'Neela' comes home to SASS

Helle and Line from Aarhus visited Sarnath and met with Saddhuji of SASS. They handed over an adorable little guy called 'Neela' - 'Blue Eyes'- to him. Parvati is the young lady in blue (!) who will look after him and get her final year in school funded. Hari Om.

New developments on the 'SASS Front' - Anna, our friend and Nandi's guardian, visited our little ashrama from Germany and took care of many details - repairing the fence, rebuilding Nandi's thatch-hit, building a brick fence around an acre of land so our animals can now roam free. Some sweet images from her trip!

tiger in denmark...

beauty      

 

revisit in June... Am planning a trip to Sarnath from Copenhagen in a few weeks. Its time to rebuild the hay home for Nandi, our little bull ( not so little anymore!) and for our new resident dogs. Any helpers?

More recently, SASS expanded its services to rescues of street cows, bulls, and calves. We have a great new friend called 'Nandi' who joined our family a month ago. He was found unconscious on the street in Sarnath after a beating from a local shop-keeper. He now lives on our farm and is wonderful to be around. Anna, a housemate, insists that Nandi loves ambient music. His tastes, otherwise, are mueslix and corn on the cob!

Am getting ready to visit SASS in Sarnath from Copenhagen in a few weeks. Its been a long time since I've been away from the animals and the shelter... Much repair work to be done to roof, walls, our bull's bamboo hut, and many things besides! It should all be fun! Merry Christmas to all our loyal friends and supporters over the years from our animals... wuf wuf.

saddhuji and Nandi at shelter

A visit from Copenhagen friends...

Yesterday, in the sweltering heat of late-May, Tara Thorsen and her friend from Copenhagen in Denmark, paid a loving visit to SASS ashrama. I understand that all the animals - including our little bull, Nandi, gave her a resounding welcome. It was just fantastic to feel the connexion - clear across the globe - with friends who care.  Thanks, Tara!

time for a visit from Denmark

Its Nandi - our bull's birthday. We take this occasion to inform our readers that we now have our own little farm-house and are making arrangements for a veternarian crew from Copenhagen to visit SASS and help sterilise our new dog adoptees. Viola! Thanks you for following our progress through the years...

a new home for Nandi and Chitki and family...

More recently, SASS expanded its services to rescues of street cows, bulls, and calves. We have a great new friend called 'Nandi' who joined our family a month ago. He was found unconscious on the street in Sarnath after a beating from a local shop-keeper. He now lives on our farm and is wonderful to be around. Anna, a housemate, insists that Nandi loves ambient music. His tastes, otherwise, are mueslix and corn on the cob!

SASS enters its fourth year of service shortly!

More recently, SASS expanded its services to rescues of street cows, bulls, and calves. We have a great new friend called 'Nandi' who joined our family a month ago. He was found unconscious on the street in Sarnath after a beating from a local shop-keeper. He now lives on our farm and is wonderful to be around. Anna, a housemate, insists that Nandi loves ambient music. His tastes, otherwise, are mueslix and corn on the cob!

travels with 'Rosie'

A few days ago, we had news from one of our animal-friends in Kerala of the new-found fame of 'Rosie' among people of her village.
'Rosie' was a street-dog who lived under the wooden shop of a local 'chai-wallah'. I had found 'Rosie' one stormy monsoon night in the middle of the street - she had a broken leg and was in acute pain. After a few visits from a local Vet, 'Rosie' made it alive and was adopted by her 'chai-wallah' friend. She became a favorite among villagers. It seems that she has recently gained some media attention by inspiring songs composed by local folk-singers. One song was aired on Kerala TV last week.

SASS: Street Animals of Sarnath Services

My name is Anu and I am part of a circle of animal friends in Sarnath, India. SASS stands for ‘Street Animals of Sarnath Services’. - we provide free vet care and adoption services as well as sponsor education for children of families that adopt an animal. The connexion between animals and humans is a timeless one - we are all part of a sacred web of life. Perhaps its really a matter of our hearts and minds and of finding a way to become present to a situation - no matter how dismal or difficult it might seem at first!
When I first came to Sarnath from the US, I was a bit surprised to find so many stray dogs on the streets. It was also evident that there was no animal shelter around. However, there was an animal hospital and the vet was irrespressibly friendly! Together, we began to vaccinate street dogs and then to find homes for them. Surprisingly, this turned out easier than expected - once the reasonable concerns over vaccinations and safety were dealt with. It was obvious that people did care for the animals but had few means to develop their concern. A critical link between animals and humans seemed to be children - kids being kids - were naturals in the art of loving... So, SASS became a way of providing free education to kids of families that adopted a stray.
At present, there are thirteen families involved in the circle of care, twenty kids recieving education at the Universal School, and eighteen animal adoptions this year. Even more remarkable, there seems to have occurred a shift in attitude towards street dogs. Folks are less likely to toss a stone or to hurt an animal... Local tea stall clients seem more able to share food and milk with them... These may seem to be small changes but perhaps they are a beginning and an indication. For the heart is a mystery and we know that nothing is impossible there!