Tree Of Life For Animals

Autumn is my favourite time of year at the shelter. Everything starts to wind down after the monsoon and the harvest and there seems to be a general contentment and peace. The greenery after the monsoon doesn’t last for long and once again starts to turn to dust and the skies are ablaze with the most fantastic of sunsets.

It’s the time of Diwali, the hindu festival of lights, and the Pushkar camel fair when thousands of camels and horses descend upon this small sleepy town.

Dr Ashok operating on a dog in our theatre

For us, it has been a very busy time. With our Animal Birth Control and Rabies vaccination Programme in full swing, every day 20 – 25 new dogs arrived at the hospital. Even with our extra new 60 kennel block, every kennel was permanently in use. After the excellent publicity that we received of our World Rabies Day celebrations, the phone has not stopped ringing with more and more rescue calls.

How we ever managed with one vehicle I will never know, as both our vehicles are permanently on the roads, either catching and releasing the ABC dogs, or rescuing a whole host of different animals that are suffering from a medical condition or involved in an accident. We have received many more visitors to the shelter as word has spread, and offers of help have been coming from every direction. It’s not only the animals in our shelter that have increased but also our staff and volunteers. Our Tree of Life is definitely going through a growth spurt!

Rachel Wright
Founder and Chairperson TOLFA UK / India

Annu and 3 Wheeler

Our exciting calf rescue

One other part of our work is to rescue any animals that have been reported injured.

Early one morning we were called to a rescue in a village just outside Pushkar – the complaint was that a calf had fallen down a well. It wasn’t the first time that we had been called to such a rescue – in rural Rajasthan, wells are common place and with no walls or warning around them, stray animals quite frequently fall down them. After about 3 hours the rescue vehicle returned empty and with 3 very exhausted looking staff, with dejected looks on their faces telling ‘not possible madam, not possible madam’.

It was clear what we needed was a crane and lots of man power to perform our daring rescue. Frantic phoning around to find a crane was proving unsuccessful – nobody wanted to drive into Pushkar during the busy camel fair. I had arranged to meet the people coming to help us, Kamlesh one of our Indian trustees and his friends, at a point that we all knew, just on the outskirts of town. But they were not the only thing we found. As if by divine intervention what should be standing there on the opposite side of the road, but a crane on government service… perfect - the driver had parked up to enjoy a cup of chai! After some intense negotiations and permission from the District Magistrate, we were able to release the crane from its government service and take it to the well. The driver looked rather bemused, I think it was a very different job that he was being asked to do from his normal work.

Parveen, Annu and myself climbed down the series of hanging ladders (which was no easy feat) to the bottom of the well, to examine the calf. Luckily he had only suffered a few minor injuries, swelling and bruising to the hindquarters, absolutely amazing considering how far he had fallen.

Rescuing a calf from an 80ft well

The only way that we of getting him up out of the well was to sedate him, so he would remain as still as possible and prevent more injury to himself. After his sedation, we tied him up ropes and supports, so that he could be attached to the hook and long chain at the end of the crane. There was nothing for it now but to start the crane. The worst part was when the calf got to about halfway, as there was no turning back, the only way was up.

Precariously hoisting the calf up the well

By this time, we could hear a lot of commotion up above and it sounded like half of the village had gathered at the top of the well. It felt like an absolute age to reach the top, and with a lot of heaving and pushing we finally managed to get the calf through the small doorway, the sigh of relief from everyone involved was audible. We untied all the ropes and settled the calf in a quiet spot. After about 20 minutes he started to come round and looked a bit confused as to what had just gone on. When he was ready we transported him back to the hospital for daily treatment for the pain he had in his back legs, but he made a full recovery and was soon released.

Read the full story of our incredible Calf Rescue on our website: The Calf Rescue

Get to know Our Staff

Currently TOLFA employs 24 staff, which is pretty incredible going considering our short two and a half year existence. This includes 3 veterinary doctors, 17 animal assistants, 3 large animal groundworkers and 1 night watchman.

Our staff are absolutely vital to the work that we do and we have always tried to maintain a friendly, family orientated atmosphere at our shelter which many people comment on when they come to visit. Employment can be very hard to come by in rural Rajasthan and so to have the security of a regular job is a blessing that is not taken lightly by our employees.

