Step into my Bubble.

I live in a bubble.

It’s a pretty bubble. It’s home to a garden, a house, and an assortment of animals.

But stay in my bubble, and you will see the painful undercurrent. The days bring a steady stream of animals here. It would be nice to think that they come in mostly healthy, get cleaned up, and find wonderful loving homes. But the tide brings in the damaged, the frightened, and the irreparable. We take in stray animals who have been hurt and neglected and try to patch them up before we send them to their unknown future back on the street. Sometimes there is no way to fix them, no matter how hard you try. It’s enough to send you into despair.

The one thing that keeps us afloat is another stream. A steady stream of kindhearted people. Friends, though they start as strangers. People who want to help and who show unreserved love to our patients, even when we are losing them. Without our friends we would lose hope.

So I wrote this to say thank you, friends. Thank you for keeping my head above water. Thank you for loving the most neglected of society, even when it hurts.

Peepal Farm is a stray animal recovery center, organic farm, and vegan community at the foothills of the Himalayas. The author is co-founder and resident of Peepal Farm.