season. Although there are both Hindu and Christian people working, everyone takes part in the celebrations and no one forgets the centre dogs so we get lots of treats!

I want you to say hello to Celeste and her family. She was brought in just a few days ago because she had delivered her little pups close to a very busy road so there was danger the little ones might run onto the road and get run over.

Celeste now faces a few weeks at Animal Tracks because we cannot separate her from her pups until they are at least six weeks old and can be put up for adoption. The pups are only a couple of weeks old now so for now Celeste must be patient and wait. While she waits she will be sterilised so she doesn't have to give birth to any more pups.

It is strenuous for her to have to feed and care for so many pups and she needs her strength to survive as a street dog. I can tell you, that is a challenge even without pups to look after! I’ve been there so I know what a tough world it is out there.

With five little ones to care for her time at the centre will be hard. The staff do all they can to protect the family but with so many infections and diseases floating around, some of which are airborne, chances are that not all the pups will remain healthy.

Their immune systems cannot cope with it all and sometimes vets are forced to face the tough decision to let the strongest have the chance to survive and find homes and relieve the weak ones of their suffering. It breaks my heart every time. I feel so sorry for the mother who loses her baby but also for the vet who has to take the painful step. We must all remember that each case is unique and we have to maintain our vision and our belief that what we do is for the best in the grand scheme of things.

I was lucky I made it because I was very sick when I was brought to Animal Tracks and it was only thanks to the perseverance of the staff here that I am still here today. I really hope for the best for this little family. I will write to you again to let you know what happens with them all.

Love from Olive

Snakes alive in Goa!

The tourist season is in full swing in Goa and, with Christmas just around the corner, Goa plays host to thousands of visitors, Indian and foreign alike. All these people come to enjoy the sun, sea and sand, but sadly tourists are also likely to face a rather dismal side to Goa. Animals are used as entertainment to amuse tourists and, although the issue of animal welfare is penetrating deeper into the minds of many people, there are still those who cannot resist the temptation of having their photo taken with an elephant or a snake.

On Sunday three snakes - two cobras and a sand boa - were brought to Animal Tracks for observation and treatment. They were rescued by a member of staff who caught a snake charmer on Candolim Beach when she was on her way home. This was not the snake charmer's first offence - he has been caught before - but because the law is not enforced by the local authorities he is no danger of facing prosecution and is therefore free to continue this horrible trade.

In most cases the snakes that are brought in are half dead from starvation and septicaemia contracted when their fangs are brutally pulled out to protect the charmer. In this case however the snakes were in a relatively good condition and chances are they can be released when they have been observed for a little while.

I get really upset when I see these poor creatures come in. I'm terrified of the snakes, don't get me wrong, and I don't go anywhere near them, but I can almost feel their pain when I watch them being examined and I see they have no fangs and sometimes also wounds on their bodies after being beaten by the charmers.

I truly hope these snakes can be released soon so they can go back to the life they are meant to lead - free and happy in the jungle.

Lots of Christmas wishes from

Olive

Little orphan calf learns to cope with help from his friends

As I'm writing this story it is still unknown what the outcome will be but it's so heartbreaking that we’re all praying it will be a good one.

This little fella was brought to Animal Tracks with his mother a while ago. The mother had suffered an injury to her leg and what initially looked like a simple procedure and recovery soon turned from bad to worse because it turned out she was also carrying a serious infection which affected her internal organs and made her very sick. As this was unknown to the vets at first they didn't become aware of this until she was too sick to recover. Sadly she didn't make it and her little baby was left orphaned. He was so young and still depended on her. Sometimes in these cases a surrogate mother can be found but no other mothers were at the centre at the time so it was up to the staff to act like the new guardians.

The baby was given all the care possible and although he was doing well physically there was no doubt that he was suffering emotionally. All I had to do was walk up to his pen and look into his eyes to see how sad he was. It’s such a big world out there and facing it alone must be so scary.

The staff and volunteers have all done their best to ensure that the little friend has a gentle and safe start to life without his mother. Indeed all the centre dogs seem to do their bit too. We occasionally lie outside his pen and tell him about all the great things life has to offer and that all hope is not lost.

There are several possibilities with regards to his future. Maybe he can be released back with his herd. Maybe he’ll be put up for adoption and be taken care of by a local family who most probably will have other cows and bulls in their care. In any case he has to be fit and strong to cope with life before a decision is made.

I for my part will continue to try to cheer him up and I'll definitely let you know what happens. Fingers crossed my next story about this wee fella will be a happy one.

Woofs from Olive

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!