Desi Dogs in British Columbia

08/08/2024

02/08/2024

There's nothing better than making an old dog's day special... there must be someone that would love to trade off minor bladder leakage and wonky hips for a dog with personality plus absolutely no behavior concerns... it is so nice to be able to walk a dog off leash past an Irish wolfhound and a pitt bull and small dogs with no reactivity!

30/07/2024

Time for a Sweetie Pie update! Her history has been found out and her vet work results came back. She is a 12 year old Coonhound Husky cross, and her past homes were/are unable to care for a senior dog. Bloodwork shows chronic kidney disease, possibly Cushings, and need for further vet workup.

Well, the not good news is that the senior care foster home she was to go to today with the help of LMHS was unable to take her, so she continues to need a foster - adoptive home.

The great news is how lovely a dog she is to welcome into anyones home - she is totally sweet and smart and easy to care for. SWEET: she loves people, gets on well with other dogs, non-confrontative; SMART: knows sit, down, come, shake a paw, kiss, sing, fetch, drop it, go to your bed, out, go p*e!; EASY to Care for: obedient - good recall, loves walks, non-reactive around dogs, loves people, loves treats, loves car rides, loves swimming, goes p*e when asked, quiet in the house, bladder control is vastly improved when she is reminded to go out to p*e every hour or two.

If anyone is still interested in donating towards her vet work up and care costs it is appreciated at anytmie - and thanks to those who have sent in $250 donations towards her $550 current care costs, and future care costs.

It is so sad that so many senior dogs are abandoned when their health care becomes complicated and costly, and there is no where for them to go. SAINTS which supports senior dogs with health complications like Sweetie, was full. And I am so lucky that DMRS/Lower Mainland Humane Society stepped in to offer to try to find her a senior care foster home. Please share to anyone you might know that could take in a senior dog for now to end of life care.

29/06/2024

22/06/2024

J'adore l'idée 💯

28/05/2024

I can honestly say, these past couple of years have brought about a new anxiety. When Rolo reached 12, I was both thankful that she had reach

26/05/2024

I hadnt realized the risk of dogs being overdosed by exposure to street drugs, found a couple of news reports of recent incidents in Vancouver and Coquitlam - it can happen just from dogs sniffing a substance left on the ground. The govt doesnt allow reposting of news report - but one was on BCTV News "Mans dog nearly dies from fentanyl overdose warning to other pet owners" if you google drug overdose/dogs...

22/05/2024

21/05/2024

Sorry to learn of Zola's passing this week - but what a life of love and adventures this lucky street pup got to live with her adopters. They write of their sadness at having to let her go. Zola was having difficulty breathing and would randomly loose her footing. Her blood work showed street drugs (co***ne, m**h, benzodiazepine +2 others). The vet said that can happen when dogs ingest contaminated human f***s - although Zola didnt eat p**p, they think that she could have stepped in it and licked her paws, or drunk from a contaminated puddle.
They miss her deeply, and want to let other dog owners know to wash their dogs paws if they have been on trails or in the city where there are street drug users. Such a huge loss, best thoughts to them, and a deep thank you for adopting Victoria/Zola in 2011 and keeping her so safe and cuddled and loved for 13 years.

05/05/2024

👤 Gau Bahadur Roka stands tall with his service to the animals at Friendicoes since 1997. With his sincere dedication and love for animals he has devoted nearly three decades helping us care for our rescues.

👥 Gau Bahadur and his wife tend to 60 dogs in their “family unit”, feeding, cleaning and looking after their medical needs. Their work is challenging, but it rewards them with the delight of experiencing many transformed lives.

🇳🇵🇮🇳 Although Gau Bahadur originally hails from West Nepal, he has made his home at Friendicoes where his younger brother also followed in his footsteps. The prospect of returning to Nepal remains open, but his loyalty to the shelter’s goal and the animals he adores keeps him here.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Celebrating Gau Bahadur is a lot more than just recognising the years he’s spent at Friendicoes; it is about appreciating how substantially a single compassionate & committed heart can affect the welfare of so many animals. His story motivates us all to do our part to make the world a better place for animals.

🫶 Let us continue to support him and the people like him at Friendicoes; it’s because of humans like him that we can assure a better future for the animals we rescue.

04/05/2024

What lovely adoption for these pups and they look like they have Bhotia Mountain dog in their lineage

01/05/2024

31/03/2024

Perfect playmate for Chime!

03/06/2023

Just an old lady rocking some trail walkies. She may spend more time in the stroller and more time napping but the ol girl still has some short bursts of gusto left yet!

