A Visit:
Its 10 a.m. in the morning, Sun is getting brighter, Birds are chirping, some dogs are barking. We are at the gate of Animal Aid Unlimited at Badi. A young fair lady welcomes us in with a smile. Her name is Claire Abrams she introduces herself as co-founder of this Organization. She lets us in , and we see a lady feeding milk from a bottle to a puppy who is crippled. A wounded dog is lying besides that who is been looked after by a man in his mid 20’s. This man is healing his wounds by applying ointment on them. There are other dogs, which are playing around. There is a lot of activity going around, sounds of barking Dogs, mooing Cows, braying Donkeys and a lot more.
Claire took us further inside to A kennel where all the ill dogs stay. We could see a team of 4 men holding a dog with a badly wounded neck, they gave him medicines and vaccines to heal and recover. On asking “What had happened to this dog” she told the dog seems to be a victim of cruelty by men. Sum one tied a knot around his neck as a result he lost his outer skin cover, cruel but true. She said that it will take time to heal but he will be fine in some period of time.
We saw another puppy that was shivering with pain in his kennel. The probable reason for that could have been that sum body drove on him. She told that he showed no signs of healing and he is gong to die soon. We felt bad and helpless for the poor fellow; (Felt a grudge why people do that? Why can’t people drive slowly and carefully?) Every Animal brought in there had a heart-filling story of its own. The speechless animals spoke through their innocent eyes as if trying to say something. (Who can believe that there is no soul in those luminous eyes?) Words were not enough to describe the situation there one could only feel it.
We further went to other sheds of cows, donkeys, pigs they too had the similar stories of cruelty, brutality and inhumanness of mankind that couldn’t be described. For a moment it made us feel shameful, being a human felt like rather animals are better off then humans because what they want is just love nothing else. Looking at all those animals our world came to a standstill. But two small joyful pigs Bronze and Silver brought a ray of hope and smile on our faces, as they play around us unknown of the entire cruel world besides them.
About Animal Aid:
Coming to India way back in 1993 by a US couple named (James and Erika Abrams) who came on a trip to the country and to Udaipur and fell in love with it. They founded Animal Aid Unlimited, an animal care center which provides help and shelter to stray and homeless animals (dogs, donkeys, cows, cats, pigs, birds) is now a Big Hospital cum Animal Care Center at Badi in front of T.B. hospital with around 250 animals receiving treatment and care per day on an average.
The Animal Aid Unlimited organization is one such special organization in the country run by a US family to look after those street animals that have no home and no one to care for them. Animal Aid is full of rescued street animals (cows, dogs, donkeys, cat , pigs) and there are some heart throbbing stories of cruelty, brutality and neglect by humans upon them in our very own Udaipur city.
A ring on their helpline number (24*7) and they come in to action
Animal Aid Unlimited though a name uncommon to some, is very common and famous amongst Animal Lovers of the city. Any Animal Lover who sees some animal in pain and in need of a helping hand just calls Animal Aid Unlimited helpline no. 0294-2810327 and request help. The specialized team of people immediately comes into action and rushes forward to help the suffering animal. They locate the animal as guided by the Animal Lovers and rescue the animal into their ambulance to their center. These animals are mostly ownerless who without the life-saving call would be left on the roads to die.
At the center in Badi the animals are kept under supervision and full care is ensured so that become becomes well soon. Mainly the cases comes of brutality by humans in any form (indescribable) , road accidents by fast moving vehicles, fights among animals itself or any calamity caused due to unknown factors. Because the animals are unowned, many times they do not know exactly the history of the animal.
There are separate sheds and kennels for every animal in the center spread across 4 bighas. The dogs are kept into separate kennels for the time of their treatment. Same as dogs other animals such as cows, donkeys have separate paddock for their treatment and stay. Animals after their treatment are been released back to where they were caught, but those who are permanently injured or disabled stay with them for their lifetime.
90% of animals coming in get completely well but some unfortunate and badly wounded animals die too, though unfortunate and sad but true. Animal Aid urges Udaipur people to call immediately when they see a suffering animal, not to wait, because if they don’t receive treatment immediately they may become to serious to recover.
A word with the Co founder of Animal Aid Unlimited – Ms. Claire Abrams
In the words of Claire:
“Animal Aid Unlimited was the dream of my parents. We are originally from Seattle USA and came to Udaipur almost 15 years ago for a visit and fell in love with the beautiful city. Udaipur is a very peaceful and safe place that we decided to shift to permanently. None in my family has a degree in veterinary medicine, but we are passionate about animals and committed to saving as many as we can.
The Animal Aid hospital and rescue center was established in 2002 in the small village of Chota Hawala near Rajiv Gandhi Udgyan. Our mission is to rescue and save the lives of suffering animals in Udaipur, mainly the stray animals who suffer from road accidents, injuries, and various illnesses.
My parents’ careers were as consultants with organizations in the U.S. and Australia, but since 2002 they have dedicated their lives to rescuing animals. We have been living in Udaipur for almost 15 years now, and call Udaipur “HOME”.
Asking upon regarding the support from government Claire says:
“The local government has not yet provided Animal Aid with funds to help stray animals, which is unfortunate, because with their help we could be reaching to even more animals.”
We asked Claire about the latest news?
“The latest important issue, which was covered in the Times of India, is regarding the Udaipur Municipal Corporation’s cruel and illegal practice of catching stray dogs and dumping them in the deserts to die without food and water. This brutality is raising concern amongst Udaipur’s animal lovers and through the campaign to stop the UMC from killing dogs, we are trying to raise the status of stray dogs.”
Attitude of citizens:
“We are really thankful to the caring people of Udaipur who call the Emergency Help-line whenever they see an injured animal. We get about 15-20 calls a day, which adds up to more than 3,000 calls per year. This is fantastic, and without that vital support we would not be able to rescue the animals.
We hope to continue getting support from Udaipurites, including the young people who will shape the future. We can all make a huge difference in the lives of these innocent animals that depend our help for their lives. I want to ask everyone, that pleases, if you see an animal that is suffering and in need, don’t turn and look the other way, but do something to help her. You are her only chance and you have the power to help her. If not now, when? If not you, who?
“Remember, just a call can give a new life to someone.”
Asking about raising funds for the cause:
Claire says Animal Aid depends on the generous donations of people who care about animals.
To run Animal Aid costs about Rs. 13,000 per day — more than Rs. 3 lakh per month.
The hospital depends on donations from businesses, foreign tourists and some random donations from animal lovers.
Claire says,
“If more people contributed whatever they could—even small donations, even things like old cloth for bedding, blankets, rice, dal, toast or biscuits, green grass—every little bit more that people give means more animals being saved. The animals of Udaipur need all of us to join hands and help them. I am dreaming of a day when not a single animal in Udaipur is suffering. I think there are other people who are dreaming about the same thing. It takes a lot of energy, courage and money to make this dream come true, and we’re already part-way there. I want the next 10 years to bring 10 times more help to animals and the ONLY way we can do it is by helping them TOGETHER.”
A Request By Claire:
“Animals have rights just like men, women and children do. And just as it is wrong to beat a person, force labor on children and abuse women, it is also wrong to do these things to animals.”
– Claire Abrams
Special Thanks to Ms. Claire and Abrams Family – UdaipurBlog Team
Helpline No: 0294- 2810327, 9829843726
Website: Animal Aid Unlimited
Facebook Page: Click Me
A Post by Ronak Chauhan