A Dog's Life in God's own Country

Want to make a difference?

2010-06-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Sign the Kerala Dog Petition to stop the brutal slaughtering of dogs by the local government of Trivandrum. If you have already signed, then you can help us further by finding other people who oppose to animal cruelty and make them sign too (it will take a few minutes)! Thank you very much.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: KERALA PETITION

The link is: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/boycott-kerala-tourism-to-save-animal-slaughter

Donations from Generous Animal Lovers

2008-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Before going to India I emailed my friends to inform them that I was going to do a little volunteer work during my holiday. I asked them for a small donation for the dog centre in Kerala. To my surprise I received a very generous amount in donations from many people, accompanied by very kind and supportive messages.

On Friday 10th of October 2008 I went to Animal Rescue Kerala to surprise Avis with the huge amount in donations. Avis was overwhelmed.

And I was proud to be able to give her this substantial amount to support the incredible work she is doing. I experienced myself how much the dogs need and deserve it.

The total amount in donations on the 10th of October was 430 euro! On the 13th of October some more donations came in, raising the total sum to 540 euro! And again after the 13th more donations for the dogs came in. On the 17th of October the total amount for ARK had risen to: 645 euro.

The total amount on the 10th of November is: 795 euro!

The following people have contributed to the vast amount that we have raised so far for the dogs of Trivandrum:

C and C Lorist
M.de Jong
H. Verhoogt en E. Verbruggen
J. Lourens
J. Buis
S. van Hasselt
L. Garcia
N. Ligthart
V. Snijders
L. Giesberts
E.S. van Duren
AM. van Erven-Baggen
G. van Os-de Jong
M. van Vloten
A. Bentum
M.J. van der Wijk
L. Jelicic de Boer
H. van Kampen
A. Vittoz

Avis told me to say thank you to all of you. So: THANK YOU!

Donations are still (and always) welcome. If you have a few euro or pounds to spare, transfer it to my bank account (43.03.03.130, S.Engel, Amsterdam) or pay it directly to the center via the donation section on their website.

Information on ARK's financial situation
It's actually quite simple: being a foreigner Avis doesn't get any funding whatsoever. It's pure discrimination. It's heartbreaking to hear what she has to go through. Moreover because her organisation is the only animal welfare organisation that actually deals with the work involved to rescue dogs in this area.

ARK is the only orgnanisation implementing the ABC/AR (Animal Birth Control/Anti-Rabies) programme; a programme set up by the national government in 2000 to control the stray dog population and to fight rabies. Other animal welfare organisations on the other hand do get funding but do nothing to help the dogs. Avis has sold her house in England for ARK and put in a lot of her own money to be able to continue the work she is doing.

You can read more on this matter in the section called 'dog killing'.

Photo info | 'Donations from Generous Animal Lovers' - Ph1. A dog at Animal Rescue Kerala that has had both her back legs cut off. She can only stand on her front legs. Avis has special 'wheel chairs' for dogs that can't walk. Ph2. Avis at the dog centre holding a little white dog that is paralised due to a car accident. Photos © s.engel

Below a letter by Avis Lyons from ARK thanking all of the people who have donated. In this letter she also explains how your money is used to help the dogs.

LETTER FROM AVIS LYONS (DIRECTOR OF ARK)

Sree Nilayam, Azakulam,Vizinjam P.O. Thiruvanatapuram Dist.pin 695521 Phone0471 2796202/2483180
Charitable trust number 187 - 2005

On behalf of the animals in our care I would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the friends, colleagues and family of Stephanie who so generously donated to her fund-raising efforts.

Stephanie has raised 795 euros, which is a huge amount here in India, this amount would feed all the animals in our care ; over 120 dogs and puppies plus over 20 cats at any one time, as well as our two rescued ponies, for approximately 5 months!

Alternatively it could pay to sterilise approximately 120 dogs, either way every penny donated to ARK goes directly towards helping the animals in our care. I would like to say a special thank you to Stephanie for all her hard work in raising this money. It is very much appreciated.

Avis Lyons (director of Animal Rescue Kerala)

www.animalrescuekerala.org

Lots of information on dogs

2008-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Rishi Dev, an architect in New Delhi, is an Indian who really cares about animals. He has written a lot on the brutal killing of dogs in Kerala and other parts of the country. On his website you will find interesting articles, reports, pictures and much more. The poem on his frontpage is heart breaking and very beautiful. It's really worth a vist to his website:
Please. Help. Animals

Keep reading, there is more..

2008-10-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

A Dog's Life - why you should read this blog (to the end..)

