We help 2 eliminate suffering caused to stray dogs,cats,cows & other animals in need by sterilizing, rehoming, rescues/treatments & educational programs
Atul Sarin and Stephanie Panayiotou, with the support of a small group of dedicated animal lovers, having many years of animal welfare experience, decided to set up WAG with an emphasis on adoptions and sterilisations. They also realised that many cows in Goa are abandoned by their owners and are strays too; they face similar difficulties to stray dogs and cats. With that in mind, a small NGO was set up in 2005, reporting dogs and cats for sterilizations, and rescuing stray, injured cattle. Since then we have grown into a Cattle Sanctuary and a fully functioning
Veterinary Rescue Clinic. Our Shelter provides a home for injured cows, goats, pigs, chickens, you name it! Here they receive medical treatment, healthy food and a home to recuperate. WAG’s Rescue Clinic houses in patient dogs and cats. Strays who have faced the harshest lives on the street finally have a place to rest and heal.
At WAG we believe that every life matters. We do what we can, with limited resources, to ensure that all our rescues receive the best love and care.
Our fully functioning Veterinary Rescue Clinic has helped thousands of stray animals since it’s establishment. We focus on Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programmes, where we sterilise as many stray animals as possible in North Goa. So far we have carried out over 3000 stray animal sterilizations.
We also re-home & rehabilitate injured dogs & cats from road accidents, attacks, skin & viral diseases. As part of our Semi-Care Adoption Programme our younger rescues are prepped for adoption where we provide free vaccinations for 1 year, free sterilizations & home visits to adopters.
Cows have a hard life in India; they are mostly left on the streets to fend for themselves. This makes them prone to vehicle accidents and as they are forced to forage for their own food, they scavenge through piles of rubbish eating anything from plastic to battery cells. Our shelter in the only one currently in North Goa providing medical aid & therapeutic care to injured & abused Cattle. Through our Stray Cattle Programme, we are aiming towards a day when there are no stray cattle wandering the streets. To achieve our long term goal as above, we have pioneered a Cattle Sterilisation Programme and have already successfully sterilised several bull calves.
As Goa is a tourist city, from October-April there are many beach shacks and restaurants open. During this time the stray beach dogs and cats have plenty of food to survive. However, off-season (May-October) many, if not all, of these beach shacks shut. As a result our strays are left with no source of food and have to fend for themselves for those long 6 months. This is how our Programme began. Through this we are able to feed, sterilize, vaccinate and treat over 60 beach animals. We also bring puppies and kittens in for adoption and vaccination.
To ensure our animals no longer suffer the strains of living on the streets we sterilise bull calves, source various supplements and super foods to ensure they receive the best diet for their condition, have a cow frame built to ensure that our cows are not stressed when needing to be restrained. We stock anti-venom for administering to victims of snake bite.
We have initiated a group on FB (Pet Life Goa) where the local animal lovers exchange useful information, report animals in distress, coordinate with other members and organisations, reach out to those animals, and ensure that timely help and support is provided. Many an animal has been rescued with coordinated effort by the volunteers.
WAG also tries to educate local youngsters on the importance of animal welfare through our Education Programme by individually initiating school visits to our Shelter and Clinic. We support local animal owners with educational resources, providing medical treatment, microchipping, boarding and other facilities that help enhance the lives of the locally owned animals.
WAG currently takes care of 120 animals on a daily basis. These range from turkeys, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, cows & other birds. Every day our dedicated staff look after these rescues , where they will spend the rest of their lives, safe & warm at our Sanctuary. With so many animals under our care, but with limited resources & funding, we need YOUR HELP in ensuring they get the best medical care & food.
Help us continue to home these beautiful rescues by sponsoring them. Your sponsorship will include food, vaccines & medical care.
Help Us
There are a number of ways how YOU can help!
WAG receives no government funding, and relies on your donations, to buy medicines and other clinical equipment, food, collars, leads, cages, along with costs of rescuing, catching and transporting sick animals or those requiring sterilization.
Examples of possible donations and how your money is utilized:
Pay-it-Forward: We now have our unique version of the ‘Pay-it-Forward’ scheme, where you have the opportunity to pay-it-forward when you sterilize your pet or vaccinate your pet. This scheme gives you the opportunity to help a stray animal in the same way you are helping your pet. For more details please see the attached poster through this link: Pay it forward scheme
We are always in need of the following items (new and used): Pet carriers, cat and dog toys, collars, leads, yoga mats, towels, bed sheets, pillows, feeding/water bowls and newspapers.
Food items required include: Dry and tinned cat and dog food, fresh fruit and vegetable scraps and other food items we can feed our increasing number of cats, dogs and cows we feed.
These can be dropped off at our clinic or if this is not possible, we can try and arrange collection.
Volunteers are always needed to help us look after the animals, some of the roles include:
With more volunteers, we will be able to reach out to areas of Goa that we are currently unable to address.
If you or anyone you know would be willing to donate some of your time to help these animals in times of need, we would be most grateful.
If your interested in volunteering, please fill out the application form here.