Treatment at Radhakund . . .

For the last several days, we have been traveling to the village of Radhakund for a very special case. We've had to make the long trip by motorcycle, as our van recently went for a deep cleaning and the seats are still drying out. It's a cold but necessary journey, as our patient's condition is dire.

The sweet dog we have been treating has maggot wounds all over his body. The most obvious is a huge gaping wound on his face, but the nasty parasites have also burrowed deep into his urethra, making the task of extracting them extremely challenging.

Any time maggots penetrate a head wound, the situation should be considered serious. This is because the maggots may enter the eyes, causing blindness, or the brain, which almost always causes death. We will continue treating this dear soul through all the difficulties, in hopes that he can make a full recovery.

Deworming Drive in the Winters . . .

In December, Braj Animal Care held vaccination and deworming drives in various parts of Braj Mandal. Most street animals suffer from parasites like maggots and intestinal worms. Without veterinary intervention, the animals have no choice but to suffer through it. In severe cases, animals do not survive such infestations. We are very happy to say that we provided deworming treatments to over 500 animals in the urban and rural areas of Braj during December alone.

A puppy receives treatment from our team

The process of seeking out animals for deworming helped us find many sick and injured animals we may not have known about otherwise. For example, whilst feeding deworming pills to street bulls in Vrindavan’s Chaitanya Vihar Phase 2, a local Brajwasi brought us to another alleyway where some severely ill puppies were hiding. Several of them were emaciated and flea-ridden, and two of them had dangerous maggot infestations in their heads. We were able to provide preliminary treatment for all of them and we are continuing to follow up on their cases.

Early Intervention is Key . .

As we mentioned in our last post, India is currently experiencing its monsoon (rainy season) and the Braj Animal Care team is seeing an increase in internal and external parasite cases.

Recently, we treated a cow in Mathura whose horn was infested with maggots. Maggots cause gruesome wounds and if left untreated can cause extreme deep tissue damage. In this particular case, when the doctor grabbed the cow’s horn to try and restrain her, the horn came off completely and we discovered that it was entirely rotten and worm-infested inside.

We were able to remove the remaining maggots from the cow’s head, which allowed the wound to heal nicely. Thankfully, our patient will be absolutely fine and most maggot cases can be treated with great success as long as we intervene early. 

Monsoon Woes

The monsoon is so beautiful in Vrindavan. Areas that looked brown and uncared for have exploded with abundant greenery. The summer heat is also somewhat soothed by the rains. But you wouldn’t believe what the animals endure in this season.

Flooding is just a small part of it. The real problem is the parasites that thrive during this period. The humidity is sky-high, and this creates an idea environment for maggots and other bugs to thrive. Maggots are the larvae of flies, who lay their eggs in animals’ wounds. These maggots can hatch within a day and burrow deep into an animal’s flesh, sometimes even reaching the brain. They can turn the smallest scratch into a life-threatening wound.

It is very tough to see many, many animals affected by maggot infestations; but thankfully, we know how to help!