Tree Of Life For Animals

For a while now, we had wanted to overhaul our feeding regime for the dogs that were hospitalised at the shelter. It just seemed that what we were feeding them on, on a twice daily basis, just wasn’t hitting the mark and we wanted to make more of an effort to get things spot on.

Because the diet had to be made from scratch from local resources, it was important that all the nutrients were given at the right proportion and balance. For this I turned to veterinary colleague Nick Thompson, a vet who is committed to providing a personal, comprehensive, professional holistic referral service to the public and veterinary colleagues.

Treating both small animals and equines, his skills cover a wide range of complementary therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal and nutritional medicine. After attending many of his lectures in the past, and from reputation, I knew that he would be just the person to set us on the right track as regards getting exactly the correct nutrients into the dogs.

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Clara recently appealed for some much needed collars and leads so she could walk the puppies and dogs around more. Thanks to the generosity of her friends and family and a few UK supporters, we now have some spanking new collars and leads.

Here is Jack, Clara’s regular walking companion, proudly showing off his new attire.

Clara and pal Jack with a new collar and lead set, donated and brought over by Clara’s mum and sister in March 2008

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Read about a typical April day at our animal shelter in India as experienced by Serena, one of our hospital managers.

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‘The scent of roses greets me as I emerge from my room, thoughtfully the neighbouring roof top is carpeted with drying petals to distill into the famous fragrance “Pushkar Rose”. I stop in the market square to fill my bag with a fresh crop of vegetables, from a wizened gypsy resplendent in emerald green bustier and bare midriff. She likes to throw in some extra chillies and garlic and I can’t explain they’re not in the doggies diet.

I weave down the bazaar out to the snaking road through the hilly valley. They are dynamiting in the quarry beside the road and I wait for the shower of rocks to descend, somewhat nervously.

The shelter dogs crowd round my scooter wagging and barking, munching on their morning biscuit ration. Ginger, the head boy with his stiff, straight back legs, gets lively and vocal.’

Dogs in the sand - keeping cool after a morning welcome

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It is with great sadness that I have to write this news. Chitori, one of our resident dogs, sadly died last week. Just 18 months old, she had found a way into so many peoples hearts: staff, volunteers, visitors, not to mention the other pups and dogs we have on site.

Here are some words from 3 people who knew her the most: Rachel, Wendy and Serena.

Chitori
In memory of a beautiful friend

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Enjoy a scrummy afternoon tea, and help our animal shelter at the same time.

Event: Afternoon Tea

Date: Sunday 20th April 2008

Time: 2.45pm until 4pm

Place: Catkins Tea Room, inside Coopers Cross Garden Centre, New Road, Herstmonceux, East Sussex, BN27 1PX

Tickets: £10 each and include tea, sandwiches, scones and cakes as well as entry into the prize draw.

Please email fundraising@tolfa.org.uk or call the tearooms on 01323 831857 to get your tickets.

TOLFA - helping dogs Like these; Ginger, Justine and Boris

On Sunday April 20th from 2.45pm to 4pm the Catkins Tea Room in Herstmonceux, East Sussex are hosting an Afternoon Tea to raise funds for TOLFA.

Tickets for the tea are £10 which includes a full tea of sandwiches, scones and jam, cakes, and tea of course.

Entry into a prize draw is also included too, but places are limited so hurry!

Email fundraising@tolfa.org.uk or call the tearooms on 01323 831857 to get your tickets.

Now we are a charity, we are privileged to be able to have joined www.JustGiving.com. A brilliant website that helps us raise money for our favourite cause - and you to get sponsors for whatever event you are doing on our behalf!

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Erika Connor is an animal lover from Canada. She was one of our Project Raja volunteers and spent time at TOLFA from December 12th 2007 - February 20th, 2008.

Sitting here in the land of snow (a metre of it has fallen since my return), what do I remember of the 2½ months I spent at the animal shelter under the dusty Aravalli Hills?

Erika with one of her favourite dogs

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Heather is a veterinary student who volunteered with us in Autumn 2007. During her time with us, she wrote about a case that was particularly close to her heart. A monkey that had been hit by a vehicle came into the hospital. Thanks to the care and attention that was given, the monkey was released within 2 weeks. This is their story:

‘It’s inevitable when you work closely with animals that certain cases or characters will interest you more than others, and some steal your heart. It was a day like any other when the rescue vehicle pulled up at the hospital and unloaded a few dogs with infested bite wounds, a calf who had been lying down for four days and a baby monkey.

He was in a sorry state having been hit by a vehicle on what the locals call Snake Mountain, named after the twisting road that winds its way over the hill between Pushkar and Ajmer. There were no visible wounds but he was paralysed, confused and very depressed.

This monkey has been hit by a car and is suffering from brain damage (more…)

The Date: 7th January 2008

The Mission: To organise a ceilidh and fundraise for TOLFA (whilst keeping warm and having fun).

Heather McCabe had such a fantastic time as a Project Raja Volunteer that when she arrived home she decided to continue helping us.

Her efforts managed to raise us £50 plus an extra £50 from one of our collection boxes.

Heathers Ceilidh

It seemed like a good idea at the time, to use our contacts and put on a ceilidh in Glasgow to raise the profile of TOLFA and maybe a little money too. TOLFA has a special relationship with the Glasgow Vet students, several have volunteered at our rescue centre and hospital in Rajasthan, so a ring-round rallied the crew to help out and we were underway.

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Simon Andrews is a cabinet maker in Richmond, North Yorkshire, normally he is busy making bespoke welsh dressers and kitchen cabinets, but as a great dog lover (he has 2 rescue Border Collies) and admirer of the work of Tolfa, he sawed, hammered and painted away to make us 2 new collecting boxes to the same design as our Indian version.

One of the beautiful collection boxes made especially for TOLFA by the skilled hands of Simon Andrews. (more…)