Today has been really busy, but we've had a great experience.  We were invited to spend the afternoon with an Indian family, and have a meal with them. They are one of the families that we see every day as we walk the dogs, and we always stop to have a little chat. The last thing we expected was to be invited into their house. 

We got all the dogs walked but left ARK earlier than normal so we could get back to the hotel, shower and change. No after walking cuddles today !

We were made to feel so welcome, and left their house not wanting to eat any more till at least breakfast tomorrow. (Obviously we have left enough room for a small beer, or two, this evening!). They have a 6 month old daughter (so we got a baby fix as well today), and a 9 year old daughter who was so pleased that we had visited and were still there - she was so excited. She was so polite and so pleased that wanted to look through all her art work, which, for a 9 year old, was very good. She has given us a lovely drawing of a monkey to bring home.   

They have a Doberman called Tommy who lives outside the house. They don't interact with him in the same way that we do with Millie and Charlie, he is a guard dog as opposed to a pet. We showed them photo's of Millie and Charlie, and of them with Tallulah, and also having cuddles with me - I think they were a bit shocked !

We left promising to visit next time we return to India. 

 

This little dog made me really happy today as she let me touch her muzzle a few times and - such an achievement as she is terrified of people. I remember when she was bought into ARK 3 years ago and she just curled up in the back of a small cage and wouldn't come near anybody, she was so scared. Somebody had tied her muzzle shut with wire - you can see the permanent mark it has left around her muzzle. 

She still doesn't want to come out for a walk though, but is quite content to spend time with another smaller dog who she shares a pen with. (She is only in the pen at the moment as the bigger dogs are out in the yard area)

This is the German Shepherd who came in with the maggot infested wound. I didn't post it at the time, but he was given less than a 50/50 chance of survival. I am pleased to report though that he is coming on really well and his wound is healing nicely. He isn't ready to come out for walks yet, but he is interested in his surroundings and comes up to his 'bars' for attention.

Unfortunately this poor Labrador is in a worse condition than the German Shepherd (above) was. She has been a pet for someone (she was wearing a collar) but they decided to dump her yesterday with a huge maggot infested wound on her back right near her tail. She broke our hearts when she arrived as she was still pleased to see people and was wagging her tail. She has made it through the night, and the wound has remained clean and she is now not being bothered by flies. Hopefully her recovery will continue as well as the German Shepherd .

Here's Max, the Great Dane, loving his fussing by Will. He is such a lovely dog !  

Couldn't resist this 'smile' from one of my favourites - he's the one with the disabled back leg which is quite clear in this photo.   

I have added the link to ARK's Facebook page which gives a bit more information about the current situation.

As soon as the ARK website has finished being updated, I shall add the link. 

Back to 'work' today. Guess who's got a bag full of chicken sausages?? ! Probably not the best treat to take in  as not many of these dogs understand 'gently' when you are giving them a treat !

This dog ,Poppy, was being released today back into Trivandrum. We also called her Fat Dog as she is rather overweight. She is a street dog but is fed regularly by a doctor where she lives. A very friendly dog who will continue to survive quite well. 

Someone's a little bit tired by all his walking today !

Some of our dinner 'guests' at the weekend.

On Sunday evening we went to Shankhumukham Beach were thousands of residents from Trivandrum gather every week to watch the sunset. We were the only western tourists that we could see, so it was quite an experience. We even had people stopping us to have their photo taken with us !

There's also some impressive sculpture just by the beach - behind us is a rather curvaceous mermaid. 

Not a bad sunset though !

We have had the weekend off from the rescue centre and took some time to see some local sights . The above photos are of the Puttan Malika Palace (or Horse Palace), which is situated next to the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. We are unable to enter the temple as it is for Hindus only. We would love to look inside at the vaults though as they have recently been opened and a wealth of treasure has been found that is still being catalogued.

The palace was only opened to the public in the 1990's for the first time in 200 years, it was the seat of the last remaining Raja in Kerala. It is need of a great deal of restoration and many of the rooms still remain closed. What is open to the public is very impressive though, with many weapons and paintings on show. Unfortunately no cameras allowed inside the building. Well worth a visit if you are ever in Trivandrum. 

