Tree Of Life For Animals

I’ve never really been much of a traveller, so the prospect of a month in India sounded like a great adventure. I had little idea of what to expect, but I was lucky- some of the previous volunteers were able to pass on some of their wisdom and a few tips!

Heather with just a few of the many pups we get in to the hospital

Arriving in Pushkar is like being dropped into another world. The narrow streets are crowded with vendors, cows, motorbikes, children and dogs weaving their way between all the legs, the stalls are ablaze with colour, men sit deep-frying delicious smelling local delicacies, all watched by the rooftop monkeys.

Sunset over the lake is something which has to be seen, everybody congregates on the ghats, tabla drummers, jugglers and dancers entertain the people who sit on the steps drinking chai. It’s a lot to take in for one day! I was greatly relieved to arrive at the hospital where I felt a bit more at home!

The staff are wonderful people, they made me feel so welcome, asked me into their homes, introduced me to their families and most of all were cheerful and a joy to work with. I learnt such a lot and saw things I had never experienced, nor would I have the chance here in Scotland.

Some of those things were very exciting and gave animals a chance at life which they wouldn’t otherwise have, such as the cattle leg amputations, others were very sad to watch, dogs developing rabies, rickets causing serious deformity and one dog in particular who was dying of a combination of malnutrition and a serious head wound infested with maggots.

I grew very fond of many of the house dogs, they all have very different characters and a definite pecking order! But my favourite patient was definitely the wee monkey. As he recovered his personality began to come through, and he would take the huff if he thought he eaten too much papaya recently and refuse everything except biscuits and apple!

My stay has really opened my eyes and my mind. It is frustrating sometimes to see the many problems in life, but a great comfort to meet people like Rachel who are working to change things.

Like a stone in a still pond the ripples that the work of TOLFA creates in the local community benefit people and animals alike. I hope to be able to continue my relationship with the charity and the people connected with it for many years to come.

Heather McCabe, Vet Student

September 2007

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 17:24 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.