Delhi Puppies 3

*** UPDATE!! ***

May 2014
Leia and Cocoa left New Delhi on May 2 after saying tearful goodbyes to their foster moms, Anna Sundelius (Leia) and Ellen Brenoe (Cocoa). 



They arrived here into Chicago, USA safe, sound, and unfazed by their long journey. Dawn, Chuck, Ayize and I - along with ISDF friend and supporter Cristina Martinez and family - were on hand to greet them as they officially became American citizens!
Cristina's family will foster both pups initially and Dawn and Chuck will take one or both as a couple of their current puppies go out into pending adoptions later this week.

  
Leia and Cocoa have been living it up in their lovely foster home! And - luckily for us - foster mom Cristina is a professional photographer, and has been taking wonderful photos of the two pups as they acclimate to life as American house dogs. 
We have been enjoying the photos immensely!
Bathtime…

…and playtime!

They are adorable and affectionate sweethearts who have been well-socialized and adore the two young children of the household. We are currently seeking forever families for both of these dear girls, and hope it won't be long before they are home and starting happy endings of their very own.



Thank you to all who made this possible, from the Drs. Choudhary and their organization, Desi Furries Worldwide; to Poorvaja who watched over these sweet babies from the time they were born; to the Sundelius and Brenoe families who provided them both with loving foster homes in New Delhi until the time came for their flights to the USA; to Cristina's family and Chuck and Dawn for caring for them from the moment they arrived here in the USA.
We are so grateful to you all for everything you are doing for the street dogs of Delhi!

* * * * *

My name is Leia.

And my name is Cocoa.

We are two playful, sweet, four-month-old puppies. 
And we are the tragic by-products of India's street dog epidemic.



Delhi, the national capital of India, is a city teeming with life. Its human population alone stands at 22 million. It is estimated that over 260,000 homeless desi (local/common) street dogs call Delhi home.
Although the killing of these dogs has been prohibited for the past decade, no concurrent comprehensive sterilization programs have been put into place by
the government. 
So the population of desi dogs continues to swell…



Enter our little family.
Our mom is a typical Indian native dog type - small, smart, and always on the move seeking safety and shelter. 
Mom has called a park in New Delhi home for all of her life. Though she is wary of most humans, there are a handful of kind local people that she has learned to trust. They are neighborhood residents who care deeply for her and she is very fortunate in that she need never worry about where her next meal will come from - they provide her with both food and affection.

Mom dug a trench in the soil of the park she calls home, in a protected area where she could keep us safe. She stayed by our sides religiously, day after day, and we grew and thrived under her watchful eye and the protection of the locals who care for our mom.
Once we were weaned and became more independent, we went to the home of kind local Poorvaja who cared for us until we were a little bit older and moved into other foster homes.



During this time, Mom was captured, spayed, and vaccinated. Once recovered, she returned to her home base in the park. Locals have promised to care for her and feed her as they always have and it is the life our mom would want. She is true desi dog, born and raised on the streets she calls home. But we know she was relieved that we will live very different lives - ones in which we will only ever know security, love, and comfort. 
We are so lucky and Mom knows it too so she let us go with her blessing, even though it made us all sad to say goodbye.

Two compassionate families took us into their homes for foster care a few weeks later once we were more active and mobile. Both families made sure we were well-socialized with consistent, loving contact with people and other dogs. We were wonderful with their children, too!
Here are our baby pictures as we grew…

This is me, Leia. 
I'm a girl, cute as a button, and smart to boot. I'm playful and wonderful with people.

My New Delhi foster families had this to say about me:

Anna - "Leia is a special puppy. She is very smart, quick learning, and friendly. She can already walk comfortably on a leash and she loves to play outside with/in water. From the beginning she only ate chicken, egg and milk but she slowly learned to eat Pedigree puppy food (she loves chai - Indian tea - probably as she was given this on the street, together with chapati, Indian bread). Leia right now is in our foster family with three children and she is doing very well. She sleeps independently all night and she is trained to do her needs on a newspaper. This special puppy going to be a great member in any family."

Ellen - "Leia is with us at the moment, i.e. with 3 other dogs (Indian Desi, Dachshund and her sister Cocoa) and she fits in very well. Leia is the shy one, she adjusts and respects the other dogs, she is extremely sweet to our old dachshund. She loves cuddles and she loves to be picked up and sit on our lap. Leia doesn’t bark a lot, only during play time."

And this is me, Cocoa.

