The life of a street dog

Whiskey

Yesterday only Alpha, Nimba and Spritey came for dinner. I heard a dog crying but could not see her, assuming it was Whiskey. A couple and I located the crying noise under a car. If it is Whiskey she must be in bad shape not to join for dinner. It was dark so couldn't get a good look. Went home feeling helpless.

 

Next day I was showing Sue around and took her to see the puppies. Alpha and Nimba came running, no Spritey and no Whiskey. Suddenly we heard the dog cry, it was Whiskey at the front of the car. She could not get up. Assuming she got hit by a car or someone beat her with a stick. No blood but she was damaged. Luckily Sue is a dog lover also and she picked her up, I wouldn't be able to because of my shoulders, for the walk to the vet. She didn't show any signs of aggression. I held her head and snout as Sue lifted her into her arms. As we walked she kept looking back at her two brothers. Five minute walk to the vet. For Sue this seemed like two miles due to the weight of the dog. We laid her on the table and she didn't/couldn't move. She was so calm but aware of surroundings and didn't seem in too much pain. The vet examined her, when he pinched her rear paws Whiskey didn't even flinch concluding that she might have an injury in her spine. Vet was concerned but thought that with time and TLC she might be OK as her muscles in her legs worked. His recommendation was to care for her for a few days and see if she recovers. With my current living situation that is not possible. We asked that she be put to sleep. Very sad but she felt safe with sue and I. Earlier in the day Sue expressed her dislike of street dogs as it’s a horrible life for the dogs not being cared for. The vet said he could put her down as he believed that she could recover, he gave us the name of an animal NGO hospital and suggested that we call them. Sue was angry at the vets’ decision; she felt that Whiskeys life would be horrible with no one to care for her. Putting her back on the street was not an option. We carried her home, got a towel for her to lay on close to the door, gave her water and food which she ate eagerly, a good sign. Whiskey seemed content, wagged her tail when we petted her. Called Friendicoes, they said they would come get her. When they came they were very ruff in handling her, put her in the back of the truck on smelly newspaper with another, not too friendly looking dog. I can’t blame the workers as they are probably poorly paid and deal with aggressive difficult dogs. Off she went. It was sad as she went from being content on the towel and then thrown into the horrible unknown surroundings - a vehicle.

Happier times when they were all togheter
04 Sep 2012

I felt that we did the best we could with the situation, regardless, it was painful to see her being taken away.
I want to believe that at the center they will treat her kindly and help her recover.
Called the following day, they told me her identification number for future calls, that means she's there and being taken care of. A vet told me that she has a broken spinal column. He did not think she would make it through the day. I bet she will as she had the injuries for two days, even though she couldn't walk she had good spirits. The clinic has Visiting hours between 5-6:30 pm. They are located close to work so I hope to go tomorrow evening, if for nothing else to make a donation.

I will visit the puppies tonight to see how the others are doing and try to get a sense if they miss her.
Very sad. Maybe at home I could have taken her in and nursed her back to health as she is a sweet puppy, enjoyed being carried and appreciated the care we gave her last night (at least while she was with Sue and I).
Assuming she got hit very close to where she was hiding makes me angry at the person who was driving that fast. The life of a street dog is not valued and becomes a burden to society. Much work needs to be done for the street dogs, but there are TONS of issues needing attention in India.

Whiskey