My ancestors

The animals of India ... what will I see, what will I think? These were my first thoughts in traveling to India. And if you're reading this blog, chances are you know there's a big ol' soft spot in my heart for the welfare and care of all animals. It is why I do what I can for the San Francisco SPCA.

Shameless SF SPCA plug: don't forget to put March 1st on your calendar for the not-to-be-missed Bark & Whine Ball.

It breaks my heart to see the the hard life of Indian animals ... short of offering a wee bit of comfort, there's nothing I can do ... sometimes I simply have to turn away.

There are the cows,

the donkeys

......... all born to a hard life, life as a beast of burden.


They work hard day after day. They scrounge for food. But sometimes you see a sight like giving their cow a bath (trouble is, I'm not sure he's not going to be someone's dinner since this picture was taken in a Muslim area of Calcutta).

Camels, horses, and elephants seem to do much better. They are exorbitantly expensive by Indian standards and as such are taken reasonably well care of. But don't kid yourself, their's is not a pampered life and they work hard.

Goats, monkeys, and pigs ... probably do the best. Perhaps because they have adapted to a yummy meal of scrounging around the garbage scraps.


But about those dogs and cats .........

Cats? Not so much! I've just not seen cats in many of the cities I've visited. Perhaps, cats have simply not been able to evolve in the pure vegetarian cities with no meat, fish or eggs. In non-vegetarian cities, you do see the occasional scrawny and skittish feral cat, mostly loitering around the meat markets.

Dogs? If my darwinian knowledge of natural selection holds true, Indian street dogs must have evolved over time such that they can survive with minimal protein sources. What do they eat? Today in the smaller cities, it's kind of like a self-sustaining eco-system. Many of the food stores are just small stalls opening onto the streets ... there is rarely any garbage pickup, and everything (I do mean EVERYTHING) is tossed onto the street ... particularly at the end of the day, any produce or uneaten food is just dumped and the street animals arrive for their meal time. After the dogs, then the cows, goats and pigs chow down, there's surprisingly not too much trash left. How is this changing as the cities get bigger and the infrastructure improves, such as in Delhi and Calcutta ... will the animals be left behind?

How can I help?
I don't know if it's the proper thing to do in India - but I've been feeding some biscuits to the street dogs. Even if it's not improper, it often gets some quizzical looks from the Indians. Sometimes the dogs are friendly ... sometimes quite frightened of people. They are most definitely street dogs ... feral pack creatures. Often they won't touch the biscuit until I've dropped it on the ground ... although most times they're more than happy to get a little scritch behind the ear.

But that only does so much. And being in Calcutta, the world-reknown volunteer haven, my first choice was to work with the animals. So off I trot to the Calcutta SPCA. I had heard they only needed vets as volunteers to help with surgeries ... and sure enough. Darn, my CPA-dom doesn't qualify. They have enough Indians and government support to help with the minimal care and feeding of the dogs ... but the SPCA president did make an impassioned plea for US donations.

I took some time to walk around to see the kennels. Not that it took long since there's maybe only 30 cages and about half were empty. They do not have the funds to provide any sort of spay/neuter program unless they get very specific donations. The dogs that do end up with them are usually brought in by the local Indians who want to take care of thir neighborhood street dogs. Most were desparately in need of socialization, but overall their cages were clean and physically they seemed well cared for.

With all that said, what was my reaction upon arriving in India? Horror, shock, heartbreak. There are dogs running everywhere, not a one of them fixed, covered in mange, scrawny as all get out, many with an injured leg. Likewise with the cows, donkeys, and pigs. For some, it's a wonder they're still standing and alive.

My next reaction has changed ... or, perhaps as a way of coping with what I've seen over these past two short months ... or, perhaps my reactions will continue to evolve. In so many ways India is a kaleidescope of reactions ... it just depends on the many ways you view it at the time.

The Indians seem to treat all aminals with respect and dignity, whether it's a beetle or a cow. Afterall, at least from the Hindu perspective, each animal is someone's ancestor. Yes, the animals are scrawny, underfed, and impoverished ... foraging for food in the garbage heaps. The work animals, such as the donkeys, have a hard life of physical labor. But perhaps it can be viewed as these creatures being treated no differently than the people who likewise are scrawny, underfed, impoverished, pick through the garbage heaps, and do hard physical labor ... even very young children. Should I not be equally aghast at the poverty, filth and hard work of all Indian life?

This is a people (and animals) who often have nothing. They live literally on the street. I would say they only have the clothes on their back, but in some cases that is almost an overstatement. For all ... life is hard, work is hard ... animals included.

With all that said, what do I think? I don't know. What I do know is that I will continue to support animals wherever I can, however I can ... one animal at a time. Who knows ... that puppy could be my great great grandma.

Remember your furry friends ... and give them a big hug and a smooch! Happy New Year !!!