Abandoned Horse and Rescue

One morning last week while walking my dogs, I noticed a horse tied up in a field. As the horse looked in good condition, I didn't think too much about it. However in the early evening when taking my doggies out again, I noticed the horse tied in the exact same place in the field. As my doggies were very excited seeing a horse, I didn't try to get too close to the creature. But the next morning decided that if the horse was still in the field I would investigate more closely.

There was no water or food anywhere near the young horse so went to my house to collect a bucket of water, fruits and vegetables. It must have been some time since he had been given water, because he got through the water bucket in no time flat. Its difficult to understand the mentality of people that abuse animals and in this case you wonder whether the owner is evil or just plain stupid. Here is a young horse tied up in an open field just twenty feet away from the cover of several cooling trees, but the owner has chosen to tie up the horse in a spot with no shade or water. Nowadays the average midday temperature is around 103 degrees fahrenheit, so the days it spent neglected in the field must have been torture for the creature.

Beautiful young horse, helplessly tied up on open land

Several cooling trees only twenty feet away

Lovely young horse

Finally water and food . . . its been a long time!

I have talked with Leslie Robinson founder of the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Centre a number of times on the changing consciousness in Tiruvannamalai towards animals. Previous to the establishment of the Animal Shelter, dogs would be regularly culled throughout the area and their bodies thrown onto the back of a cart. From what I understand the labourers working on the cull, were paid per carcass. Through unremitting pressure from the Shelter the regular dog culls were stopped and the Animal Shelter took responsibility for maintaining a manageable number of dogs in the area by offering free dog sterlisation.

Nowadays locals seem to have become more sensitive to suffering animals and you often see wounded or abandoned creatures brought into the Animal Shelter by strangers. Previously there was no-one to call for help, but now in the case of emergencies the Arunachala Animal Shelter is always ready to give their support.

In the case of the lovely neglected horse, he is now living happily at the Arunachala Animal Shelter and enjoying the comfort of good food and water, lots of shady trees and the company of a bunch of friendly dogs residing at the Sanctuary. 

Getting lots of love at the Shelter

Cool, fed safe and with friends. Nice.

It is hoped that if anybody visits the shelter to claim the young horse as their own that they can give a full explanation of why the helpless creature was left for days without food, water or shelter and tied up in an open field under the remorseless heat of a Summer's sun. 

Check out the Tiruvannamalai Animal Shelter at their website here and their emergency contact numbers below.

Visit to Animal Shelter

I have written many posts of the wonderful service of the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Shelter. Yesterday Philipe Felix from Holland (participant of the Padma and Torsten Retreat Group currently staying at Sri Nannagaru Ashram), and I visited the Animal Shelter. 

Philipe an animal lover, who has four Jack Russell Dogs at his native place was touched by what he saw at the Shelter. It is a no-kill faciity and currently home to 75 dogs who as they are either injured or tramautised are unable to fend for themselves. The Sanctuary is also temporary home to a floating population of around another 75 dogs who have come for sterlisation procedures or are under temporary residential care for mange and other chronic skin and health problems. 

Below I have embedded a stirring video from the Shelter entitled, “Rebirth of Satya” which charts the transformation of a desperately ill dog into one full of health and vitality and who now lives a joyous life with the Indian family that adopted her. [Warning: graphic images of Satya’s skin condition at beginning of video]. 

Rebirth of Satya 

Transformation of the life of dog at Tiruvannamalai 

Hope to soon post photos of the group’s visit to Arunachaleswarar Temple where they met and fed Rukku the Temple Elephant. Please check back.

Animal Sanctuary Homam, January 2014

Last week I attended a puja at the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Shelter. The Sanctuary is located very close to Ramana Ashram, and I urge all animal lovers to visit the Sanctuary during their stay at Tiruvannamalai. Their presence has led to a great improvement in animal care in this area and in particular dog numbers nowadays are managed by neutering operations rather than by the previous regular and inhumane methods of culling. The Tiruvannamalai community is grateful to the presence of this Sanctuary, which currently houses over 150 dogs, for its work with both domestic and farm animals.

 

Shelter at foot of Arunachala

Inside the Animal Sanctuary

Dr. Raju, senior Veterinary Doctor at Shelter

Dr. Kamala Pattu, Veterinary Doctor at Shelter

Permanent Altar at entrance of Shelter

Puja inside examination room, puppy below peeping in

Puja Table

Preparations for start of Homam at Shelter

Leslie Robinson, Shelter Founder and Vishwa, Shelter Manager

Homam at Shelter

January 10 -- Puja at Animal Shelter

If you are in Arunachala this coming Friday (January 10, 2014) at around 5.30 p.m. do come and attend the puja that will be performed at the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Centre about one kilometre west on the Chengham Road after Ramana Ashram.

