Services Suspended but Feedings go on . . .

Recently, Braj Animal Care had to put a temporary pause on its street animal medical services until we attain a more sustainable model through fundraising.

Simultaneously, the feeding program was expanded to two feedings per day. We hope to inaugurate our shelter and resume our medical care services within the next six months.

We also had a visit from a very special animal lover, Adidev, and his family on the occasion of his 8th birthday. He decided to celebrate his birthday with us as an extension of a school project on community services, and his family sponsored the day’s feeding. Adidev brought his own cameraman and interviewed our coordinator, Vishakha, for his vlog. He was also very happy to participate in our daily feeding programme.

We are very proud of Adidev’s dedication and for the way his parents support his interest in helping animals.

Shrikishor's Experience With Our Team . . .

Braj Animal Care welcomes volunteers who wish to come and serve our animal friends with us out on the streets of Vrindavan. Here, Chandan Atreya (Shrikishor Anuragi), a dear devotee of Radharamanji and a passionate photographer, shares his experience of volunteering with the team:

During my recent stay in Vrindavan, I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer with Braj Animal Care on two separate occasions. The first was to join the early morning animal feeding program. As I followed the team taking pictures, their zeal and drive to serve despite the bitter cold left me feeling humbled. It was so heartening to see the animals come running as soon as they heard the team’s voices calling out for them, whether it was the dogs and puppies that came to lap up the milk they served, or the cattle that came to eat their share of fodder with lumps of jaggery. Even the monkeys gathered to take the chickpeas straight from the team’s palms. I was more than happy to help capture these moments with my camera. I noticed that the Braj Animal Care team in their distinctive red jackets were well-received by the local people as we moved about Parikrama Marg, with some even offering us hot cups of chai in the cold, wintery morning! Some even told us of new litters of puppies or injured animals that needed help, which made me realise the impact Braj Animal Care has on the community. I was even shown some puppies that had been rescued and nursed back to health some months ago, and their happiness on seeing the team is a sight I will never forget.

Beyond the feeding, I also had the privilege to observe the team’s treatment of a parvovirus-infected puppy. I was inspired by the care the doctor and the team provided to ensure its survival and wellbeing. Their seriousness and love for this work on a daily basis was reflected by the tender manner in which the procedure was carried out. My heart will always cherish their extraordinary drive to serve, regardless of the conditions, for the sake of patients who cannot verbalise their gratitude, but still express their love in their own way. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and hope that I can join the team and have the fortune to serve again in the near future.

Rabbits at Keshi Ghat . . .

Yesterday we came across two very sick rabbits in a tiny, filthy cage. They had been abandoned by an anonymous person behind a popular chai shop near Keshi Ghat.

We are treating them for severe skin disease and other ailments. Happily, the chai shop owner has agreed to feed them until they get better, and then help find them new homes. We expect them to make a full recovery.

Drive Responsibly . . .

When you spend all day, every day taking care of street animals, it’s inevitable that you will face some emotionally difficult situations. One such moment came yesterday when a puppy we’ve known for a long time was run over by a motorbike.

This puppy and his siblings had all the support they needed to thrive – we fed them every day and vaccinated against the most common diseases. And an elderly monk had even offered them a warm and safe corner at the shrine where he takes care of the worship.

Unfortunately, the rash driving of irresponsible people was enough to wipe away all their good luck. One by one, cars and trucks sent the puppies to their graves. Luckily, the sole surviving puppy’s broken leg is treatable. Our veterinarian and many caring team members are fully committed to ensuring his recovery.

Treatment at Radhakund . . .

For the last several days, we have been traveling to the village of Radhakund for a very special case. We've had to make the long trip by motorcycle, as our van recently went for a deep cleaning and the seats are still drying out. It's a cold but necessary journey, as our patient's condition is dire.

The sweet dog we have been treating has maggot wounds all over his body. The most obvious is a huge gaping wound on his face, but the nasty parasites have also burrowed deep into his urethra, making the task of extracting them extremely challenging.

Any time maggots penetrate a head wound, the situation should be considered serious. This is because the maggots may enter the eyes, causing blindness, or the brain, which almost always causes death. We will continue treating this dear soul through all the difficulties, in hopes that he can make a full recovery.

Deworming Drive in the Winters . . .

In December, Braj Animal Care held vaccination and deworming drives in various parts of Braj Mandal. Most street animals suffer from parasites like maggots and intestinal worms. Without veterinary intervention, the animals have no choice but to suffer through it. In severe cases, animals do not survive such infestations. We are very happy to say that we provided deworming treatments to over 500 animals in the urban and rural areas of Braj during December alone.

A puppy receives treatment from our team

The process of seeking out animals for deworming helped us find many sick and injured animals we may not have known about otherwise. For example, whilst feeding deworming pills to street bulls in Vrindavan’s Chaitanya Vihar Phase 2, a local Brajwasi brought us to another alleyway where some severely ill puppies were hiding. Several of them were emaciated and flea-ridden, and two of them had dangerous maggot infestations in their heads. We were able to provide preliminary treatment for all of them and we are continuing to follow up on their cases.

