Two puppies miraculously survived a nearly three-week journey from China to Chennai after they were packed into a consignment containing machinery. The puppies, one black with white marking on its chest and the other brown with white markings on its chest and paws, were discovered on Saturday by employees belonging to Salcomp, a mobile phone charger maker when they opened the sealed container.
Calling it a “miracle”, Dawn William, General Manager of Blue Cross of India says, “The stamp and slip shows that the consignment was sent from China on September 5. Machinery were packed and sealed in a container and it arrived here in Chennai on September 30, and was opened on October 1.”
The puppies belonging to a hound lineage, were found starving, severely dehydrated and frightened. It was only after the employees of Salcomp based at Sriperumbudur contacted the police that Blue Cross of India got involved in rescued the puppies.
Image Courtesy: Dawn Williams
“I have heard of dogs surviving for 10 to 11 days but living for 26 days is only a miracle. They could have survived by sipping their own urine,” says Williams. The pups are now under treatment and observation and have been quarantined at the Blue Cross shelter. “We are giving them only wet food at the moment. But their behaviour is otherwise normal. They are very happy to see people,” he explains.
But the bigger question, however, is why and how did the pups end up in the container? While the animal welfare group believes the pups may have been a cruel joke by someone trying to get rid of them, Dawn Williams says that there was a definite purpose behind the act of shipping the animals across the seas.
Blue Cross also suspects that the pedigree pups may have been smuggled as “fresh stock” after the Indian government banned the import of dogs for the purpose of breeding or any other commercial activity in April.
Image Courtesy: Dawn Williams
Williams says the puppies will be put up for adoption only after their health is restored with the animal welfare group being extremely selective about who adopts them.