THANGAM MEMORIAL TRUST

Devoted to the cause of alleviating animal suffering . We are located in southern India in a town called "Tirupur" It is a municipality of almost 450,000 people and the textile hub of India

This trust has been opened in the name of my mother Thangam who has been my inspiration for starting this organization.

This is a time of change in India. We are convinced there’s a possibility of raising “national awareness” for prevention of animal cruelty by example. Animals are facing tremendous hardship in India . Work animals are often “worked” too hard. - donkeys and bullocks carrying excessively heavy loads. Laws are toothless and penalties are not severe . Animals are jammed into trucks and taken to illegal slaughter houses. Sick or wounded animals often do not receive any treatment at all.

The population of dogs was essentially uncontrolled except for periodic culling by killing-often brutally done. Many had horror stories from the past — bounties paid, clubbing, strangling, piles of bodies in trucks — some still alive.

Many people are not indifferent to animals suffering. But feel largely helpless.

There are only a small percentage of people who do the abusing. And they are able to do it because very, very few comment. And they are able to do it in “silence”. If only a small percentage of the people were encouraged to comment, the abuse would drop quickly and significantly.

Our trust for sick and abandoned and stray animals opened in 2007 and now we function with twenty staff members and a cook

Our activities :

• Vet Hospital :

Our clinic was originally intended to treat homeless dogs only. Many are brought in having been hit by vehicles, beaten, and/or with a variety of serious illnesses. But now we get owner dogs. Daily we handle around 50 cases .We treat all types of animals which need our care .

Our clinic is open seven days a week.

All services are provided free of cost.

And we provide free medical treatment (and family planning) for life for dogs or puppies adopted from the Shelter to encourage their adoption.

• Our Hospice, Adoption and emergency services :

If an animal is dying, we take it in and give it intensive, loving care which includes IV’s, pain killers, antibiotics, and of course, good food. We place our puppies and dogs in good homes.

We provide emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If an animal is injured in the middle of the night, we will pick him up and bring him to the clinic. Our doctors are on call 24 hours a day.

• Our Shelter:

It houses 150 dogs. There are buildings housing the care taker staff and a small kitchen .

Retaining areas for dogs . The ground is covered with grass and filled with plants and trees. And open space for the dogs to run free. Our TMT caregivers provide love and care to the puppies, and additional support and affection to “resident” animals who are disabled or old.

ABC (Animal Birth Control) Sterilization and Anti-Rabies Program

It’s objectives are to control population and eliminate rabies in the dog population thereby eliminating almost all rabies deaths in the human population. Homeless street dogs are captured, sterilized, held six days or more to convalesce, given anti-rabies injections, and returned to their original territories.

The population started reducing naturally as the number of deaths exceeded the number of births. This should result in a decrease of at least 1000 s of puppies born each year, most of whom would have suffered and died on the streets