Tree of Life For Animals (TOLFA)

This is Kizzy.  I loved all our family dogs equally but there was just something about Kizzy that just 'got me'.  We totally connected, and even my dad said to me once that there was just 'something' about her without being able to describe further what he actually meant.  Kizzy, with her side kick Kenai, lived with my mum and dad but spent quite a lot of time with Phil and I down in Cornwall when my parents went off to visit my sister abroad or came to stay with us.  She adored the beach and swimming, but hated the rain.  She loved drying herself on any person happening to be passing by, particularly anyone who'd just put on clean dry clothes that very day.  She loved people and generally people loved her, despite the drying off antics.  She loved blackberries, picking her own from the hedgerows or begging from fellow pickers, and she loved strawberries, frequently raiding my dad's patch in the garden.  She also demanded an apple every night, by way of staring you down or giving a "whoo whoo whoo" reminder bark if you forgot.  She was just........ Kizzy.  She was a very lucky girl and we were very fortunate to have been part of her life too.  

After my mum and dad died, the family house sold and the dust had settled from a turbulent, busy and stressful few years, I wanted to do a few really positive things to reflect particularly our family's love of animals.  I came across Indian based TOLFA (Tree of Life for Animals) at a vegan fair in Stroud last year and bought a calendar from their stall.  On the front of the calendar was a puppy being held by one of the TOLFA workers.  That puppy could have been Kizzy when she was a pup (she came to us as an adult rescue).  Kizzy had the air of an Indian beach dog about her.  I started to read more and more about TOLFA and signed up for regular updates.

TOLFA was set up by UK veterinary nurse Rachel Wright in 2005 after her travels in India and Sri Lanka led her to want to make a difference to the stray, ill, and injured dogs that she encountered and, realising that there was little or no existing resources to do so in such countries.  Having travelled in India and Sri Lanka ourselves, and befriended and fed beach dogs there, this struck a chord with us.  Along with 'school pens' (biros) for the kids, I always had dog biscuits in my rucksack for any stray dogs I encountered, but beyond that had felt pretty useless to help.

Four years after that initial 'seed was planted', Rachel had purchased land in Rajasthan in Northern India and TOLFA was born.  For the local ownerless dogs, as well as any other animal in need, this animal hospital was a life saver.  The work of TOLFA however is far from just emergency first aid for these animals and, as it grew so did the all important preventative resources it provides, including neutering and vaccinations.  One of TOLFA's missions is to see the Rajasthan region completely free of rabies by 2030; to the benefit of animals and humans alike.  Any animals unable to be safely released back to the exact area they were found in, are given lifelong sanctuary at TOLFA. Since 2005 a staggering 170,000 have been cared for.

Alongside the care to the animals, TOLFA run education and support programmes in the local schools and communities.  This includes offering veterinary care for the animals belonging to low income families, teaching children how to look after and be compassionate towards all animals and, through such programmes, changing the general attitude of the whole community towards animals.  

I am in awe of what Rachel has started and what TOLFA is achieving on a daily basis (they respond to up to 30 calls for help every single day).  The more and more I read about them, the more I wanted to help.  I started off with a donation to a particular appeal and also bought an awesome TOLFA designed limited edition fund raising T-shirt but, once I had sufficient funds to do so, I decided to take that a step further and applied to sponsor a kennel at TOLFA.  A plaque is placed on the kennel door and upon being asked what wording I would like on it, I instantly heard the spirit bark of our very own 'Indian beach dog' Kizzy.  We received our first update on the new resident in our kennel in December and will continue to be updated throughout the year with further residents of this kennel.

Please, please do consider supporting and donating to this amazing charity.  They have of late hit a particularly difficult period, running at full capacity, whilst trying to deal with flooding from unusually severe monsoons this year.  This has led to a temporary closure of their rescue service.  Additional support now could help them get back on track and fully operating the service that is making so much difference to so many.  Please visit their very informative website for further details on what TOLFA does and particularly their How To Help page.  This appeal isn't just from us Driftwood Vegans.  It comes directly from our Kizzy too.......