If you would like to make a donation to BAWA or to find out other ways in which you can become involved, please visit the BAWA website. You can read street dog Charlie’s story and see photos below of some of the animals the dedicated staff and volunteers at BAWA assist.
Charlie’s Story
Michelle found Charlie, the injured street dog in this photo, in a small market in Bali. Lying motionless, his head and ears covered in blood, at first she thought he was dead. No-one else seemed to even notice him or care. After eating a meal of chicken and rice that Michelle purchased from a nearby wahrung (kiosk) and drinking some water, Charlie revived a bit. Michelle rang for the only BAWA ambulance on the island to come and get him. She sat next to him for two hours in the tropical sun waiting, although she was only transiting through the area. Unfortunately the ambulance staff had such a backlog of calls to respond to that by the time the ambulance got there much, much later, Charlie was gone.
We will never know what happened to Charlie. Without treatment his head wounds would have festered, become filled with maggots and meant certain death. It broke Michelle’s heart that she couldn’t even access something simple like antiseptic powder for his head wounds. She held him in the Light for many days afterwards. Perhaps that single white feather she found next to him was a sign that the angels were near and that his suffering would not be in vain if it inspired others to act with compassion. Unfortunately the suffering of street dogs like Charlie and other animals in Bali is ongoing. But it doesn’t need to be that way.