A Volunteer’s Experience

Braj Animal Care welcomes volunteers who wish to come and serve our animal friends with us out on the streets of Vrindavan. Here, Kirtida Anuragini, a dear devotee of Radharamanji and a microbiologist from New Delhi, shares her experience of volunteering with the team:

“I finally got the opportunity to volunteer with Braj Animal Care, a longtime wish of mine. The case involved five very sick puppies living in the Radharaman Temple campus. We received calls about them late in the night, and by all accounts, these puppies were not well at all. When we arrived at the scene, one had already died, two were really struggling to survive, and the other two were in a better condition than their siblings. 

“The Braj Animal Care vet, Dr. Shrivastav, confirmed what we suspected already. The puppies had parvovirus, a deadly disease which kills them very quickly. The puppies were administered medication and saline, but I could see that their condition was deteriorating rapidly. We kept fighting to give the puppies any possible chance of survival, unwilling to leave them in their time of need.

Kirtida with another puppy patient

of need. While our emotions were swinging between a flicker of hope and fear of the eventual outcome, we asked the children who had gathered around to sing kirtan with us and bless the puppies’ souls. We also got some prasadi tulsi of Shri Radharamanji from the temple and placed it in the mouths of the dead and dying.

“By morning, only the strongest puppy remained with us, and despite having already been exposed to parvovirus, he was vaccinated against the disease. More than a week later, that puppy is still alive and doing well. The Braj Animal Care team said that given the seriousness of the situation, the survival of even one puppy is a positive outcome.

“This experience will remain with me for the rest of my life. The most important lesson I learned is to always try my best, no matter how difficult the situation is and without fearing the outcome. I thank Braj Animal Care for this wonderful opportunity and hope to do more seva with this amazing team in the future.”

Since Kirtida came to volunteer with us in Vrindavan, the team has continued to visit the remaining puppy in Radharaman Ghera to treat him. At present, the puppy is doing well and we will continue to look after him the best we can.

The Story of Tiger

Tiger is a friendly street dog whom we met in late November. He had gotten into a fight with some more aggressive dogs in his neighborhood, and ended up with a large and deep wound on top of his head. Tiger was so incredibly sweet and docile that he did not even struggle or whine when we were treating his wounds. He easily succeeded in melting all of our hearts.

Unfortunately, just a few days later, some neighbors decided that Tiger had rabies, although he showed no symptoms of the fatal disease. Some of them even considered poisoning him. As a result, the neighbor who had initially called us decided to take Tiger to the nearby city of Mathura and across the Yamuna River to a secluded forested area. The whole trip took about an hour each way by auto rickshaw.

After leaving Tiger in the forest, the man came back to Vrindavan and went to work. But by the time he returned that evening, he was shocked and deeply touched to see that Tiger was back. The man’s daughter said that Tiger even found his way into the house and tapped on her door with his paw! After this incident, the family decided to foster Tiger, and we hope the arrangement will become permanent for him. We continue to following up with Tiger’s medical care, deworming and vaccinations.

Have Compassion, Not Hatred

In the animal welfare field, you see horrible things regularly. Eventually, you start to wonder if your emotions have been permanently ground to a pulp, but last night I saw something that really hurt my heart.

Out of the five parvo puppies that we treated in Radharaman Ghera, only one is left. I saw him yesterday as I was leaving the temple and stopped to pet and play with him. He was chipper and active. Just as I was feeling this one might just make it, I caught a whiff of the strong, distinctive smell of parvo – the smell that hints his intestines might be melting inside - the smell of uncompromising death. But that's not what broke me.

It was after I left that I saw another tiny puppy near our favourite chai stall on the banks of Yamuna Maharani. He seemed to be lost - no mother around. Some big male dogs were trailing him as though they would soon make him a snack. I honked my motorbike's horn to keep them at bay.

I couldn't pick up the puppy as I was covered with parvo germs that would certainly infect him. As it was ekadashi, there were many people giving parikrama (the sacred walk around Vrindavan). The tiny puppy kept trying to follow different parikrama-goers as if one of them would pick him up and take him home. But instead, one man gave him a strong kick in the gut and the puppy went flying.

That kick is what really hurt. "What was that?!" I shouted to the man. But he barely looked back before continuing on his way.

I can understand this puppy doesn't have much chance without his mother, but why the hatred? Wouldn't it make more sense to do anything possible to make his difficult life better? I just can't understand.

Early Intervention is Key . .

As we mentioned in our last post, India is currently experiencing its monsoon (rainy season) and the Braj Animal Care team is seeing an increase in internal and external parasite cases.

Recently, we treated a cow in Mathura whose horn was infested with maggots. Maggots cause gruesome wounds and if left untreated can cause extreme deep tissue damage. In this particular case, when the doctor grabbed the cow’s horn to try and restrain her, the horn came off completely and we discovered that it was entirely rotten and worm-infested inside.

We were able to remove the remaining maggots from the cow’s head, which allowed the wound to heal nicely. Thankfully, our patient will be absolutely fine and most maggot cases can be treated with great success as long as we intervene early. 