07/05/2023

RIP Penny [2011-2023] So well loved and cared for.

"It's taken me a week to post this. We had to say goodbye to Penny last Thursday. Her journey was pretty incredible and we were so lucky that she ended up joining our family. Penny was always up for an adventure and would just wait for us to lift/carry her when she needed help. She had a tragic start and many health challenges, but was such an easygoing dog and settled into our family with ease. So many people around the world followed her story and her life. We miss you Penny 💔"

31/03/2023

28/02/2023

Dis my sheep 🐑

17/02/2023

Couch o’clock!

16/02/2023

Fireside at the cabin with the human for Valentine’s Day because she is obsessed with me even after all these years 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🥰

30/01/2023

RIP Lychee Age 14

"Hi Barbara, it’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you of Lychees passing . She was 14 years old . She had kidney failure and was suffering from arthritis. She was a good dog , part of the family and loved very much . Thanks for choosing us for her adoption."

Post #116 Lychee Age: 13 (arrived Sept 9, 2009 as Lichi on the first AAIDD airlift along with Mooli, Kishmish, Kaju, Kingston/Sultan, Riley/ Cesar)

"Lychee aka Liche was born April 2009 . We adopted her when she was a year old . She is a loyal and loving dog with a stubborn streak. It took Lychee a while to learn to walk on a leash and house manners. She tried walking on the piano and kitchen table . She has some issues regarding unknown dogs while on leash but accepts dogs once she gets to know them . She no longer jumps on new people. Lychee loves snow and lying in the sunlight on the floor. She lives with 2 cats and 2 little dogs . She suffers from poultry allergies with chronic ear infections as a result. Even the smallest amount - which she tries to get - results in an ear infection. We love her very much and we are happy we adopted her 12 years ago. We can't imagine life without her."

29/01/2023

Chime enjoying a sunny balmy afternoon watching for the arrival of the artic outflow which arrived around 7 pm, winds not over 40 km, but have charged the flashlight and made a thermos of hot tea just in case.

18/01/2023

RIP Jackson (age 12) You have lived such a loved an exciting life with your family - lucky you and they. They miss you so much.

05/01/2023

Post #293 Chai age 6 (arrived December 1, 2016 with littermate Karma (Post #292 RIP))

"Apologies for the delayed response, it’s been a busy but lovely holiday season. Chai is doing amazing, such a special part of our family! Her and Gemma (her families two year old) are the best of friends which is honestly such a heartwarming part of our lives! We are very lucky because I know this isn’t the case with lots of desi dogs. It took a while to get here - lots of boundaries and patience initially but it was well worth it in the long run because our hearts are constantly exploding at their love! 🤍 She loooooves to run, it’s still her absolute favorite thing!!!
We taught roll over with a high value treat like chicken etc, and now whenever we are eating dinner she comes into the room and just starts rolling around lolololol in the hopes of a bite. They put two and two together better than most dogs lol One of the biggest comments we get from family and friends is how gentle she is with her mouth - for example: when receiving treats or when taking/releasing a toy, etc..."

Chai is one of the trio of pups who along with their mother wre rescued by Karma Animal Foundation Farm. When an adopter in the Yukon decided to adopt one of the pups (Karma RIP Post #292) we decided to send a second littermate in the crate as permitted). Erin then fostered Chai and found a lovely adoptive home for Chain with a young couple in Victoria who have since welcomed baby Gemma to their family).

Mini Seth did all the care and support needed to organize the pups to get from the street to Vancouver. Mini's friend runs Karma Animal Foundation Farm and knew that the pups were available for an airlift. Although sadly Karma passed away from what may be a hereditary genetic disease, her two littermates are healthy and leading safe and loved lives, one in Victoria, and one in Delhi who remained at KAFF.

Here is the original post Mini sent me about the mother and the trio of pups:
"There are 3 female pups, about 11-12 weeks, rescued at around 6 weeks of age. There was a post on the animal rescue forums about a mother dog being hit and unable to move/paralysed hind, with 5 lil pups. She was in a remote corner of Delhi, my friend from Karma was tagged in the post, she wanted to help but could not figure a way to get across and bring the dog over to her sanctuary. I offered to send the pick up service I use, and with some difficulty and a high charge the dog pick up agreed to go that side. Even then it took us 3 days of coordination to get the dog n her pups picked. Only 3 pups were found, who are now with the lady at her home. Since the mother dog needs treatment and monitoring they have not been sent to the sanctuary yet."

