I first met Devi a couple of days after my arrival in Varkala India, March 2015.
She was living on a patch of land used as a waste dumping site.
Devi was so undernourished you could see her rib cage protruding out of her skin, she was in such a sorry state. We knew she had pups but did not know how many as they were in hiding but you could hear their little cries and yelps.
As we looked around, with Devi keeping a close eye on us and giving a little warning growl as we got close to her pups, we realised there was a total of seven beautiful puppies all in need of a good feed. We fed the mother with the food we had left in our bags but we had to stay a fair distance away as the mother was very nervous but she ate the food then walked off with her puppies following waiting for her to feed them. Maureen and I returned every day bringing much-needed food consisting of dog biscuits, tuna, meat and baby milk for them all, we still have to gain Devi’s trust, she knows when we arrive as we beep the horn on the bike and she comes out to meet us, she is coming closer to us each day and allows us to feed her babies which is great.
The sun was blazing and shade was needed to help Devi And Her Seven Puppies feel more comfortable.
It was 35 degrees and Maureen started building the shelter while I did the fetching and carrying. It was hard going as the ground was solid and the heat made it extremely difficult to work but we did it! Only to return the next day to find it had been taken down and the wood taken. I was heartbroken.
I have come to the conclusion that there is so much more we can do for the street dogs of Varkala, but for now, while we are here we can feed, water, help them where possible, but most of all is to love them.
Changing peoples attitudes towards these animals is half the battle until the people of the district learn that street dogs are not rats but are beautiful animals.
Some of the sights I have seen have been horrendous BUT the good can outweigh the bad.
Written by Pauline Griffith
