Sarnath Animal Welfare (SAW) project

Dear Friends

All of our hard efforts are paying off and we see real progress in Sarnath, the village surrounding the park where the Buddha first taught. Reports are flowing in from pilgrims attending seminars in Sarnath saying how wonderful it is to see fewer and therefore healthier, happier dogs as well as children loving their dogs rather than hurting them.




Adit, a village boy, shows the shelter he has made for his dog Julie, and Julie lets us take her photo with her five pups. (Camie)

Overview:

This year, thanks to our efforts Help Animals India was able to continue and expand its project to help the dogs and animals of Sarnath due to the generous support of The Brigitte Bardot Foundation. We held two Clinics to sterilize a large number of the dogs with the objective of getting the population under control. It has been a great success. So far just over 1,000 dogs have been sterilized during three ABC/AV (Animal Birth Control and Animal Vaccination) Clinics

The Sarvodaya Dog Catching Team pose with their nets.

The sign outside where the Clinic was held.

An Animal Birth Control Success Story:

Dr Akshay Prakash of Sarvodaya Sevabhavi Samstha Vets, the Head Veterinarian of our project, estimates that now close to 70% of the population of the dogs in the core of the village, the area surrounding the Deer Park, have been sterilized. At his suggestion, and thanks to a special extra grant from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, Help Animals India was able to hold two clinics this year, the second one in order to sterilize the pups born this spring. This extra clinic helped us meet our objective of healthy dogs and a safe environment for the local families with far fewer incidences of rabies.



Dr Akshay Prakash performs surgery on a female dog.

A happy post-surgery reunion.

 Photo by Dr Prakash.

 THE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
 A very large part of our project is an awareness campaign in the schools, the villages and throughout the community. The education of the children and their teachers is of utmost importance. Headed up by Dr Jain, Ken Dubois and Dr Akshay Prakash, we teach compassion for animals, dog bite prevention, and what to do if bitten to prevent the possibility of rabies. Our thanks go out to Dr Abhaya Kumar Jain and his Sarnath Village Development Society. Without his help and your sponsorship our awareness project would not be possible. Our thanks also go out to Mr Hari Om of the D Foundation who donated space for two of our three Clinics in a space he was able to make available for us at that time.

THREE AWARENESS VIDEOS WERE MADE DURING OUR CLINICS

Mr Tom Riddle donated his time to make three videos for the awareness and education project. They are great fun to watch and the vets and children enjoyed making them!

1.  The Friendly Dog Catchers India, Sarvodaya Vets, made during our spring 2014 Clinic
   https://youtu.be/mwU_7rXwyBY">https://youtu.be/mwU_7rXwyBY">https://youtu.be/mwU_7rXwyBY
2.  The dog wise and street wise children of Sarnath present a musical on dog bite prevention
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUzIZYnacwg&list=FLFQi13Q-uKqH0QQtEHGnlAw&index=2
   
3. The Five Points of Dog bite prevention made spring 2015 Clinic to use in the local schools
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhX7Er7mDTw&index=1&list=FLFQi13Q-uKqH0QQtEHGnlAw

Clockwise from top left: Dr Akshay Prakash with Dr Jain leading an awareness class in a large nearby school, awareness class with the young monks at the Vajra Vidya Institute Sarnath, a young boy reads the five points of dog bite prevention and what to do if bitten. The children listen attentively, and are always thrilled with the pamphlets we give them to read and take home.

OUR SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 2015

• 786 street dogs and pet dogs sterilized and vaccinated against rabies in our two camps in 2015
• 175 dogs re-vaccinated against rabies during our spring campaign
• A turn around in attitudes towards the dog population, compassion and caring on the rise
• Rescuing and saving the lives of the injured and sick animals during our two Clinics
• A targeted dog feeding program for malnourished mothers and pups, saving their lives due to the kindness of one kind animal lover. These costs were assisted by donations from Canada and attendees of Thrangu Rinpoche’s seminars.
• A water bowl project which is particularly important in the late spring and early summer before monsoon season begins. This is thanks to the kindness of a Canadian donor.
• The sponsorship of 5 dogs through the purchase of dog food and medicines, sponsored by two kind USA donors

Our thanks to everyone who donated to make 2015 one of the best years ever for the children dogs and animals of Sarnath!

If you have not already donated, or wish to donate again now, here is our link. Please specify that your donation is for ‘Sarnath’.
http://www.helpanimalsindia.org/donate Donations are USA tax deductible. Donations are also accepted in Canada to be sent by post to: Sarnath Animal Welfare, c/o Mary Jane Bennett 705-1106 Jalna Blvd, London ON N6E 2R9 Canada. An acknowledgement will be sent with our gratitude.
For more photos and info, check out our Sarnath Animal Welfare face book page.
https://www.facebook.com/Sarnath-Animal-Welfare-632238840232089/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
We are inspired to help more than ever when people like you are generous, joining in a worldwide circle of kindness. Once again, from the bottom of our hearts.
THANK YOU!

Mary Jane Bennett (Jangchub Zangmo) Help Animals India volunteer, Director of the Sarnath Animal Welfare Project

Eileen Weintraub, Help Animals India Founder and Director

Why Sarnath:

Sarnath is a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists, a tiny village that surrounds a park in north central India where the Buddha first taught. During a visit to attend a seminar in 2013, Mary Jane (Lama Jangchub) saw puppies run over by fast moving vehicles without a care, children abusing puppies and terrible conditions of starvation for both mother dogs and their pups. She and Mr Ken Dubois vowed to help. Thanks to her long time friend Eileen Weintraub of Help Animals India, and the assistance of Ken Dubois and Dr Abhaya Jain of the Sarnath Village Development Society, the Sarnath Animal Welfare project to help that community began in the spring of 2014.

Compassion for animals is now a reality in this sacred pilgrimage place, thanks to you!