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

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

Namaste'. I bow to your Innermost Selves. 

From my Heart to your Heart.

• When times are difficult for our beloved planet, it is so important that each of us connect with the Light within, and exude energy and actions that thru interconnectedness have enormous power. Keep Heart... Keep Light... Pray.

• My Teacher, my Guru, used to say, "Drishti shristi". The world is as you see it. You can be in a Heavenly Abode and be bummed out. You can be in a virtual Hell Realm and be okay. Everything--everything--depends on your Inner State.

• We may not be able to change the world directly, but by connecting with those light-filled memories, thoughts and feelings we can uplift our own Inner State. Then, by putting that higher energy out, we can help others. And they in turn can pass it on. And on, and on. Om Namah Shivaya.

===================================================

This Report, like many of the others, gives an overview of the energy our Work has generated to lift suffering from both the animal realm and the human realm.

I will also talk about the importance of the relationship the street animals have with the people amongst whom they live.

===================================================

OUR STATS SINCE OPENING - JANUARY 2007 THRU MARCH 31, 2022 (Please note that the year is 2022, not 2023. It is very, very time consuming to keep cumulative stats. These times are profoundly busy, so we offer these figures to give a good sense of the level at which we operate.)

• Clinic Visits...........................78,559
• In-Patient Treatments........214,595
• Anti-Rabies Injections.........20,309
• Emergency Rescues..............8.094
• Dogs Sterilized ......................8,687
• Animal Adoptions...................1,447
• Non-dogsTreated...................9,058 (Included in"Non Dogs Treated" are 2,839 cows & calves, 2,438 goats & sheep, 1,769 cats, 236 monkeys, 1,230  birds, 319 rabbits///and 126 squirrels/ donkeys/pigs/peacocks/parrots/eagles/horses/deer/ bullocks/ snakes/turkeys/owls/ducks/mongooses/turtles.                                                                                   
  

MONTHLY (these figures are current!), we:

• Treat 800 to 1500 out-patients in the Clinic, most of whom are “owner dogs”.
• Give 1500 to 3000 treatments to in-patients, almost all of whom are homeless dogs.
  
• Go out on 40 to 70 emergency rescues.
• Perform 100 to 125 sterilizations.
  
• Give 130 to 250 anti-rabies injections.
  
• Place 8 to 20 puppies in good homes.
• Treat 100 to 200 animals other than dogs.
• (Mostly cows, calves, goats, sheep, and cats...but many others too.)

===================================================

And now to the importance of the relationship the street animals have with the people amongst whom they live.

It's the transformation of that relationship I'm talking about, and the astoundingly profound national significance it has for both animals and humans.

We're only a small group. We don't know what's happening everywhere. There are thousands of homeless dogs, young and old in Tiru. Hundreds of monkeys, cows, goats, and other creatures wandering around. (That's not even mentioning the thousands of birds, deer, squrrels, snakes, and others...) And there are currently 200,000 people in Tiru.

We simply cannot care for all these creatures, truly uplifting the quality of their precious lives, without the Community.

The first year after opening it became clear there was no longer widespread abuse. After several more years all the animals appeared to be healthier and happier...even those we hadn't yet treated. All of them. It took time to realize that their relationship with the people was transforming...that the enormous effort we were putting into it was working, and that it was very, very important. And each year, that relationship was getting better.

There were many, many signs. People stroking street dogs, being loving to cows, goats, and others. Talking nicely to them, feeding them. Animals responding with warmth. Dogs with swishing tails. Smiles.

Many people commented. They'd never, in India, seen dogs more friendly. (Remember, too, that by then most of the homeless dogs were sterilized and had spent 6 days in the Shelter. And a number of them had spent time in the Shelter thru the clinic. And after exposure to us in the Shelter, the dogs were almost always more open to people.) It was the large number of Foreigners that come just for the cooler months, November thru February, who saw the transformation most dramatically after being absent for eight months. Many approach us to thank us for the amazing changes taking place.

There were other signs. The people bringing "owner dogs" to the Shelter were outwardly more loving. The way some people bringing emergency cases were involved with the creatures...and their expressions of gratitude.

An important comment I heard recently from a close friend is that he felt people were being nicer to each other. And that hits on something super important. The nature of the Heart. When the Heart truly opens, it opens in many directions. So if there's a real opening of the Community's Heart to animals, they'll be nicer to each other, too.

Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote of, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." is really about the Heart. If humans are good to animals, then they're being good to each other, too.

It's actually an effective way of uplifting human populations. May the Government recognize this and channel more resources.

What's happening is beyond anything I could ever have imagined back in the early days of the Shelter.

We have to do this together. It is together that the quality of life of the Precious Ones can most effectively be lifted.