Visit to the Dog Centre

Dog Killing (plus interview with Ragini)

Information ARK on Dog Killing and Petition

Dog Tales (cruelty stories Avis told me about)

2008-10-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

A Dog's Life

2008-10-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

This blog is about 'drops in the ocean'. With the drops representing every rescued dog. And the ocean being the Trivandrum area, capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Kerala is also called 'God's own Country'. Because I look at Kerala from a dog's perspective I call it 'God's Dog Country' (and yes, this also explains the name of my blog). You might have noticed the funny coincidence that the three letter word G.O.D makes up the word D.O.G. when you spell it backwards(a forward email with this pun is actually circulating the Web). But in Kerala there is nothing 'divine' when it comes to a dog's life.

Why Kerala is called 'God's own Country' I don't know. It is a phrase often used in tourism advertising. You'll see it on billboards and on posters featuring clear blue seas, green carpets of coconut trees and white sandy beaches. And that's reality too here. For some, us lucky tourists, it's exactly that: a divine place for a tropical experience in a part of India that offers relaxation, adventure, culture and excellent cuisine.

However, for the dogs it is a completely different story. The cruelty animals are subjected to is disgusting. Dogs (stray dogs and petdogs) are being killed on a massive scale. And then there is the ill-treatment of dogs. Dogs with broken legs or semi-paralised dogs because they have been over-run by a car, dogs with maggot wounds because their chains cut deep wounds in their flesh, dogs with severe burns because people have poured boiling water over them, and dogs who had their legs cut off by some horrible creature with a sick mind.

These are awful things that can really get you to hate people. But that is absolutely not what I am intending to do here. The aim of this blog is not to make you downhearted. It's not meant to make you feel uncomfortable, guilty, or feel bad in any way. The aim of this blog is quite the opposite. It's meant to make you feel good, because you can do good.

Yes, the world is a shit place at times and there are a lot of nasty people doing horrible things, leaving others to deal with the results of their actions. But (and here is the good news) there are so many little lights in this world who clear up the mess and repair the damage.

Here in the Trivandrum area it is a British woman called Avis Lyons who does everything in her power to help these poor animals. Six years ago Avis gave up her comfortable life in Britain to move to Kerala and start a project to help dogs: Animal Rescue Kerala (ARK). At the moment she has nearly a hundred dogs in her care, which have all been subjected to a form of ill-treatment.

Her work and that of many others in this field is often referred to as 'a drop in the ocean'. It's these 'drops in the ocean' I would like to talk about on this blog, because I believe that every little drop deserves an warm applause from a large and encouraging audience.

Photo story | Visit to the Dog Centre

2008-10-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

How do they do it? How do they find the strength, the courage and the energy to take in and revive completely dehydrated, beaten, burnt and otherwise ill-treated dogs? Some of them being more dead than alive. To fight corruption and continiously returning hassle with government and police. To keep reminding the locals to treat their animals better or to speak out when they witness cruelty towards animals. It seems to be an impossible task. Yet some people manage to pull it off. It's what the British owner of ARK, Avis Lyons, and her staff at Animal Rescue Kerala do all day and every day. And what they have been doing for the past six years. On the website of Animal Rescue Kerala you can read all about it.

In this section of my blog I would like to tell you what I learned about ARK while I was there. Below you will find a short report of my first visit to the dog centre.

When I Met Avis and the Dogs

Driving down the main road from Kerala's capital, Trivandrum, to Kovalam Beach, Animal Rescue Kerala is hidden in a green bush just off Kovalam junction. The auto rikshaw is rocking to all sides as we are driving down the extremely bad road leading to the dog centre. Actually, the road doesn't look like a road, more like a river bed with large stones peaking out of the brown reddish sand. Later, Avis tells me that the Trivandrum Corporation refuses to repair and tarmack the road. The governement money provided for this purpose has disappeared into their own pockets. It's one of my first encounters with the huge corruption of this state that dominates all aspects of life in Kerala.

Once we've reached the centre I am standing in front of two high gates, one on either side of the road. To the left is where Avis lives, together with her volunteer vets, about 20 dogs and two horses in a large and beautiful garden. To the right there are the kennels. Avis gives me a tour starting with a warm welcome by about ten dogs that walk freely on the premises.

These dogs are in a very good state. They are all rescue dogs and have been treated for some sort of injury. Once maltreated or undernourished they now roam around happily at the centre.

Some of them are enjoying a little siesta on the patio whilst getting their much deserved daily attention. Others are searching my bag to find the piece of bread I have put in there earlier that morning.

