Crysel Garg To The Rescue!

The first time I met Crysel was a little over a year ago at the Welfare for Animals in Goa (WAG) base. She was gently petting Pari, a gorgeous deep brown calf, and feeding her milk with a baby bottle feeder. Pari had only been a few days old when she was rescued by Crysel and the WAG team. The tiny calf was found on the streets of North Goa, crying and huddled next to her dead mother. Unfortunately, such a tragic situation is a rather common occurrence in this famous holiday destination. Once Goa opened up its borders post the nationwide quarantine lockdown, the number of accident cases rose significantly. Almost every day three cases of car or bike accidents injuring cattle would be tended to by Crysel and the rest of the team at WAG.

WAG currently houses 50 cows and 25 calves, some who have been orphaned like Pari and a few that are lucky enough to be housed with their mothers. Over the past few weeks three new calves were born at WAG. It’s the loving people who work and volunteer at NGOs such as Crysel who make all the difference. 

Crysel Garg is a 28-year-old who devotes her life giving back to the animals surrounding her. From a young age, she was drawn to nature and animals and dreamt of working with them when she grew up. “My lifelong dream was becoming a Vet. Back then, that was pretty much the only option if you wanted to work with animals,” she says. It was only once she grew older and did more research that she found different avenues of animal welfare. Crysel went on to study Animal Management and did her Masters in Animal Welfare: Ethics and Law.

“Domestic animals have always been my focus. I’ve been volunteering since I was sixteen in clinics, NGOs, rehabilitation centres,” said Crysel. When she was 22 she decided to move to Goa and that was when she found the NGO Welfare for Animals in Goa (WAG) founded by Atul Sarin. Though she was working at a private clinic at that time, Crysel would take time out and dedicate her Sundays to volunteer at WAG and help with recuses. Two years later Crysel joined WAG as a full-time employee and never looked back. 

In North Goa, WAG is one of the few establishments that take in and look after cattle and other farm animals such as goats and chickens, they even have a turkey. But Crysel and the rest of the team don’t just help out cattle, they also run a shelter for stray dogs and cats. 

“In small villages, there could be 40 or 50 dogs. They’re feral, they’re in the jungle. How can you have a team going out every day going out to catch dogs in different areas?” she said, informing me about the many struggles that they faced working with strays. Sterilization and neutering is a big part of what they do in order to reduce the rapidly growing stray dog population on the streets of Goa. 

Due to last year’s lockdown, a lot of the stray dogs that resided on Goa’s beaches and had lived off scraps from tourists and restaurants started to suffer and starve. That’s when WAG stepped in and started their Beach Feeding Programme. They currently feed around 60 dogs on Morjim and Ashvem beach that they have sterilized, and they put up the puppies for adoption at their shelter. 

Crysel explained that the cats at the shelter are adopted much faster than puppies or other dogs. Of course, catching a cat to sterilize it isn’t an easy task. “An aggressive cat is much more difficult to handle than an aggressive dog,” she says. 

Their adoption programme includes house checks to ensure that the animal is being looked after properly and that they live in a comfortable environment. They even offer free sterilization for pets as an incentive to motivate people to adopt without having to worry about an added expenditure or future puppies. 

“It is very difficult work, it’s heartbreaking at times. You see a lot of death and injuries. You see how horrendous humans really are to animals, but you have a few stories that make it completely worth it.” Crysel went on to tell me how distraught she was when one of the injured animals at the shelter passed away a few days ago but she found comfort in the most unlikely companion, a goat. The little animal came over to Crysel and stayed with her for 15 minutes, almost as if she could understand that something was wrong and that Crysel needed someone.

She encourages people to volunteer at their local NGOs whenever they can. Even if it’s once a week or simply for an hour, it makes a difference to the animal. If you want to do something different for your birthday or Christmas, try volunteering or heading over with some supplies or a donation. WAG has an Amazon Wishlist so that people from around the world can donate supplies directly to the shelter. 

Crysel ended our conversation by saying, “You can’t change every animal’s life but for that one animal you can make a difference.” If you’re interested in doing something to help the NGO or want to know more, click here!

Written By Jessica Albuquerque.

A master of being a Jack of all Trades, A method in madness some may say. I’m just a girl on a never-ending journey, Standing on the precipice of my next big story.

Week 15, April 2021