In India, everybody is divided into castes which identifies your work, place in society and other aspects, such as who you can marry. It is an incredibly complicated social and religious system which would be impossible to explain in a short paragraph, but in some instances can have the effect of apartheid - of one sphere of people thinking that they are better than another.

About 90% of our staff are ‘harijan’ caste, also known as ‘untouchable’ caste, which comes very low on the social hierarchy. This means exactly what it says and so for much of their lives, the staff have felt marginalised. I have been in situations on rescues, when a high caste person has given the call but they won’t allow the staff within the boundary of their house even to wash their hands, because they are thought of as unclean.

Some of our staff helping out on World Rabies Day

Even within our village, some of the non harijan caste members of our staff have been told that if they do any menial task such as cleaning out a kennel, they will be cast out of the community. At the hospital we have tried to make it as caste-less a place as possible. All the staff know that they are special, valued members of a different type of family and that everyone is the same and treated so. Seeing western volunteers doing things such as cleaning a kennel, has made them realise that they have nothing to feel ashamed about and feeling empowered has had an amazing effect.

Manoj was our first animal assistant and had already spent some time working at other animal non-government organisations in both Jaipur and Delhi. Originating from a village far away in the Nagaur district, his 2 older brothers were already doing the same job. He came to us with our previous veterinary doctor, before the shelter even existed. While at the hospital Manoj will put his heart and soul into the job and being very practically minded can come up with a solution for almost any problem.

He is very strong and competent in holding any animal and can be relied upon to just get on and get the job done. He is unable to read or write having only attended school for a couple of years, but after the birth of his first child he asked one of the other literate animal assistants, if he would teach him. He is an excellent and fair teacher of the practical aspects of the job and many of the newer assistants have a great deal of respect for him because of that. He is married to Sema and has one child, with another due very soon.

Manoj and Siteram on duty together

Siteram is the polar opposite to Manoj, having reached 12th class with his studies. As with Manoj, Siteram forms the solid foundation that all our other staff values are based on. He is also incredibly hard working and loyal, but his strengths lie in more written, than practical tasks. Now most of Siterams work, rather than being firsthand animal treatment, deals with helping the shelter run efficiently.

He helps to maintain all the stock levels, looks after the deliveries of anything from medicine to bricks, and takes care of all the bills and receipts. He is absolutely meticulous in his attention to detail and his record keeping is immaculate. He takes a special interest in the volunteers and making them feel welcome and settled when they first arrive at the shelter. Although only 27, he appears much older and many of the younger staff go to him for advice. He is originally from the Alwar district, is married to Rani and has 2 children.

Get to know Our Animals

Although it is TOLFA’S policy to release as many animals as we can, there are always instances when this is not possible due to the nature of the injury or illness that the animal has come in with. We therefore become the permanent home for many animals for the rest of their lives. These animals become part of the landscape of our shelter and are much loved by staff, volunteers and visitors and the place just wouldn’t be the same without them!

Ginger – also known as the boss!

Ginger

Ginger was rescued at the first Urs project that we did in 2005, at the disused fire station before we moved into our shelter. Having sustained a previous spinal injury he walked like a ballerina, on tip toes with his legs dead straight. He was in a thin and sorry state. We immediately struck a bond though and I knew that from the moment we picked him up, he would never be released. He was our dog. He has become a bit of a TOLFA mascot – once seen, never forgotten.

He never allows his disability to get the better of him and it has never stopped him doing exactly what he has wanted. He can keep up with the younger, fitter dogs, if he feels like it but mostly he just dances to his own tune. He is a wise old soul, very gentle but with a will power stronger than no other. If he wants to do something, he does it and there is nothing you can do to stop him.

If any new dog is to be introduced to the TOLFA team, they have to get on with Ginger… if they don’t and try to challenge his authority, then they’re out! For all the dogs loyalty to Ginger, in return they receive his unrelenting protection.

Ginger has developed a taste for milk and is often found with his head stuck in the milk can!

Want to Sponsor Ginger? It costs just £2 per month

Hop-a-long

Hop-a-long also came to us very early in the evolution of the shelter, before our large animal operation theatre was finished. He had been found wandering the streets. Before you could get near him, you were overwhelmed by the smell – that very distinguished smell of a maggot infestation.

