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Animal lovers swear by social media for rescue of injured creatures

In a recent incident, social media came to the rescue of a stray cow in Khar after she collapsed on the road due to food poisoning.

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The cow was provided veterinary service and later taken to the BSPCA in Parel after word spread via WhatsApp
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If you are an animal lover, this piece of news will surely leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

In a recent incident, social media came to the rescue of a stray cow in Khar after she collapsed on the road due to food poisoning.

The weak animal fell down amid heavy rains after being unable to bear the pain. That's when Mumbaikars rallied and within four hours the bovine was given veterinary service and sent to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) in Parel.

The timely medical care was only possible due the vast connectivity of social media, believe all animal rescuers. "As there is no ambulance service provided by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for emergency situations like these, we have to take matters into our own hands and make sure that maximum help is extended towards the speechless," said an animal rescuer Shailesh Mehta.

"In this case, on hearing about it, around 10 people immediately reached the spot where the cow was and started coordinating with the nearest vet. The vet arrived soon and gave her medication. A friend of ours then got a tempo and we transported the animal to the BSPCA."

Spreading the word

Since WhatsApp's launch in early 2010, animal rescuers believe that it has helped them phenomenally in saving a number of creatures. Mehta said, "Having rescued animals in distress for 15 years, I can say that since WhatsApp has come on the scene, we have been able to carry out rescue work with more accuracy and in a timely manner, enabling us in saving many lives."

"I myself have formed a WhatsApp group named 'Jeevdaya Seva'; it started with 20 members, covering rescue operations from Colaba to Borivli. Today, the group strength is 350 and we cover rescues all the way till Rajkot," he added.

Mehta also said that when the cow was being taken to the hospital, a notification about a stray dog being run over popped on the group. "Only because of timely coordination with the tempo driver, we could fetch the dog as well. Sadly, the dog lost both hind limbs," he rued.

No BMC ambulance for animals

Mehta's WhatsApp group has the disaster control room, policemen, fire brigade officers and other animals rescuers from all over the city as members. This helps everyone to work in close coordination and assist each other in the rescue.

"Whenever we get a lead about an animal in distress, we forward the message to Jeevdaya Seva group. Mumbai doesn't have a proper mechanism to provide assistance to injured animals. There are dog catching vans, but they are only for sterilisation. There is no BMC ambulance for emergency situations involving a distressed animal. Thankfully, there are many avid animals lovers in the city who are available 24x7... WhatsApp serves as a great medium to keep everyone in the loop," said Machhindranath Patil, assistant control room supervisor.

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