[Dr.Sav]

Wow! Again I feel among my own. Kudos to Akshay and all who have helped the dogs.

We are animal lovers and have a policy at our home, right from our grandfather's days. We only adopt stray dogs and not foreign breeds 'cause our elders taught us that foreign breeds are privileged and there is no dearth of owners and pampering for them. But stray dogs are underprivileged and deserving more of our love. And because of that they turn out to be more loyal.

Our current dog is rescued from Goa and the fifth at our home. The others died of natural causes and it is quite saddening when that happens. It's a death of a family member who has been a part of your life for long. My mom goes into reclusion for weeks till we find a new one. But then we console ourselves again and adopt another dog. We collectively feel that we have more love in our heart to share and so cannot help adopting new dogs.

At one time our house was almost a zoo with all rescued animals and birds. 2 dogs, 1 squirrel (fallen from its nest and almost about to be killed by spoilt kids, 2 bulbuls (rescued from a burning tree), 1 pigeon (who got stuck in a window) and 1 myna bird (rescued from a lightening struck tree in Goa). This myna bird stayed with us for 14 years, was part of my childhood and had learnt to speak more than 20 words in English and Konkani. Man, she was a brain and my darling. All rescued animals were kids and would have definitely died without supervision.

Right now our solitary dog, Frazer, is 11 years old.

[Punzabi]

Akshay, really a great gesture towards the stray pooch. Bless you for that mate. Many of us would feel pain for a critter involved in an accident but only few of us really go to that extent and help the poor souls. I am a dog lover too and had two pooches (a male pom and a female spitzcross) at one time (now left with one since the male passed away 5-6 of years ago). She (Tipsy, we call her) is around 16 years old now. My sister found Tipsy wandering around at local temple when she was just a couple of weeks old pup and took her home. Since day one, this canine has been showering her love on us and being reciprocated the same. Now she is very old and has developed a tumour in her teets which has grown to a big lump and as per the vet can't be operated because she's too old for a surgery, whole family's heart ache to see her in such a condition. She's grown so old that she's hard of hearing (doesn't acknowledges when we call out to her even from a meters distance) and has a poor eye sight too but still being loved the same old way.

Just a piece of advice to all you pet lover,please make sure when you feed non-veg to your canines/felines that its boneless if cooked (otherwise feed them half cooked with bones). Bones turns hard upon cooking and chewed bits works like splinters and can (most of the time they do) damage your pets stomach/guts. Apologies if same info has already been shared here

Regards
Punzabi

[Gansan]

I checked with the shop owner a little while ago. Blue Cross van did not come till he closed up at 8.00 PM, but the dog came back to rest in the old place. He did not see the dog after opening shop this morning. I have requested him to call me when the dog comes back, and will contact Blue cross in the meantime.

The wandering of the dog is a problem. If it was near my home, I will feed him and tie him up till help arrives. What to do near the office? If the van comes when he is not here, they will just go back after searching the neighborhood.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Blue Cross will take in and care for strays and abandoned dogs, but will not accept them from owners.

Blue Cross do not always come when we call. Once I called them repeatedly to report a badly injured mother and the pups wailing beside her. They promised each time but did not turn up. She was not letting anyone near her too. Don't know what happened later.

[Gansan]

^^They do come late sometimes because the rescue vehicle would have gone elsewhere. If I notice any animals in distress in my area, I always call a Blue Cross volunteer who lives in the neighborhood and she takes care of everything. I also ensure the animal stays in the area till help arrives. This being near my work place, I am stumped.

[suhaas307]

I'm sorry for hijacking this thread, but I just couldn't help myself. I had to share this with you'll. I've put a few pictures on the Pets Thread, but these are different.

We as a family are ardent dog lovers. My mum has had dogs ever since she was a child, and my father, although isn't much of a dog lover, he has formed a strong bond with our dogs at home. My sister and I go gaga over street dogs and we try and make their lives as comfortable as we can, my mother leading from the front, of course!

So several years ago, we spotted this one year old black dog (which looked like a cross between a Pomeranian and something else) in the park next to our house, and she was in very bad shape. She had lost all her hair on her back, and there were only patches of fur around the legs and face. Her body was teeming with ticks and fleas and it was red and sore. She definitely had some kind of disease.

She didn't look like she would make it, honestly.

Add to that, she was preggers. Which didn't help matters at all. We felt really sad for her and went straight home to get some milk and bread. She seemed very hostile initially, and preferred her space. But my mother managed to get to her, and she accepted her presence.

After a few days, she had delivered, and some of the pups had died. But we were able to save a few. She didn't let my sister and I get anywhere close to her and her pups for quite a while. We fed her and her pups for a couple of days and made a make-shift bed for her in the park, and then called Cupa, but they didn't turn up. So we decided to take matters in our own hands.

She was fine with us, by now, and she let my mum take care of her pups while she was being fed. People on the road stopped and looked, inquired and even offered to buy the pups from us, as they looked healthy and very cute! We gave some of them off, after a few weeks and took the her to the vet and got her treated and spayed.

It took her a few months to get back on her feet, and now she's a healthy and hairy little dog that loves to be pampered and loves food! She has formed a very strong bond with my mother and doesn't let anyone threatening her anywhere near her.



She has recovered from all her diseases now, and she's become so fat that she can barely walk all three flights of stairs at one go. She needs a break in between!



