Tree Of Life For Animals

I have returned from my 2nd trip to visit the Tree Of Life shelter in India. The site has changed in the year since I was last there. The most obvious change has been the volume of animals that are now being treated on a daily basis. On site there were approx 55 dogs and puppies, 3 cats and 1 kitten, 10-12 cows, 5-6 donkeys, 1 monkey and 3 calves. All of these are fed, watered, medicated and cared for each day by the dedicated staff at TOLFA and any volunteers that are there to lend a hand.At this time of year it is mating season and so there are a huge number of dog fights and unfortunately the injuries all tend to become infected with maggots so it proves to be a busy time catching and treating several of these a day. Some can take weeks to fully heal. Operations occured daily whether it was a routine neuter or a leg amputation, a cow with a prolapse or a fractured leg.Once the dogs had recovered from their illnesses or injuries they were all neutered and vaccinated before being released back to the area they were collected from.The rescue vehicle is out all day everyday collecting ill and injured animals generally dogs and cattle. They arrive back at the shelter before lunch with anything rescued and again before closing between 5 and 6pm. They can bring back anything from 1 - 8 animals a day.**Kim and Twinkle the calf**There have been some changes with the hospital too - building work has already started to extend the premises to include an office and toilet, an exercise area, a food prep room and a mum and puppy area (so they are segregated from the other dogs). There are also the beginnings of a new cattle shed which is considerably larger than what is currently there - Rachel hadn’t realised how many cows and donkeys she would be treating.Rachels staff comprise of 10 animal assistants, a driver and a nightwatchman and are all dedicated and hardworking and great fun to work with. She also has great support from her new trustees and some local people she has met in the past year.Whilst I was there we had 15 wooden donation boxes made and given to us for free which we painted and distributed out to shops and hotels. Hopefully we can raise some valuable funds through these.At the end of my trip I was so ready for a break but now I cannot wait to go back there. It is such hard work and seems never-ending but Rachel is doing a fantastic job out there. I hope people will get to visit her sometime in the near future to get an idea of what it is like and what she is achieving.