In front of the gate is the main building housing the surgery, with the puppy and kitten section on the first floor. The puppies jump up and produce high pitched barking sounds when they see me.

In the other corner is the cats' enclosure. A little kitten hangs with all fours to the fence and desperately tries to get my attention. There are a few adult cats and many little ones. It's hard to count how many, they are everywhere.

The vet and the nurse are feeding one of the cats by hand, injecting a fluid because the poor skinny thing has an upset stomic and refuses to eat.

Outside to the right of the main building are the 'hospital beds'. This is the E.R. of the centre. In these three cages the new ones are recovering from an operation or treatment.

There is a brown street dog with a broken leg in a plaster and a huge maggot wound on his back. He is a wild dog with many scars in his face and an extremely sad look in his eyes. God knows what this animal has been through.

The vet explains that they get many street dogs with broken legs (usually hit by a car) and dogs with maggot wounds. When a dog gets injured, flies lay their eggs in it and then the maggots get in. During an operation he shows me a maggot.

The dog in the second 'hospital bed' also has a broken leg and she is heavily pregnant. A few days later the vet tells me that the little white dog has given birth to six puppies. Another challenge for Avis and her team to find good homes for these little ones.

To the left of the main building are the kennels. In total there are about eighty dogs, Avis tells me. A lot of the dogs in the center are strays that have been steralised. But to my surprise there also quite a few pedigree dogs.

The first dog that catches my eye is a huge Great Dane with a lively character. Oh, how much I would like to take him home, but how on earth am I going to fit this massive Scooby Doo Dog in my flat? Avis tells me that she has found a good home for him.

There is a young Doberman in the middle of the kennel buildings. He is extremely thin, his bones are visible under his skin. Avis explains that he is actually doing well, because he was barely alive when he reached the center.

Next to the Doberman sit two small street dogs in another enclosure. This enclosure has a fence that doesn't even reach my knee. For these dogs it isn't necessary to create a high fence as these dogs are not able to jump it and run off. They can't go anywhere because they can't run. One is paralysed from the waist down and the other has had her back legs cut off by some monster. Both of them are hopping around on their front legs, with their back end lugging behind them. They remind me a bit of the crippled beggars I had seen in the city.

Dog Killing

2008-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948):"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animal are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."

On Gandhi's birthday, the 2nd of October 2008, we went to Trivandrum to interview Ragini, a 63 year old Indian woman who had lost three of her dogs to the Trivandrum Corporation because of dog killing operations. Avis picked me up at 2pm in her little ARK van. Just before we left for the city three men came to us screeming 'dog bite, dog bite'. We assumed they meant a dog had been bitten, or attacked by another dog, so we parked the van and followed the men into a nearby house.

But as we got there, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the dog. Not in the sense that he had any injuries that needed to be looked after. It turned out to be a classical case of stupidity of people who do not understand animals. They had called us because the dog seemed to go for them, trying to bite them. Something that wasn't very strange as the poor animal had a huge chain on this neck and stood in the burning sun without any water or food.

It was clear that the dog was frightened to bits. It had its tail between its legs, all the way up to its tummy. And when trying to approach the dog it would bark loudly and jump around nervously pulling the chain. In a very strict tone Avis told the men that they had to give this dog water and to take care of it. She would send in someone later to come and pick the dog up.

We continued our journey to Trivandrum, rushing to make the appointment with the lady I was about to interview. Avis had asked me the previous day to write an article about this woman. It concerned a personal story behind the dog killing which Avis needed for a court case against the Trivandrum Corporation.

There had already been a court case against the Corporation before the High Court of Kerala. This particular case ended with a sole statement by Corporation claiming that they were implementing the ABC/AR programma. Which, of course, was a total lie. They don't vaccinate or steralise any street dogs, they only brutally kill them. On a vast scale. Avis hopes that the court case before the Supreme Court in Delhi will finally put a stop to the indiscriminate killings of dogs.

Below you'll find the article I wrote for ARK about Ragini and the matter of dog killing by the City of Trivandrum.

Protecting Trivandrum's stray from harm
Friday, 3 October 2008
TRIVANDRUM - Ragini has had to go through the pain of losing a beloved dog three times. Three times it was taken away and killed by the Trivandrum Corporation. The 62 year-old telephone supervisor from Trivandrum tells Animal Rescue Kerala (ARK) her story.

