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

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

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

Such difficult times in our beloved World...A cosmic clash between the forces of darkness and light.

It's so, so important that we uplift our Inner State and put the higher energy out that helps others...and goes on and on.

This is a Report on our beloved Shelter...AND LOVE AND LIGHT.

My Guru...my teacher...many, many years ago during his lifetime, would give a short teaching each night. And he'd always begin with, "I welcome you all, with all my Heart. This is my most important practice, welcoming another being with love".    

So many things I learned from him. One of the central things was that it isn't how many people love and appreciate you that is important. The whole world can love you, and if your Inner State isn't good, it doesn't help a lot. What is important is that your own Heart is open to loving and careing. And it is loving and caring for others that is uplifting and gives everything meaning and fills life with joy.

He said that the physician heals with the Heart. So our belief is that an animal must feel safe, cared for, and loved for deep healing to take place. Thus, the very core of our Work is demonstrative love. Touching. Stroking. Holding. Reassuring. Kissing.

This is a truly, truly special animal shelter. Read on. I promise you won't be disappointed.

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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 focus on the importance and power of Loving and Caring.

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To give you a sense, or remind you of the level at which we are operating, below are our STATISTICS SINCE OPENING JAN.2007 THRU MAR.2022. (Please note that the year is 2022. It is very, very time consuming to keep cumulative stats. These times are profoundly busy, so we offer these figures fo give a good sense of the level at which we operate. The "Monthly figures" below are current.)

• 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 90 to 110 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.)

The stats are stunning, especially if you haven't before seen the level at which we are operating. But the important thing is Heart...Heart...Heart. It suffuses all our Work.

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It is so uplifting to experience the happiness of the animals in the Shelter.  And as you walk around the Municipality, it feels so good to see the transformed relationship between the animals and the people...In the poignant words of  a longtime Tiru resident made at the fourth annivesary puja, "Public memory is short. Few can recall the rampant stray dogs everywhere, young and aged, starving and diseased, scavenging in the garbage heaps, fighting amongst themselves, ignored and abused by the human population, while remaining a menace to all, including themselves. In four short years, the roads are more peaceful, with few strays to be seen, and the naturally loving relationship between humans and animals restored to its true state."  

WHEN WE FIRST OPENED IN JANUARY 2007, there were over 7,000 homeless dogs in Tiru and the stray population was out of control. With no small animal vet within 75 kms, no treatment facility, rabies, and widespread abuse, there was unbounded misery. There were 350 suffering and dying animals on the streets--mostly dogs and puppies, but others too (monkeys, cows, squirrels, peacocks, etc.). IT WAS AWFUL!

But using LOVE, LOVE, and more LOVE, everything has been transformed.

WE HAVE 7 MAJOR PROGRAMS:

• Sterilization/anti-rabies program.
• A busy Clinic.
• A busy Hospital.
• Sanctuary, if a creature cannot make it on its own.
• ADOPTION PROGRAM...We have placed over 1,800 puppies and dogs, mostly puppies, in good homes. WE ARE THE ONLY SHELTER IN THE COUNTRY, POSSIBLY THE WORLD, WHO GO OUT UP TO 100 KMS TO FIND GOOD HOMES FOR PUPPIES AND DOGS. Vishwa has trained several college students to search for these homes. (The students are so deeply moved by the Work, that they only accept reimbursement for expenses.)  
  
• 24/7 RESCUE...Any time of the day or night within 125 kms we will be there in a short time. Our doctors are on 24 hour call.
  
• Hospice. We are a no-kill shelter.

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Over these years we have gotten many beautiful, heartfelt emails from people who have visited the Shelter and experienced the almost/magical vibration. One of my all-time favorites is from a lady who didn't speak English very well. I want to share it with you--unedited for spelling, punctuation, or language.

• “ i hope you understand my english... i want you to know…………..i spendt 6 weeks in india this time. i was feeding dogs everywhere and was very sad how they was treated by people. i cant understand this things, i love animals so much!..........i was travelling to Tiruvannamalai for 3 days to see, and hopefully to feel, this mountain and the ashram from Ramana………….a woman in the guesthouse told me about the animal sanctuary and i wanted to visit it before i leave to Pondycherry………………when i came in the sanctuary i felt, oh my god, i felt LOVE like never before! i felt freedom and coming HOME! after that, this love is still alive and wants to share!..................what i was searching in Tiru and all over the world I FOUND IN THE SANCTUARY!!!.............i love you, i love all of you!..................it is opening my heart like never before. unconditional LOVE! made so easy…it is the easiest thing in the world. one have only to GIVE and the hearts will understand this energy and react and learn how to GIVE. GIVING IS RECIEVING, its the same thing!.................and we learn it from people like you!”

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Here are some Rescue stories. Many of you say it's your favorite part.

