My evening with the dogs at Alfa 11

I have four dogs boarded at Alfa11. Based on all the recent things I heard about the place, I was concerned for my dogs and I wanted to see firsthand what exactly was going on there.

So I arrived there in the evening expecting to find a mess but as I entered the gates everything was calm and peaceful, the way I remember it. In the distance I could see one of my dogs comfortably sprawled out under the tree and fast asleep. My youngest one was too busy running around playing with a white furry friend that she didn’t even notice I had arrived. The other two were sitting outside the kitchen at the back waiting for their food.

The place has been renovating since February and I was happy to see some of the changes there. The entire compound has a new brick boundary wall and there is a new kitchen almost complete that will also have a little dining area for guests and their dogs. In the future the plans include having rooms where owners could come with their dogs and take a break on the farm with the whole family.

I wanted to write about some of the stuff I experienced and saw there for myself...so here goes...

 LETS TALK ABOUT THE DOGS

 

Meet MALLIKA	This golden lab has such an adorable face and such a wonderful temperament. She’s been at Alfa11 for more than 9 months now. Her owners left her here to board, then never came to pick her up. She stays here at no charge.
Meet ROCKY	Gorgeous German Shepherd. He saw my camera and immediately sat down to pose. Was boarded here by the owners for obedience training coz they said he was a biter. I played with him for a while and he was so playful, not aggressive at all. Its been more than 5 months now and no one has come back to claim him. Calls to the owners’ number are not answered. He stays here at no charge.
Meet GUDDU	Such a playful little boy ! Guddu was brought here to board 4 months ago by a family in Vasant Kunj. They have since not come back for him and it seems they have moved from the address they provided to the kennel and changed their numbers. He stays here at no charge.
Meet TIGER	Tiger has been at the kennel for more than 8 months. He was sent here for boarding by a family in Janakpuri. They have also shifted and not come back for him. He stays here at no charge.
Meet WAZIR	I love this big guy. He’s the wise old man with impeccable manners (read training). Rajesh Bhatt had him adopted 11 years ago. He stayed with the family for 11 years. Now that he is old, they have sent him back. Rajesh is very fond of this guy and vice versa. He stays here at no charge.
Meet CHIPPY	This bossy hunk has a history of aggression and being a biter. He was on his way to be put to sleep. He’s been on the farm for more than a year now and lives happily with the rest of the brood. He lives here at no charge.
The 2 girls BINDI AND BETTY :	Two Indian beauties basking in the sun, Bindi and Betty were boarded here by a foreign lady who couldn’t keep them in her home. She has now left but these two spend their days happily at the farm. They stay here at no charge
Meet SAMMY :	Sammy saw me with a funny looking contraption (my camera) and shouted at me to not get too close. Perhaps he didn’t like being photographed when he was just waking up from his slumber. His owner is not in a financial condition to look after a dog and cannot afford to pay for boarding. He requested Rajesh to keep the dog for him at no cost and allow him to come meet him from time to time. That’s the arrangement. So he stays here at no charge.
Meet CHIP :	This harmless and adorable looking mutt used to be an embassy dog at one time. But for some reason he snapped at one of the officials there and he was to be put to sleep. But someone there knew of Alfa11 and asked the people there to check this place out. Chip is here for 6 months...seems very scared of people but very happy with other dogs. With training and interaction with people he is getting better.
Meet the under dogs..             VEERA and BRAVO :	My heart broke when I met these two. Veera has a deformed front paw and Bravo has a bad hind leg. They both wobble along on three legs. They are so friendly and so cute, I wished I could take them home. Their owners were looking for a home for them when they were puppies but no one was willing to adopt these two with their deformities.
I give you OSCAR	O boy Oscar! I had heard such terrible stories about this fierce looking Rottweiler. And as I saw him running towards me, for a split second my stomach did a little somersault. But then he came up to me and jumped up trying to lick my face and started bolting here and there like a puppy and I relaxed. Such a sweetheart! Oscar had a number of unsuccessful adoptions. Now he stays on the farm with the rest of the dogs. When I went to the kitchen at the back, Oscar had pushed all the dogs out of the way and was standing in the kitchen waiting for his food and no one seemed to question his authority.

There are many many dogs on the farm. Some like mine, are boarded here for long periods of time but most are here coz no one came back to claim them. I counted 21 such dogs that live here at no charge. 

All the dogs you see in this picture are abandoned dogs and Rajesh looks after them at no charge



WHAT ABOUT TICKS ?