Hope

Hope fell from a rooftop two months ago, but her problems were just beginning. Unfortunately, the fall left her paralysed. She was still able to get around by using her two front legs, but as she walked, her back legs dragged along the ground.

Eventually, this led to Hope’s legs becoming wounded down to the bone, leaving her extremely prone to infection and maggot infestation. We gave her medicine, dressed her wounds, and have been following up as best we can. However, she really needs a shelter space to recover properly.

Please watch the video to learn more about Hope.

Monsoon Woes

The monsoon is so beautiful in Vrindavan. Areas that looked brown and uncared for have exploded with abundant greenery. The summer heat is also somewhat soothed by the rains. But you wouldn’t believe what the animals endure in this season.

Flooding is just a small part of it. The real problem is the parasites that thrive during this period. The humidity is sky-high, and this creates an idea environment for maggots and other bugs to thrive. Maggots are the larvae of flies, who lay their eggs in animals’ wounds. These maggots can hatch within a day and burrow deep into an animal’s flesh, sometimes even reaching the brain. They can turn the smallest scratch into a life-threatening wound.

It is very tough to see many, many animals affected by maggot infestations; but thankfully, we know how to help!

Some Clarification on Private Cases

Braj Animal Care’s services are truly free for homeless animals. We may also sometimes grant free treatments to street animals who were recently adopted.

However, on the rare occasion we perform treatment for privately-owned animals, we accept fees. This also goes for animals who are already under the care of other charities. Those charities are accepting donations for the animals separately and this is the best way we have found to make sure all donor funds are used appropriately and to the animals’ maximum benefit.

Any time we charge for a service, that money goes back into our medical program to benefit animals who are truly homeless!

Another Acid Attack!

Today, after helping a dog who got hit by a car in Radha Kund, our team attended an emergency call in Mathura. This bull was attacked with acid.

We are not showing his wounds because they are too gruesome, but we can share on private message if you really want to see. His entire back side is a bloody mess. I cannot understand how anyone can do this to them.

The Street is No Place for a Baby

The street is no place for a baby.

Someone just informed us about this calf who died today lying in this pile of garbage. We are on our way to perform his last rites.

In our local dairy industry, baby bulls are not slaughtered but unfortunately, they are cast out into the street. Life is very hard for them: without access to food they eat garbage, and they are vulnerable to traffic, dog attack and a host of diseases.

We always try to feed and provide medical care for these little ones. Sadly, today fate was not in his favour.

COVID-19 Vaccinations for our Team!

Today some of our team members received their second vaccine against COVID-19, and one of our new members got his first dose.

India stipulates a three-month gap between doses so it has been a long journey. So thankful that our whole team is well on the way to being fully vaccinated!

Expanding Our Feeding Program

For more than a year, Braj Animal Care has been feeding approximately 400 stray animals across 20 feeding points on a daily basis, in and on the outskirts of Vrindavan. Our goal was to expand our program to cover more areas each day, so that we could serve more animals in need.

We are very pleased to announce that, with the help and support of our well-wishers, our new expanded feeding route was inaugurated on July 15th, 2021. Now we are able to cover 45 feeding points, serving about 850 homeless cows, bulls, dogs and monkeys each day.   

Collapsed on the railway line

Heartbreaking! This young bull got severe food poisoning from eating garbage and collapsed on the railway line. We moved him to a safer spot and have been treating him for the last two days. We are hoping that he will feel better soon. This is just one of the ten to fifteen medical cases we are treating daily.

Trust

Even when our team members are on break and out of uniform, the animals somehow know who to trust. :)

Ginger and the Need for a Shelter

Of the many patients we treated in June, one that required particularly close care was Ginger. Ginger was a dog that lived on the streets of Mathura. In a horrific accident, he was run over by a tractor and the tyre pulled off most of the skin from his back. Soon, maggots started growing in the space between his exposed muscle and the remaining skin. The Braj Animal Care team removed the maggots and cleaned the wound; we returned every day to repeat the treatment.

Just as the wound was becoming clean, a bad rainstorm in the area where Ginger lived caused the ground to be flooded with sewage and when he laid down in the mud, the wound became contaminated again. Our team continued to attend to Ginger on a daily basis but without a shelter where he could get 24-hour care and protection from the elements, we were not able to save Ginger’s life.

On a positive note, Braj Animal Care successfully facilitated the adoption of several puppies last month. When puppies are weened off their mother’s milk they become susceptible to parvovirus and once infected, they usually only have a few days to live. Upon adoption, Braj Animal Care provided the puppies with multi-vaccines which protect against many canine-specific diseases like canine influenza and most importantly, parvovirus. 

It’s evident to us that the work we do would make a much bigger difference to the lives of our patients if they were able to recover in a shelter with medical facilities. Some of Braj Animal Care’s June activities were captured on camera by our resident videographer, Siddhant Shekhar, for a new film highlighting the difference a shelter could make to our success rate. Stay in touch with us and receive regular updates on our work.