To many of us, India seems a magical place that ranks high on our travel “bucket list.” Gorgeous palaces built in the name of love, spiritualism, meditation and yogis, and delicious curry dishes all appeal to our taste for exotic destinations.

For those of you who have visited India and/or seen the 2008 hit movie, “Slumdog Millionaire,” there is a different but still compelling perception and appeal. This could be due to the fact that India is a growing country filled with opportunities but also facing many challenges. The estimated population for India in July 2012 is 1.2 billion people according to the CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html), second only to China. The geographic size of the country is slightly less than one third of the U.S. Wow. That’s a lot of human beings. As in many large countries, animals and people in India must share limited resources. International animal welfare organization Mayhew International (http://www.mayhewinternational.org/news/India/index.html) estimates the stray dog population in India at 15-20 million dogs. Wow again. That’s a lot of stray dogs.

Recently, a friend shared a story with me about an encounter she had with a stray dog while on vacation in India. It was not an easy story for her to tell and for me to write and I imagine it will be a hard one to read but for healing changes to happen, it must be told.

A Trip to Remember

Married for many years, it was one of Amy and Kurt’s dreams to visit India. They saved their hard earned money and put together a modest travel budget that included tours through the countryside, a visit to a wildlife sanctuary, and one splurge stay at a luxury hotel.

Local Women in India

During their trip, Amy, an avid animal lover, repeatedly noticed many stray dogs that were uncared for in the streets of the villages and towns that she traveled through. In an interesting contrast, she also saw many people walking their obviously beloved dogs (sporting pet clothing such as jackets ala Paris Hilton!) who were showering their pets with affection.

Alternate forms of transportation in India

After several days of traveling through other parts of India, the couple finally arrived at their luxury hotel where they planned to take full advantage of the opulent amenities available to them.

The second night at the hotel, Amy and Kurt were watching a glorious sunset with a few other tourists when Amy noticed a ruckus outside of their hotel.

Indian Sunset

Already videotaping the glorious sunset, Amy swung her camera around to follow three hotel staff members chasing a small dog across a field. Zooming in, to her dismay and disgust, she saw that one of the staff members had caught the animal and was kneeling on the small dog’s neck. Then another staff member picked up the now-limp dog and placed it in what appeared to be a plastic bag and tied it shut, carrying it with him away.

Outraged and not wanting to believe her eyes, Amy screamed down to the staff member asking what was going on and if that was a dog in the bag but she was ignored by the men. The other tourists sharing the sunset view who had also witnessed the event became uncomfortable and began to leave. In Amy’s opinion, she thought they did not want to spoil their vacation experience by acknowledging what had just occurred right in front of them.

Amy was dumbfounded and in shock but went off to try and enjoy a nice dinner with her husband. However, that wasn’t going to be the case. During dinner, Amy could not shake the image of this cruel act and she became determined to do something. Fueling her outrage, Amy had also noticed there was a pack of pitifully thin, neglected stray dogs outside the restaurant so she and Kurt saved the Indian bread, “naan,” served with their meal and fed it to the dogs when they left.

Back at the hotel, Amy immediately asked to speak to the hotel manager. After a short wait, a hotel manager came out and she quickly explained to him what she saw and informed him that she had captured this incident on her video camera. Asked to wait in her room while another staff member, a loss prevention manager, was contacted, Amy went on the internet and looked up animal rescue shelters in the area then attempted to reach me, Ms. Humane Advisor.

About thirty minutes later, Amy was asked to come down to talk to the hotel loss prevention manager via the telephone in the hotel desk manager’s office. By this time, she had decided on a plan and knew what she was going to do. Immediately, both the hotel desk manager and the loss prevention manager attempted to manipulate her and refused to take responsibility for the hotel staff harming the dog. They informed her that the mother dog had come onto the property through a hole in the wall and that she had given birth to two puppies. They stated that she then became aggressive towards guests. Protecting her puppies, no doubt.

Growing more upset by the minute, Amy finally demanded that she be allowed to express herself with no further interruptions by the two hotel managers. Inside, she was extremely distressed and knew she had to settle down to get her thoughts out. She said that she recalled a saying she had heard, “speak your mind even if your voice shakes” so taking a deep breath, she started talking. Though she felt oddly like she was in a movie scene playing a part, she knew she had to be strong and stand up for the little dog she saw hurt and most likely killed. So she made herself calmly explain to the hotel managers that she had videotaped the horrifying incident and that she had many connections in the animal rights community in the United States. Continuing on, Amy expressed her deep disappointment with how the situation was handled, regardless of why the dog was there or why the hotel wanted it removed. Bravely, she stated that she expected a donation to be made to a local animal rescue organization and demanded that a formal policy on how to deal with strays on hotel properties be implemented throughout this entire major international hotel chain. At that point, the hotel managers must have known she meant business because they told Amy they would discuss her request and meet with her the next day.

