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

Dear People....Dear Animal Lovers... Dear Supporters...

From my Heart to your Heart...                                                 Difficult, difficult times for our beloved Planet. May All of Us, no exceptions, be blessed with more compassionate understanding. May we, and all our Dear Ones, be Guided and Protected. May the entire World be immersed in more compassion...and feelings of love...Om Namah Shivaya.

This is a Report about uplifting the quality of life of the homeless dogs and puppies (as many as 7,000)...and about uplifting the Community, itself.

To really uplift the quality of life of the homeless animals, it is critically important to transform the relationship between them and the people amongst whom they live day in, day out. That is, it is necessary to open the Community's Heart to the creatures.

When we first opened in 2007 things were bad: Widespread abuse...beating...throwing stones. Frequent indifference to hunger and suffering, even to puppies. Rabies. No facility for treatment of small animals. No small animal vet within 20 kms. Population out of control. 350 animals sick, injured, or dying on the streets... mostly puppies and dogs, but others too (monkeys, cows, squirrels, peacocks, horses, goats.) It was awful.

This nightmare situation is no more. We facilitate 20 to 40 rescues a month. When an animal is in need, people move to help it, and frequently call us. It is a manifestation of the "transformed relationship" that exists here in Tiru as in very, very few municipalities of this size in all of India. And it gets better and better each year.

Without a deep awareness of two subtle, critical insights, I don't believe we could have brought this transformation about. I'll call the two insights INTERCONNECTEDNESS and THE TEACHABLE MOMENT.

• INTERCONNECTEDNESS: The awareness of it was given to me by my Teachers - that everything we do ultimately affects everything else. It is easiest to understand in a physical sense. The simplest event,  even a pet hamster calling you over to him, affects everything else you do. From that moment on, you'll physically be in a different place than you would have been. You'll run into different people, see different things, think different thoughts. It's almost mind boggling to see how everything affects everything else.

• THE TEACHABLE MOMENT: After we'd been open for several months, we noticed that the animals seemed to be much better, even tho' we hadn't seen most of them. It's then that we realized they were better because the people, generally, were being nicer to them. So we focused on "opening the Hearts" of the general population. We tried posters, small pieces on TV and talks. But they didn't make a lot of difference. People seemed to forget about them pretty quickly...Then we noticed that when we tended a suffering animal in a crowded place like a marketplace or a train station, 15 or 20 people would invariably gather around and watch.   They were moved by someone showing kindness to a homeless dog, and they were "moved by seeing"the dog giving love back. They didn't forget that. It was imprinted on their Hearts. We called that the "teachable moment" and realized that there were many teachable moments in the catching of street dogs for sterilization.                                                                                                                                To catch dogs we went into all parts of the Municipality and most people got to see a catch. Our people caught the animals with a lot of love and caring...If they had to chase down a dog, after they caught the dog they would stroke and reassure it that it would be okay...that we were good people...and that we'd bring them back...The people watching were moved by the care and love, and  by the dog responding...Those were "teachable moments" that actually affected their attitude towards the animals....We told our "catchers" that they were being observed, and they should be exceptionally demonstrative. And thru "interconnectedness" the increased kindness spread....Om Namah Shivaya.

In January, former Commissioner Akbar, one of our founding trustees, spent several hours a day with the Supt. of Police, giving him a good sense of how excellent things had become on the Tiru streets, both between the homeless animals and people, and amongst the people themselves. The SP was truly impressed. We're hoping to get some recurring support from the Municipality...Please say a prayer for us!

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Here are some recent Shelter rescues. (Many of you tell us this is your favorite part.)

Three young puppies.

• Counselor Prakash called Vishwa. A mother dog that had given birth to three puppies, died. The sweeties were only 1 month old... Vishwa brought them to the Shelter, and put them in a contained area for ten days...PureHeart Sekar and Supervisor Raja watched over them, giving them love and affection. They are with the rest of our Precious Ones now...doing beautifully...sleeping together...playing together...and they have bonded with Sekar and Anu. Vishwa will find loving homes for them.

A kitten.

• Someone called the Shelter around 11am. A tiny kitten had fallen into a drainage ditch for water...Vishwa went out...The kitten was on a dry spot, but a little wet and scared...Pandi and Jayakumar looked after her. She right away started playing and sleeping with the other kittens, and eating well. Vishwa found a good home for her--.a friend of his had come to the Shelter and fallen in love with her.

An older story that really moved me...It's about a pup they named "Leslie".

• Vishwa got a late-night call from Shakti, the rickshaw driver. He had found a little black puppy lying lifelessly in the gutter...Vishwa went out to get him, and called Dr. Raja who met him at the Shelter.
• The little guy was 1 1/2 months old, and had a number of external wounds. none super-serious. Worst was a small throat wound that slightly crushed his trachea. The main thing was that he was in deep shock. It appeared he'd been attacked by an adult dog. He hovered between life and death for several hours.
  
• Soft chants were playing thru the speaker. Dr. Raja gave him an i.v. with a pain killer, vitamins, nutrition. and a steroid injection for the shock. Vishwa cuddled and kissed him, telling him he loved him, and that he was safe with good people who were going to care for him. Clearly he made it.
• But...he had terror in his eyes that didn't leave. And he was afraid of everything. For several days we kept him in a basket under the clinic sink. He didn't want anyone to come near him. He'd shrink even if you whispered gently. He huddled into the corner of the basket with his nose ponted towards the wall...If you took him out he'd find some little corner where he could not be seen. 
• Dr. Raja gave him Bach Flower essences for Fear, and Open to Receive.
• Then we thought we'd put him in a small protected area with several other puppies. He was terrified there, too, and immediately stuffed himself in a corner. When another puppy approached him to sniff or snuggle, he'd shrivel up. We were afraid he was permanently traumatized.
• On the fifth or sixth day he rested on a large mattress, against but not facing the wall. A day later his eyes softened a little. And THEN he started looking around...not responding to the "puppy pile" that was cuddled close to him. But still, he was looking around. THEN another major breakthrough. He barked at a puppy to express his dispeasure.
• After some more days he took a few trots around the pen. And...THEN...I don't know how much time it took...he wagged his tail...and playfully bumped against one of the other puppies.
• Each day he opened more and more. He never became a John Wayne...but welcome back dear Leslie. We love you.     

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This brings us to the end of the Report.

Hoping that each of you is doing excellently...that you're unfolding beautifully and strongly inside.

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

                    PLEASE...REMEMBER...DONATIONS.

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

RECURRING DONATIONS, EVEN QUITE MODEST ONES, ARE BEST FOR US. 

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With love, blessings, and wishes for all things good...May we All, each of us, act in a way that emits uplifting, healing energy.

Leslie, the Ageing Expatriate Warrior

Arunachala Animal Sanctuary & Rescue Shelter has earned the following badges on GlobalGiving:

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