Rescue,Love,Save-1000's of Suffering Animals.India

Dear People. Dear Animal Lovers. Dear Supporters...Namaste'.

I've always loved that greeting. Classically, it's said with the hands clasped in front of the chest. Esoterically, it means, "I bow to your Innermost Self".

And now Dear Ones...Announcing a "biggie", and I do mean biggie. It just happened. (Many of you are very familiar with the intense saga that has unfolded over the last six months involving 37 Rescued Cattle that we were caring for and protecting while a criminal case to save them was litigated---Mafia connected lawyers...police...courts...corruption...threats of kidnapping the cattle...danger. For the many who are not familiar with this, I'll explain after I've made this wonderful, wonderful announcement.)

THE CASE CAME TO TRIAL, FINALLY, ON JULY 8TH. I'm not going to go into the incredible complexities leading to this simple, wonderful ending. But it was a clffhanger fraught with uncertainty and danger until the very, very end.

WE JUST RECEIVED THE OFFICIAL COURT ORDER. The lawyer for the "cattle traffickers" accepted their guilt. A modest fine was imposed (the maximum permitted by law)...BUT THE CATTLE WERE IMPOUNDED AND PERMANENTLY GIVEN TO US...AND FURTHER, WE WERE GIVEN THE AUTHORITY TO PLACE THEM IN ANOTHER RECOGNIZED GOSHALA THAT WOULD GIVE THEM LIFETIME SANCTUARY.

The danger of the cattle being kidnapped by the "mafia" is over...The danger of them being impounded by the Court and given to the Government, who might have given them to someone who wouldn't thoroughly protect them and give them a good life, is over...THEY ARE IN  OUR HANDS, SAFE, AND WILL HAVE GOOD LIVES.

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THIS IS A SUMMARY FOR THE MANY UNFAMILIAR WITH THE RESCUE...AND THE BATTLE:

• Saturday night, January 12th, a lorry illegally carrying 37 cattle (the legal maximum in one lorry is six) being taken to slaughter in Kerala was intercepted on the road.
  
• The conditions inside that vehicle bordered on atrocity.
• Jammed into two layers, one can only imagine what was done to those poor animals to load them like that. Prodding. Beating. Kicking. Pulling by the nose. Jabbing. And it's difficult to imagine the suffering that would have occurred on the long 20-hour journey to the slaughterhouse had they not been intercepted...Little air (the lorry was fully covered to conceal what they were carrying). No water. No food. Bumpy roads. The moaning. The crushing. The dying. Youngsters separated from their mothers. Awful. Awful. Awful.
• The police impounded the lorry and the cattle, and criminal charges were filed.
• The cattle were turned over to us (14 water buffalo, 11 bulls, 10 bullocks, 2 cows) on January 13th to care for them while the case was being litigated.
• They were traumatized, dehydrated, and depleted.
• To really care for them, one had to be aware of the total nightmare they'd gone thru. They were suffering and deeply frightened, with no understanding of what was happening. Everything that was dear to them had been ripped away, and they were thrown into this "horror" at the hands of humans who didn't care what they did to them, how much that hurt them, how much they terrorized them, or how much they might suffer...Some of the Precious Ones were only babes that had been taken away from their mothers.
• Our beloved Vishwa handled the whole thing...Thank God for Vishwa!

When we first got the cattle, we thought we would just care for them while everything unfolded. But there was no one else to do anything, so we carried the full load. Everything: the caring...the strategy...the litigation...dealing wih the unbelievable corruption and indifference involving the mafia. The lawyers...the Courts...the police...and the danger that was always in the background...(We don't have this kind of flagrant, powerful corruption and indifference in the West.)

Here is a link to photos of the cattle after 4 1/2 months of love, caressing, caring, stroking...  Photo presentation of 37 cattle...-converted.pdf  . They are so, so beautiful. (Skip the beginning page of text and go right to the photos.)