Many feelings surfaced for Amy after this stressful encounter. She felt badly that she was taking time away from her husband and their dream vacation together. She was also scared mostly because she was in a foreign country negotiating with hotel managers who had obvious disdain for dealing with a female. Yet, she also felt excited to have an opportunity to help even just one innocent and lonely dog in this faraway place.

The next morning Amy and her husband sat down with the hotel loss prevention manager. He apologized for the manner in which the dog was handled. Although he would never admit that the dog had been killed, he stated that a local animal rescue group had been contacted and that he had begun writing a new policy regarding stray animals that morning for the hotel chain. For these concessions, Amy agreed not to release her videotape of the incident or name the hotel chain. She went one step further and took this opportunity to explain to the hotel loss prevention manager that by creating animal-friendly policies, the hotel chain could market themselves as being sensitive to the plights of stray animals.

Later during their trip, Amy received a call from this hotel loss prevention manager informing her that a meeting had been held with the animal rescue group and a donation had been made by the hotel. This was confirmed upon her return home, when Amy received emails of the receipt for the donation from hotel to the animal rescue group and a copy of the new hotel policy regarding stray animals. Although she could not save this small dog that she believed was cruelly killed, Amy felt good that she had stood up for the little dog’s rights and that both of her puppies were saved and humanely removed to the rescue group’s care.

Broken Hearts and Humane Solutions

Such a heartbreaking story for Ms. Humane Advisor to have to tell. An innocent little mommy dog cruelly killed because she was trying to find a safe place for her puppies and protect them from men like the hotel staff. I don’t know about you but I’ve been wiping away more than a few tears. But there is hope for this little mommy dog’s puppies now as a result of the solutions that Amy bravely championed in her negotiations with this hotel chain. Amy (one smart cookie!) hit upon the only solutions that make any sense for sustainable change–Implementing new policies to guide businesses in making humane choices and enlisting business support via donations for the animal rescue groups that work to make these changes.

Stray puppies rescued near an international tourist destination.

Imagine if all of us travelers demanded this level of humane treatment for animals from our travel providers? You may remember these statistics from last week’s post but here they are again:  9.1% of our global GDP comes from travel and international tourist arrivals will reach 1.8 billion annually by 2030. Just think of what these numbers could mean for animals.

CANDi Spokesman and Animal Advocate Craig Moritz

Organizations like CANDi-Cats and Dogs International (www.candiinternational.org) understand the power of tourism and are working to leverage this power by creating humane and sustainable solutions for the humane treatment of animals at all international tourist destinations with the support of the travel industry and travelers.

We can all help this initiative by speaking out for the starving and mistreated stray cats and dogs, the overburdened working animals like carriage horses and burros, the neglected and abused captive animals like marine animals and exotic cats who suffer at animal attractions, every time we book a vacation.

Injured working horse being treated

Ask the travel providers you use (Expedia, Bookit.com, Transat, United Airlines, Carnival Cruises, any hotel chain, etc.) if they have policies about the humane treatment of animals at the vacation destinations they sell you a ticket to visit. If not, tell them that it’s important to you and you want to spend your money with a company that shares your concerns about animals. It might take an extra five minutes to call or write an email about this issue but it might mean that one less mommy dog is killed trying to save her puppies. Using our wallets and our voices, WE can help these animals. Okay, that’s my soapbox moment for this post. You all know what to do.

A Role Model for Humane Travelers

Amy’s quick mind, strong will, and kind heart make her a true hero for animals and a role model for humane travelers in Ms. Humane Advisor’s book. She moved past her fear of embarrassment and discomfort to demand change and she didn’t let the fact that she was on vacation in a strange place deter her from doing the right thing. As hard and inconvenient as it was, she didn’t just brush it off and close her eyes to inhumanity. Her voice became the little mommy dog’s voice.

Humane Hero Amy and her husband, Kurt

Thank you, Amy. You inspired the heck out of me. Imagine if we all cared this much? Imagine if we all did a little something every day to help animals? I know in my heart that all of you care enough to help but sometimes you just need a little nudge. That’s what your Ms. Humane Advisor is here for.

Closing (and hopeful) thoughts from one of my favorite philosophers, Dr. Seuss.

“You’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

So… get on your way!”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

(Available  from Random House Children’s Books at www.seussville.com)

Ms. Humane Advisor and her BFF Darci Galati