Anjali arrived at our shelter at one in the morning  after a four hour ride from Chennai.

A short video on YouTube showing her remarkable improvement after just five weeks of loving  treatment.

How Sweet Anjali Escaped a Living Hell

The following email exchange tells the very sad - and then very happy - story of Anjali, a homeless street dog in south India. Anjali is just one of hundreds of such stories. This is hers.

24 September, 2013 12:29 pm
Email from Ghurhu in Chennai

Hello there, this dog (photo was attached) requires urgent help. She's suffering from some extreme skin disease. She's being chased away by my neighbors because of her bad smell and looks - I can't stop them.

3:58 pm To Ghurhu from Leslie in Tiruvanammalai

Spoke to Dr. Raja. The dog definitely has a fungal skin infection. Probably also has mange which would be confirmed by microscopic examination of a skin scraping. And probably, too, a bacterial infection.

 If we had her she would get three shampoos a week with special shampoo. Medication twice a day, morning and evening. And periodic application of neem oil with sulpher. AND a lot of love. The treatment would probably take a month and then she could be released back into her territory.

 If you can get her to us, we would treat her. Then you’d have to get her back and release her. If it’s difficult to do, we could probably help with the arrangements, but you would have to cover cost of  getting her here and back. We would cover the entire cost of her boarding, care, and treatment.

 
4:37 pm To Leslie from Ghurhu

 Hi Leslie, thanks for the quick reply. I welcome the help with the arrangements. And I will cover the cost of getting her there and back. I’m unsure how friendly she is - she wandered into our locality just a couple of days ago. You may need a tranquilizer. But she doesn’t seem aggressive.

 
5:11 pm To Leslie from Ghurhu

 We’ll have to plan to catch her. I provided food yesterday, and she was running away. She’s not able to stay in one place, because people throw stones at her. So she’s afraid of me as well. I will try. If she’s friendly enough we can get her. Sedating her can be used as a backup plan if she’s non-cooperative.


5:56 pm To Ghurhu from Leslie

Hi. Sedating her is not a viable possibility to help in catching her. Even a strong sedative would take an hour to two hours to work. And during that time she’d be wandering and exposed to traffic, people, and other dogs.

So you have to form a relationship with her. Almost all dogs really like meat. Perhaps you can get some small pieces of cooked meat or chicken, and include it in the food. I’m pretty sure you’re very experienced in forming a relationship with a fearful dog. But just in case, it will take some time … Not approaching her right away … Speaking sweetly to her … Also dogs are much less fearful of you if you’re sitting rather than standing. So if you sat about five or six feet from her and spoke sweetly while she ate that would greatly improve your chances.

We have connections with someone in Chennai who could provide a dog catcher. But even that wouldn’t work. When we get a call in Tiru to get a dog, we only have one person that is able to chase them down. And, then we have to know when the dog is there. It’s not easy at all. That’s why we only have one person. And that’s Vishwa, our Director of Operations.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

25 September 5:35 pm From Ghurhu to Leslie

Browny is missing, Leslie. I searched my apartment and streets nearby. Still searching.


26 September 5:56 am To Ghurhu from Leslie

Don’t worry. She’ll show up. We just have to be steady. Say a prayer.
My mobile number is 9952######.

Late afternoon Ghurhu found her. At 9 pm she began her 4 hour triip to the shelter

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27 September 8:30 am To Ghurhu from Leslie

Pandi and Anjali (Vishwa renamed her. It means Angel.) got to the Shelter about 1 am. She was quiet on the ride. Pandi gave her a lot of reassurance. But it's major. She's been taken away from everything she knows. Gone for a long journey in a motorized vehicle, which she's never been in before. With people she doesnt' know. To a fenced in place she doesn't know.

Vishwa was there to meet them. Pandi was probably exhausted. (He had started work 6am the morning before). But Vishwa asked him stay a half hour while he established a relationship with her.

A large retaining cage (17' x 17') just off the veranda was prepared for her. It's near most of the activity so she won't feel abandoned. Food was waiting. Special warm milk. Pedigree. Chicken. She ate a lot.

There are stone benches along the perimeter. Vishwa made a bed for her, and she stayed snuggled there, mostly out of sight. I spoke to supervisor Raja this morning, and she's been sleeping comfortably since he came on which was 1 1/2 hours ago. She seems comfortable. Ramesh, our very best, will be on her during the day.

She has a pretty bad skin condition. But her energy and appetite seem good, which of course is a positive sign. We'll know more when Dr. Raja will examine her around 10:30. He'll send some bloodwork to the lab among other things testing for kidney, liver, and thyroid function, and for anemia.

The wounds on her body seem more like wounds from stones and not dog bites. But I didn't look too close, and it was pretty dark. She'll get her first bath around 11. Vishwa has selected two loving gentle dogs to be put in with her. Our beloved Vishwa set up and orchestrated the whole thing. Everything. I happened to be there only because he called me about 1:30 am and I just wanted to see her.

We will keep you posted of her progress. I think she's going to have a beautiful coat. And she's a lovely, gentle dog. You've lifted her from suffering, and given her a chance at life, Ghurhu.
With many thanks, With gratitude, With love,
Leslie


29 September 9:00 am To Ghurhu from Leslie

Good news. The lab report is back. Anjali’s liver is fine. Her kidney is a little at the low range very possibly due to malnutrition —easily treatable. Her thyroid activitly is a little low which would contribute to her dry skin. Will take a month or two to bring up. And she’s somewhat anemic. Perhaps after a month or two. Basically, though, her energy is good.

 She’s doing nicely. Haven’t seen her with the other two dogs Vishwa put with her, yet. But they’re both sweeties.

 Dr. Raja said he didn’t think the raw bloody patches were wounds from stones. He thinks they’re from the bacterial infection. They’ll clear up within a week. The mange is pretty severe. We’ll see as we go along. But he was thinking two months or more rather than the one month I’d mentioned earlier. The fungal infection is in the early stages and is mild.

 Anjali sends her love. All of us send our warm thanks.

Leslie

Thank you Ghurhu ...

Yes the shelter brought Anjali back from her nightmare but without Ghurhu's compassion for this unfortunate street dog she would still be in it … or perhaps dead by now.

We thank you Ghurhu, and others like you, who do what you have done. The taxi fare to Tiru from Chennai is four thousand five hundred rupees. Ghurhu paid that gladly. Wow. Bow wow.

There will be no taxi fare back to Chennai though. We have fallen for Anjali big time. We'll either keep her here at the shelter with her new friends or better yet find her a great new home.

Visit our website http://www.arunachalasanctuary.com