I first met Appu a young, small white beach dog on South Beach in Varkala at the beginning of January 2015. He had been severely injured by a huge domestic dog owned by a westerner, it was a cross between a Mastiff and a Grand Danoi, which tore the side of Appu’s throat open, the wound became infected and was full of maggots.
The owner of the Grand Dannois just left Appu to suffer, but luckily Street Dog Angel Cristina Rossi saw the whole incident. Together we tried during the following weeks to catch him to give him antibiotics and then to take him to the veterinarian to ease his suffering. It was very difficult to get a hold of him but with time he started to trust us. He has such a sweet personality and nature. At last, with the help of several volunteers, he was transported to PFA (People For Animals) in Trivandrum where he received good medical treatment, they kindly agreed that Appu would be staying at PFA for a few weeks till he was healed.
we found out that Appu had a poor Indian family caring for him but with little finance, they could not support his medical bills.
I went back home to Europe for a few weeks.
On my return to Varkala in March 2015 we went to pick Appu up from PFA, Cristina Rossi, Gareth Davis and I all went to collect Appu along with another dog called Dormuz who had a broken leg. Appu’s wound had healed nicely. The joy Appu showed on his return to South Beach was something I would never forget.
But sadly…..
just 8 days later he was attacked again! His neck was opened yet again!! but luckily Mo, Pauline and myself found him and he came to us voluntarily, trusting us knowing he would be safe. We took him to the veterinary hospital where he had a traumatic experience with an unsympathetic vet until Mo and I stood in and assisted, I treated his wound myself and injected him with antibiotics. He was so good he just stood still, very quiet and never moved. we managed to find a kennel where he could stay for one night until we could transport him to PFA the following day.
The next morning we made our long journey back to PFA with Appu, he behaved like a gentleman the whole trip sitting between me and Pauline looking out of the Ambassador taxi window, sometimes sticking his head outside the window feeling the wind blowing in his face. You could say he enjoyed the experience! As we neared PFA Appu was not happy! but we know he is going to be well looked after, and we will be picking him up as soon as he has healed. We will get him back home to South Beach as soon as possible. We believe he will have a great future as a therapy or education dog because of his patience and his lovely personality!