I will be attending the puja and will post photographs of the event shortly thereafter. The Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Centre does extraordinary work with animals, please visit their website at this link here to find out more about them.

Hope and Healing, Animal Sanctuary

We are always happy to update information on the wonderful work the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary is undertaking here at Tiruvannamalai. To read the following article about the shelter entitled ‘Hope and Healing’ please visit this link in the National Newspaper, The Hindu.

The Sanctuary is located a 5 minute walk from Ramana Ashram, just off Chengam Road (Girivalam roadway). Those at the Shelter are always happy to show interested persons around their facilities, so consider dropping by and learning more about the excellent service they extend to animals of this area.

Their own website, with information, case histories and photographs can be found at this link here.

*****

I myself happily adopted an abused, destitute animal from the Shelter and below provide my own before and after snaps to show just how BIG a difference the Shelter is making in the lives of our sweet brethren.

Victor Before

Victor Today

Tiruvannamalai Animal Shelter

Previous to the opening of the Animal Shelter in Ramana Nagar (one kilometre west of Ramana Ashram off the Chengam Road) there was little help for the suffering animal population of this area. Packs of thin, unneutered dogs constantly roamed the city and were regularly rounded up and killed by municipal workers. Happily since the opening of the Tiruvannamalai Animal Shelter, the Municipality has ceased its dog culling in favour of the Shelter's more humane dog sterilization programme.

Below is a photograph of Vishwa, the manager of the Shelter who is in charge of animal rescue and dog round up.

Injured dogs are brought into the Shelter for diagnosis and treatment and street dogs are regularly rounded up and brought in for sterilization. After recovery the dogs are released in the same area from which they were captured.

Currently the Shelter has approximately 150 dogs, of which over 40 are permanent residents at the Sanctuary as, (through either injury or disease) the dogs are unable to fend for themselves.

As well as small animals, the Shelter always tries to help in any way it can. And currently the Shelter has (as residents) two monkeys and two cows. Below the young calf, who was injured by a speeding car, is resting its injured leg.

The below photograph is of Raja, a permanent worker at the Shelter and who is absolutely adored by the Sanctuary's dog population.

The next photograph is of Shanti, a great animal lover, who has her own large collection of dogs and cats at home, and who is also an invaluable worker at the Shelter.

If you are visiting Tiruvannamalai, why not check out the Animal Shelter and find out about their excellent service in this community and how their work is alleviating much suffering of our dear animal friends.

To find out more about their work, check out their own website at this link here.

Visit to the Shelter

Stopped by the local Animal Sanctuary to meet with Dr. Raju about my doggies and also to get up-to-date with whats happening -- but definitely don't need an excuse to go to the Shelter as I'm always happy to visit the ever growing animal family there. And one of the first doggies I met was this nice little fellow hiding in a large bundle of hay. It certainly seems like he's found a comfortable spot!

Oh my, this is sooo snuggy!

All through the Animal Shelter compound there are little hideaways and bamboo leaf huts for the animals. And in the below hut I found Lakshmi the cow.

She is around eight years old and proved to be a good mother and milker, sadly she damaged her leg and her owners sent her in her weak and injured condition to the slaughterhouse. The Animal Shelter intervened while the cow was in transit, appropriated her and brought her back to their facility.

Below is Leslie Robinson the founder of the Animal Sanctuary at Tiruvannamalai spending time with what has now become a BIG favourite of his - Lakshmi the cow.

Below a photograph of her damaged leg. It is expected that Lakshmi will stay at the shelter for several months and then move to a large farm facility some kilometres distant where she will live a life of ease and retirement -- and good for her after all the milk she has produced in this lifetime!





Couldn't leave the shelter without checking on my own favourite -- 'Baby' the monkey. Check out the March Posting to view photographs of the little monkey when she arrived at the Shelter and the improvement of her injuries and condition just five weeks later at this posting.


Little 'Baby' gets lots of time and spoiling at the shelter and in the below photograph she is preparing to eat her nice crunchy snack. She looks loved and contented - quite a change from the horrors she experienced at such a young age. Before the opening of the Animal Sanctuary at Tiruvannamalai there was no facility in the area that was either interested or capable of intervening in such cases. Now everyone in town knows that they can get help for their own animals or for any creature in distress or difficulty.

