Mad Dogs Trust

Lulu and Peanut

maddogstrust — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:19:15 +0000

Lulu and Peanut are spending a lot of time in the beauty salon getting ready for their trip to Germany. All blood tests and jabs complete, they will fly from Bangalore to Frankfurt. Lulu is a little upset about her passport photo…she doesn’t think it makes her as beautiful as she thinks she is…Peanut says he couldn’t care less as long as he gets there and there’s a woolly coat waiting for him!

From 2 legs to four!

maddogstrust — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:12:53 +0000

Having run a charitable organisation for street and destitute women and children for the past 11 years, I decided I need a break. Our Kochi children’s home is now under the management of two wonderfully caring Sisters and regular meetings ensure that everything is going well with the kids. So with a little time on my hands, the proximity to Mad Dogs Trust and most importantly my love of animals, I now volunteer one morning per week at the shelter/clinic. So many differences and yet finally not so many: a little bundle of puppies that needed toweling after they got wet in the rain…not so different to little wet heads coming home from school during the monsoon; the injured animals that need healing…not so different from disinfecting those scraped knees after a fall; blogs to be written to let people know that there is help needed at MDT…not so different to the stories typed to encourage help with the kids too. Volunteering time in MDT is sometimes tear jerking but mostly hugely satisfying…you should try it!

Volunteers & Fundraiser

maddogstrust — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:06:05 +0000

We have some volunteers today helping with gardening, decorating and computing which is great. The new house is coming on and is looking good. The dogs are wandering around outside interested in what’s going on. Some however are lounging in the shade of the trees or on the cool office floor and who can blame them.

We’ve been having a bash at fundraising recently. Some volunteers set up a stall outside St Francis Church, one of the main tourist sites in Fort Cochin, selling T Shirts etc. We were a curiousity and tourists were a bit surprised to be accosted by Europeans! Anyway, it was a success and we’ll have another go when the cruise ships come in later this month.

We’re thinking of organising a fundraising event in Fort Cochin and Penny will be talking to a local radio station tomorrow to see if we can get some music. There are no clubs in Fort Cochin, if you want to dance you have to go to Ernakulam, so an evening of dance & fun could be just the thing……watch this space for further info.

Gift a Laptop?

maddogstrust — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:25:12 +0000

We desperately need a laptop as our old one, our only computer, has gone belly up. Any computer angel out there who could give us something to stay in touch with donors and wellwishers, providers of vices and food? You won’t regret the good deed!

With thanks

maddogstrust — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:16:37 +0000

Mad Dogs Trust would like to thank APARNA, KRISHNAN and SAVITHRI for their very kind donation given in memory of their dearly loved JIM. May his memory bring a smile to your faces.

We hope to see you soon.

Luca’s (Dis)Adventure…

maddogstrust — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:47:03 +0000

Whilst walking around Fort Cochin one day, one of the many street dogs in the area approached Penny, this in itself was not an unusual occurance. It was only when looking closely it became evident that a huge open wound was covering his head like a hat but without giving the same aristocratic effect that a coronet could have done on the head of an English lord!

Penny brought him into the Mad Dogs Trust clinic, the wound was seething with maggots which , if left would have eaten all the skin and muscle on his head. We stopped counting the amount of maggots we removed after 70. The wound cleaned and bandaged (blue of course, its a boy) put to cover what maggots did in few days. No skin left…just a big hole (a bone of the skull was starting to be visible…how in pain was this little thing).

We call him Luca; he has been with us for about 2 weeks now we change his dressing daily; and even though he loves us lots he still tries to escape every single day.

Walking freely in the street was Luca’s happy life. Thanks to Mad Dogs Trust will be again very soon!

Stray’s Prayer

maddogstrust — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:13:57 +0000

Dear God, please send me somebody who’ll care!
I’m tired of running, I’m sick with despair.
My body is aching, it’s so racked with pain,
and dear God I pray, as I run in the rain.
That someone will love me and give me a home,
a warm cozy bed and a big juicy bone.My last owner tied me all day in the yard
Sometimes with no water, and god that was hard.
So I chewed my leash, and God I ran away.
To rummage in garbage and live as a stray.
But now God, I’m tired and hungry and cold,
and I’m so afraid that I’ll never grow old.

