It's a dog's life! Agonda Animal Shelter

We first found out about "Animal Shelter Agonda" (ASA) from Becky, when we met in Bandekar. If she hadn't told us about it, I think we still would have learned about it due to their flyers being shown in a lot of the local restaurants. The shelter itself is situated about 7 km from Agonda, in the midway point to the next beach, Cola. Their website describes the good work they do in the area, providing free vet services to the locals animals as well as, spaying and neutering the stray dogs and cats. The website also stated that volunteers were welcomed and to pop over for a visit, so that's what we did.

The shelter started in 2015 and was a direct response to local stray animals loosing condition and becoming ill after the tourist season had ended. This is why, along with their veterinary works and looking after animals that need a stable home they run a monsoon feeding program; making sure beach dogs around the area stay healthy even when there is no tourists to share their food.

Not expecting the journey to be all uphill, we decided to walk. I will confess I did opt for a tuk/tuk on the other occasions I visited as that walk was tough. Set back into the jungle near the village of Vagona, the shelter is small building surrounded by dense jungle. What surprised us the most when we arrived was the dogs running free, we were greeted by the howls and barks of 15 (or more) dogs crowding on the porch to see who had come to say hi! We soon learned that all the dogs were friendly, so we wandered into the pack for some cuddles before going to find Brendy.

Brendy is the wonderful woman who looks after the animals at the shelter, has been with the charity from it's beginnings. Qualified as a veterinary nurse Brendy gained vital experience from the renowned Natuurhulpcenter in Belgium. While talking about her previous work, she told me how she devised a system to look after orphaned baby kangaroos, which resulted with her constantly wearing a joey in a pouch around her middle for up to six months of the year! When asked to leave her life behind in Europe to run ASA, she didn't hesitate and is a big reason ASA is such a success.

We were quickly made to feel welcome here, and was shown around the shelter and told how it all works. After being introduced to the dogs and cats on site, we then met Akshay, Brendy's assistant and a training veterinary nurse.

Set amidst cashew trees, ASA is a fair small building consisting of a kennel room, kitchen, office, cat room, Brendys small apartment and a larger veterinary room. Surrounding the building is a walkway housing many more crates, used at dinner time to make sure all the animals get their fair share and to stop any fighting. On our first visit we were tasked with giving the dogs some attention and to keep them occupied so Brendy could get on with some cleaning. Although on this occasion we didn't feel super helpful, we were assured as long as we were making the dogs happy that was more than enough! After mentioning a itchy, scruffy dog we had met in Agonda we were sent off with the carton of flea powder and told to dust any scratching dog we met while we stayed in Agonda!

Apart from one more occasion where i was the only volunteer, the rest of my visited coincided with the appearance of ASA's long term helpers arriving for the season. With more bodies on hand, our jobs ranged from helping to cook the dog's dinner, cleaning out the puppies cages, pressure washing the pathways and my personal favourite, giving the puppies and younger dogs baths! All the volunteers had known each other from previous seasons, we were made to feel like part of the group! It was a truly lovely place to be, not only to feel like we were being useful after so much time lazing on the beaches, but to have a wonderful group of people to hang out with and get to know.

In recent years, rules about foreign donations has sadly meant that ASA can only receive monetary donations from Indian nationals. That being said, they can accept gifts of dog and cat food, along with blankets and other useful items. They have a list on their website, seeing this we made sure to take bags of dog food up on occasion and i would urge anyone staying the the area to do the same, every little helps! The volunteers are also vital to ASA, not only do they allow Brendy to have a rare day off but they can get on with jobs and repairs that it's impossible to accomplish along with their everyday work!

My absolute favourite thing about ASA was how happy all the animals there were. Yes, some of them were sick and receiving treatment but all of them seemed relaxed. The amazing thing is ASA's property doesn't have any boundary fencing; any of the animals staying there that are well enough to have roaming privileges could leave any time they like. On occasion, a few dogs would follow us when we walked back to town but they would always return home after a few minutes. Brendy is happy for the dogs to leave when their treatment has concluded but the truth is a majority of dogs brought in decide to stay, I don't think you can get any higher recommendation than that.

Now I know you shouldn't have favourites but i couldn't help myself, apart from all the puppies I wanted to smuggle away with me there was Suzy. She wasn't a looker, still in the process of regaining her fur after her last round of illness. She was a scruffy thing, most of her black rough skin still on show and so small, her continuing fight with death hadn't let her grow much but she was the sweetest dog I've ever met. I couldn't sit down without her wanting to climb on my lap for a cuddle and although she hated bath time - looking remarkably like a gremlin as she scrambled for freedom - she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder when i wrapped her in a towel to dry off.

I wasn't the only one to fall in love with Suzy, she was a shelter favourite but she wasn't the only one. Adriana, a rather large doberman, soppy with humans but a clear leader of the pack held Brendy's affections, so much so that she has been removed from the adoption list to be her personal dog. Not that she gets any special treatment, just the knowledge that she'll always have a warm loving home, surrounded by a pack of friends. Of course some of the other favourites find their forever home too, locals and tourists coming for a visit and leaving with a new best friend.

It tends to be the misfits that get left behind, the scarred dogs, the naughty ones, the amputees and although it would be great if they got adopted too, at least they'll have a wonderful home at ASA no matter what.

We found it hard to say goodbye to all the people and animals we had become friend with while visiting ASA and if I ever return to Goa, it won't just be to relax on the golden sands but to spend more time at the shelter too. I cannot stress what an wonderful place it is and how amazing all the people that dedicate their life to it are.

Check out their website @ www.animalshelteragonda.com

or visit their facebook page to keep up with the latest news and cutest pics!