Animals rescued by Animal Rahat recently include this monkey, who had been in a cage for six years. An Animal Rahat veterinarian spotted her while returning from another case. Because it’s illegal to keep monkeys captive, we immediately notified the Forest Department, which has jurisdiction over captive-wildlife issues. An Animal Rahat staffer then accompanied a Forest Department official to the owner’s home and helped confiscate the monkey, who is now at a wildlife rehabilitation center and will at last be able to climb trees and make friends among her own kind.

As you’ve seen before, one of India’s greatest menaces is abandoned wells, which claim the lives of countless animals (including humans) every year. Last month, we rescued not one, not two, but three dogs who had fallen into these death traps and were facing starvation until we intervened.

Two Animal Rahat staffers spotted the dog pictured below, who was desperately hungry and, in an attempt to lick a morsel of food from the bottom of this jar, had gotten his head stuck. Anxious and scared, he wouldn’t let anyone approach him, but one of our staff who is trained in catching dogs with a net managed to restrain him. The team was then able to sedate him and gently remove the jar.

Other successes last month include conducting a police workshop to sensitize officers to issues related to cruelty to animals and work with them to strengthen enforcement of animal-protection laws, sterilizing 41 dogs in our pilot spay/neuter program in model villages, and persuading four owners of elderly bullocks to retire them and allow them to live at home and enjoy their remaining years in peace.

Speaking of peace, I’ll leave you with this lovely photo of Kalu, the resident buffalo at our Home for Retired Bullocks. We created a mud wallow to help him beat the heat. Have you ever seen anyone look more content?