Lhasa finds family after being deserted

Dogs are not decorative pieces. And they definitely do not figure in the use-and-throw list. But some people do not understand this. On a rainy September afternoon, two boys spotted a drenched Lhasa apso at Shelar Naka, Dombivli (East).

Abandoned by his owner, the canine was lying in the dirt, suffering from skin and ear infections and infested with maggots. He looked traumatised by stray dog attacks. The boys, Ravi and Kunal, residents of a nearby slum, decided to take the dog to a safer place.

They approached Sudhir Yamgar, who owns a pet shop in Dombivli, for help and treatment. Yamgar contacted Nilesh Bhanage, founder of the Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Thane. The dog was later taken to the animal shelter run by In Defence of Animals in New Mumbai for treatment.

It took a month for the lhasa to recover from the infection and the trauma it had undergone.  “The physical pain could be cured,” said Bhanage. “But the mental torture he had undergone was difficult to treat. Just like humans, animals, too, go into depression. They turn aggressive if not treated properly.”

Lhasas are delicate animals, which need a lot of pampering and attention, “just like a child”, the activist explained.

“Probably his previous owners never realised that.”  It took a month and a half for Bhanage to find a home for the dog. He zeroed in on Mahesh Kanojia, a college student and animal lover. Kanojia became a PAWS volunteer and named the Lhasa Jack.  “Jack is very playful and my family loves him,” Kanojia said.