Tree Of Life For Animals

Picture this; the day is hot and clear, the wind is blowing in my hair as we travel the dirt road to work on the scooty. For most of my journey incredible mountains and wondrous scenery surround me. Another day in beautiful Pushkar starts as I head into the craiggery as it’s called in Hindi, meaning village, where the animal hospital is. For three incredible weeks I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Tree of Life for Animals. Each day I was able to practice my developing veterinary skills while helping to improve the lives of many animals, including dogs, cows, goats, donkeys, cats, and even buffalo.As I think back to my time in India, I can’t help but remember all the friendly faces I got to know. Rachel, our fearless leader, always working hard to ensure everything was going the best it could. Dr’s. Ashok and Irschad, taking each day challenges in stride and tackling them in the best manner possible. And of course the incredible animal assistants, without which, TOLFA would not be the amazing family that it is. They are hard working, caring and diligent souls who completely grasp the importance of their role. Shishpal with his constant smile, Sitaram with his incredible heart, Manosh with his muscle, the GQ boys; Anu, Ramesh and Bunty, always joking around, and Nadja, Eddie and Kishok with their excellent animal husbandry.The most important lesson I learned from my time with TOLFA is the intrinsic worth of each and every animal. Whether the animal is deemed sacred by religion or not, it received the best care possible from everyone. I especially think of Biscuit, an aptly named female buffalo that was paralyzed in her hind limbs preventing her from standing. Despite this, Biscuit was the sweetest animal I have ever worked with. She has large and kind brown eyes framed by long dark lashes. Her doe-like gaze was her method of communication and as incredible as it may seem, she was always using them to inquisitively glance at me each morning while waiting for her inevitable biscuit.I look forward to my return to India to visit with village friends I have made in Pushkar, my TOLFA family and of course Biscuit and the other animals I have gotten close to, as well as the new ones I will have the opportunity to help. The Tree of Life for Animals is an amazing charity and I wish it all the best in its future growth. I feel honored to be one of two ‘guinea pig’ vet students and won’t hesitate to recommend this humbling experience to anyone.I miss you ‘guys’ (not cows!!)Laura, July 2007Laura and Biscuit the Buffalo

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 20:44 and is filed under Previous Volunteers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.