Update 4 of September

Hyderabad, Sunday afternoon. A very rainy day in this part of the world.
A team of activists enters the now world renown Hyderabad pounds.
Mayor Banda Karthika Chandra Reddy has given the order to quickly clean the pounds and eliminate all evidence of abuse and to kill most of the dogs in their posession through an specially cruel system, the injection of boiling water into the animal heart.
This video was shot right behind the pound, and it shows a vast killing field, where the remains of hundreds upon hundreds of dogs killed by Mayor Banda Karthika Chandraa Reddy decompose under the scorching Indian sun.

Just when our team was about to return to the city, we heard a small noise, it sounded like the dying cries of a small puppy. For a few minutes we searched until we were faced with the horror. The dead body of a whelping mother with two puppies right beside her. One of them was still trying to drink milk from the body of his poor mother. We recognized the dog. She had been brought to the pound along with her puppies just a week ago. She was healthy and lovingly trying to take care of her newborn babies. Today, she lied there, in the mud, along the tiny lives of her two hungry babies trying desperately both to feed and to stay afloat.

We rescued the babies. They are two girls. We have named them Simba and Nala. They are both at our clinic recovering from their ordeal and will be adopted once they are in a condition to travel.
We are looking for a GREAT family for them, and ideally we would like them to live together.
Our usual conditions for adoption apply. Please drop me a mail on v.larkhill@googlemail.com if you would like to open your home to them.
For everyone else, I would ask you to please share this post, don’t let the death of that poor mother be in vain…
Please join us in this fight against injustice. Do it for them. We are all they’ve got.
For the animals
Viktor Larkhill

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Update Friday 2 September

The last 48 hours must have been a real nightmare at the office of Karthika Chandra Reddy, the Mayor of Hyderabad.
What was until now a secret known only to a few has now exploded right on the face of the people responsible.
The horrific images we released thee days ago have spread over the internet creating a massive wave of indignation. Nearly 4.000 people have signed a targeted petition in the first two days of launching, and the momentum grows by the minute.

Like it usually happens when a corrupt official is caught red handed the first reaction of Chandra Reddy’s office has been denial. Dr. P Venktateshwar the chief of the veterinary department issued a release stating that the animals you see in these images are kept in great conditions, that the hygiene and feeding regime of the animals is up to worlds standards and that the leaders of this campaign are fabricating the images, that the pictures of the Pounds of Hyderabad were not taken in the Pounds of Hyderabad. True, the place looks identical, the dogs ARE the actual dogs captured in Hyderabad and imprisoned by the catching team but the pictures are not taken in Hyderabad but in another country…

Yeah… right…

As Karthika Chandra Reddy scratches her thick mane of hair trying to come up with something that stops the snowballing effect of our campaign new images showing widespread abuse limited not only to dogs, but to other species are resurfacing. The image of a mother monkey holding the lifeless body of her child, whose head has been battered against the walls of the cage is heartbreaking and can bring a tear even to the most hardened activist.

How a politician that once showed so much promise, the first woman elected as mayor of the city, can sabotage her career through the atrocities committed in Neuter and Return Program is something we will never understand, but it is exactly what is happening in Hyderabad right now.

We need your help to turn this situation around. India is living a critical moment, with anti-corruption protests all around the country.

How to help?

1. Please send an SMS to the Official Mobile of Karthika Reddy, Mayor of Hyderabad: +91 9652936333
Just tell her that the world is watching.
2. Send Karthika Reddy an email on: mayor@ghmc.gov.in
Again, in your words, just tell her what you think of the conditions at her shelters.
3. Please sign our Petition to Stop this Atrocity.

4. And finally.. A Facebook Page has been created to run this campaign: Save the dogs from the GHMC pound from hell

Please LIKE the Facebook Page and join us to fight this horror

Please SHARE this post across your social networks…

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Hyderabad is the sixth most populous city in India. It is known with the sobriquet The City of Pearls. In a recent survey by Business today Hyderabad ranked as fourth best city to live in India.
But this thriving and populous city has a dirty secret that threatens to become a major embarrassment to the Mayor of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Karthika Reddy.
It is very difficult to put into words the full extent of corruption-fueled brutality that we have witnessed at the City animal shelter.
The shelter is placed just behind the Autonagar garbage dump. In a location that can only be described as a gigantic human toilet, Karthika Reddy has built a torture chamber for dogs, the world’s worst animal shelter.

