A personal account by Jemma Sadler, volunteer
have been working in Goa for three months now, but I never stop being shocked and saddened by some of the injuries and wounds that the animals of Goa endure. I have always believed in and advocated the work that IAR do - otherwise I wouldn’t be here! Today, (7 January) the need for us to be in areas such as Goa has really hit home for me!
I run the IAR stall at Anjuna Flea Market every Wednesday; Today I was taken to the back of the market by a European man who told me there were puppies there in need of our help. When I arrived I found four puppies, three lovely, healthy, fat little things, probably about one month old and one sad little female with a horrendous wound.
The injured puppy was about the length of a size 5 shoe and the wound covered half of her back and went right down to the bone, although it was difficult to see the wound clearly as it was infested with maggots. Luckily I had a shawl with me, so I wrapped the puppy up and took her back to the stall, phoning the centre for assistance en route.
I sat with the puppy waiting for someone to come and collect her to be taken to the centre for veterinary care. The puppy cried and ’screamed’ the whole time and was obviously in severe pain and distress. Some one came within about 20 minutes, which is outstanding when you know the traffic in and around the market!
This has to be one of the most heart-wrenching and upsetting things I have seen since I have been here. It proves that, although we do fantastic work that has made a huge impact on the animals of North Goa, we need to keep working as hard as ever, and strive to relieve even more suffering in 2004 than we have in previous years.
At IAR we are ’dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of suffering animals’ just like this small, hurt puppy.
We cannot do this without your help and support (yes, that’s right, you reading this article!)
I have asked for this to be put on the website not to hurt or distress anyone, but to show you where your money goes and what we are fighting to prevent! Thank you for taking the time to read it.