Gill came to volunteer at our shelter and during her 4 weeks with us she enjoyed a sojourn to Jaipur, attended Serena’s leaving party where they were entertained by a local musician, experienced the local cuisine, learned the art of scooter riding and of course had the obligatory hennaed hand treatment.
Gill and her favourite shelter dog
Discover more about Gill’s experience as a Project Raja Volunteer at TOLFA
Inspired by her volunteer experience with us last November, Pauhla was determined to raise enough money for us to buy a cattle hoist which we needed to lift our more cumbersome patients.
Pauhla was so driven on her return to the UK she managed to fulfill her mission and raise the whole £500 needed to allow us to buy one. The hoist itself was ordered in the UK and transported over in Rachel’s backpack whilst the A-frame needed to support it will be made in India.
Staff proudly show off our shiny new cattle hoist
My Volunteer Experience
I volunteered with TOLFA from January to April 2008. I left my job and friends in the UK to gain experience of working with animals, and have a bit of an adventure, but I didn’t really know what to expect. I was looking forward to returning to India after my first visit last year, but I wasn’t prepared for just what a huge effect this experience would have on me.
From the moment I arrived at TOLFA I was proud to be a part of the shelter’s work. I met the founder’s mum, Wendy, and Canadian volunteer Erika with whom I would share many surreal dog-centred moments over the next few weeks. I also met the three permanent vets, who all must have been chosen specially for the way they can remain unflappable and good-humoured in some very stressful situations, and the compounders – possibly the friendliest and most genuinely nice group of blokes you could hope to meet.
Clara and few of the new friends she made at TOLFA
Read about the experiences of our latest Project Raja Volunteer, Alba.
Such an experience! Starting my first day at TOLFA was a shock for me, as a vet I’ve never seen dogs with distemper, rabies, dogs extremely affected with mange or paralysed dogs living with a good quality of life, free and wondering about.
Without many diagnostic methods, just your eyes, hands and a stethoscope, one adapts easily to “the Indian way of work.” It is interesting to be able to treat not only dogs and cows but also peacocks, buffaloes and camels!
Alba feeding an orphan calf
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
I’m not really sure how I ended up spending the month of November in India as I’m very happy on my home patch & I’ve never travelled further than northern Europe in my life. (and have never really wanted to either!)
As a qualified VN, I knew I was going to be in situations that were going to be difficult physically, emotionally and mentally, but I was actually much more nervous about being in rural India, in a culture and a language that I didn’t understand. And I don’t like hot food! Somehow, even after a nine hour flight and 8 or nine hours travelling in a car the following day I found life in Pushkar, and TOLFA very easy to slip into. India has its own time frame and once you’re into the daily routine, going with the flow just seemed to happen.
Mary, Brenda and Pauhla - our November 07 Project Raja Volunteers
I first met Rachel Wright, founder of TOLFA, in 2003, when we both enrolled on a diploma course in Essential Oil Therapy for Animals. About a year ago, Rachel made a comment in an email to me that she hadn’t realised just how many large animals they would see at the shelter, such as cattle and donkeys. Off course big mouth here, being a farmer said “Well in that case you could do with someone who knows one end of a cow from another!” and Rachel’s reply was “So when are you coming???”
So, on Tuesday 30th October 2007 I arrived in Delhi along with my friend Mary Lindo, another vet nurse from the course and my friend Brenda. Our first introduction to India was when what initially looked like a minor road rage incident as we left the airport car park, escalated into what I suspect was a fatal assault and at that point, I must admit, I was starting to wonder quite what I had got myself into!
Pauhla treating one of the TOLFA patients
The Winter in Ireland is long
The winter in Ireland is long, wet and grey, combine that with the need to go out and see some of the world and do something where one can use ones skills, and a stay at TOLFA seemed like a great idea.And it sure was, 3 weeks of sunshine, constant greetings from happy people and even happier animals and interesting fulfilling work.
Cleaning a maggot wound on a boar with two of our animal assistants
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
I found TOLFA by a happy accident whilst en-route to another animal hospital in Jaipur in November 2006. I never made it to the other hospital and had the great privilege to volunteer at TOLFA for several months.
When you arrive at the hospital, which is in the middle of an incredibly beautiful and rural desert valley, you are greeted by a happy collection of limping, twitching and wobbling animals, and the hyperactive Loopy Loo, plus the cheerful welcoming smiles of the fantastic team of staff.
Having no veterinary or nursing qualifications I soon found my niche as the ‘doctor of love’ dispensing huge amounts of TLC (and biscuits!) to the dogs and puppies, and caring for the very sick.
The work at TOLFA is often heartbreaking; caring for animals for days, sometimes weeks, only for them to die. But it is enormously rewarding too; seeing animals recover from seemingly impossible odds and having happy, healthy dogs, that you have treated, come up and greet you in the local towns. In this kind of work you have to focus on what you can do, not what you can’t.
The impact on the local community cannot be underestimated; the work on sterilisations, rabies control and rescue work of sick and injured animals of all shapes and sizes; providing valuable, regular employment for the dedicated team of staff; providing free clinics for the livestock of incredibly poor local farmers who manage, somehow, to scratch a living in the valley.
A trip to India is always going to be fascinating and memorable, but to spend time at TOLFA in this amazing region of Rajasthan is truly an unforgettable, life changing experience.
Kym Barratt November 2006 – July 2007
Kym and friends