Breakfast and Monkeys

Yesterday I was out and about very early in the morning and instead of returning home decided to head into town for a nice breakfast. The day was a very auspicious one for weddings and most of the restaurants in Tiruvannamalai were inundated with large groups from wedding parties, having tiffin and coffee. My favoured and very excellent autorickshaw driver, Gandhiban, took me off the beaten track to a small, quiet restaurant were I was happily able to satisfy my cravings for pongal, masala dosa, vadai and coffee and a good read of the daily newspaper. Delicious - and well worth the drive into town. And also such a relief to eat undisturbed by my own six doggies at home, who are happiest when they eat food taken from my own plate.

I really liked the selection of photographs and religious icons displayed behind the cash register at the Hotel, excellent.

-- and lots more --

So, after a delicious breakfast decided to stop off at the Animal Shelter on the way home to see how sweet Baby (the injured monkey) was getting on. To read more about the Animal Shelter, click on this previous posting about them. The first thing I noticed is how beautiful the shelter's garden looks - and what a perfect play paradise for all the resident doggies.

Dotted around the shelter, are lots of individual huts in which dogs can chill out and escape from all that alpha male posturing. The below photograph (home to the little fellow peeping out) looks positively inviting - something out of a desert island movie.

In the next photograph you can see Arunachala in the background peeping out over the foliage and trees.

And here is little Baby. Looking fantastic and like a total different monkey from the sad little tyke that was brought into the Shelter close to death just a few months previously. To see her photographs and read the story check this link.

Freddie her pal (who is checking out the keeper's pocket for snacks) was also rescued from a group of dogs, but fortunately was not seriously injured, and only sustained a relatively minor leg injury, which has now happily completely healed. Both Baby and Freddie are very young and separated from the respective family groups, so it might be quite sometime before they will be able to succeed independently in the 'real world'. So, for now their blue enclosure, each other's company, a place of safety and a time to grow strong and healthy. That seems like a very good thing for two special monkeys!

The last photograph is of Dr. Raju, one of the two vets at the Animal Shelter. To check out the website for the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary, click this link here.

Animal Shelter Update

Today visited the Animal Shelter to pick up some skin cream for one of my dogs. As always visiting the Shelter is a real pleasure and whilst there caught up with the latest news. As always lots of playful puppies and young dogs, gayly making mischief wherever possible, in this case right underneath a medicine cart - whoops!

Of course I wanted to find out about Baby, the little female monkey orphan that was savaged by some dogs. Happily her wounds are almost healed and she is beginning to be brighter and more interested in whats going on around her.

In the below photograph, the Animal Shelters two highly dedicated vets, Dr. Raju on the left and Dr. Pushpa (in the white jacked) on the right. With tiny Baby in the centre.

Baby is learning how to behave like a monkey and in the next photo plays his favourite game of hanging on to his pretend tree (Dr. Raju).

The next photograph is of a peacock currently receiving treatment at the Animal Shelter. The peacock is an inmate of the Suddhananda Ashram on the northside of Arunachala, where he permanently lives with a colony of four other peacocks.

The poor little fellow got savaged on his rear end by a stray dog. Lets hope that Ashram takes better precautions in the future to protect their beautiful birds.

Before leaving the Animal Shelter wanted to find out about their resident monkey, of whom I have written several earlier postings, here and here. Well apparently the naughty, highly intelligent scamp was able to untie the string fastening of his cage, and made a break for it in the early morning about four days ago. Monkey ended up at the Animal Shelter as a result of an attack by a band of dogs. As the monkey is old and toothless he wasn't able to defend himself and thanks to the intervention of some locals with stout sticks, the dogs were pushed back and the monkey rescued.



For the past two months, the Animal Shelter have been trying to find a happy new environment for the monkey, but due to a series of unfortunate coincidences was unable to ensure a suitable relocation. Word has it that one of the Animal Shelter staff saw monkey in a tree a couple of days ago, so we keep our fingers crossed that the call of freedom ends happily for the dear old-timer and his remaining years are spent munching mangoes high up in the safety of the trees, and far away from bad tempered stray dogs.



Happy to report that the Animal Shelter now have their own website at this link. So please bookmark their site and keep checking with them on their reports of the excellent work they are engaged in, throughout Tiruvannamalai.


In addition in the upcoming Arunachala Grace News, April 2008, we will be having an indepth report from Leslie Robinson, the founder of the Animal Shelter. If you do not yet receive your monthly copy of the Newsletter direct to your email inbox, please check the facility at the left column of this page, to become a free subscriber.