Dogs

Native Indian dogs live on the streets in Udaipur and all over India. The spectacular breed (they are intelligent, quick,  alert and highly adaptable) have been living alongside human populations for thousands of years, but life is changing rapidly for the dogs who live in urban cities.  

Many street dogs enjoy great lives. Roaming free is wonderful when the neighbors are friendly and they can get a chappati (flat bread) and other treats or leftovers on a regular basis.

Many neighborhoods in Udaipur have few cars and plenty to do for a dog and their buddies. When he/she is sterilized (spayed or neutered) life can roll on with delightful simplicity, lolling in the shade, and rumbling around the neighborhood in the cool evening breeze.

But life isn’t always so kind…

Road Accidents and Injuries

As traffic in Udaipur increases so do the number of road accidents leaving dogs severely injured, paralysed, brain damaged, and with broken limbs. We respond to road accident cases immediately and with medical care, love and attention we do our utmost to relieve their pain and bring them back to health.

Dogs who have been hit by cars and who have sustained an injury to their spine causing paralysis in their back legs STILL have a chance at living a happy life. At Animal Aid we treat every case individually and try to give them that chance. Animal Aid staff member Kamla Bai (Photographed left) has been healing dogs hit by cars through physical-therapy massage for years and has had fantastic success. Countless dogs who on arrival at the shelter looked like they could never stand again have recovered so much that they were fit for release.

Wounds, however small, can be life-threatening if left untreated. Depending on the cause of the wound (for instance a puncture wound from a fight) it can be prone to infection and needs a course of antibiotic and daily wound-dressing. An untreated wound on a dog’s neck, head, or back is at risk of becoming infested with maggots as the dog cannot reach to lick the wound clean. We therefore encourage people in Udaipur to call on our helpline as soon as they see an injury to prevent further suffering or death.

BEFORE AND AFTER

BEFORE AND AFTER

BEFORE AND AFTER

Mange

Mange (also known as scabies) is a skin condition very common to dogs in India, and Udaipur. If untreated, dogs with mange begin to scratch themselves to the point of creating open wounds all over their bodies. They lose their hair and their skin breaks out in infections and scabs. As a result they are run-down and immunosuppressed, which increases the likelihood of  catching other illnesses.  For that reason, dogs recovering from mange at Animal Aid are often regarded as critical-care patients who are at risk of becoming hypothermic in the night, going off-feed, running high temperatures, etc. BUT…  once the treatment begins the itching and agitation stops and they usually recover very fast and beautifully. The infections and wounds on their skin start to heal and life goes back to normal. A full recovery usually takes 3-4 weeks after which point they are released back to their neighborhood again.

Dogs with mange need extra walks, extra food, extra warmth and extra love! You can help them recover even faster by visiting Animal Aid to lend a helping hand.

Illnesses

Going along with Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest,” street dogs who have survived till adulthood are some of the most resilient dogs you can find anywhere in the world. They have already survived diseases like parvo and distemper which probably took the lives of their siblings. That being said, drinking sewer water and eating out the garbage every day takes a toll on their health in the long run. Seven or eight years old is considered a good long life for a street dog.

Animal Aid receives calls for dogs who haven’t been eating for several days, who are vomiting or have diarrhea, or who are dull and listless. These dogs are taken to our shelter to receive medical treatment.

Sterilisation (Spay and Neuter)

Animal Aid’s street dog sterilization and rabies inoculation program aims to extend the life of every dog so that the street dog population is more stable and healthy.

Before releasing rescued dogs who have recovered from injuries and illnesses back onto the street, we perform the sterilization surgery and keep them at the shelter for an additional 4 or 5 days to ensure post operative health.

Sterilisation saves lives because there are simply more dogs born than there is food available for them to survive. When the puppies are born, life becomes extremely difficult for the mother, whose strength is spent in keeping the puppies alive as long as possible. We observe that at weaning time, most puppies do not survive. Out of a pregnancy of 6 live births, it is normal, under these conditions, for only one pup to survive beyond 6 months, sometimes sadly, none survive. It is unusual to find a mother who has survived more than two or three breeding cycles.

Anti-Rabies Innoculation

Since 2002, Animal Aid has inoculated more than 13,000 street dogs against rabies in Udaipur.

Rabies statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that 25,000 people die each year in India from rabies, and that India has the highest death rate from rabies in the world. In our area of Rajasthan there is no lab which tests for rabies, (requiring a tissue sample from the brain, post mortem). We occasionally have dogs who exhibit neurological symptoms which may be due to rabies but they can be due to head injury, brain cancer, brain infection or other disease complexes. When we suspect a dog may have rabies we euthanize it; but fortunately, this hardly ever happens. Since 2003, among about 20,000 dogs treated, less than 20 individuals have been identified as possibly having rabies, but none have been confirmed as positive for rabies.

We recommend that every volunteer who serves animals at Animal Aid should be vaccinated against rabies. The vaccine is relatively inexpensive in Udaipur: 3 doses, spaced one week apart, cost about Rs 350 each (USD $8). Doses are injected in the upper arm, and nurses at private hospitals throughout India can get you started. The vaccine, called Rabipur, is widely available.

Sanctuary (Permanent Shelter)

Animal Aid is a permanent home to about 50 dogs who cannot be released back to the street because they are handicapped, blind, too old, or otherwise feeble. The shelter dogs enjoy free access to more than 3 acres of land and lots of love from everyone around them.

Read more about Animal Aid’s sanctuary here.