The last few days have been really busy and a lot of the ABC dogs have been released, as have several of the long-term rescue dogs. Several of mine have gone home and while I miss them, it is so good to know that they are back where they belong. I was talking to Rachel about it and she said that it’s a shame we don’t get to see them back on the street as it’s the best bit and they will often come up to the ambulance to say hello weeks afterwards if they see it in the area. The dogs are so happy to be home, especially when they are greeted by their friends both dog and human. Research has shown the generally, a dog can be released into its old territory up to 3 months after being removed from it but after that, other dogs move in and the risk of fighting and re-injury would be too great.

In general, any dog that lives in a neighbourhood where the local people are supportive and will feed it can be released, even if it has had an amputation or is very old. Bitches with puppies can also go back providing they have someone to watch over them as can young pups who were born on the street but others, such as the little brindle puppy with the hind leg amputation, couldn’t possibly re-establish a territory and fend for herself and so, in situations like these, they are found homes with local people.

Surprisingly, there is a culture of dog owning in the Pushkar area and in the space of a few days we saw a pampered Pomeranian, a very creaky old German Shepherd and a very poorly Doberman who ended up having a blood transfusion, courtesy of Chitori, one of the permanent TOLFA dogs. Chitori herself was one of a littler of 4 who came in for hand rearing and was the only survivor. She had a real fight to live and as a result became a real character. Her name means Joker in Hindi.

It was with much celebration that the septic tank lorry finally arrived, only to find that the pipe wasn’t long enough. After much standing around and discussion (very Indian!) an extension was finally obtained and the loo is now back in working order.

The septic tank lorry cometh!!!
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A strange thing happened while the tank was being emptied. There is a small collie type dog who is what the compounders describe as “full danger”. If I hear Mary say that when she is doing her treatment rounds, I know that the dog will have to be ushered into the corner of its pen with a mesh panel and a loop of bandage dropped carefully around its nose in order to muzzle it for safe handing. This little collie was apparently truly awful to handle, but, being on Brenda’s side of the gallery and so not having anything to do with it, I didn’t know this at the time.
That afternoon, it had been let out of its pen for a walk about for some reason, or possibly it had scratched at the door frantically until it had let itself out. Either way, it was mooching around the place while I was doing my essential oil treatment rounds.

 I was half conscious of the tanker revving up and turning on the pump and the next thing I knew, out of nowhere, the little collie came flying down the passageway, leaped onto its hind legs and grabbed me around the waist. Without thinking, I put my arms round it, dropped to my knees and gave it a cuddle and he clawed his way onto my lap with his head stuck under my arm, trembling like a jelly. The poor little soul was so frightened by the sound of the engine that any distrust of people was totally overcome.

I offered him a few oils and he calmed down to the point where he would accept a biscuit. (Any animal that is pumping adrenaline will refuse food so offering a treat is often a useful guide to anxiety levels). I had a look at his neck wounds and commiserated generally and at that point, Mary came round the corner and in her quiet and low key way asked me if I knew just how “full danger” that dog was!

I don’t think for one minute that I have a calming “gift”. I just think that’s because I don’t do the veterinary treatments or get involved in restraining the dogs in the way the compounders do, I’m not perceived as the bad guy so, with patience and a bit of conditioning, the more nervous dogs usually see my presence as something positive rather than the prelude to something unpleasant.
The Doberman who came in for transfusion was very aggressive to handle and yet I could go in and stroke him and give him biscuits and a small black dog that was sharing the same pen as the collie was also a “full danger” dog and growled as soon as you looked at it and yet I had built up over 2 or 3 days to being able to stroke his head. I didn’t know that it was a problem to treat so when I told Mary this she just gave a wry smile and shook her head.

What was nice though was the little collie was happy to accept some fuss from her too so at least she also got to be the good guy for a change.

Little collie sticking close to the essential oils…
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I’d like to tell you a bit about Mary at this point. She is a very quiet and self-effacing person but it was a real delight to watch her handle the dogs. There is one in particular, a big tan coloured retriever cross type who was about as full danger in the pen as you could get. In the end they let him out to live with the gallery dogs (the ones who live loose in the passageways because they escape from their pens) and once he had more space and didn’t feel as threatened, he became quite inquisitive, less defensive and stopped growling.

Mary was concerned that “gating” and muzzling him was causing him real stress not to mention putting the boys at risk so asked me if I would bring some oils into his pen and see if I could distract him so she could treat his infected head wound. He went very strongly for Helichrysum, an oil that is excellent for proud flesh, infection, and allergic reactions and especially for the treatment of bruising, haematomas and emotionally bruised individuals. Over a period of about 10 minutes Mary gradually worked with him till he would allow her to touch his hindquarters and then worked up to his head and at that point, he allowed her to put some ointment onto the wound. We did this two days running until he was let out into the gallery and I have a huge respect for Mary’s ability as a vet nurse having watched her skill and sensitivity with that dog.

He is a very quiet and reflective dog and it only took a few days being loose for him to start to follow me round like a little shadow and eventually I could offer him biscuits from the flat of my hand and he didn’t find an open hand intimidating. I have got incredibly fond of him but he is booked in for ABC and the wound will be attended to under anaesthetic and so I have purposely not done any more with him other than keep out of his face and allow him to be with me on his own terms. Hopefully he will be able to be released in a few weeks, as he is a dog who really needs to go home.

Big tan coloured Gallery dog with head wound

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On the puppy front, Wendy has been working with a little black and white puppy of about 6-8 weeks who came in with a very swollen front left leg that turned out to have a dislocated fracture. It had healed but the puppy had still not attempted to walk and was also very anaemic from lice so after treatment and feeding up a bit, Wendy started rehab, which consisted of putting a webbing harness on him and taking him out for a dangle! After just 4 days, she had him bearing weight and by the end of the 6^th day, he could walk on his own. Wendy joked that as soon as she arrives in India the puppies start arriving too (it was she who reared Chitori). She was right as we had 3 litters come in and 2 bitches whelp in the first week alone and 4 other older puppies were brought in as rescues a few days before her arrival!

Black and white pup with dislocated fracture to front left leg on arrival…

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Wendy taking the puppy for physio (going for a “dangle”)…