Tens of animals cramped in small wire cages. Broken limbs, intestines bursting through badly applied stitches. Hunger and thirst that is forcing the unfortunate animals to cannibalize on each other, and, as we witnessed, to go as far as eating weakened and dying little puppies.
The smell of dirt and putrefaction is unbearable. Rivers of brownish diarrhea quickly depleting the last traces of hydration in the animal’s bodies. There are dead bodies rotting everywhere.

All around there is clear evidence of abuse and torture. Pure breed animals that are found lost are quickly separated in order to be sold for breeding purposes.

Upon questioning, the workers deny any wrongdoing, and insist they are just following direct instructions from Mayor Reddy’s office. At a point, when they noticed that we were taking pictures, they turn violent, they seized our camera and delete most of our pictures. What you see here is just a small fraction of what we witnessed at the pound.

We need your help to turn this situation around. India is living a critical moment, with anti-corruption protests all around the country.

How to help?

1. Please send an SMS to the Official Mobile of Karthika Reddy, Mayor of Hyderabad: +91 9652936333
Just tell her that the world is watching.
2. Send Karthika Reddy an email on: mayor@ghmc.gov.in
Again, in your words, just tell her what you think of the conditions at her shelters.
3. Please sign our Petition to Stop this Atrocity.

4. And finally.. A Facebook Page has been created to run this campaign: Save the dogs from the GHMC pound from hell

Please LIKE the Facebook Page and join us to fight this horror

If left unchecked any government is able commit the most appalling and depraved abuses, not only against animals, but against humans too. This is one of those cases.

Tell the Butcher of Hyderabad that you care, and that this horror must stop NOW.

The story of Bluebeard, and his life until now has been filled with nothing but suffering and neglect.

Whatever happens to him after this is entirely in your hands. Please read on..

Bluebeard was born in a Turkish shelter. Surrounded by dirt and putrefaction he learned to take his first steps. Day after day, he would see his littermates die around him, hundreds of puppies at the shelter would perish because of malnutrition and viral diseases. Holocaust.

In these horrible conditions he has survived until now, but barely. A few weeks ago we spotted him and his condition was critical. He was rescued from that horror and taken to a clinic where he was treated for extreme emaciation.

Bluebeard is much better now. From the moment he was rescued he has been fed a raw diet and the results are obvious. Since he left the horror of the shelter he has enjoyed walks in the park, loving words, kind gentle touches. He has made many friends, and for the first time in his life, experienced something other than hunger, thirst and violence.

Bluebeard is now at the crossroads, unless we find a local foster and a final home either in Turkey or abroad he will have to be taken back to the hell he came from, where he will die within a matter of weeks.

This is the story, the past and the present of a dog, Bluebeard, whose fate lies in your hands…

Take action. Adopt Bluebeard. Contact me: viktor@myletsadopt.com

Usual conditions for adoption apply:

1. Family MUST have another animal

2. Bluebeard will be an indoor dog.

3. Bluebeard will be fed a RAW diet (www.rawfed.com)

4. The family will be a non-smoking family. Second hand smoke kills and makes miserable the lifes of both humans and animals.

Contact me: viktor@myletadopt.com

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I really dont know how to begin describing the story of this kitty. We found him left out in a garden in Cihangir (Istanbul),he seemed different from others. He was not able to reach his food easily and when he ate he could just not stop which showed us that he should have been subject to malnutrition. We realized he was also BLIND and DEAF.

He was having convulsions so he was taken to the vet where he was treated intravenously,yet his problem is still unclear and he is on medications . We are not planning to give up on that little guy.

We have named him ATLAS (he who endures) as in the Greek myth. We will seek a family for Atlas as soon as his treatment finishes. And this family should be a very special one.  I will PLEASE ask you to SHARE the story of our Atlas as we NEED to reach to as many as possible to find him the FAMILY he needs.

He lives in a world he can not see or hear,only touch and feel. He can not see people loving him,or calling him,just feels their caress.

I know I am lucky to have vision and my 5 senses,but what he is living in is much more real. Whomever will love that guy… It will be out of REAL LOVE.

He is luckier than most of us in that regard.  Please SHARE.