The facility has a lot of open grassy spaces for the dogs to run and train. That could be a bit of a concern sometimes coz from what I am told, ticks thrive in grass and it is impractical to expect a totally tick-free facility. But while I checked my dogs for ticks,  I am happy to report, I found none.

THE BOARDING ROOM

I asked to see the boarding area and here’s what it looks like. It was a cool respite from the hot weather outside and Calvin, one of the resident dogs sauntered in behind me, opened the doors of one of the enclosures in the room and fell right off to sleep. There is a working ac but because there is a bad problem of power cuts and power fluctuation, it has been known to blow a fuse. So there is also a cooler installed here as back-up.

WHATS FOR DINNER ?

I was there at feeding time so I wanted to go take a look at their food and the kitchen. Since the new kitchen is renovating they have a working kitchen at the back. I asked one of the staff there what they put in the food and he told me its chicken, rice, egg, chapatti.

 

THE STAFF...



Rajesh is the main person and he has trainers that come and go daily. Besides that, there are attendant boys that look after the brushing, cleaning, food, bathing etc for the dogs. These boys are not experts in canine care but as they work and live here, they get trained in it. Its impossible to find experienced dog handlers that do jobs like that. If they are dog experts they prefer to be out in the field training than doing odd jobs at the farm. Unfortunately the staff turnover is as high as it is with any other place. They leave for higher salaries and better work. Most would rather work as drivers or servants in homes where the job description does not involve picking up doggie poop.

OUR EXPERIENCE WITH RAJESH...

Rajesh Bhatt helped us with our dog years back. We picked him off the streets but in time he had become very aggressive. Rajesh trained me to train him so he would listen to us. His training techniques did not involve shock collars or hurting the dog in any way. He basically taught us to understand that a dog is a pack animal and as long as he understands that you are the alpha dog in this pack, he will listen and respect you. Its thanks to Rajesh’s training that our spoilt brat still lives with us peacefully.



Then about 2 years ago, people in our colony started kicking up a fuss about the Indian dogs that lived and were looked after by a group of people in the colony. We had already vaccinated, bathed and started the sterilizations for these 4 dogs. But they started harassing the dogs and chasing and traumatizing them when we weren’t around and then when they started threatening to shoot the dogs or poison them, thats when we decided to find a place to keep them safely while we sorted this out. So we put them at Alfa11 for a while till it was safe for them to return. But in time we found that these guys were so happy and healthy on the farm, that we decided its better they stay there.

THE WAY FORWARD

In my opinion the way forward is to better those facilities that are owned by someone who clearly cares for his animals, accepts constructive criticism and is willing to change things around to make it better in the future. Its a great place with a lot of space and the animals are happy. We need more places like these where we can leave our animals if we need to get out of town or in an emergency situation. There are certain suggestions that I would like to make, some of which would need immediate implementation

1) MEDICAL STAFF : There should be a resident vet or a para-vet on the facility so the animals are medically examined on a daily basis and in case of any emergency, the same can be handled quickly on site and if need be then be taken to a vet (The closest one, Dr Josan is about 3 kms away)

2) ANIMAL AMBULANCE WITH DRIVER: There must be a vehicle and a driver at the facility 24X7 that is not used to pick up and drop boarding dogs but is only kept there in case of emergencies.

3) VOLUNTEERS : Trusted animal loving people should volunteer to spend some time working at Alfa11. This would leave the attendants to be just attendants. They could concentrate on the odd jobs while the volunteers have the job to keep the animals happy and also raise an alarm if they find something’s not quite right. Also we know that sometimes dogs do wither away and get depressed because they feel they have been abandoned and due to lack of constant human company. If volunteers are there regularly helping with brushing, playing, bathing etc for the dogs, it will undoubtedly be a happier place for the animals

4) POWER BACK-UP : I know the power situation in Gurgaon is abysmal. Frequent power-cuts and power fluctuations do make summers more terrible than it is. Power back-up is essential to ensure that the airconditioning and coolers are working so that all the animals on the farm are comfortable

5) TICKS : I know ticks are inevitable when we're talking about so many dogs living together. Still, constant supervision in this regard and consistent application of tick powders, oils or maybe insisting every new adimission to the kennel has to be given a tick bath might help in keeping this nuisance in check.

Sometimes I wonder why there are no standardized requirements for kennels across the country ? I am told that help is on the way but we need numbers to get it done. I am all for it. It would be so awesome to have places where our dogs can be left and looked after. I do hope we can join together to make this and all other kennels better for our four legged children. They also deserve a nice relaxing break from us humans once in  a while...Wat say ?