Dog at the entrance of CUPA's shelterWe were off again today with our hosts, Suparna and Sandhya of CUPA, the largest and most active animal welfare organization in Bangalore. They do everything: run an Animal Birth Control/Anti-Rabies program for street dogs; conduct free large animal camps to provide vet services to working equines and cattle; run a canine therapy program for special needs children and adults; police animal welfare conditions; offer vet services to small animals at their shelter and clinic; and adopt out companion animals.

First off, we visited the shelter, which is open 24 hours and has an ambulance service. It was the model of organization. As soon as we walked in, we had to pick our way through the dog-lumps sleeping at the entrance.
Poster identifying "permanent" animalsWe entered the Trustees’ Room, where Charlie joined us. Looking a bit punk with a heart-shape shaved into the fur on his back, Charlie is a tripod and one of CUPA’s therapy dogs. The Trustees’ Room is his turf. Each dog has claimed one of the rooms—Angel hangs out in Accounts; Rowena in the Library; Brownie in the staff kitchen and so on. The rest, like this group, remain underfoot by sleeping in the entrance.

Charlie hopped up on the couch and let everyone pet and kiss him. I had brought some squeaky toys that belonged to my Rudy. Suparna gave one to Charlie, who didn’t quite know what to do with it. He started gnawing on it but never realized that it could be made to squeak.

Puppy, ringleader of the Chase BrigadeCharlie and the dogs at the entrance are some of the “permanent dogs” of about 30 that no one wants to adopt (so sponsorships are requested for them). These dogs can come and go from the shelter building. Of course, they know a cushy deal when they see one, so they don’t go far; the shelter is their home. At night, though, we were told that they form the Chase Brigade, headed by Puppy and the 3-legged dogs. The Chase Brigade likes to go out at night and chase and bark at vehicles driving past the building.

Charlie tries to figure out what to do with a squeaky toyWe toured the facility and saw the operating rooms, the ICU unit, and the medical supply room. We were also taken to a room with a few puppies. Soon, a puppy exercise area will be built, so they can run around without getting too dirty.

Besides the permanent dogs there are about 100 dogs at the shelter at any one time. These are abandoned pets who are up for adoption and street dogs that come in temporarily for medical care or sterilization. That day Suparna had just learned that 6
Dog with "prepare-for-take-off" earsdogs, including a lovely blind German Shepherd named Cesar, were going to a home together. Pretty amazing considering the shelter averages about 10 dog adoptions a month.

After touring the kitchen area—the dogs are fed a home-cooked vegetarian diet of raggi (a type of millet) porridge, chapattis, rice, eggs, milk, yogurt, cooked vegetables and dal—Wing Commander Lingaraj, the shelter manager introduced us to a fat black and white dog, named “Hero” by the staff. He was the victim of extreme cruelty and came to the shelter 4 years ago. Below is the story of this rescue and recover from the CUPA website.

Hero and Wing Commander LingarajHero, as we came to name him, was owned by Mr.Balachandra. On Christmas Day, 25th Dec. 2002, imagine the horror of the residents of Whitefield, a suburb of Bangalore City! Mr Balachandra tied the dog to his Matador Van and drove the vehicle a good 5km dragging the screaming dog behind him. The owner justified his action saying the dog was a biter. Mr.Roop Singh, a local resident, saw the ghastly scene and chased the van and managed to loosen the rope. The dog was left for dead until further investigation by Mr.Roop Singh revealed that his heart was still beating. He bundled the dog into a taxi and filed a First Information Report at the nearest Police station. The first sight of the completely bloody and wounded animal at CUPA, still leave some staff members shuddering in horror, at the memory! The able veterinarians of CUPA immediately provided medical aid and emergency services. Hero was critical for 3 days fighting between life and death and was in the Intensive Care Unit.

Two months later, Hero made a good recovery and contrary to his owner's statement, he is one of the friendliest dogs at the shelter. Once he is stroked and petted, he will continue to rub his head and body against the person, craving for affection. Rather overweight, he is adored by the CUPA staff.

Dogs at the shelter temporarilyAlthough this account and the accompanying photos are rather dog-centric, there are other kind of animals at the CUPA shelter. There is a cattery (about 10 cats are adopted out a month) and a handful of large animals, including Baby, an adolescent bull, who was rescued from a butcher shop when he was 5-days-old.

After visiting the shelters at VSPCA and CUPA, I had the idea that someone should do a television cartoon show based on the life of shelter dogs in India. There would be the “core” group of permanent dogs, a motley assortment of “differently abled” dogs, each with his or her own quirky personality. Then there would be an ever-rotating cast of temporary dogs who pass through the shelter. It might help individualize Indian street dogs, making them appealing to people who might otherwise go out and buy a purebred dog. It could be a funnier,
Rude Dog and the Dweebsmore heart-warming version of Rude Dog and the Dweebs, a short-lived cartoon on television in the 1980s. It featured a bunch of badly drawn dogs who worked at an auto-body shop and was the inspiration for naming my dog “Rude Dog” (Rudy, for short).

Later in the day, we visited CUPA’s clinic in town, which is where people can bring their companion animals for medical care (that they pay for) and grooming. Plus, there is a shop selling pet supplies.

Knowing that I was in the market for handicrafts, Suparna directed me to a craft exhibition being held in town for a few days. There, I was able to buy bags from the URMAL cooperative in Rajasthan (buy them here) and jewelry from Nrusingha Barik, the very same jewelry-maker from Orissa whose products I have been buying for the past two years through one of the Crafts Councils (buy this jewelry here). I was looking at his wares and recognized his hand-writing on the tags. Small world!

That evening, I met Ramesh, a talented wildlife artist. I will eventually be offering prints of his drawings and watercolors on this website.