Our Volunteers

Hugh & Angel	"Animal Aid changed my life," says Julie O'Neill, who joined the Animal Aid family in spring of 2007. Julie volunteers for months on end giving her joyous and fun spirit from morning till night, tirelessly encouraging and soothing sick and recovering animals. In the last two years Julie has taught the staff compassionate animal handling through friendship and persistence and has given thorough guidance to volunteers. One of her talents is in befriending frightened and aggressive dogs, and because of her love and patience they almost invariably become love-bugs, speeding on the road to recovery. The animals know Julie as their fearless, tender mama.
Julie O’Neill’s dear granddad, Hugh Dunlop, (82 years young) came from Canada to visit in February 2008, to see just where his loved one was dedicating so much of her compassionate self. He was here for a month, and each morning, without fail, he accompanied Jim to the shelter where he single-handedly rounded up the fast and full-of-attitude injured donkeys to allow the dogs their morning meal in peace. Letting the donkeys loose, Hugh fed them green-fodder, which is not an easy task to do when 10 hungry and impatient donkeys follow you at the heel taking bites of the grass before their turn! Sitting down to rest for a few minutes, he meticulously scrubbed surgical instruments to prepare them for the autoclave. By the time his trip was coming to an end, the injured donkeys came hobbling to greet him, the pups wagged their tails ferociously, and older dogs like Angel patiently waited for their turn being loved in his kind arms.
Char and Ravi	Lucy and Cowboy
Char and Lucy Conley came to Animal Aid in Dec. ’07, planning on staying a month or two, but within a couple of days, to our thrill, they decided to stay longer… ten months longer! The animals, staff, and other volunteers at Animal Aid were given the beautiful gift of Char and Lucy’s patience, deep compassion for animals and people, relentless humor, and dedication. Char flowered in the presence of calves and cows, becoming a guide for us all in caring for orphaned calves. Lucy’s life in “kitty-kennel” has been passed on to her pupil in cat compassion, staff member Ganesh, who is one of a great many people and animals who can’t wait for their return.		Diane Federico adopted a beautiful 3-legged dog from Animal Aid in 2007 and brought him home to Baltimore (USA). Finding she had unlimited love to spare, Diane has returned to Animal Aid many times and has committed time, intelligence, funding and love to all the animals, who, it appears, have many ways to say "I love you too".
Sasha Weigel	Ray with tiny friends
“This adventure, also known as Animal Aid, provided me with possibly the MOST inspiring two weeks of my time thus far in India. Yes, it was that good. Animal Aid is a hospital for sick and wounded street animals: dogs, cats, cows, donkeys, goats, monkeys and buffalo. Located on the outskirts of a small tribal village just outside Udaipur, the hospital consists of a rambling sort of foundation, sprawling kennels and makeshift roofs, paddocks for the big animals, and open-aired rooms. Albeit rather unlike our sterile institutions of straight lines and rubber gloves, this place functions better than a well-oiled machine. It is a center of nurture and healing, not just medical administration." more...	After hearing about Animal Aid from another volunteer, Ray Calver(New Zealand) came to join in and walked so many dogs we couldn’t even count. It seemed he tried to beat his own dog-walking record each day, which was a great way to boost the spirits of dogs otherwise bored and lonely in kennels. His strong arms were a relief to Kamla Bai every day as he assisted her in carrying buckets of water for the cows and donkeys. He will be missed by the puppies, to whom he was a gentle friend.	Kristy Jones (UK) was a calm and gentle force that animals naturally gravitated towards. She healed many animals with her kind voice in February, 2008.

Leah Neff (U.S.) volunteered at Animal Aid in late 2007 where after cuddling puppies and dogs, she discovered the affectionate and sensitive nature of cows. ”Being a teacher and a foreigner in India was overwhelming much of the time and it was so nice to go out to Animal Aid and relax in such a warm, friendly environment. You {Erika} told me before I started volunteering that many of the dogs are paralyzed and pretty pitiful, but they often make full recoveries. I wasn't sure I believed you until I saw it with my own eyes. I'm sure you hear it all the time, but the work you all do out there really is incredible. Animal Aid is a very inspiring place, through both the people and the animals. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of that!" ~Leah~”	Maya Henningsson, from Sweden, happened upon Animal Aid in April, 2008. Quickly changing her plans, she stayed to volunteer for two weeks and her cheerful, compassionate spirit brightening the days and lives of the animals she walked, groomed, bathed, and tenderly cuddled in her lap. Louise Miller, from Australia, worked for a month during 2008, and saved the life of Scout, the puppy in her lap. Louise made friends with all the staff, several of whom demonstrated their love to her by swimming in Tiger Lake when they didn't actually know HOW to swim!	Natasha and Girly were inseparable. We are suspicious that Natasha had something to do with Girly's weight gain that began during Natasha's stay in November, 2007.
	Kamala Bai and Pia Cipikoff	Joan and Lady
	Kamala Bai has been a staff member since 2003, and every animal in our care considers her their personal savior. Pia Cipikoff visited several times during 2005 and 2006, and together with her husband donated the materials to provide our monkey habitat..	Joan Lodge (U.S.) volunteered in Dec. ’07, and was the life-support to so many animals. Her delicate touch encouraged sick animals to eat, which gave them the nutrition that was vital to their survival.

Judith Herzog (Switzerland) has saved hundreds of animals during her months-and-months of volunteer service. Since 2005 Judith has divided her time between living half-time in her native Switzerland, where she serves human animals as a social worker, and half-time in Udaipur.	Nagisa Hiraoka. "I had such a great experience and I could not have wished for a better place to work abroad. As long as I am working with animals I am happy. But I was beyond happy every single day because not only was I doing what I love, I was surrounded by such warm and caring people."	Yves Bouillet (Germany) and Tej Singh (Village Varda!) in 2005. Yves volunteered as part of an internship with Foundation for Sustainable Development, a US-based charitable organisation. He helped Claire launch the education program which has resulted in an increase from just a handful of emergency rescue calls each week to some 15 per day.
	“Animal Aid is really all about animals. I’ve had the time of my life and I can’t wait to get back to do more” -- Elaine Philpott, Veterinary Nurse, UK, May, 2005	Dr. Keith Hamilton from UK, in 2003 was one of our first visiting vet surgeons. Dr. Hamilton taught our then-small staff a range of vital new skills, and expanded our atmosphere of both sensitivity and fun.
James Harris was a devoted friend to Animal Aid who spread good cheer and animal seva (service) almost every day for two years. A resident of India for over 30 years, James was a talented fine artist (visual arts, woodwork, and textiles) who had made his home in Udaipur for almost a decade. James passed away in October, 2006, but he is remembered every day for his kindness, his extraordinary humor and an imagination for kindness that is truly irreplaceable.

Kate, Alex and Karolina. Never to be forgotten!	Center Eric Tierney (Australia) and Pia Cipikoff (Denmark) 2004. “It was fun and interesting every day." - Eric Tierney, Australia, June 2004.	In 2007, with longer hair, Eric came back to Animal Aid! His incredible love for cows in particular was glorious to witness for all, and his carpenter skills helped keep them in at night :)