This week has been all about puppies. I didn’t know before I started this but there are times of the year that are “Puppy season” which is when all the puppies come at once. We are in the thick of that right now. They come out of their hiding spots, are dumped in various places and also sadly die in large numbers. There is danger for them everywhere.
Life comes at these puppies pretty fast…
Abandoned Puppies
People are dropping puppies where I feed the dogs. It is alway the female puppies as they don’t want them as they will have more babies themselves. Most people only want to keep the males.
I’ve found over 10 in the last month and yesterday I came across these 2 absolute angels who had just been dumped…
They were about 4 weeks old and they wouldn’t have lasted more than a day with the heat, no mother and all the other dangers up here. They’d been left to a certain death. Luckily some friends were able to take them in.
Making Puppies Strong
On the 19th of May I found these puppies that were skin and bones. They weren’t going to make it on their own. They had also been dumped…
The good news is that with lots of intensive feeding and some goat’s milk they have grown up big and strong. They have a safe place to live and they are now going to make it. This is a very rewarding feeling. You can see how great they look today below.
This is a bit of a double edged sword though. Because they are strong and healthy they can breed and reproduce. The moms often have puppies at as young as 7 months old. Again it is important to get them sterilised as quickly as possible or else the whole process starts again.
Stopping The Flow Of Puppies
I’ve now managed to sterilise 40 dogs. Mostly females and a handful of males. It is a logistically challenging and expensive process but doing those 40 dogs will stop over 1000 future puppies coming into the world and suffering.
If anything I am speeding up how many I am aiming to do.
I was hoping it would make a bigger difference already but there are so many dogs built up over the years that the puppies just keep coming. They are also getting dumped in from other areas now as well. There is absolutely no better solution that this. The numbers of dogs have to come down.
It Takes An Army To Help The Puppies
I need so many people to help me with this. There are people who help me look after the puppies overnight. People who build little shelters. People who drive puppies around. Others who help me look for homes (unlikely). Then there are people who feed and give the puppies medicine as they grow.
In short every time I discover a couple of puppies I have to hit up Whatsapp and rustle up an army of people just for those 2 tiny puppies.
It does take my own time away from the sterilising as well and thinking about the bigger picture but how could you possibly drive past the 2 puppies and leave them there to die. Despite all the work it entails, you can’t.
Online Support
In the same way as I have a network of people that I can message on the ground to jump into action when I find puppies the same is true of people online. I rarely ask yet people donate to help. They are expensive to look after compared to the older dogs (I reckon each one I find is about $200 to save if you include sterilising, medicine, goat’s milk, food, transport, care etc). It doesn’t sound like a lot but when you multiply it by the 8 that are on the go in the last 10 days it adds up fast!
People have contributed towards them and you have no idea how much it helps me to not have to worry about money in the moment of saving them. To just go and find solutions for the dogs is key. You can donate here.
Every bit as helpful is all the moral support, sharing, liking and positive comments you all share. The days can be seriously long and tough but just scrolling through those at night always make me think “yep this is worth doing and I’m going to push on again tomorrow”.
Even though it might just be me on the scooter at times I genuinely feel like there is a little community of people on my shoulder helping me on from afar.
My Dream
The saddest thing of all with the puppies is that there are so many fires to put out that I never have time to play with them. Puppies are fun but I don’t get to enjoy that side of it! Maybe when I get a little more on top of the sterilising.
My dream is to have the dog population under control and just have time to play with a group of puppies without stress for them or me for a couple of hours.
As always thanks for reading, following along and being a part of helping the dogs. I’m stretched and going at full tilt but don’t think I could be doing anything more important with my life than this.
Have a lovely weekend
Niall
P.S You can help by subscribing to this email, following on Twitter or donating here.
Puppy Season
Niall, it is so good to see you are getting some help from friends. As word gets around, I hope you get more volunteers and caring people! Keep up the great work and your Superman energy!