They’ve chased me with sticks and hit me with stones,
while I run the streets just looking for bones!
I’m not really bad, God, please help if you can,
or I have become just a “Victim of Man!”
I’m wormy dear God and I’m ridden with fleas,
and all that I want is an Owner to please!

If you find one for me God, I’ll try to be good,
and I won’t chew their shoes, and I’ll do as I should.
I’ll love them, protect them and try to obey….
when they tell me to sit, to lie down or to stay!
I don’t think I’ll make it too long on my own,
cause I’m getting so weak and I’m so all alone.

Each night as I sleep in the bushes I cry,
cause I’m so afraid God, that I’m gonna die.
And I’ve got so much love and devotion to give,
that I should be given a new chance to Live!
So dear God, please answer my prayer,
and send me someone who will REALLY care..

That is, Dear God, if YOU’RE REALLY there!

Unknown

A Dogs Soul

maddogstrust — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:55:16 +0000

Every dog must have a soul, somewhere deep inside
Where all his hurts and grievances are buried with his pride.

Where he decides the good and bad, the wrong way from the right,
And where his judgement carefully is hidden from our sight.

A dog must have a secret place, where every thought abides,
A sort of close acquaintance that he trusts in and confides.

And when accused unjustly for himself, He cannot speak,
Rebuked, He finds within his soul, the comfort he must seek.

He’ll love, tho’he is unloved, and he’ll serve tho’badly used,
And one kind word will wipe away the times when he’s abused.

Altho’ his heart may break in two, his love will still be whole,
Because God gave to every dog an understanding Soul!

Unknown

For Roxy, the little fighter

maddogstrust — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:22:42 +0000

Roxy with Coco

The more days I spend with these animals, the more amazing things I see. I have almost begun to believe in a power which is beyond my reach now. Let me tell you a story.

It all began on a Wednesday morning when Penny and me went to feed the puppies who live by the road. As we were driving by, I noticed two kittens being eaten by crows. I felt very bad on seeing the sight. But I knew that the kittens were already dead as their organs were almost completely eaten up. We drove on to meet the puppies and the family. The puppies, the mother and the father figure came running as usual, full of happiness and expectations. They were hoping for a good breakfast. Bread, eggs and milk seemed to do the trick for them. Just then, I realized that there was a tiny kitten lying right in front of Daisey(the Land rover). I thought it was dead too. But when I picked it up, it was still breathing. It looked like it was going to die any moment. On finding this one, I figured that I should go and look near the dead ones as well. There might be a few more there. And that is when I found Roxy.

She was sitting there mewing. She was the next in line to get killed. I picked her up and we brought her home. Roxy was a fighter. I enjoyed every moment I spent with her. She knew when there were people around her. She knew when we were around to feed her. Coco was really nice to her and kept her warm to a great extent. Roxy lived with a sense of adventure in her. She was amazingly strong for a little kitten of her age.

She had me and Sarah worried sick for a whole day; the day she went missing. We looked everywhere, turned both the houses upside down and still couldn’t find her. It rained that night and by morning we were pretty sure that she was definitely dead. Just as we were discussing how sad the whole situation was, Sarah began to hear a faint mewing. I realized that I could hear it too. Initially, we both thought we were hallucinating. But then, if both of us could hear it, the sound had to be for real! We followed to sound to the garden wall. It was quite a huge wall. There was no way Roxy could have climbed that one! Nevertheless, I still thought that I should go to the other side of the house, the neighbour’s house and check which cat was mewing. It took me a while to convince the suspecting neighbor that my intentions were good and that all I wanted to do was look at the mewing cat and check if it was Roxy. The sound was coming from an area where there were a lot of roosters and hens in the neighbour’s backyard. The mewing originated from the roof of a bathroom. It was almost like she knew I was there, she stepped out timidly, mewing loudly. I got Roxy back!

