A chance encounter with a starving puppy on an Indian beach inspired a West Derby dog groomer to set up his own rescue 4,800 miles from home.
Neil Riley was holidaying in Goa, India, in 2017 when he stumbled upon the stray puppy "on death's door" on Anjua beach. Though he was only supposed to be in the country for four nights, the 45-year-old ended up staying six weeks as he attempted to nurse the puppy back to health with the help of local animal lovers.
Tragically, the puppy, called Goa, was born with a number of serious conditions and died one month after he was found. In his memory, Neil and fellow animal advocate Carol Ashby decided to set up the Goa Dog Foundation, aimed at looking after the area's feral dog population.
READ MORE: Driver rammed into unmarked police car during chase
Neil, who owns Green Tails Dog Grooming in West Derby Village, said: "We do a feeding programme where we feed over 60 dogs a day, we do sterilising which we call animal birth control, and I'm leading education workshops in schools about animal welfare.
"The dogs we look after are mostly street dogs. There's a few dogs that will never be able to go back onto the streets and will have to stay with us, but predominantly we sterilise them, monitor and feed them, and this makes sure they're not rooting through bins, they're not breeding out of control, and we do feel like it's making a difference."
As the charity's co-founder, Neil makes regular trips to the rescue in Goa, where a team of dedicated volunteers works constantly to reduce the number of dogs living on the streets.
He said: "The problem is people are not getting dogs sterilised, and the streets are being overrun with pups and dogs. Often we find people are dumping pups at our home in plastic bags because they don't want them in their area.
"A lot of the dogs have severe maggot wounds. One of our dogs had half his head eaten away by maggots. What happens is, dogs will fight. They get a little stratch or a wound and very quickly that becomes infected and within weeks the wound will be infested with maggots, and the dog can't do anything about it. It's left in a bad state until someone like us picks it up."
In 2019, The Times of India reported a huge increase in the number of stray dogs living in Goa, surviving on rubbish dumped in public. In 2022, the state government set out rules banning the feeding of stray dogs in certain areas to reduce the spiralling numbers.
Neil said: "It's endless. I've just arrived back in West Derby after being out there two months, and it's never-ending. Each time we feel we're making a difference, more dogs are being born.
"If you sterilise a dog, there's less chance of sexually transmitted diseases, which a lot of them die of. They're not having puppies, which are often left in the streets or run over by cars. They're much healthier, happier dogs. People are no longer getting hundreds of dogs outside their homes, rooting through bags, because we're feeding them.
"It may not make a difference to every dog, but for the ones that come into our care, it's life-changing. We can't save every dog, but we can save those few."
READ NEXT
Crying paedophile wails after being jailed for attempts to groom three 'girls'
We visited the street that's 'coming alive' as shopping local reinvented
Matalan shoppers praise 'fantastic' £7.50 storage box that 'looks trendy'
Barmaid may need plastic surgery after drinker 'exploded' her nose
