This is the story of Jumper and the kind, generous people who saved his life.
Rescue workers from the charity Animal Aid Unlimited India, came to him in the nick of time. Jumper was found in a plastic bag on the floor, starving and in pain due to a nasty hip wound which meant he could barely stand.
Watch the video here:
India has a major stray dog issue at present, thanks to a lack of proper sanitation and overpopulation. As a result, there is a huge ‘street dog’ epidemic. It’s easy for puppies like Jumper to fall through the cracks.
The problem can be best illustrated by the fact that around 36 per cent of the world’s Rabies deaths happen in India each year.
But after six weeks of medicine and recovery, Jumper was looking much perkier. The workers at Animal Aid Unlimited truly did a spectacular job, feeding and washing him and showing him the care he deserves.
And as if you didn’t need any more evidence that we don’t deserve them, these dogs are doing community service in their spare time too.
Located at the American Airlines check-in desk at Sydney International Airport, the new initiative is called ’emBark’ (if you’ll see what they did there) and allows nervous flyers to interact with some very good dogs before their flight.
Sure, they’re just doing their jobs, but look how happy they are to help!
The assistance pooches can comfort both staff and customers, alleviating stress on all sides. I’ll be honest, there aren’t many scenarios which can’t be improved by the addition of multiple dogs, for both relaxation and cuteness reasons. Or are they one in the same.
It will become the final test before the dogs are placed with those who need them permanently.
Their trainers see the airport environment as a good opportunity for learning skills such as meeting lots of people, travelling up escalators, going down lifts – all useful skills in dealing with the modern world. I have a sudden urge to take a holiday.
So there you go. Faith restored in humanity and dogs. As if it needed restoring anyway.
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