Food and Medicines for the Treatment of Animals in Distress

There are lakhs of animals that live out on the streets in our country. They survive by finding leftover food and are sometimes fed by compassionate people. But when they become sick/injured, they are entirely helpless, and if left untreated, many of the sick/wounded animals suffer and die.

Blue Cross of India, established in October 1964, rescues such sick/injured animals suffering in the streets in and around Chennai city and provides free treatment to them. At any point of time, there about 1800 animals with us, including dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, cows, calves, buffaloes, horses, donkeys, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and some wild animals (brought by the Forest department for treatment) in the hospital cum shelters of Blue Cross of India. These animals have to be fed with nutritious and balanced food every day to enable speedy recovery from the illness and also medicines are required to treat them every day.

Blue Cross of India has its hospital cum shelter in Velachery Road on its 4-acre plot. There are shelters/enclosures for different species of animals, including dogs, cats, and bigger animals. Ten veterinary doctors are available for medical treatment of the rescued sick/injured animals, and over 8-10 ambulance vehicles are available for rescuing the animals. Blue Cross of India has 24-hour helpline numbers through which it receives information from the citizens of the city about sick/injured animals suffering in the streets in and around Chennai city. BCI provides the necessary treatment to the sick/wounded street animals which are rescued from the streets and offers another chance at life to the distressed animals. The animals in the shelter are provided with adequate nutritious food which is required to sustain them during their treatment and speedy recovery medicines are used during the treatment and in the operation theatres for the sick/injured animals.

The intervention of the Blue Cross of India means the difference between life and death of most of the animals that are rescued. Since animals cannot communicate with humans and cannot get timely medical treatment when they are distressed, it becomes a matter of paramount importance for an organization like BCI to step in and rescue them and provide appropriate medical treatment to save their lives. Since its establishment in 1964, lakhs of sick/injured animals have been rescued by BCI. Most of these animals, if left untreated, would have suffered and died. Many cattle roaming the street are suffering from ingestion of plastics from eating the polythene bags in which households discard leftover food and BCI conducts rumenotomy surgical operations on many cows, bulls to remove such plastics from the cows' stomach as seen in the link attached. Dogs and cats with maggot infestation injuries are treated and saved. Elective surgeries are done to save the animals with tumours. Dogs with severe leg injuries are rescued, and amputation of a limb has to be done to save their lives, but they continue to live a good life in spite of their ordeal as may be seen in the video attached.