The cattle traffickers were just low lifes, represented by mafia-connected lawyers who did everything (legal or illegal) they could to get the cattle back. And they were amazingly corrupt, willing to use violence,  and well-connected at high levels. We did everything possible to bring the traffickers to trial, have them found guilty, and maximize the possibility of the cattle being impounded so we could get them a full, good life. It ended up being one of those fairytale stories where the Forces of Light won out over the Forces of Darkness.

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The Shelter has been going beautifully...Thank you Dr. Raja, Vishwa, the other Doctors. And our devoted, wonderful Staff.

We've been busy since I've last written.  Our stats for April, May, and June are:

• Clinic Visits..............................................1,645
• In-patient Treatments.............................3,633
• Emergency Rescues..................................131
• Dogs Sterilized...........................................200
• Anti-rabies injections................................352
• Animal Adoptions.........................................14
• Non-dogs treated.......................................243 
• (73 cows & calves, 65 goats & sheep, 50 cats, 45 birds, 7 rabbits, 1 squirrel, 2 horses)***Note: During this period, additionally, we were completely caring for the impounded 14 buffalo, 11 bulls, 10 bullocks, 2 cows).                                                                              

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And here are some recent Shelter happenings that many of you tell us you really like.

A recent well rescue.

• Got a call at 8:30pm. A dog had earlier fallen into a well outside a village about 50 kms away.
  
• Pondi and Vishwa got there about 10pm. The well was 50 feet deep. It wasn't  near any houses. The landowner became aware of the dog in distress when he was checking his land late in the day.
• Vishwa went down on a rope. The poor babe was a two year old girl. There were several feet of water and she was hanging on a ledge, partially submerged, cold, frightened, and hungry...She had probably fallen much earlier because she'd by now given up and was no longer crying for help.
• Tho' she was frightened and a little afraid of Vishwa, she knew she was being rescued and was happy. Vishwa talked to her for several minutes, and gently approached. He stroked her and put her in a bag, and Pondi slowly lifted her topside.
• She was a homeless dog, and was in good health...so she had villagers around who fed and cared for her. She stayed with Pondi and Vishwa for perhaps ten minutes. They dried her off, gave her some food, stroked her...and then released her.
• The sweetie was very, very happy to be free. In the morning she would wander into her territory and visit those who cared for her.

A lost pup.

• We got a call around noon from a shop owner near the main bus station. It's a very, very busy place. Big. Scary. Shops and stands crowded together. Intense traffic-many buses, cars, auto rickshaws, two wheelers. A dangerous place for an inexperienced dog.
  
• There was a little puppy with no mother and a bad skin condition...frightened and weak.
• She was afraid of Pondi when he got there. But he gave her some snacks, gently spoke to her, and she let him pick her up. She was a baby. The poor, frightened, lost sweetiepie, separated from her mother, not really understanding what was happening, was so relieved when she felt the "safety" of Pondi's embrace...and his gentle, loving reassurance.
• Dr.Raja gave her a vaccination, and she got her first bath.
• We kept her for a month while treating her mange. She quickly settled into the Shelter and was happy. Vishwa found a really nice home for her in a nearby village. They had a six year old boy who adored her. Om Namah Shivaya.

We got an email from a lady thru our website.

• The email read, "It's nice to hear that there is an animal centre near Tiruvannamalai. Our dog has some severe injuries inside. We don't even have an idea how it happened to him. He started losing his hair and he was not able to walk. We tried our best by contacting doctors and getting medicines. But there has been no improvement. He is going thru a very bad phase of life. He is not allowing us to touch. We don't know how to take him to your hospital. Now, I found some lumps in his feet. Please do the needful. We believe you are the final option given us by God to save him. We want him back. Thank you. Please reply back to get more details and we need help to save him. Thanks a lot."
• I asked her to send her phone number. Vishwa called. She sent some photos. Dr.Raja looked at them, and told them to bring the dog in.
  