I still do not know how she got there. My assumption is that a bird or a cat carried her over the wall. The only other explanation is that she somehow managed to get out of the gate and the neighbours found her and decided to keep her. But on realizing that she would just mew the whole time, they decided to let her out. I wish Roxy could speak. She would have a lot of stories to tell us. From how she was abandoned by her mother and thrown into the garbage on the road, watching her brothers die one by one in front of her by crows, being rescued by a hand which I am pretty sure she was not confident about at all, but she was just too weak to fight, then her new mother Coco and the abduction! She would also have a lot to speak about Teto, her big brother, I am sure because he kept a watchful eye on her most of the time as well.

She was a little fighter in the true sense. The lyrics of the song ‘Little Fighter’ by White Lion explain exactly the way she lived her little life. Having escaped death twice in her life of less than a month, one which included an abduction as well…she was indeed a fighter. I am proud of her for making it this far. She had a moma in Coco even though they were not of the same kind and an elder brother in Teto. We all love you and miss you Roxy. May your soul rest in peace!

Little Fighter – White Lion

Are you crying tonight?

Are you feeling all right?

I told the world that you were down on your luck.

You were one of a kind.

One who’d never give it up.

Even when they put a price on your head.

Has anyone heard the tales you tell?

Or seen the scars you wear?

Did anyone speak up when you fell?

Does anybody care?

Rise again little fighter,

And let the world know the reason why.

Shine again little fighter,

And dont let it impair the things you do.

And you were one with a cause,

And a reason to be

You were a fighter for peace on this earth.

And you were never afraid

You put your life on the line

And you were always so long out on the sea

Without a weapon in your hand

You came to fight a war

They took your life, but didn’t know

That you will never die

Rise again little fighter

And let the world know the reason why

Shout again little fighter

And don’t let it impair the things you do

Are you feelin all right?

‘Cos I care, care

Run along little fighter

Oh coz I was there beside you

Never stop believing, so rise

Rise Rise!

Rise again little fighter

And let the world know the reason why

Shout again little fighter

And don’t let it impair the things you do

Rise again little fighter (Don’t stop believin)

And let the world know the reason why

Shout again little fighter (And keep on movin)

And don’t let it impair the things you do

Yea, don’t let it ever end the things you do

Contributed by : Aditi Nair

Autobiography of a Street Dog

maddogstrust — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:21:12 +0000

I am black, scraggy and have watery eyes. I drool. My hair is falling out in places. From this bleak picture painted, guess who I am? I am nothing more than a stray dog, the one whom you look with unmasked contempt, disgust and a little fear. I am the one, little boys throw stones at, just for fun. I am the one whose flesh some people considers a delicacy. All this apart, I am the one whom humans call as their best friend (before cell phones came!)

I used to roam around, careless and free, till today. I would forage the garbage bins for edible items, I would sleep under the drainage slabs and I would keep away from crazy vehicles driven by humans. I look both ways, left first and right, before crossing a road – since my brother died, crushed under a bus, while crossing.

None of the humans glance at me, they are all too busy in their world. Some, I feel, speed up a little more than usual when they see me looking at them. The little ones come to pet me at times, but are soon yanked away by their mothers.

Today, I was a bit surprised to see some humans calling out for me. They even had food for me. Though I was a bit suspicious in the beginning, the smell of meat soon lured me. The word lure is apt – as the dog catchers had meant for the meat to lure me into coming near them.

While I was sniffing the meat, I felt a strange hard string being put into place around my neck. I thought the humans were going to domesticate me by putting a collar around my neck – how silly I was!

Soon, the steel rope felt like a noose around my neck. Tighter and tighter it went, causing me to roll on the dusty ground, trying to escape. The more I struggled, the tighter it became. I could feel my heart beating wildly against my bony ribs. Wild colors started to fill my eyes and an eerie noise filled my mind. The rope around my neck cut off my own howlings. It was now cutting into my flesh. Now the struggle became one between life and death. I could feel the blood draining from my head. My lungs felt like it would burst any moment. Spit mingled with blood was running down my mouth. The throes of struggle reached a crescendo and began to die out. Weakness was creeping into my bony limbs.

The last thing I felt was being dragged across the stony pavement…I died before I could swallow a piece of the meat that cost me my life.

Story contributed by Keerthi Varier