It's been a bit of a sad day today. One of the long term residents passed away this morning. She had been there for 4 years and had always been quite a poorly dog. She was known as White Dog and was a small dog who had been taken to the centre after having been in an accident. When we arrived this time, her skin was still sore in places and she appeared to be in discomfort with her joints. She still wanted to go for a walk though, and  would then lay with her head in my lap  - she was so affectionate. When we went to take the small dogs out today, she was being taken up to the offices as she had started fitting. She was covered with cool towels and seemed to be recovering. After we had finished walking the dogs, I sat with her and just stroked her. She did get weaker, and her breathing slowed and she then passed away. The nurse tried to save her but it was decided that it wouldn't be fair and it was kinder to let her go.

This is the sad part for anybody who has a pet, but this was the best way for her to go. Nobody had to make a decision, it was peaceful and she wasn't alone. 

One of the kennel blocks. During the day various dogs will be rotated in and out of the kennels depending on what group they mix with. So although you may walk in and see dogs in kennels, they will not be in there all day long. The kennels are quite cool and there is always plenty of fresh water available for the dogs. There are also other areas where dogs roam free, and are also left to live as a pack. 

These dogs are the Great Dane and Doberman who are in the post below with Will. As you can see, both are underweight and not looking as healthy as they should do, but surprisingly seem quite happy in themselves. With the Shepherd (also out with Will for a walk), they live together quite happily and are likely to be long term residents at ARK. None of them have names, but Avis wanted the Great Dane to be named so we have called him Max. 

"Heel", "Close", "Back" ......................"Okay, whatever!". 3 of the bigger dogs out for a walk. These are the last lot out for the day; we've been walking dogs for 3 hours and the temperature is about 33C. We rotate the dogs on a daily basis, first out today will be last out tomorrow. Since Monday there has only been Will and myself walking the dogs as the 2 resident volunteers have now left, and the other guy has been coming up later in the day and is doing painting / maintenance. Some dogs are taken out in the evenings as well by the ARK staff. 

This is one of our favourite doggies at ARK. He has been here for about 2 years and is another one who loves a bit of a fuss. He likes you to hold his head in your hands and scratch and rub all around his neck, He has a terribly disabled back leg that should have been amputated , but is too old now to be operated on. He manages just fine though and is happy to be living at ARK. 

This poor lad was bought in today and this is the best photo I can publish as the others are not particularly nice.  He was bought in by his owner with a very nasty wound that had been left without treatment and had become infested with maggots. He was sedated and the wound was cleaned, Will was also at this time clipping his coat which was too matted to be brushed; anything to make this poor dog more comfortable. He will stay here for 4-6 weeks while he recovers and I will update on his progress. We said we would not be too graphic on the blog, so ask us on our return if you wish to know more about this dog. 

These two german shepherds were here on our last visit three years ago. They couldn't really mix with the other dogs and had an area to themselves  - it's lovely to see them now mixing with the other dogs who roam freely at the centre. India is not the right country for these dogs though as it is far too hot for them, but all things considered, these two both seem really content and healthy.

It's not just dogs in here, this is a rabbit and a guinea pig. Not sure of their names but they have obviously been kept as pets at sometime though. They live in the same area as the puppies and cats / kittens.

My back legs don't work as I have no hip joints but you should see how fast I can move to get some attention - especially a tummy rub ! 

We've been walked, fed and watered, I think we deserve a little snooze !

"I'm sure I was next for some attention!" How could you resist those eyes ?

Chatting with Avis and a couple of the other 'ladies' ! If you stop and make a fuss of any dog you can be sure that Pritti (the doberman) will be nudging her way in for attention.

After walking the dogs today we did a little bit of grooming - this one was definitely telling Will that he hadn't quite finished !

It's not all about walking the dogs; had a couple of days off at the weekend so to counteract all the food and drink thought we'd better go for a long walk along the beach !

1st day at ARK

Well, here we are, our first day at ARK.

We've met up with Avis who runs the centre and given her the equipment and donation. Thank you to everybody who donated money and equipment, and bought the dog training treats.

There are about 120 dogs in the centre at the moment, and 3 volunteers working there who will be leaving in a couple of weeks.

Looking for a new home !

These puppies are all looking for homes. They were left outside the gates to ARK which is quite a regular occurrence

These two are Pritti and Bobby - both were here when we visited 3 years ago so really nice to see them again. Both are really well  and asked us to say 'Hi' to Gavin and Tilla !