Mutthu dear

The homecoming

In the afternoon of this day last week, as I sat at my desk scripting a course in geriatrics, I was suddenly jolted by the cries of what sounded like an animal in distress. I rushed to the window to find out was going on.... and there I saw a little brown pup with a black snout under my window, across the street, sitting on a patch of grass, looking up at the sky and howling! Without wasting any time in thought, I made a dash for the stairs. By the time I had run down three flights of stairs, the pup was no longer where I had seen it from my window. I went up and down the street looking everywhere—even under the bricks and stones. I was about to give up when suddenly I spotted the brown thing again at an adjacent construction site precariously standing amongst heavy machinery and deafening noise and laborers busy at work. It was hungrily lapping up water from a stagnant muddy puddle. I asked the men whether it belonged to them and they said no. I did not need any further confirmation. That was enough for me to pick up the pup and bring it home.

“You seem to be a fine little puppy,” I said to the pup as I placed it on my balcony in answer to its vigorously wagging tail. To which it wagged its tail some more. I put some water before it and it seemed to drink endless quantities! I crushed some biscuits and offered it and the biscuits vanished within no time. Not for a moment did it stop wagging its little tail. That is how crazy a little pup can get! “Cleaning time”, I announced and puppy seemed to understand and did not resist much as I sponged its little body with dettol and water. It had a soft mane, like it would melt in my palms....

Where did puppy come from?

With cleaning done and puppy fed, I made a little bed for it to rest. As it rested, I thought for the first time since I went to the window to investigate who the howls belonged to. I have never seen a pup in my area before. Of all the localities, the locality where I live is one of the few perhaps where the BBMP (the municipal body of Bangalore) has done a good job with their dog neutering programme. I can say with certainty that all dogs in this locality are neutered. By that logic, puppy couldn’t have been born in this area. Also, it was all alone; there was no sign of any other pup or its mother. I was certain it had been “dumped” by somebody from some other locality. Interestingly, puppy had a small red “tika” on its forehead prompting me to think that whoever dumped it did not have bad intentions afterall. The person had perhaps made an invocation to Mother Nature to do the best for the pup. To this day I recall with amusement and wonder at how little pup, from among the numerous houses lined on the street, chose to howl under my house. And I shall always be grateful for this opportunity.

The next steps

Then, I dialed Achala. As I spoke to her, I could see little pup’s steady gaze on me and wondered what it was thinking. I felt a little foolish discussing pup with it being within earshot but my human instincts told me to go on, “It’s a pup afterall!” Nevertheless, I felt foolish. Achala advised me to organize a general health check-up for puppy. Also, she was holding another puppy adoption camp two days hence, so I had an opportunity to take puppy there and find it a good home. I must state at this point that it is against my personal policy to put up any animal that I rescue for adoption because I believe I too can provide animals all that they require to live comfortably and happily. BUT, at this point the circumstances of my life are such that I may be able to provide them, love, affection, food, and water, however I will not be able to guarantee them freedom to the degree they require. There is very little freedom for them in the current apartment house that I am staying at—there is no garden, nor a lawn. Besides, it is against the law to lock up any animal in a closed apartment for extended periods of time. With me away in office during the day time, locking an animal for 10 hours in a closed apartment with no escape route in case of an emergency is an abject crime.

The first night

Little pup, I soon discovered was a very happy-go-lucky thing, always ready to play, jump, hop, and wag its little tail. It had a gigantic appetite and I was scared that its stomach would burst from all the eating. It would follow me everywhere in the house, never losing sight of me. I never saw it walking, it always ran and as it did, stumbled, got up, and ran again. As I cooked, it sat watching my every move. It cried when I went from one room to the other as though to say “Why you leaving me!” I could understand its insecurity which perhaps came from the events in its little past. But very, very interestingly, it never cried when I went to the bathroom and locked the door behind me! It just sat outside patiently waiting for me to come out. “Gosh who sent you with all that intelligence, you are not even one foot high!”, I thought.

Suddenly late in the night it started crying loudly. “You have everything that you need, why you crying now, especially at this hour when little puppies should be fast asleep!”, I admonished little puppy. In answer puppy yelped louder! I thought perhaps it is remembering its mother and the life it had left behind and needed to clam down. So I promptly put on Reiki music. I have read that animals and plants are wonderfully receptive to Reiki energies and soft, soothing music. Lo and behold, that did it! Pup steadily calmed down, directed its little ears towards the direction of the speakers, closed its eyes, and was soon fast asleep. The following day I got more clues as to why pup was feeling restless.