• A baby goat...We got an 8:30pm call at the Shelter. A mother goat had been hit by a bus 13 kms away. The poor soul died while Vishwa was on his way in the car. The goat had a one day old female babe. Vishwa went to the owner's house. He couldn't keep the baby, so Vishwa took her to his own house where Sundari, Vishwa's wife, wanted to care for her. Sundari kept the tiny goat alongside the bed, and fed her cow's milk every 2 or 3 hours, whenever she cried. She held her, stroked her, kissed her, and gently whispered to her throughout the day. In several weeks the babe started sleeping during the night. After a month Sundari added ragi/rice broth and oil cake water to the milk. Sometimes Lakshman, Vishwa's young son, played with the baby. But it was Sundari she loved. They kept her three months, and then Vishwa found a good home for her where she would have a full life...Om Namah Shivaya.
  
• A young dog in trouble...A late night call from Vellore, 100 kms away. Vishwa got there at 10:30pm. It was a dog with a large wound on his head the size of a hand. He was fast and clever. He would take Pedigree and cookies, but if Vishwa got too close, he'd take off, jump fences and run around corners. It took two hours to catch him. The poor babe was only 7 months old. The wound had hundreds of maggots with pus coming out of it, and smelled horrible. It took two months to heal. He gained weight, and his energy came back. He played a lot with another dog (a cute female... hmm!). But he was very happy when we released him back into his territory...Om Namah Shivaya.

Very recent miscellaneous "mini's".

• A friend of Vishwa's about 25 kms out called him at 9:30pm. There was a dog with a large tumor on her eye. Vishwa went out with a friend. With biscuits and milk, she came to them right away. They got to the Shelter by 11. She was very uncomfortable, so Dr. Raja came in. She's soft and was very calm with him. After 3 days, Dr.Raja operated (more than 1/2 hour). She stayed in the operating theater 4 days, then Cage 2, and then the veranda. People are asking about her, and want her back. In three days we'll sterilize her, give her injections, and take her back to her territory. She'll be very, very happy...Om Namah Shivaya.

• Someone from a village 30 kms out called the Shelter about 9pm. There was a skeletally thin dog who had a large wound on his neck. It was infected and smelled badly. Arunagiri and Hari went. The dog was starving. They had biscuits and milk. He came right to them. He was 5 years old and medium size. Dr. Raja cleaned and treated him the following morning. We've had him 4 or 5 days at this writing. He's on the veranda, and joyfully plays with the other dogs. He loves Mani and Santosh. AND he is eating really well.
• Got a 10:30am call at the Shelter from a sadhu on Prakdashina Road. Someone had just dumped a young Great Dane with a horrible skin condition and sores all over his body. Pandi and Dharma went. The sweetie knew he was being rescued and came right to them. At the Shelter, he first got a medicated bath. Then Dr. Raja cleaned his wounds and sores. We put him in a 15 x 20 foot cage, door open, and a space outside to run around. He got medicated baths, ointment, and tablets every third day. We've had him two weeks. He bonded with Dharma. He's healing beautifully. And he's happy. Vishwa will be able to find a good home for him.
• Got an 11am call from someone behind the Yogi Ram Surat Kumar Ashram. A male peacock had been attacked by a dog. Dharma and Prem went. The peacock had one big dog bite. Doctor Raja stitched the wound. We kept him 4 or 5 days, and released him when he started flying.

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Before moving towards a close, I'd like to say something about my beloved Dr. Raja and Vishwa who are now, as I enter "old age", actually running the Shelter. ( I am overseeing and advising.) They are s-o-o-o good, it's humbling. At times I feel inadequate. What a blessing they are.

They have both been with me from the very beginning.

I sometimes call Dr. Raja "Schweitzer" after the famous Nobel laureate philanthropist, Dr. Albert Schweitzer. One of his most profound qualities is his deep silence. When people relate to him, there is no window-dressing of created personality. He relates from the unadorned quietness of his own being in a way that you know is real and true. Thousands of people love this man. You simply know there's no judgment, no duplicity. Many owners come from as much as 150 kms away to have him treat their creatures.

Many of you know that I sometimes call Vishwa "the Martian" because an Earthling couldn't do what he does. Vishwa is up at least four or five times a month in the middle of the night on emergency rescues that are often more than 20 kms out of town. And he never tells me when he's overloaded, which he always is. If I feel he's in a money bind the conversation goes, "Vishwa how in the hell can you be tight on money? Payday was only five days ago." I had to press him, otherwise I wouldn't have found out. He'd run into a guy who was taking four cows and two calves to be slaughtered, and Vishwa bought them for 30,000 rupees with his own money...Four weeks later I found out he had bought four calves under similar circumstances for 12,000 rupees. (They were all very weak, and we were only able to save one.) And he's supporting all these creatures in a cowshed setup he has behind his house...on his money!!! My beloved Vishwa.

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This brings us to the end of the Report.

These really are difficult times. Let us send a prayer out for Light. Let us be good to each other. And help whenever we can help.

May we all be blessed with more compassionate understanding.

Following is a collection of photos. Please enjoy. Remember the dominant theme is 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.

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Sending Blessings, Love, and Wishes for all things good. May our beloved Planet heal. May we all be blessed with more compassionate understanding. May we all be good to each other.

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.