While Animal Rahat staff members were treating a cow for a fever in the village of Wanlesswadi, a man named Mr. Patil observed the team’s work and asked if they would examine his injured dog. After they finished treating the cow, they went to Mr. Patil’s home, cleaned and dressed his dog’s wound, and administered a rabies vaccination.

It turned out that Mr. Patil was a dairy farmer with 15 buffaloes, most of whom—the team was concerned to note—were tethered tightly by nose ropes.

As you can see in the photo above, these ropes dig into the animals’ nostrils. When tethered this way, a step in any direction or even a turn of the head causes them pain. The team explained to Mr. Patil that nose ropes aren’t needed and cause great suffering. Fortunately, he was open to the message, removed the ropes, and apologized that he’d never considered this before.

Since then, he has even asked Animal Rahat to come talk to his neighbors to persuade them to follow suit. Changing one person’s mind at a time might seem like a small step, but one individual’s new outlook can have a life-altering effect on so many animals and can cause a positive ripple effect across his or her community.

Changing one person’s mind at a time seems like a small step, but one person’s new outlook can have a life altering effect on so many animals and across his or her community.