Hop-a-long before the essential operation

A rope had been tied too tightly around his leg, so that the circulation had been cut off and the leg was literally hanging by a thread. There was absolutely no alternative but to remove the hoof and lower part of the leg. In himself, amazingly, he was incredibly bright and strong. So that’s what we did and he has been managing on his slightly shorter forelimb for over 2 and a half years now. It doesn’t seem to slow him down and he still manages to keep up with our other 5 donkeys. He is a very calm and peaceful fellow and keeps himself pretty much to himself!

A new donkey, hop-along- happily munching on some fresh grass

New Building Projects

After all the construction that occurred over the summer, in the last few months, the building work has eased off a bit. With the new Animal Birth Control and Rabies vaccination project taking off, it was important that a lot of our focus was put into that and not spread ourselves too thinly. With materials such as cement that were donated locally, we were able to build a gallery that joined our new kennels with our old kennels.

Building the Gallery

During the winter months we are inundated with lots of puppies and we can reach numbers of up to 25 in at any one time. Mostly they are suffering from distemper, rabies or diseases caused by exposure to the cold such as pneumonia. Many also have huge parasite burdens such as lice and worms.

Winters in the desert really can get very cold and it is these weather conditions that every year add to the huge mortality rate in puppies. With so many, it became impossible to house them in the existing kennels or cages that had been brought over from the UK. A separate puppy housing area was required and so in January 2008, the building work commenced and is at about to be completed.

Building the Puppy Kennels

And with a kind donation from Mrs Rahi, an animal lover who visited the shelter from Jaipur, we were able to build a new reserve water tank, which is vital in our desert state of Rajasthan.

Project Raja Volunteer Scheme

Our volunteer scheme began in June 2007 and has been going from strength to strength, with more and more enquiries and bookings coming our way. Kym, a previous volunteer and trustee has taken over the reigns of running the project from Petra as the workload has increased dramatically since inception. A big hearty thanks to Project Raja volunteers, Heather, Stina, Mary, Brenda, Pauhla, Erika and Maisie, for all the hard work and effort that you put in to help with the work at the shelter. You have all been fantastic and done a grand job of helping things to run smoothly at the shelter.

Interested in volunteering with us? Email us volunteers@tolfa.org.uk for more information

Justin and Laura, our first official Project Raja volunteers, with some of our staff, plaster casting a cows leg

Fundraising News

Over the past few months we have had some special fundraising events being organised on our behalf, including a traditional Scottish Ceilidh, an Auction Night and a Charity Dog Show. No matter how small or large these events are, they all raise vital funds for us to continue the work we do with the animals in India, but they also raise awareness for our cause too.

We are always looking for funds to maintain our current premises and expand our shelter and facilities. Current building projects include a new puppy kennels, a boundary wall and a larger cattle shade. But there is always more to be done. If you are interested in arranging a fundraising event on our behalf, please email fundraising@tolfa.org.uk and let us know.

Scottish Ceilidh

Heather, a vet student from Glasgow Vet School, volunteered with us in Autumn 2007. Heather experienced strong bonds with many animals on her visit, especially one particular monkey that arrived one day.

After falling in love with our animal shelter, she decided to help raise some money for us, and set about organising a traditional scottish Ceilidh. Read about it here.

‘It seemed like a good idea at the time - 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, as several have volunteered at the rescue centre and hospital in Rajasthan, so a ring-round rallied the crew to help out and we were underway.

Glasgow University Union gave us the Debates Chamber at a special rate and ‘Pochled’, a local ceilidh band, kindly agreed to provide the music and call the dances at; all we needed now were some dancers!

Fortunately some very energetic dancers came along and through their enthusiasm, energy and generosity we had a great dance and raised much needed funds for the hospital. Many thanks to all who gave their time and support , although we were few in number our mission was accomplished – everyone had a good time.’

Between the ceilidh and a collection box, Glasgow Vet School has raised close to £100 for us. Many thanks to everyone for their time, hard work and generous donations.

Heather with the monkey who touched her heart

Auction Night

Serena, one of our previous volunteers and now a valued trustee, set about organising an Auction Night to raise some funds for our animal shelter. A select group of supporters was invited to make the evening go with a swing. Read how the evening went here.

A group of friends, trustees and supporters of TOLFA assembled in leafy Linden Gardens, London W2 to hear Jonathan Kydd, actor and gravelly voice of many well-known TV ads like L’Oreal Revitalift and Age Perfect, strike his gavel on the bread board to galvanise, so wittily, the eager bidders.