Thank you

Usual conditions for adoption apply:

1. Family MUST have another animal

2. Atlas will be an indoor car (blind and deaf, no need to explain that)

3. Atlas will be fed a RAW diet (www.rawfedcats.org)

4. Non-smoking families

5. NO DECLAWING. Noone will torture Atlas in that way. If you don’t like cats with claws get a rock.

Contact: viktor@myletsadopt.com

Meet Andy…

Andy was brought to our clinic yesterday with apparently a broken leg.
Sadly, upon close and detailed examination the situation has turned out to be much more complicated.
Not only Andy’s leg is broken, her hip, as you can see in this X-ray is also fractured. To complicate matters further her diaphragm is torn, and her kidney is massively enlarged.
As a result Andy is not only in a lot of pain right now, as you can see in the video she is also experiencing quite a lot of trouble breathing.
Andy’s condition is quite severe but we are going to do our best to fix her up.
Because of the complication of a multiple bone and hip fracture as well as the other internal injuries we are having to bring in an specialized surgeon to add his skill to the one of our vets.
We need your help to restore Andy to health, so that she can again run,  chase her friends around the house and climb up the curtains like every cat must do..
We cannot do this alone… we need your help. I know times are tough, but please look into your heart and do your best to contribute to Andy’s Chipin.

Many thanks. Viktor

The Art of Seeing

Being a good veterinarian is in many ways, similar to being a good detective. Throughness, precision and a healthy dosis of imagination come into play. A good vet must also learn to “read between the lines”… to interpret the things  he is told and search for their real meaning instead of taking them at face value.

When Charlie arrived to the vet in Romania, the veterinarian listen to a tremendously sad story. A young dog, being brought to him inside a blue plastic bag. The person bringing the dog to him, a homeless man has done everything possible for him. He has no money. The man is completely honest in the telling of the story. He didn’t see the person that did it but he is nearly sure that is what happened.

The vet proceeds to a quick examination. The dog is paralyzed, he proceeds to take an X-ray… the resulting image is terribly blurry. No apparent fracture can be seen but because the rescuer has told him the dog has been kicked there must be a fracture somewhere… the vet looks closer.. and closer… and then he sees it… a tiny speck in the blurry image indicates that something is not right. Yes! That is it!!! That is the fracture that left Charlie paralyzed. You can barely see it, it’s invisible to anyone’s eye except him, but yes.. he has found it!

A month passes. Charlie’s condition worsens considerably. Paralysis has extended to the rest of his body and his two front legs. He shakes involuntarily. In Germany a new electronic X-Ray is performed, an X-Ray producing a totally clear image that you can see in full resolution if you click HERE. That image, shows, without any doubt, that there is no fracture or trauma on Charlie’s spinal cord.

And so, suddenly but far too late we have a very different picture. Charlie was never hit, no trauma affected his spinal cord. The reason for his immobility was a very different one, Charlie was affected by the distemper virus. At this late stage it’s too late for him.

What happened here is a combination of mistakes. The person that brought Charlie was given full credit for his story, it sounded terribly real and familiar, in the mind of the vet it made perfect sense. From that moment on the vet had no doubt, it was a a trauma, a fracture, and everything done afterwards was just trying to justify the picture in his mind. Maybe for a fraction of a second distemper crossed the vet’s mind as a possible cause.. but it couldn’t be, because there it was, in black and white on a blurry X-ray.

We must learn to question perceived authority. Veterinarians are fallible people and are as prone as anyone else to make mistakes. Add to that a soapy story and an X-ray machine producing images that look like a foggy London evening and you have a recipe for disaster.

There is nothing more dangerous that an university degree combined with an unhealthy dosage of misguided pride. That combination leads to misdiagnosis and in the end… death.

Dear friends,

A few weeks ago someone requested my help in the case of Charlie, a Romanian dog, paralyzed, that would be put to sleep unless a family was found for him within days.
I inmediately responded and contacted the rescuers. Charlie was reportedly paralyzed because of a bad beating, a bad man had beaten him up and left him paralyzed. The romanian vets took an Xray and concluded he was paralyzed due to a very minimum fracture that compressed the bone marrow. I was told they did a distemper test, that came out negative.
Over the following weeks we worked on the logistics of getting Charlie to Germany. Sadly, paralelly, Charlie’s condition evolved in a negative way. In his first location Charlie was kept on a wire cage so that urine would leak to the floor, as his condition deteriorated he was moved to a second clinic where he got worst.. finally to a third. At the same time his condition deteriorated in the way the pictures show. The last picture shows Charlie’s condition on the day of his flight.

At that stage I started suspecting his condition were not trauma related. Charlie was shaking, paralysis had moved to the front legs…

On Sunday the 7th of August Charlie flew from Bucharest to Frankfurt where he was received by our team. He was greeted and cheered, fed the first good meal he must have probably had in his life and driven to his foster home where he was given the best spot in the house.

