Pepper

My name is Pepper.

I'm a little boy, just five months old - and already, the lone survivor of my entire family. Stick around, and I'll tell you the whole sad tale. It's the best kind of sad story though - the kind with a happy ending that is even now being written…

Dedicated volunteers with an amazing animal rescue team that ISDF works with in New Delhi received an urgent call one day approximately five months ago. Our mother had given birth to us in a parking garage in a territory inhabited by a large street dog colony. All that was left of our litter by then were four two-week-old puppies. 

She had cared lovingly for us for the first week and a half, but then mysteriously vanished. Mama was never seen again, and we continue to fear the worst.

Almost five days passed and we - helpless newborns - were near death and starvation, despite other dogs in the colony and some human intervention, all trying to offer us some help. That's when the call to Desi Furries Worldwide was made. 

Volunteer Isobel responded immediately to the appeal for help, asking Aarti from Happy Paws to pick us up and seek immediate medical attention with a nearby veterinarian. We were barely clinging to life - and our weakest sibling sadly died the following day. However, my two sisters and I responded well to medical attention and nurturing at the hands of kind-hearted Aarti. Here she is loving me up! 

For the next few weeks, it seemed we were thriving enough to survive. Tragically, at six weeks of age, my sisters - who were never quite as strong as me - passed away.

I missed my sisters so much after they were gone…and I was all alone.

Another month passed and I was now a healthy, happy boy. 

I was adopted locally to a home here in New Delhi but unfortunately there were signs right from the start that the home was a poor match for me. Their apartment was tiny and I love to stretch my legs and play. I had lived with other puppies, like my pal Ladlee (her equally-tragic story will be told very soon as she, too, is coming to the USA in the not-so-distant future!) but now I had no playmates to roll and tumble and bound about with. My new family did own a guinea pig, which they thought I would like as a playmate - but to be honest, I was more interested in pouncing on this interesting critter than I was in playing with him. It didn't take long for them to see the writing on the wall either - on just day two, I was returned to the organization.

I found myself back in the lovely farm home of Sonia and Dieter, volunteers who foster so many of us on our way to our future forevers. Ladlee, my puppy friend, was just as thrilled to be reunited with me as I was to see her. We continue to kick up our heels together, playing, racing, and chasing - around here, the favorite game is "catch me if you can"! 

We are also buddied up with many other foster companions of various sizes and ages, and we are social with them all. I am a dynamo when it comes to playtime with other pups - but I am a pussycat when it comes to people. I want to be held, I want to be cuddled, and I want to share your company, no matter what boring old thing (or exciting thing!) that we happen to be doing! And most of all - I want to dispense many kisses upon you (not to brag, but I am kind of a professional at that job)!

I am now approximately five months old and though I am only 20 lbs, I am gaining weight quickly. My color is changing too, so I'm not quite as pepper-y as I was when volunteer Meredith named me. 

She called me Pepper and my sisters were dubbed Coriander and Chili - all of us named in honor of lovely Indian spices. Now Meredith and all my other New Delhi friends hope I will honor the memory of my sisters by living a long, wonderful life, safe in the USA.

Won't you help us make this dream come true?

For more information about fostering or adopting Pepper, please contact Dawn Trimmel at (414) 426-4148.

* * * * *

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.

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!