The guests, many suitably dressed for the Indian themed soiree, munched contentedly on Indian canapés cooked up by Reza of the Star of India, Old Brompton Road, who was also star of the TV series – “Delhi Belly, Coconut Coast and United States of Reza” and “A Place in France”, washed down with a few bottles of Cobra!

Verity Crossen, Vet Volunteer, shares a joke with Reza, chef extraordinaire from the Star of India

Rachel, Kim, Nadine, Serena, as TOLFA trustees, and Verity, volunteer vet, mingled with the guests describing TOLFA’S vital work.

A short and moving film on the work of TOLFA was projected onto the wall - written by Richard Saunders, edited by Arianna Thomasing and mixed by Seb and Charlie of Morgan van Dam, with the voice of Jonathan Kydd

Many new supporters of TOLFA were recruited and the evening raised about £1,800. Thanks to all for their time, support and hard earned money.

Charity Dog Show

Cromwell Vets in Huntingdon organised a charity dog show to coincide with National VN Week last November. The day stayed dry and everyone had lots of fun getting their dogs involved in lots of doggy activities, competitions and face painting. They raised over £600 and donated a generous £238.57 to TOLFA. Thanks to all involved.

Taking part at the Hounds at Hinchingbrooke Dog Show

Just Giving

Since becoming a fully registered charity in September 2007, we are now able to claim Gift Aid on all of our donations, which will help make your money go further. This means we have also been able to join Just Giving - a great way for our supporters to create their own online fundraising page.

Catriona O’Leary was the first to get her fundraising page set up. In September 2008, she will be riding her Marwari horse, Chandra 400kms across the Rajasthani desert for us. It is a serious challenge, so if you would like to help Catriona with her epic adventure, please sponsor her at http://www.justgiving.com/caitrionaoleary

Our Managing Trustee, Kim and her boyfriend Pete are running their first half marathon this weekend in Hastings. Want to sponsor them? Visit their Just Giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/kimandpetehastings08. We wish them lots of luck.

Give Meaning

We have an appeal at Give Meaning to raise £1500 to fund a puppy vaccination programme. Our aim is to eradicate Rabies, but also vaccinate young pups against many other horrible diseases such as Parvovirus and Distemper. So far we have raised 10% of this total, but things have slowed down, and if we don’t reach our target by April, we won’t be able to get the programme started. To read more about this appeal or donate to it, please visit http://www.givemeaning.com/project/puppyproject.

Thank You

Every month there are so many people to thank for donations of money, medicines, equipment, time, skills and support in India and the UK. It is impossible to list everybody, but you all know who you are, so many thanks to everybody. As always it is really appreciated, and makes such a difference to the lives of the animals we treat in India, as well as improving the lives of the local people who rely on animals for their livelihood.

Visit our Sponsors and Thank You page on the website for more details.

It is only with your support that we will continue to see our Tree of Life for Animals grow even more.

Big Bertha - just one of the many dogs you have helped us to treat. Big Bertha was hand-reared as a pup and has now been rehomed with a local painter.

FaceBook

TOLFA now have a group on the popular social networking site, Facebook, the website that seems to have taken over everyone’s lives. It is a great medium for those of us supporting the same cause. So if you are already a member of Facebook, please join the TOLFA group and show us your support.

We currently have 50 members, but want more. Please join us! It is a great place to find out what we are doing to raise money and awareness about TOLFA. It is also a brilliant way to share your ideas about what fundraising events are happening, which ones work best, plus if you have any questions to ask, there are plenty of people who will have the answers.

You will also get to see some great pictures and videos of the happenings at the shelter in India, be able to view future events as well as telling us some of your ideas too.

Join the TOLFA group on FaceBook today

Keeping cool in a sand hole!

Clara’s Appeal

One particular volunteer who is working at our shelter as we speak is Clara. She says “One of the ways volunteers like myself can make a real difference to the dogs’ lives is to take them out for walks”.

Clara and friend Jack, enjoying a walk in the sunshine

So in response, we have set up a lead and collar appeal. If you have any new or old dog collars and leads you would like to donate, please send them or any donations to Kim Clarke, c/o Creative Media Centre, 45 Robertson Street, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1HL. Thank you.

We will be emailing our newsletter 3 times a year. If you don’t wish to receive future newsletters, please email the word “unsubscribe” to newsletter@tolfa.org.uk