With each passing day, the rope that someone had tied around Sahdev dug deeper into his neck. Whoever put it on him when he was younger and smaller had long since abandoned him, leaving him in constant pain and slowly choking to death as he fended for himself on the busy streets of Solapur.

Sahdev sits in the dirt at the roadside with a rope tied tightly around his neck.

Surviving alone made Sahdev wary of humans, so when Animal Rahat’s veterinarians arrived to help him, he fled, running for nearly 2 kilometers (more than 1.2 miles) until eventually the team’s veterinarians managed to administer a sedative and get Sahdev into a morkee (a face halter) so they could remove the embedded rope.

With patience, they gently and carefully cut through it without causing further injury to the suffering bull.

An Animal Rahat veterinarian holds up the rope that he removed from Sahdev's neck.

Once the awful rope was finally removed, the veterinary team treated and dressed Sahdev’s severe wounds and administered a painkiller. He was taken to a shelter where Animal Rahat staff provided follow-up care, neutered him, and groomed him to help gain his trust. Then, after three days at the shelter, he was ready to be transported to Animal Rahat’s sanctuary.

Today, Sahdev is enjoying his peaceful new life there—and the company of new friends like rescued calf Mahadev. The days when he struggled to survive on his own are behind him, and he has only kindness and the best possible care ahead of him.

Rescued bullock Sahdev hangs out in the sanctuary's round house with his friend, rescued calf Mahadev.