"I have no children, these dogs mean everything to me," says Ragini. She is no exception, she says, when it comes to caring for animals. "There are many people here in the Trivandrum area who respect and take good care of street dogs." However, Ragini is an exception to the rule when it comes to talking about the breach of the 1960 Cruelty to Animals Act by the Trivandrum Corporation. People are afraid to speak out, says Ragini. "We all know that the killing of dogs is illegal, yet the City continues with its dirty business."

Not only does Ragini voice her concerns about the welfare of dogs in and around Kerala's capital, she has also taken legal action. She went straight to court after losing her first dog to the brutality of the Corporation in 2001 at Mulavana Junction. "Three of us were feeding that dog; a lady doctor, a workshop man and me. He was a very good dog and everybody was fond of him. He wore a collar and slept in the workshop. This was also a dog that took care of us, because he walked the women of this neighbourhood who returned home, to their doorstep."

Ragini returned one day to an upset and distressed workshop man at Mulavana Junction to find that their faithful friend had been taken away. The man told Ragini that he had heard the dog crying out after they caught him. Despite his best efforts the man couldn't save this dog. He ran after the vehicle but the dog-catchers had injected the dog with lethal cyanide – killing it. Eventually, he had to run for his own safety as the corporation staff threatening him with the cyanide needle.

Ragini has many dogs to look after. Many are in danger of being targets of the Corporation' s indiscriminate killings. Apart from the four dogs in her house, she looks after many in different places in Trivandrum. Most dogs are treated by ARK according to the 2000 ABC/AR programme – the only charitable trust that actually implements the vaccination and sterilisation of dogs in this area. The ABC/AR (Animal Birth Control/ Anti Rabies) Rules were supposed to stop the killing of dogs. However, with the continuous killing of dogs, ARK's work has been made nearly impossible.

In 2004, Ragini's lost another dog that was caught and killed. This helpless dog was appropriately vaccinated and sterilised and caused no discomfort to the neighbourhood. On the contrary, Ragini recounts: "she was a sweet little dog who stood at my doorstep every day waiting for food, even in the pouring rain." The same year, Ragini's case went to court. Unfortunately, due to physical health problems she wasn't able to proceed further. In her petition, she stated that this was 'a matter of public importance' and that 'animal welfare organisations had expressed their consent to proceed with the matter'.

The judgement on the 4th of September 2007 stated that Trivandrum Corporation had told the High Court of Kerala that they were taking measures in accordance with the ABC/AR programme. The agitation and pain in Ragini's eyes are obvious when talking about this statement. "It is not true. They are lying! They don't stick to the ABC/AR Rules at all! Instead of helping the dogs, they harm them and kill them. And they cover it up by saying that these dogs are a danger to people." she exclaims.

ARK and people like Ragini know for a fact that the Corporation has been killing dogs for many years. But in April 2008, they started again on a vast scale. 'Kuthati' was one of the many victims. She was the third of Ragini's dogs to be brutally killed and buried by the dog catchers. All for a mere 20 rupees paid out by the Trivadrum Corporation.

Ragini still shows signs of distress when she speaks of that old dog. "She was sterilised, vaccinated and she wore a special collar. All the workers at Kailhamukku knew her." Ragini is now convinced that they killed poor old Kuthati to get back at her. "They killed my dog for revenge. They're trying to weaken my mind."

Not only are the dogs in the Trivandrum area in danger, so are the people who try to protect them, according to Ragini.While walking down the streets of Trivandrum recently, Ragini was pushed from behind by two men. Apart from this frightening incident Ragini has been threatened many times. However, she stands her ground. "They keep harassing me, but I will not give up. I am fighting for all animals and I have God on my side".

Petition Stop the Brutal Killing of Dogs

2008-10-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Avis has nearly everything ready to take the Trivandrum Corporation to the High Court in Delhi and sue them for the horendous killing of dogs in the area. She has a lot of proof; pictures and videos of dogs being beaten, kept in tiny cages for ours in the baking sun awaiting their painful death and many documents and testamonies.

'All' that is left to do is raise a 100.000 signatures of people who say NO to the cruelty of dog killing. Twenty thousand have already signed, another eighty thousand will be needed. so, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST DOG KILLING!! Thank you.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: Petition on care2

Note: The petition to help ARK stop the brutal killing of dogs in the Trivandrum area in Kerala has been created on the Care2 website. As you will see the text accompanying the petition speaks of a tourism boycott. This boycott has been added to the petition to put more pressure on the government. The welfare of dogs is not very high on their list, so an additional pressure point is needed to achieve the much needed result, which is of course an end to the killing.