Sadly, within hours Charlie had to be rushed to our clinic with irregular breathing. He spent his first night in Germany on the Intensive Care Unit of one of the best clinics in Germany, the Lesia clinic in Dusseldorf.
The following morning his condition had worsened significantly. A battery of test was performed. No money was spared in trying to find out what was Charlie’s problem.

I am hereby reproducing the Full Report in English and GermanTranslation to English..

Certificat/investigation report
Dog owner: Mrs. Von Malzahn (address)
Species: Dog Charlie
Breed: cross
Born: 1 Januari 2011
Sex: male

The abovementioned animal was presented for examination on August 8th 2011.
Preliminary: Paralysis of front and back limbs for months (cannot walk and stand), is from Romania, has just flown in with a suspected old vertebral fracture.

General examination (only abnormal findings):
Dog highly cachectic, high generalized muscular atrophy, on both hipbones infected bedsore puts the size of a palm of a hand.

Neurological examination:
Awareness / behaviour: growls when touched on limbs and shows agressive behaviour when examined.

Attitude / gate: cannot walk or stand. The dog shows generally, rhythmic, repetitive twitches of single muscle groups (especially in the head and neck area) which are also visible under anaesthetic (= myoclonus).

Attitude and deputy responses: in all limbs highly delayed up to absent.
Correction responses generally absent.
Deep pain in all limbs.
Head nerves: cannot be examined because the dog reacts defensively (tries to bite).
Autonomic functions: urinary incontinence, urine smells bad (urinary infection).
Neuroanatomic localization: multifocal (spinal cord, cerebrum/limbic system).
Differential diagnosis: flammable (metabolic/toxic, degenerative, posttraumatic, neoplastic).
Computed tomography: spinal column (native and Myelo-CT): no reference of compression or deviation of the contrast medium column, no reference of a vertebral fracture or vertebral dislocation.

Brain (natively and after contrast iv): brain parenchyma with multi focal, inhomogeneous hypodense herds before and after giving contrast liquid (encephalitis).
CSF: initiated to check for encephalitis.
Distemper-PCR (liquor) initiated.

Assessment so far:
Based on the results of the neurological examination (multi focal illness of the central nervous system with myoclonal muscle twitches) and the given image (inhomogeneous brain parenchyma and exclusion of a spinal cord compression / post traumatic illness) there is a suspicion of a central distemper infection. Other causes for the neurological deficits (especially other infections in the nervous system) can at this time not be excluded with certainty but are unlikely because of the myoclonal muscle twitches which are very typical for a central distemper illness.

For further diagnostics an examination of the cerebrospinal fluid has been initiated to look for inflammatory cells. However, false negative results can occur, especially with a chronic distemper infection.

Based on the high grade clinical symptoms (cachexia and muscular atrophy, bedsores, cystitis) and high grade neurological deficits with the suspicion of a central distemper infection and the bad prognoses because of that, the owners, after a detailed discussion, decided to have Charlie put to sleep without pain.

Willing to answer questions at any time.

Best regards,
Dr. Fumi

In short, and for those unfamiliar with medical terms, Charlie never had an injury in his back in the first place. Sadly, he was misdiagnosed in Romania. His paralysis was due to distemper at neurological stage. The virus had affected his brain which is the reason why he shook incontrolably and why the paralysis had extended to his front legs. Our vets concluded there was nothing anyone could do for him and, together, we took the painful decision to humanely euthanize him.

We understand the pain and frustration of everyone involved in this rescue but noone is more affected and sadder by this outcome than each and everyone of us directly involved in this rescue.

Over the last four years Let’s Adopt! has earned a reputation for going the extra mile for our animals and hundreds of rescues around the world bear witness to that. Animals like Michelle, Marlon, Sunny and Gulumser are alive today because this group doesn’t give up on an animals life. But there is a point where we have to let them go, and when Charlie arrived to Germany he was way past that point.

Charlie’s untimely death teaches us all many lessons, lessons that we hope will help us saving more animals lives in the future. We also hope his death will encourage the vets in Romania that came in contact with Charlie to improve their knowledge, procedures as well as the care of the animals they treat. We share their pain and frustration.

Rest in Peace Charlie.

