Update: August 19, 2019

The Animal Rahat flood relief team fed another 2,184 animals in just one day!

This means that 3,801 bullocks, cows, buffaloes, goats, and other animals who’d been hungry will go to sleep tonight with a full stomach for what’s likely the first time in days. And many other animals—such as the dogs who’ve been dewormed and the dozens of cows and buffaloes whose overgrown hooves have been trimmed to a safe and comfortable length—are getting needed care.

This Animal Rahat team member is giving dewormer to this community dog.

This suffering buffalo’s overgrown hooves were trimmed by the Animal Rahat team with help from its farrier.

The team is also still intervening every time it finds an animal with a painful nose rope, persuading more and more owners to abandon these crude and cruel tools to control animals in favor of morkees every day. Below is one of the bullocks who won’t have to endure the constant agony of a nose rope, thanks to Animal Rahat!

But that’s not all—the team also rescued this soft-shelled turtle, whose species is endangered, from a busy city area and released him into a nearby river.

And of course, the team is being sure to show the animals they’re helping lots of affection, too.

Update: August 15, 2019
Animal Rahat’s flood rescue and relief efforts are going strong—and many animals are in much better shape thanks to the team’s help.

Some animals sought shelter on rooftops during the flooding and now are stranded. Animal Rahat has responded to multiple calls about animals trapped like this, including several dogs and a pig.

Animal Rahat staff are scaling roofs and using devices such as nets to help trapped animals like the dog they’ve just rescued here.

Who knows how long this dog was trapped on this rooftop—but now he’s back on the ground.

Animal Rahat has three teams out making rounds—two in rented trucks and one in an ambulance—providing starving and injured animals with food and medical treatment. In just the last two days, the teams fed nearly 900 animals! Each bullock, cow, donkey, buffalo, goat, and horse they’ve helped has been grateful to receive the attention and food that they’ve long needed, some for the first time in days.

The team is also taking the opportunity to treat animals for wounds and lameness as well as performing other animal care tasks, such as trimming this buffalo’s overgrown hooves.

They’re also removing and confiscating every painful nose rope and hobbling log (a heavy weight tied to an animal’s neck with rope, in an attempt to keep them from wandering) that they find. They’ve even taken the time to persuade 23 animal owners to stop using nose ropes and switch to morkees (face halters) instead.

Animal Rahat persuaded this buffalo owner to remove the hobble from his buffalo’s neck.

Animal Rahat stepped in to remove the painful nose rope from this suffering bullock.

Animal Rahat’s work in the flood’s aftermath won’t be letting up anytime soon, as the teams won’t stop until they’ve reached every animal they can.

Their efforts aren’t going unnoticed, either, as The Times of India ran a story about flood relief efforts that featured Animal Rahat.

Update: August 13, 2019
Animal Rahat rescued an ailing mother donkey and her newborn foal. The donkeys were trapped in floodwater, and the mother was still in pain from delivering her baby. Animal Rahat staff took them back to their office for treatment by the team’s veterinarians, and now, both mom and baby are safe and happy!

Update: August 11, 2019
As flooding continues, so does Animal Rahat’s work to rescue animals affected by the unusually high water.

Since our last update, team members rescued a dog and several pigs who had been left behind by owners fleeing the rising water—and they provided dozens of other animals with food and comfort. They also rescued a stranded mother dog and her puppy, transporting both to a safe location for medical treatment.

Animal Rahat has been working hard to help as many animals affected by the flooding as possible, and its efforts even caught the attention of Indian comedian and Instagram influencer Rohan Joshi (@mojorojo)!

August 7, 2019
It’s monsoon season in India, and heavy rain is causing flooding in Sangli, one of the districts served by Animal Rahat. The team is working around the clock rescuing animals trapped by rising floodwater—with five adult dogs and five puppies already rescued.

The rivers have overflowed, and officials are opening dams in an attempt to relieve some of the flooding. Meteorologists expect the rain to continue throughout the week, so the situation is unlikely to improve for some time. But Animal Rahat will keep working through it all!