I talked to Avis about this, because I was afraid that the tourism boycott part in the petition might put some people off and stop them from signing it. She realises that, but there is not much she can do. She says that tourists are very welcome in Kerala and especially at her center. But she hopes that people will realise that behind Kerala's enchanting tourism spots there is another world that isn't as beautiful and that needs a lot more attention.

Information ARK on Dog Killing Trivandrum

2008-10-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

The last killing of dogs in India was supposed to have taken place in the year 2000. The ABC/AR programmes (Animal Birth Control / Anti Rabies) were supposed to be implemented throughout India from that time forward.

No ABC /AR programmes were started by the corporations or panchayats (the local councils) in Kerala at this time and by 2003 the numbers of street dogs had risen dramatically and the killing was occurring, even though it was illegal.

In 2004 the Corporation in Trivandrum (the capital of Kerala) sent their vets, and the staff that were supposed to implement the ABC/AR programme, to our centre and we taught them our techniques. After using our vet, staff, vehicles, kennels and all of our facilities, they sterilised only 50 dogs before starting to kill again.

The ombudsman for local government launched a case to reverse the no kill policy in Kerala in 2004. In March 2006, nearly 2 years later, the High Court ruled against this case, reiterating that the dogs could not be killed (other than as specified by the 1960 Cruelty to Animals act and the 2001 ABC/AR rules). In August 2006 the Mayor and the Chief Vet for Trivandrum Revi Kumar approached us again to teach them the ABC/AR techniques, and since there had been so much media coverage regarding restarting the programme we again offered our facilities to train approximately 25 of their staff.

Despite this, the dog killing started again immediately after the training finished, and has not stopped since. The corporation went straight out and killed, and have now tragically killed hundreds and hundreds of our sterilised and vaccinated dogs.

I would report that around 15,000 dogs have been killed and I believe this to be a conservative estimate. The dog killers are paid 20rupees for every dog they catch, kill and bury, which is the equivalent of 25pence in UK currency.

The dogs are killed with an injection of cyanide, and if a dog does not die quickly enough it is hit with the spade that the men use to bury the dog, or is buried alive. We have photos of this taking place. The dogs were originally being killed and buried at the side of the road around the airport. Since we have had trouble with the local police and the Corporation when monitoring the killing process, we are no longer able to witness these proceedings. The dogs are left in the vehicles that they are picked up in for hours and hours with no water and food. Puppies without their mothers, sick dogs and even pet dogs with collars on. There is no empathy for these poor animals.

So far there has been no education for the people of Trivandrum or, as far as I believe, Kerala to explain how the ABC/AR programme works, despite the fact that there are now certain areas of India that are rabies free due to this programme. The newspapers and media produce a lot of inaccurate hype to frighten people. If you ask most people here how rabies is contracted they have absolutely no idea. As an example of the misinformation fed to the media, the chief vet in Trivandrum wrote several times (in the media) that it takes 3 injections and 30 days to vaccinate a dog against rabies. In another article, a paper recently reported that somebody who apparently died of rabies was barking like a dog!

The stories are endless and the killing goes on and on.

Due to the killings we are currently only sterilising in our MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) areas, and even then we have to be continuously vigilant as the local panchayats have threatened to kill dogs in these areas too.

copyright ' Information ARK on Dog Killing': Animal Rescue Kerala

Dog Tales

2008-10-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

Below are some photos of ill-treatment of dogs that might be very upsetting. That's why I put them at the end of this blog.

These are very sad and horrible stories Avis told me about. One of the many experiences of ill-treatment of dogs Avis has had during her time in Kerala. One day I sat in Avis' living room and she showed me her photo album with some awful photos. The pain that these dogs must have been in is unbelievable.

The first is a street dog that had been caught by a dog catcher working for the Trivandrum Corporation. They were going to kill that dog, as they do with many street dogs (read 'dog killing' in the section above). But the dog got away, and was left with serious injuries. Dog catchers use long polls with a metal string attached to it to catch the dogs. The string goes around the neck of the dogs and that way they can't go anywhere.

This particular dog had taken the string in its mouth in its defence. The string then wrapped around the back of its head. Somehow the dog then got away. Later ARK found the dog with the metal string in his mouth and around his head, which had cut deep wounds in the side of the dog's head. There are long and deep red lines from the end of its mouth to the back of its head. The wounds on the photo have already been cleaned by ARK's vets. Avis found a good home for this dog.

The second dog was found tied to a tree. The people who did this also tied a rope around the dog's mouth. It had been in that agonising position for a week, without water or food and with the ropes cuting a deeping wound; the bones were visible. The dog was saved by ARK and died after 18 months at the centre.