05/01/2023

Old dogs can learn a new trick.. Riley at 13 has finally figured it is his turn to sleep on my bed at night - it's been pretty empty since Francis passed away. Chime takes it during the day, but won't stay up with me at night. She has been challenging Riley about his decision (luckily he's deaf so is totally oblivious to her statements), and this morning was the first time she came up and settled while he was still up. So nice to see him warm and relaxed. Riley is still nervous about coming in during the day, staying on alert outside... at least he did come in when the weather was bad. I try to do off property outings only on dry and warmer days as he will usually come up and settle a bit when it's really wet out. He's such a sweetheart that I don't mind shifting my life around his anxiety. Riley is on his way to turning 14 and Chime 8... a household of snoozing seniors (dog and human).

03/01/2023

Jasmine kayaking out 2022 and bringing in 2023.

31/12/2022

Post #292 Karma RIP age 1 (September 2016-October 22, 2017)

This is one of the saddest posts to write. Karma was adopted into a wonderful home on a huge acreage outside Whitehorse, in the Yukon. She joined a couple with two dogs, a 10 year old sheepdog, Sage, a 3 year old black lab, Morley, a housecat, and 30 horses! She had fantastic outdoor adventures, before she became terminally ill at just one year of age.

Karma's adopters had fallen in love with their friends desi "Indi" that they had brought back from Goa (by coincidence her friend had contacted me while they were in India for help in how to get bring a dog back to Canada). They contacted me in October 2016 to adopt a puppy from India. Mini Seth knew that there was a litter of three young female pups that her friend who ran Karma Animal Foundation Farm had rescued along with their mother.

Here is the original post about the mother and the trio of pups:
"There are 3 female pups, about 11-12 weeks, rescued at around 6 weeks of age. There was a post on the animal rescue forums about a mother dog being hit and unable to move/paralysed hind, with 5 lil pups. She was in a remote corner of Delhi, my friend from Karma was tagged in the post, she wanted to help but could not figure a way to get across and bring the dog over to her sanctuary. I offered to send the pick up service I use, and with some difficulty and a high charge the dog pick up agreed to go that side. Even then it took us 3 days of coordination to get the dog n her pups picked. Only 3 pups were found, who are now with the lady at her home. Since the mother dog needs treatment and monitoring they have not been sent to the sanctuary yet. "

Karma and her littermate Chai flew to Vancouver with the help of a flight volunteer on December 1, 2016 and met the flight volunteer who brought Karma and littermate Chai from Delhi to Vancouver. Sami flew down on the same day to take Karma up to the Yukon, and Erin Bishop fostered the littermate and found her a great home in Victoria (Post #).

I am so saddened by the loss and grief for the adopters and for the short life of Karma. What a fantastic life she did get to experience, but I cant help but wish that it had been otherwise, and that the adoptive pup would have been one to live along life in such a fantastic home. There is only one other dog that came over that died from ill health. She was one of our early adoptions and had come straight from a shelter. After that, we shifted dogs into foster care and checked blood work. We did hold off on two pups airlifts that we were concerned about, and both pups did pass away from health issues. So I suppose the 'record' of pups arriving healthy is 'good', but I continue to feel the sadness for the two adoptive homes that went through such grief to see a young dog pass away of an incurable illness and wish it had been otherwise for them.

Here is the post that Karma's adopter wrote to use to let us know that Karma passed away October 22, 2017.

"I have been putting this off for a couple weeks now... Karma is no longer with us... broke my heart. She became very sick....loosing weight(dramatic weight loss), no energy, couldn't contain any fluids or solids..... multiple vet trips... results turning up negative for the basics.... then discovering karma basically couldn't absorb nutrients out of her food anymore. Her basic system was shutting down ... not even a year and half old they related it to The possible side effects of not getting the nutrients she needed in the womb. I was told there could always be shots and some tube insertions, organ replacements and so on (all of course possibilities)if I wanted to try... well that was karma's choice. So we went to our hunting cabin for the weekend, to get away and just figure out what we wanted to do.... karma proceeded to get extremely worse on that weekend ... keeping nothing down, giving up drinking and eventually curling up with her head by my side and refusing to move. I took this as a sign of what she wanted. Karma is now at rest on Teslin lake, on a beautiful beach where we took her camping this summer ...it's one of the Yukon's biggest lakes where we frequently visit. I am so sorry everyone... extremely heart breaking. Karma was such a major in the family dynamic. It's easy to see now with her gone what she held together. She brought a lot of life and personality to the herd. Nights now are very quiet and dull.... everyone here misses karma"

30/12/2022

Fran sends holiday wishes