Om Namah Shivaya, dear People
Om Namah Shivaya, dear People,
The esoteric meaning is I bow to my Innermost Self. I learned that from my Guru.
He used to come out each evening (Remember…I’m an “old guy”…So that was a l-o-o-n-g time ago) and say, “I welcome you all with all my Heart…That is my most important worship…To welcome another human being with love”. It felt so good to be greeted like that.
And so Dear People…I welcome you all with all my Heart…I hope you are all doing beautifully… Joyfully bounding in the meadow. (For any of you that have seen Walt Disney’s Bambi…This might evoke memories of Thumper, a young rabbit, and Bambi, a young fawn, bounding around a sunny meadow, surrounded by forest trees…playing and laughing in the sun).
I just finished writing a thank you note to one of our longtime supporters. I had commented that even tho’ we’re crowded, how amazingly good it feels inside our beloved Shelter. Chants playing continuously. And clearly, the Furry Ones feel safe, cared for, and loved. But I went on to tell her that for me, the real miracle was watching them being fed.
Below, an extract from that note.
They’re actually fed in sections: the garden…the veranda…the clinic…Thirty or forty bowls are put down in each section—quickly, but clearly not at the same time. You’d expect an all-out riot. Anyone of you that has tried to feed three or four dogs together know how ‘touchy’ a situation it is. But they wait their turn. It isn’t even the stronger or bigger ones that eat first. You can frequently see a disabled dog contentedly slurping his food, and several right next to him waiting for another bowl.
The trusting of the Staff implied. The ‘knowing’ that they will shortly get theirs. Their relationship with each other…to let one ‘enjoy’ while they wait. It is so moving.
Pranams again, and again, and again to our beloved Staff.
June was another busy month. It slowed down a little for the hot season. But still busy: 518 visits to our clinic…849 treatments of in-hosp & resident creatures…Emergency rescues of 71 creatures (Almost all serious cases. Many puppies. We go out to get most of them-usually during the day, some at night)…22 sterilizations…130 anti-rabies injections…6 puppies/dogs adopted. (We have students going out 100 kms. To find good homes)…And we treated 42 patients other than dogs. (14 cats, 4 birds, 8 cows & calves, 7 goats, lambs, & sheep, 6 rabbits, 1 squirrel, 1 peacock, l duck).
Elaine, the veterinary nurse who joined us, has turned out to be major. Some of you already know that she was schooled in England, and has forty years experience. The last ten years she has been in India. For eight of them she was in a town where she cared for and protected the dog population. She personally paid for over 400 sterilizations that were performed by Blue Cross, and got the population under control. Every October she’d give 100 injections to protect against parvovirus and distemper. She cared for and nursed the Furry Ones 24 hours a day. Her whole life is devoted to lifting suffering from the homeless dogs. It is an incredible blessing to have her. And she belongs with us. Say a prayer that she stays permanently.
The hot season is over, and tho' my body handles heat quite well, it's nice to have it behind us. However, I am here 365. And tho' the daytime temp goes up to 110, it really is okay if your body does okay in heat. I spent six years in the Ganeshpuri Ashram of Gurumayi. And THAT was a real Hot Season. Here, there's a partial cloud cover a portion of the time. Reasonable humidity. Three or four rains during the three month season that helps break the heat, and give the ground relief. And there's a subtle relief in the air duing the night, which I especially enjoy on my late night rides around the sacred mountain, Arunachala...I won't tell you what a REAL hot season is like.
Amazingly enough, the Furry Ones do fine. Understandably they're not real active during the day. And we have to make sure they have plenty of water and shade. (Also, there are a number of places that have overhead fans.)
A nice little story before I sign off. Happened only four days ago.
- I take a late feeding ride partially around Arunachala where I give nice snacks to 20 or 25 dogs I'm connected with. It must have been around 10pm, near the beginning, just off a road that has fast moving cars and trucks...I was bending over to put down a snack for three Furry Ones--two adults, and a young one, when a teenage girl on a bike came pedaling over and frantically said, "There's a puppy that's been hit by a truck".
- My Heart dropped. I went over there (it was only 75 feet away) with my Heart in my throat, bracing myself to see something awful.
- It apparently had happened ten minutes before I came. Someone had pushed him with a pole, or something, to get him off the road. He was under a large parked cargo truck. I called Vishwa and Dr. Raja (who happened to be at the Shelter that was only a km. away). They sent Prem and Venkatesh out.
- Then I crawled under the truck to get him, bracing myself. But there was only a little blood. The poor babe was very, very frightened. I was on my stomach and tried to gently pull him towards me. (In my mind, I thought he might have a broken back). I was whispering to him and kissing him as I maneuvered us out.
- I had been holding him for less than five minutes when Prem and Venkatesh showed. I gently had him against my Heart. Kissing him. Telling him not to be scared. That he was with very good people. And that we would take very good care of him.
- I passed him to Venkatesh, and called Dr. Raja to tell him he would be there in five minutes...I spoke to Dr. Raja a half hour later. It was a male pup. About two months old. Nothing was broken. And he's going to be fine.
- Yes! Yes! Yes!
Have again chosen a selection of photos to give you "A Hit" of our beloved Shelter...Remember: Our core practice is Demonstrative love--Hugging. Touching. Stroking. Reassuring. Kissing.
Please keep your support coming...We need all the help we can get.
With love and thanks, and wishes for everything good.
Leslie
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