A picture of her asking us to rub her wittle belly


It's been about 5 years since we adopted her. And she joined our other two dobermans, Suki (who is no longer with us) and Zeus, her son, who is now about 8 years old.

EDIT: We can't even believe that this same dog, was so hostile and unfriendly. She is arguably, the most loving creature on this planet!

P.S. Her name, by the way, is Katie. Or Katy. Like the pop-artist.

[akshay4587]

It seems we have another problem.
As he is recovering,it seems he has started missing his mates.(he has started howling at times).
We make him sleep in a room at night,and during the day,he crawls around,in the approximately 500 sq yards of space surrounded by walls.
his front leg is also kind of slighlty injured(no fracture).
We cant let him out of that place,else his presence wont be accepted by Our GSD.

[shankar.balan]

howling is normal. dogs also have dreams.
plus since he has spent most of his life out of doors, then he may be feeling penned up. howling is a dogs way of expressing strong emotions.
he will get used to being cared for but he does need some company - as long as there's someone around him he will be ok.
in a case like this I would suggest nurse the man back to health and then release him back in the neighbourhood if possible unless of course there's already a pack of dogs around there, in which case they wont accept him.
be careful and check first. this step is better to take, since your existing chap may not take to this new fellow - there may be a battle for supremacy and it is not a good idea given our man's current ill health.
and make sure the GSD is given extra love and affection else he will feel cheated in some way.
tough call man - I take my hat off to you for your patience. Luckily as it appears you've got some reasonably competent help at home - else it would have been very difficult indeed.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

It seems we have another problem.
As he is recovering,it seems he has started missing his mates.(he has started howling at times).
We make him sleep in a room at night,and during the day,he crawls around,in the approximately 500 sq yards of space surrounded by walls.
his front leg is also kind of slighlty injured(no fracture).
We cant let him out of that place,else his presence wont be accepted by Our GSD.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

howling is normal. dogs also have dreams.
plus since he has spent most of his life out of doors, then he may be feeling penned up. howling is a dogs way of expressing strong emotions.
he will get used to being cared for but he does need some company - as long as there's someone around him he will be ok.
in a case like this I would suggest nurse the man back to health and then release him back in the neighbourhood if possible unless of course there's already a pack of dogs around there, in which case they wont accept him.
be careful and check first. this step is better to take, since your existing chap may not take to this new fellow - there may be a battle for supremacy and it is not a good idea given our man's current ill health.
and make sure the GSD is given extra love and affection else he will feel cheated in some way.
tough call man - I take my hat off to you for your patience. Luckily as it appears you've got some reasonably competent help at home - else it would have been very difficult indeed.

We are planning to release him near the place,where he had crashed,once he recovers,as if we realease him somewhere near our place,the other territorial dogs might not accept him.Since,we stay at a farm,he can anyways stay here as well for as long as he wants,few chappati's and milk/egg everyday is all the poor soul would need.
In fact he is getting attached to us,as he gets exicted whenever any of us goes to feed/check him out.

[shankar.balan]

excellent. if he can lurk about the farm there is nothing like it!
yes all dogs really require is a bit of affection and some grub - they will remain peacefully wherever these simple things are available for them. also clearly from your description he is eager because he needs company too.
poor guy!

Originally Posted by akshay4587

We are planning to release him near the place,where he had crashed,once he recovers,as if we realease him somewhere near our place,the other territorial dogs might not accept him.Since,we stay at a farm,he can anyways stay here as well for as long as he wants,few chappati's and milk/egg everyday is all the poor soul would need.
In fact he is getting attached to us,as he gets exicted whenever any of us goes to feed/check him out.

[scopriobharath]

Well, if your dog is missing his mates, leaving him at the same place may not be the best idea. If finances are not a problem, you could adopt another dog to give him company.

[Dr.Sav]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

It seems we have another problem.
As he is recovering,it seems he has started missing his mates.(he has started howling at times).

Howling is usually a lonely dog's mating call when his testosterone levels increase. The dog cannot do much about it 'cause it's natural. What we can do to help the issue is to get it sterilized. My dog used to howl too especially when alone at home. Sterilizing was the key. Now he's more playful, calm and suitably active too.

[akshay4587]

The boy is doing good.
He tries to get up every time any of us visits him,and he manages to do so,on his right legs(front left is hurt,and rear is broken),i feel so bad for the poor soul:(.
Meanwhile,our pet heard his howling,and now keeps sniffing around the area,we have kept the boy.
Just wish,that he gets up and starts running.

[akshay4587]

Really bad news:(
Our gardener was not at his room in the outhouse last night,and we fed the boy around 9pm,and made him lie down in his makeshift bed,inside the room,and closed the door(didnt bolt it-like we used to do).
He escaped through the bushes during the night.
We tried to look around for him till afternoon,but all attempts went in vain.

He is missing,We will try again tommorow.
Just hope that he is doing good.

[suhaas307]

^^ That's really sad Akshay!

I hope you find him, but if the lad is smart enough and knows that you're there to take care of him, he might try and find his way back. Street dogs are street-smart after all.

Maybe he left because he was missing his mates?

Don't lose heart Akshay. What's meant to happen, will happen. If he wanted to leave, he would and he will. Maybe it's for the best. I'm sure the bugger will be back to his old ways soon. He's a fighter, from what I've heard.