Who doesn’t love cute little furry animals? But besides pet animals it is also important to focus on the animals that don’t get the same love and attention. World Animal Day on October 4 is a reminder of one’s responsibility towards animals and understanding the fact that they too call this earth their home. The theme for World Animal Day 2024 is ‘The world is their home too,’ which focuses on the shared space for humans and animals alike.
Nuvem-based Mark Moses D'Costa has been in the profession of dog training for the past 14 years in Goa. He learnt dog training from international trainers and is an owner of two Belgian Malinois dogs, who are trained in obedience, bitework, tracking and detection work (narcotics and explosives). Mark feels that the more trained and educated the dog is, they are more controllable. Instead of abandoning dogs, training can help keep the relationship alive and builds trust with between the owner and the dog. “The saying ‘You can't teach an old dog new tricks’ is a myth. It is easier to train a puppy as it has no bad habits but an adult dog can also be trained with a few extra classes,” says Mark.
Chef Peter Fernandes runs his pet-friendly restaurant in Pilerne for the past eight years where as pets are allowed. But what prompted him to welcome pets in a restaurant is quite tragic. “When I used to work in a reputed restaurant in Porvorim, a dog owner would come in for lunch regularly after taking his pets to the veterinarian in the vicinity. He would keep the dogs in a well ventilated car as the pets were not allowed in the restaurant. One day, he sent his caretaker with the dogs. However, he parked the car in the sun and I saw the two pure breed dogs die in front of my eyes. They were healthy enough for their vet visit. That’s when I decided that I would keep my restaurant open to pets too,” says Chef Peter, who has two dogs and a cat that are frequently spotted in his restaurant. Pet owners usually call in advance to inform him that they are bringing in their pets. “I inform them to bring them in when the restaurant is less busy as the pets can get comfortable in the environment,” adds Chef Peter.
Atul Sarin founded an NGO, Welfare for Animals in Goa (WAG), which is one of the few animal sanctuaries that allows school visits. For the past 12 years, Atul has been rescuing and caring for stray dogs and cows and rescued animals besides encouraging educative programmes towards caring for animals. “It is important to promote education to change the mind-set of the people. We organise different workshops on laws and rights of animals and how to handle and report animal abuse. There are many Indian celebrities who are encouraging the adoption of local breed dogs which are easier to look after and very clever. At the moment, there will be nearly 50,000 stray dogs, 500 adult dogs waiting for adoption and 200 puppies waiting for adoption in Goa. The survival chances of a puppy on the streets is only ten percent while the life expectancy of a stray is only two years,” explains Atul.
The animal sanctuary of Welfare for Animals in Goa in Siolim houses different animals that have been rescued including dogs, cats, goats, parrots and a cockatoo named ‘Whitey’, who is a favourite with the children who visit. WAG also undertakes a beach monitoring programme for stray dogs living on the beaches of Goa.
While caring for animals, their basic needs include grooming. An expert at grooming treatments for pets, Piyali Chatterjee, has been in the grooming industry for the past ten years. Piyali says, “I came as a tourist to Goa and when I saw a German Shepherd in a bad condition, I learnt that dogs who were infected with various infections due to improper health care where euthanized. Wrong grooming methods can lead to itching and when given medications, the same can lead to kidney failure and liver damage. Animals should be groomed by certified groomer as they can detect different issues with the pets. I helped locate tumours and cancers and even pregnancy. There is now much more awareness about pet care in Goa especially on social media. I give free grooming for street or colony dogs when they are brought in.”
How can you celebrate World Animal Day 2024? Adopt a pet, donate to animal shelters or animal rescue teams or volunteer at a shelter to make the day more meaningful.