For the animals

Viktor Larkhill

P.S. This evening we received an unofficial statement from Picovet Cabinet Veterinar, Charlie’s vet in Romania in the form of a Facebook post!.. his explanation to his apparently misdiagnosis is that Let’s Adopt magically generated a fake set of X-rays showing that there was no back injury in order to cover up Charlie’s murder. Basically he is saying that the best vets in Dusseldorf created fake xrays with Photoshop to cover things up. We thought we had heard everything in conspiracy theories, but this is the latest and it tops everything up. As always… let’s blame it on Photoshop .. No comment..

UPDATE 10 of August…

MARCUS IS SAVED!!!!…

Further updates coming soon… for now, many thanks to EVERYONE involved in this rescue, regardless of its capacity.

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We have 72 hours to save an incredible dog from being killed in Washington DC. Please read on…

Marcus story begins for us on the 2nd of May 2010, in the forests of Istanbul, Turkey.
On that date, a team of rescuers, accompanied by a visiting american tourist, Megan, found a dog in a critical condition.. It was a mix-Labrador. Judging by his state he had not eaten anything for many weeks, he was also totally dehydrated. Due to severe malnutrition and lack of vitamins the dog had gone temporarily blind. Weakened and deprived of his vision he had been trying unsuccessfully to find something to eat. He had failed miserably. He was at death’s door.

Megan immediately took pity on him and offered to pay for his medical treatment and, once he was in a condition to travel, to bring him with her to the USA. At every moment she showed extreme concern for the dog and during the next days she followed his evolution at our clinic.She had no dog experience but from the beginning she considered Marcus her dog and took total responsibility of his treatment and expenses.
I spoke to Megan and asked her repeatedly if back home she would be in a condition to properly care for Marcus. Absolutely!, was the answer, she was also supported by her extended network of family and friends. Marcus was Megan’s rescue and other than providing her with logistical support and help with the organization of the flight there was nothing else I could do.

On June 1 2010 Marcus flew from Istanbul to Washington DC, in a month he had experienced a miraculous recovery, he had gained weight, recovered vision and he was ready to begin a new life in dog paradise. Or so we thought…
Upon landing and whilst getting her new home ready, Megan left Marcus with an experienced friend. In that home Marcus fully completed his recovery whilst having his character fully evaluated.

Due to his traumatic experience in the forest Marcus had developed two behavioural issues:

1. Marcus had a strong prey drive, he would chase small animals, cats, squirrels as well as other small dogs. Nothing too strange there, we all know many dogs with similar problems.
2. Because of having had to compete for food to survive whilst in a weakened condition Marcus had develop fear to other dogs and (unsurprisingly), big sized men approaching him inappropriately.

NONE of those two issues warrant putting Marcus in a Sanctuary. What he needed (and needs now) is a family.

After two months Megan gave Marcus to her brother, also inexperienced with dogs.

What happened afterwards remains slightly murky but we heard that Megan’s brother was not capable of handling Marcus and he gave him away.

A few days ago we received an email from the USA. After a year trying to find a permanent solution for the dog Megan had decided to schedule a date at her vet and have him Killed by lethal injection.
Knowing Megan and how much she had cared for Marcus during this time we understand this was a decision taken out of desperation, but it’s a killing order nevertheless. How people consider themselves entitled to end the life of an animal that has gone through SO MUCH just to get rid of a problem that they have been unable to deal with is beyond my understanding. But sadly, this is the situation Marcus is in right now.

To a certain extent Marcus story reminds us the one of Target, the dog rescued from Afghanistan, brought to the United States with full attention of the media, only to be Killed by mistake at the Pinal Country Killing shelter.

Marcus is now on death row awaiting execution in Washington.

The moment we found out we immediately contacted them and asked for the execution to be put on hold.

We have until Wednesday the 10th to find a permanent solution for Marcus.

Marcus needs your help, and he needs it today!.

Conditions for adoption:

1. The adoptant MUST have proven experience handling dogs with fear issues.
2. Marcus will live inside the home, not in the yard.
3. The adoptant MUST be a high energy person. Marcus LOVES to play fetch, run after toys and tennis balls. He has abundant energy and joy. The owner should be at least as energetic as Marcus.

This is urgent. Please contact me on viktor@myletsadopt.com providing me with a full description of yourself and your household. We are not going to give Marcus away to the first person that sends us a two-liner. We are looking for a final home for this dog, not just to perpetuate the hell he has been forced to endure until now.

We have until Wednesday the 10th to stop a Killing. Please help.  Please SHARE