I'm also a girl. I'm a clever, independent little explorer with lots of love to give.

My New Delhi foster family had this to say about me:

Ellen - "Cocoa is cheeky and full of fun. She is totally happy being with Shanti and Oliver, our other dogs. This week in Lodi garden she swam in the pond, so Cocoa too loves water. Cocoa eats well, sleeps all night on a pillow next to our bed, and is learning to go to the toilet outside (we are nearly there). If there’s an accident, it’s because we haven’t put her outside in time. Cocoa would do well with any age owner, we have two daughters whom she loves. Cocoa doesn’t bark, other than during play time. Cocoa walks with us for 2 kilometers and listens well. 

Both pups are respectful and sit before receiving their bowl of food, you can touch them while they are eating, they are at no point in time aggressive."

Our foster parents stayed in constant contact with the wonderful Drs. Choudhary, two veterinarians whose passion for helping us desi dogs is well-known around the Delhi area. These doctors dedicate much of their spare time to sterilizing and vaccinating as many street dogs as they can in an effort to improve the lives and welfare of both us dogs, and the humans we interact with.

They are truly heroes (as this brief video demonstrates).

The Drs. Choudhary vaccinated and dewormed us. They were also the ones who spayed our Mom after we'd been weaned and placed in foster homes.

Here are a few more photos of us as we grew. This is me, Leia, in another baby photo. I am so grateful to the Sundelius family for caring for me and helping me grow into the sweetheart I am today.



And here I am when I was a bit older, playing in their yard.

And this is me, Cocoa, playing in my foster home's backyard in New Delhi too. I am so grateful to the Brenoe family for raising me up right and teaching me wonderful manners!

We are smart little girls and know the statistics were against us from the moment we drew our first breaths. Life as a desi dog on the streets of New Delhi is perilous at best and lethal at worst. 

If it wasn't for the dedication of our mom, who protected us from the very first - or the compassion of kind locals, who refused to view us as living garbage, as so many of our kind are - or the lovely foster families who opened their hearts and homes to us and nurtured us with love - we wouldn't even be here today to tell our stories.

We are two of the luckiest puppies in India, and we know it.

Do you think we can ask Lady Luck for just one more favor? 

Do you think we may be so bold as to dream that we will one day 'luck out' and find ourselves adopted into loving forever homes of our very own?
We're holding out hope.

Please consider helping us make our dreams come true.

Love,

Leia and Cocoa

For more information about adopting Leia, Cocoa - or any of our available dogs - please contact Dawn Trimmel at (414) 426-4148. Thank you!

* * * * *

The Desi Dogs of Delhi

Over a quarter of a million street dogs - possibly even many more than that - call Delhi, India home. These desi dogs coexist among Delhi's 22 million human residents - and both humans and dogs must constantly walk a fragile, precarious line drawn between them to keep the uneasy peace between the species.

Desi dogs seek shelter every day in parking lots, abandoned buildings, alleyways, and even garbage dumps. They sleep under sharp, rusted car and machine parts, and breathe noxious fumes day and night. They walk on broken glass and are constantly exposed to hazardous materials. Territorial skirmishes are not uncommon, food is a premium and often scavenged for amid fierce competition, and drinkable water is scarce. 

Until the day a widely-implemented program is put into place - one with the cornerstones of mass sterilization to reduce street dog numbers; vaccination to protect both dogs and humans from disease; and adoption/responsible pet ownership or street dog guardianship in the intervening years before sterilization naturally dwindles the dog overpopulation problem (for example, for dogs who would not do well in a domestic setting such as a home, there may be neighborhood communities that can commit to feeding and watching over their local packs) - there will be no easy answers to the desi dog problem.

Fortunately, there are two amazing veterinarians - the Drs. Choudhary - who are committed to helping address the Indian street dog issue at its very grassroots. Their dedication and hard work are phenomenal. Together, they have helped to rehabilitate and re-home many of these deserving dogs around the world. And by spaying and neutering, feeding, and medically treating hundreds of desi dogs, they have made lives better for many, many needy dogs.

Here is a link to a Facebook page called Desi Furries Worldwide that provides a wealth of information and many lovely updates about adopted Indian street dogs helped by the Drs. Choudhary. Additionally, here is a link to an informative article written last year and entitled A Better Life for Desi Dogs. It explains the plight of India's street dogs, and showcases the important role that this husband-and-wife veterinary team have played in improving the lives of so many needy dogs.

Thank you so much for your interest and support!