“Choti” (meaning ‘small’ in Hindi) lives close to our In Defense of Animals India Deonar Center in Mumbai. Her closest friend in the world is a Municipal Corporation worker who is hearing disabled and rarely talks. As he sweeps the grimy streets, he keeps an eye out for his four-legged friends on the street. He and the dogs have an abiding trust and understand each other without needing to speak a word.

Whenever one of the dogs needs help, this kind man brings him or her to our center. Choti is one of his lucky friends. Upon returning to work one day, her human friend was horrified to see dear Choti with a huge wound on her back, full of maggots. He immediately brought her to our center.

Choti is a quiet and timid girl, extremely well behaved, and very clever. As a rule, wounded dogs are not let out of the kennel, but due to her good nature and winning ways, she’s allowed ‘out on parole’ to roam the center, following her favorite employees around, and quietly finding a shaded corner to nap.

Then comes the time each day when she has to be checked and her wound treated. All have learned to be prepared for this; we pick her up ever so gently for her session with the vet. But the moment she sees Dr. Shashikant and his assistant, Choti lets out howls and yelps that can be heard all around! The first time it happened, all were quite alarmed and concerned, asking “Are you hurting, are we frightening you?”

Now we know it is simply her personality, since Choti is healing well and her pain is greatly reduced. She has been at our center quite a while now and will stay until the wound is completely healed, when she will go with her kind friend to the neighborhood from which she came: as one of the many street-living animals in our crowded cities who have selfless caretakers.

Please consider making a donation so we can continue helping dogs like dear Choti