============

I am truly humbled by the extraordinary power of love, commitment, and perseverance of Dr. Raja and Vishwa...and I am so deeply touched by the Staff. So little of what's going on now depends on me. At times I feel inadequate...Om Namah Shivaya.

What a blessing it is to be able to lift suffering from even one creature. What a blessing it is to experience the blessing of being able to do it.

===================================================

Here are the Rescue stories. Many of you tell us this is your favorite part.

• We received a 4pm call at the Shelter. A dog was running around with a horribly infected head injury. Dharma and Pandi went out. It was a young male. He was only about 8 or 9 months old and small, about 9kg. He was in pain and afraid. It took a half hour to catch him. Both Dr. Raja and Dr. Mahesh worked on him. The wound was really awful...infected with 100's of maggots and smelled bad. They gave him a strong painkiller, cleaned the wound, and put medication on to kill the maggots. After several days, the young sweetie was put on the veranda where he bonded with everyone and straight away started playing with the other dogs. We've had him 10 days at the writing of this note, and he's healing nicely. In another week or two we'll put him back in his territory. He'll be very happy. There are some people there who love and care for him. But he roams free...Om Namah Shivaya.

• When Vishwa was out in the car, he passed a dog about 30 to 40kms out.  The sweetie had a bad skin problem. Most of his hair was gone. He had sores and bumps over his entire body. And he was badly undernourished. Vishwa got him using milk and cookies. Dr. Mahesh treated him--a wound on his back right leg--and gave him an i.v. The babe then got a good medicated bath, and his body was covered with ointment. He went into quarantine for 3 days, then onto the veranda. He liked all the Staff, and played with the other dogs. We've had him a week. His skin is much better, but his hair is slow in coming back. His leg is healed, but we'll keep him at least another month and then put him back in his territory. There's a temple and small water tank there. And there's a man who likes and cares for him...Om Namah Shivaya.
  

• An older Heart story from a few years ago....I was walking on a side street and some fellow called me over. There was a pup about a month old lying motionless on her side in the sun. The man had been standing there watching her, and asked me if she were alive. A bad skin condition. And pretty thin. I knelt down and put my cheek against hers. And there was life.
• I gently picked her up. Kissing her, I said, "You need help sweet girl. I'm going to take you to a very good place where there are only good people who will love and care for you."
• At the Shelter, we put her in a basket under the sink in the clinic. Chants playing over the speaker. A lot of activity. Several other pups snuggled her from time to time. And she started her journey back.
• Slowly her coat started coming in. Her energy started coming back. And after a week she was looking around with interest. A week later, she was starting to go on little excursions around the clinic. She responded with love to love. And she remembered me. Whenever I go to the Shelter, she comes to me. I hold her to my Heart. Kiss her. And tell her how happy we are.
• This is the joy continually happening that comes to us blessed to do this Work.

• Another older Heart story...This one is really beautiful. It's about an "old guy"(hmm!!! The connection between the two of us just occurred to me: two old guys!) It was during the day. A nice day. Sun. Pleasant temp. I passed him on my two-wheeler. He was lying on his side under one of those wooden lane dividers. No hair. Cadaverously thin. Unmoving. He seemed dead. I pulled over, bent down, put my cheek against his, and stroked him to see if there was any life. Yes! I called Vishwa. He and Pandi came out and took him to the Shelter.
• This guy was a "broken creature". Emotionally he just seemed dead.
• After a week he started walking around. Solitary. Not connecting with any other creatures or Staff. It was astonishing as I saw him "coming back"--the rate at which his coat came in, the weight he gained, the strength he gained. And then after a month or so, soft light started coming into his eyes. Whenever I'd come in, even early on, he'd come up to me and put his cheek against my leg. I'd hug him, kiss him, and softly talk to him. I mean it was Vishwa and Pandi who picked him up and took him to safety, food, and caring. I just put my cheek against his for a minute or two. But that precious guy remembered.
• He is strong and soft now. His coat is fully in. His eyes are soft, "cow eyes". And he's quietly very loving.
• You might wonder his age. We think ten or eleven. When we found him he seemed forty-three.

===================================================

This brings us to the end of the Report.

What comes to mind in these difficult times is to send you the very, very best of  good wishes. And please, Dear Ones, let us be good to each other. And help whenever we can help.

Hoping that each of you is doing well.

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

PLEASE...REMEMBER... DONATIONS.

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

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

===================================================

With love, blessings, and wishes for all things good. May we ALL, each of us, do actions that emit uplifting, healing energy. In these difficult times for our beloved planet, each of us can help in a major way.

Leslie, The Ageing Expatriate Warrior.

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

=====================================================

=====================================================                                                          

Links:

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