• It's a dog's life
• Appreciations
• They're coming home 
• Looking up with pride
• Let go and you will be happy!
• Language of unity in diversity
• Kala Korner by Dee Cee
• He knows the law
• Time to love, time to sleep
• HaJ: Every Muslims festival of sacrifice
• Finding a routine
• Letters to the Editor

It's a dog's life

Safe in her new home at Dehiwela, Lisa is one happy dog. Her spacious kennel, covered with green mesh, opens to a lawn of velvet green, promising her joys she never knew. She will be able to laze in the sun or roll on the green, her past suffering all behind her.

Life was not always rosy for this 10-month-old Great Dane. Badly neglected by her owner who had tried to have her put to sleep, she was half-starved and ridden with maggots when she was rescued by members of the Animal Welfare and Protection Association (AWPA) last week.

"She was tied to a kennel and there was excreta all around her. She had a huge wound on her head. There was a plate with some dry rice, but she hadn't been given fresh food for days. Yet she started barking when she saw us, still faithfully performing her duty to her master," said Shyama Peiris, an AWPA member.

Once rescued, Lisa was taken direct to the vets who help the AWPA. They sedated her and gave her saline before removing thousands of maggots from her skull tissues.

"When we brought her to the vet her owner, a professional, followed. He closed his nose with his hand and stood watching as Lisa was treated," said Ms. Peiris.

Ms. Peiris pointed at the wound, which was open enough to show Lisa's skull. "This entire portion was covered with maggots. It was like a beehive with thousands of busy bees. When the maggots were removed, what remained was a big hole," she said.

Established in 1964, the AWPA is affiliated to the Royal Society for Protection and Care of Animals (RSPCA) and operates on public funds and donations, carrying out numerous mercy missions to rescue dogs that have been ill-treated or left on the roads to die. 

Cruelty to animals is a grave issue in Sri Lanka. Many people abandon or ill-treat their pets when they find they cannot handle them. The Sunday Times last year highlighted the case of another Great Dane which had been cruelly ill-treated by its owner and left to die on the streets. 

The AWPA has over 1,350 dedicated members, who are determined to curb cruelty towards animals by teaching schoolchildren the need to protect and love animals. 

"We run a transit home in Dehiwela to sterilise and vaccinate the dogs we rescue and find them good homes. The problem is that people rarely visit the home to adopt dogs and we cannot take in any more," said AWPA President Hemantha Jayatileka. 

The AWPA goes through many hardships to protect animals from cruelty. "People inform us of animals who are left to die on the streets. We try our best to accommodate as many as possible, but we have to limit the numbers we can take," said Ms. Peiris urging the sensitive and responsible to give a cross-bred dog a kind home. 

Though the AWPA's transit home was established to provide rescued animals with temporary shelter, it has become a permanent home for many. "Matilda has been with us for about 10 years now," said Ms. Peiris stroking one of the dogs that flocked around her. 

"We need Rs. 40,000-50,000 a month to run this home. The dogs are given rice and curry with fish or chicken for lunch and bread with milk and a supply of dog food for dinner. We have a dane programme under which people are encouraged to send us cooked food or pay Rs. 1,000 per dane," said Ms. Jayatileka. "We have about 10 regular dane providers but we will need about 20 more," she said.

According to Ms. Peiris the association finds it difficult to find homes for the dogs like Lisa whom they rescue. "We need public help to find these dogs proper homes. Although they are fed and housed here, they do not get the individual attention and love they crave for. We have employed people to take care of them but that is not enough. They need a lot more," she said

The association is constrained by lack of space and finances. "If we can get a piece of land from a place that is close to Colombo that will help us immensely."

Dogs need TLC too

"It is like having a child. You cannot neglect it or after five or six years decide that you don't need it anymore. We don't throw away children simply because our lifestyles have changed or because of the expense," said Dr. Obeysekere, who is often contacted by families who want to put their dogs to sleep because they are migrating. 

"Whoever hopes to take a pet must think rationally because it is a responsibility that lasts 10-20 years. Once you get a pet, there is no turning back. You have to give it the love, understanding and care it needs. In other words, you can't be too busy for your pet. You have to spend time taking it for walks, feeding, training and bathing it and even taking it to the doctor whenever necessary."

Equally important is deciding on the breed, because most of us tend to choose breeds that do not suit our lifestyles or breeds that are inappropriate for humid countries. 

"If you are a busy person who cannot devote a lot of time to your pet, you must never go for exotic breeds because you will tend to neglect them. And that affects them psychologically. Crossbreds are as good as pure-breds and they are much stronger and more adaptable. If trained properly, they turn out to be wonderful companions," said Dr. Collure.

Not just puppy love

By Carl Muller 

But Edith is something quite special. For one, she is an important member of the Active Animal Protection Group of Salex, Switzerland; and she has the softest corner for helpless, sick, starving and miserable animals. 

Her arrival in Sri Lanka was not the nicest of experiences. "I was horrified," she said. "All around the airport and on the roads I saw stray dogs. Dogs eating out of garbage piles, mangy and uncared for. Strays everywhere. My mind was full of protest. Does nobody care?" 

Edith was determined to find solutions. "We used to have problems of this sort in Switzerland too but the several animal groups have put it all right. I suppose it is the same story here. People take in little pups, but when the pups grow up they are turned out to fend for themselves. Females are the worst treated. There are so many female strays here." 

Touring the island, the problem kept haunting her. Thousands of strays! What she then did must have been, to the airline, quite weird. She couldn't like the piper of Hamelin, whistle away the dogs but she did the next best thing. She went home with five of our street mongrels!

"I had them all sterilized, vaccinated and given all necessary veterinary treatment. I found wonderful homes for all the dogs in Salex and they are thriving beautifully there." 

But Edith was not satisfied. "I kept thinking about your country. How many miserable cats and dogs there were. What real difference had I made, taking away five dogs? I discussed the matter with our Group and we contacted Pro Vet - a large supplier of animal medical equipment in Lyssach, Basel. I then contacted the Veterinary Hospital in Peradeniya and the Swiss Embassy in Colombo and began looking for financial backing." 

What happened next was truly inspiring. Edith not only received the ready financial assistance from Swiss and Liechstenstein donors but committed herself to putting in, initially 110,000 Swiss Francs of her own money. It was this that convinced her donors to also contribute. She also knew that there was no way she could begin a programme of animal rehabilitation here. What she could do, however, was to launch a programme of sterilization and vaccination, conduct clinics to treat sick and starving animals and help reduce drastically the threat to humans as well. What is more, people could always be persuaded to take back or take in healthy sterilized animals. 

Pumping in Rs. 6 million of her own money and with donor aid coming in the form of veterinary supplies, Edith teamed up with Dr. N.A.Y. Wasantha Kumara of the Peradeniya Veterinary Hospital. The result: a wide-scope Social Animal Welfare Foundation with an intensive canine and feline sterilization and anti-rabies vaccination programme. More than 200 Swiss organizations have pledged support. 

Today, Edith's programme has taken root and even the many animal shelters bring their animals to be vaccinated and sterilized. Many have, under the Swiss umbrella, so to say, started their own clinical programmes while all equipment for veterinary work and surgical procedures comes in from Swiss suppliers. 

Edith has co-opted the assistance of many service organizations here and recently arranged for a supply of 1500 syringes to the Lions Club of Kandy for its sponsored animal vaccination programme. 

Yes, Edith has her vision and has set her heart on doing all the good she can. As she says, "The Red Cross of my country and the Blue Cross of Veterinary Science are now as one."