Help Street Dogs in Dharamsala and Save Lives

 

Dear *{{First Name}}*, 

  

Wow. Who could have predicted this? 

I am writing this appeal to you as I sit in my hotel in New Delhi waiting for my flight to the USA on March 21st - the last day international flights are allowed to land in India. 

Two days ago, Himachal Pradesh, the state that Dharamsala is in, closed all borders to domestic and foreign tourists. Yesterday, it was announced that two people tested positive for Covid 19 in the county. Things are just beginning. 

I know all of you are probably practicing self-isolation at the moment, and hoping for the best. As you learn new ways of being, I wanted to make you aware of the impact this is having on the work you so generously support: 

We have no vet.

Our Head Vet, Dr. Sonia Thakur, is stuck in Australia until the ban is lifted. Our second vet, Dr. Nazneen Thakur left DAR March 8th to be closer to her family in the state of Punjab. She volunteered to come back and help while Sonia was stuck but now can’t because she is not allowed into the state. 

What does this mean for DAR? Luckily, our vet assistants are well trained and can handle all treatments and diagnosis with consults from our vets, just like they are for Modak. Modak is one of the approximate 40 hit and run cases we get per month. Here he is learning to walk again.    

The Dharamsala Government is encouraging people to stay home unless their work is critical. While our work is critical, we are not a human hospital and we need to ensure the safety or our staff.

What does this mean for DAR?

We have decided that only 50% of our staff will be at DAR at any given time and they will be told to stay home if they are ill. Our helpline will be on from 9am to 12pm each day and we will be attending to only emergency rescues. We rely on local shops for most of what we need and we are hoping we will still be able to purchase to help the 37 dogs at DAR currently and any new rescues. 

 

How can you help? 

 

If you are financially able to donate at this time, please take advantage of this

week’s matching opportunity.  All individual donations up to $50 will be matched starting NOW:

 

09:00:00 ET  (click for your time), March 23, 2020,

through

23:59:59 ET on Friday, March 27. 

 

All monthly donations will be doubly matched!

Not only will your donations help our animals, but it will enable us to keep our staff paid! There are no unemployment benefits for them and most are sole income providers for their extended families. 

I can't thank you enough for anything you can give at this time. Please everyone stay safe and healthy. 

 

 

Deb Jarrett, Founder & Executive Director

 

PS: We did have some fun during my 18 days in India. I even got to give Shivu her first driving lesson!

 

 

 

 

 

Links:

• Madok Learning to Walk

Once paralyzed from a car accident, Swift is not just walking again but running.

Hi ,

Winter is cold in the Himalayas and unfortunately, it is also puppy season. 

So many puppy born on the streets. No matter how many spay/neuter we do, there are so many more that need to be done. To try to up our game in that area, we are looking to change the way we implement our ABC (Animal Birth Control) program. 

We are looking to change to a "camp" based method which would have us gathering vet volunteers twice a year (October and April) to do as many spay/neuter as we can within those months. With this method, we can get more done (ideally) than we do in one year in our monthly program, where we currently aim for 80 per month. 

 Unfortunately, in the monthly program, we are unable to work during monsoon and sometimes in the winter due to weather. These restrictions cause issues with stabilizing the population while we focus on specific areas because if we do not hit 90% sterilization within 6 months, the moms are having litters again, making our work harder. 

Currently, we are aiming to hold our first camp in October, 2019. Stay tuned for more details as we go through the year. 

In the meantime, we have puppies, more than we can find homes for, like this cutie, Chhota Beem. 

Chhota Bheem was found chewing his left front and back paws. We think maybe he stepped on something really hot and it burned the tissues and the itchiness made him chew his paws partially off. 

We crossed our fingers and gave him a long anaesthetic because we needed to clean all of the dead tissue away. His was in such a poor state that we did not think he would wake up - but lo and behold, he was awake and eating the next day!

He is now getting stronger everyday, has a great appetite and is very charming! He is even walking! You can see just how charming he is by viewing the YouTube link below. 

You can see more success stories and learn how Dharamsala Animal Rescue is making a more humane and sustainable life for the street dogs of Dharamsala by joining us on social media.

Visit us on Facebook

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With gratitude,

Deb Jarrett, Founder & Executive Director

P.S. Become a sustaining donor – Donate monthly and help more pups like Chhota Beem.

Links:

• Chhota Beem enjoying the sun and cuddles