Animal Shelter and Animal Hospital in Jaipur

The Animal Shelter and Animal Hospital in Jaipur is dedicated to the rescue, treatment, and care of animals in need. With a dedicated staff of 55 employees, including 7 veterinarians, 19 veterinary assistants, and 16 animal caretakers, comprehensive care is ensured.

Each year, approximately 10,000 animals are rescued and over 30,000 animals are treated. These typically include dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, cows, horses, donkeys, camels, and rabbits, though occasionally other wild animals are also taken in.

The shelter operates an emergency hotline, allowing the public to report injured or suffering animals, most of which are stray or wild. A specialized animal ambulance is dispatched to capture the affected animal and bring it to the hospital for treatment.

Common cases among stray dogs include parvovirus, canine distemper, skin diseases, and injuries, often due to traffic accidents. The animal hospital runs extensive vaccination and sterilization programs for street dogs, vaccinating around 5,000 stray dogs and sterilizing 3,500 each year.

Cows, horses, donkeys, and camels in India, when they are too old to work, often end up as stray animals wandering through cities and are frequently involved in traffic accidents.

The shelter has dedicated wards for dogs with fractures and dogs with skin diseases. It also operates a foster ward for puppies and kittens. Stray dogs and cats with newborns are brought here to ensure their young can grow up safely.

The center runs an adoption and foster program for dogs, cats, and other pets. Interested families receive counseling and support to ensure the animals are placed in responsible homes. Foster families take in animals recovering from treatment before they are permanently adopted.

Wild animals such as monkeys are released back to where they were captured, once they have recovered.

Stray dogs that are unable to survive on the streets due to disabilities, such as paralysis, are allowed to remain permanently on the shelter grounds, roaming freely.

The Camel Welfare Program supports poor rural communities that depend on their camels for their livelihood. Many of these camels work in brick kilns or transport goods through the city. Mobile clinics provide medical care for camels in Jaipur, Bassi, and surrounding rural areas. The Camel Rescue Center, established in 2011 at a separate location, offers long-term treatment options for sick and injured camels and has a specially equipped ambulance with a hydraulic lift for the safe rescue of large animals. Between 250 and 350 animals are treated here each month.

The veterinary clinic also treats around 50 pets daily, brought in by their owners.

Tasks for Interns and Volunteers

Students of veterinary medicine, zoology, biology, and related fields can complete a supervised internship at the animal shelter and hospital. They are primarily assigned to the veterinarians, assisting in medical treatments. They also support the rehabilitation of injured wild animals before they are released back into the wild.

Volunteers without specialized knowledge or studies assist in cleaning enclosures, feeding animals, walking the dogs within the shelter grounds, and offering enrichment activities.

Both interns and volunteers can join the rescue team in the ambulance and help capture animals. They can also contribute to administrative tasks, including documentation and fundraising efforts.