• They weren't able to get him into their car. Vishwa sent Pondi (they were 50 kms away) to help them.
• Their dog was four years old and a sweetie. He wasn't really biting, just snapping, probably because it was painful for him to be touched. Clearly tho', they loved him, and he, them.
• It turned out to be a hypo-active thyroid condition, and a pretty advanced case of arthritis. The loss of the hair, and the lumps on his feet were from a thyroid-connected fungal skin condition.
• He hadn't been treated at all over the last year. The doctors (they probably weren't small animal vets) were just giving painkillers.
• The owners were deeply, deeply relieved and almost joyful. Dr. Raja gave their dog several injections, and sent them home with medication for both the thyroid and arthritis, along with painkillers, and an ayurvedic oil for the fungal skin condition.
• Dr.Raja told them to return in one month. (He is expecting a vast improvement.)
• We received this nice note the next day from the owner..."Belore visiting your shelter, we didn't have any idea of what he was going through. When Dr. Raja checked and explained his condition, we got hope that he will get better soon...The world needs more people like you, inspiring. Thank you so much for the immediate action and help. We'll never forget the help you people have done to us. After visiting your shelter, I believed that humanity still exists in this World.

A baby horse.

• Several months ago a young female colt was brought to the Shelter by people from a temple  50 kms away. The poor babe was only two months old. She had been hit by a two wheeler and her back leg was severely broken. She was in a lot of pain, so Dr. Heera immediately gave her a strong painkiller. Then she cleansed the wound, gave the colt antibiotics and prepared her to be operated on the following morning.
• It was a one hour operation...and Dr. Heera inserted a pin.
• The Little One was still nursing, so they brought her mother, too. Several days later, during the night, the mother removed the pin...and you can only insert a pin once.
• For several weeks, each day the wound was bandaged, and ointment applied. Antibiotics and homeopathic medicine were given. The bone wouldn't fuse and three weeks later Dr. Heera had to amputate at the fracture site, about five inches above the hoof.
• The Little One could move around fine, but the wound took 1 1/2 months to heal.
• The mother was simply nasty with us. She would bite and kick when anyone approached her. Pondi and Dharma were able to form some relationship, but not a close one. It clearly wasn't a good situation for either the baby, or her mother.
• When the wound healed, Vishwa took mother and daughter back to the temple. It was in a small town. The people adored them, the mother and the babe, and brought little special snacks they'd come to love. The two Precious Ones were overjoyed to be back. They were showered with love. The babe was snuggling and playing.  And the mother--she was as sweet, gentle, and loving as could be!
• It was such a Heart-warmer...Clearly, they'll both have a beautiful life. Om Namah Shivaya.

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This brings us to the end of the Report.

I'm hoping that each of you is doing excellently.

These are such difficult times we're going thru. It's so important for us to try to connect with the Light inside. And equally important to put that energy out into the World.

My Baba says that the World is as you see it...It's neither positive nor negative...It's important to hold onto the joy.

May we all be unfolding...May we all be getting more and more space inside...May we all be getting closer to our own Hearts.

May each of us, no exceptions, be blessed with more compassionate understanding.

As in previous reports, I've included a collection of photos. Hoping you enjoy them. Remember...the theme is simply Love.

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               PLEASE...REMEMBER...DONATIONS.

    THE PRECIOUS ONES NEED US...AND WE NEED YOU!

PLEASE...DIG DEEPLY...AND GIVE GENEROUSLY...THIS HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY FINANCIALLY STRESSFUL PERIOD BECAUSE OF THE CATTLE...A GREAT DEAL HAS BEEN    COVERED BY YOU, ALREADY (Hugs. And, more hugs.)...BUT THERE'S STILL SOME TO GO.

RECURRING DONATIONS, EVEN MODEST ONES, ARE BEST FOR US. THEY GIVE US STABILITY.

With love, blessings, and wishes for all things good...May we All, each of us, do actions that emit uplifting, healing energy...Each of us can help in that way.

With love...From All of Us here, Precious Ones included...To All of You out there...Leslie

                  Again...Welcome to our beloved Shelter. 

Links:

• Interview of Leslie-3 1/2 minutes.
• Really, really good video-Hridayam-8 1/2 minutes.
• Henri Jolicoeur-Interview of Leslie-15 minutes.