Praveen Suresh had never seen such destruction. Heavy rains battered the Wayanad district of the state of Kerala in southwest India during the last week of July. Early on July 30, the area experienced a series of massive landslides.
The disaster reportedly killed more than 400 people and about 1,400 animals, according to local government officials, and left hundreds of animals in desperate need of food and medical attention. Humane Society International/India’s disaster response team sprang into action to help a variety of stranded animals. Over the course of eight days, the team distributed about 265 pounds (120 kilograms) of animal feed to stranded cattle; provided relief and medical treatment to 186 animals, including cows, buffaloes, dogs, cats and fowl; and facilitated four adoptions.
Praveen, HSI/India’s manager of disaster response, says team members saw disturbing sights in the field (including animal remains being recovered), and the mudslides left the terrain difficult to navigate. Many properties in Kerala have water wells, he explains, so responders had to poke the ground with a stick to make sure they weren’t stepping into a well or a pit.
But there were heartwarming moments as well. HSI/India responders found a dog named Tippu in a house nearly submerged in floodwaters and arranged a joyful reunion with his family. The team also found an adopter for a severely dehydrated dog and reunited a calf with her mother.
“It’s a difficult scenario," Praveen says, “but at the end of the day we are able to support some lives. Team members might not get enough sleep, but that doesn’t affect the energy we have to go to the field the next day.”
‘A gift from the river’
Pluto, a small Persian cat, went missing on the first day of the flooding in Kerala. Her caretaker, who lost her home in the landslide, approached our disaster response team to help locate the missing animal. The team made a “missing cat” poster, searched the area near Pluto’s home, put out food and even played a recording of her caretaker’s voice, but Pluto was never found.
Meanwhile, the team found a mixed-breed puppy abandoned in the disaster. The puppy received a medical examination, and we confirmed that he had no one to look after him.
Pluto’s caretaker heard about the puppy and offered to adopt him. Praveen says she named him “Rio,” which means “river” in Spanish, because she believed the dog was “a gift from the river” that reclaimed its path during the flood. Praveen adds that Rio, “with his boundless energy and affection, has made life a little brighter for everyone, proving that even in the darkest times, there’s room for new beginnings.”
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