The health check-up and a general health note

The following morning my door bell rang at 7:30 am and there stood a smiling Dr. Srinivasan, our good "flying" animal doctor with his mobile medical van. He had arrived to conduct a health check-up for puppy. Puppy was game to any kind of fuss around him; he consented without a protest to all sorts of examinations. Finally, Doctor pulled puppy’s eyes wide and declared, “Very, very healthy puppy, very friendly.” From some symptoms I described to him, Doctor administered a solution for diarrhea and de-worming.

For the information of anyone who rescues pups, it is important to be aware of the other side of the coin: the health angle. Most pups born on the streets get stomach infection through their mother’s milk (because the mother may not be getting the best of food) or if the mother is not around to nurse them, then through the garbage and rotten food the pups may be consuming. This results in the following two conditions that may exist simultaneously: diarrhea and worms. Mother Nature is so wise and thoughtful that even little pups have a high threshold for tolerating adverse conditions and can continue to be active despite diarrhea and the presence of worms. It is only after a certain point that these conditions become life-threatening. My pup visibly had loose motions with specks of blood—confirming that it was carrying worms. Doctor’s medicines worked very quickly—within a day diarrhea was cured and so did all the parasites clear from its stomach. “Poor little puppy” I thought, “Carrying all those living organisms in your stomach must have been quite demanding.” After the worms cleared, little puppy did not eat anything much for almost a day—as there were no worms making demands for food! I also understood why it may be crying all of a sudden the previous night. It could be because of the tormenting worms.

How puppy got his name

One of these days, my good friend Vj living nearby came to meet little puppy. In the first few minutes of the meeting little puppy got his name: Mutthu! At first I thought the name was too regional but then gave in to my friend’s rationale that Mutthu is born on the soil of south India, afterall. Over and above that, little Mutthu seemed to like his name and started to respond on call! From the second day onwards, little Mutthu started to get independent. He no longer frantically followed me; I guess he sensed I was here to stay. He also started to  display his naughty side—trying to bite off the wires of my computer, extension chords, and mobile charger! He did not spare my friend’s fingers either! Little Mutthu was teething. So, all this biting was normal. On the night of the second day, he suddenly started to cry again. “Now that your worms have gone, what are you crying for!”

This time, he demonstrated a peculiar style of crying. He held on to the contours of my chair with his two little front paws as he cried. I had to rake my head to understand what that meant. I lifted him and placed him on the cushioned chair. Mutthu gave me a satisfied look and promptly went into a deep sleep! And for the next one and a half days Mutthu stayed with me, he never slept on the bed I had made for him on the floor. He always slept on the cushioned chair and each time I sat on the chair that was now “his”, he made it a point to whine and get him lifted onto it! I just wondered what naughtiness lay in store when within a few weeks he will be capable of jumping on the chair himself!

The adoption

Thirteenth of September arrived very fast. It was the day of the adoption camp. That day I found two distinct personalities within me. One of them was dressing herself up and getting Mutthu ready to take to the camp and the other was hoping that something untoward would happen and the camp would get canceled. Not necessarily, but anything that would make Mutthu stay with her. MD wrote that I should keep Mutthu but she doesn’t understand the “freedom” part of the deal of keeping a pet that I tried to explain at the beginning of this post. As I sat holding Mutthu in the auto rixa, with every kilometer covered, one part of me badly wanted to turn back; it even cooked a story to tell everybody of how the camp had been a disaster. But then the other part said, “Do you have the right to make a sprightly animal a prisoner in your little apartment?” Mutthu raised his head to look at me from time to time. I don’t even what to guess what he may be thinking. With the two personalities squabbling amongst eachother, we finally reached the camp traveling almost 30 kilometers.

All the volunteers welcomed Mutthu with warm hugs. Gradually, the pups started arriving. There were many media photographers as well as amateur ones. There was the local TV channel too. We had to tell the photographers not to flash on the eyes of the pups too much. They wanted endless poses! Mutthu was quite disturbed by the din of the place, therefore either me or some volunteer had to constantly carry him so that he would not run away through the gaps in the tent. I discovered that unlike Mutthu, the other pups were quietly sleeping in their baskets. I wondered that he must really be a free soul and I prayed that he gets a home with lots of space to play in!

The camp started at 10 am and until 4 pm Mutthu hadn’t got adopted. One part of me rejoiced, while the other was concerned. I had refused Mutthu to two families already because they just did not give me the “right vibes”. I am glad that I did. I had made up my mind that I am going to keep refusing him to anyone who does not give me the proper vibes. Then, around 4 pm a lady walked in with her three kids, gave one glance at the pups and put her hands on Mutthu and another pup and said, “I want to adopt two puppies!”. It all happened very quickly. I had no time to refuse; worst, I had no reasons to refuse. The lady was extremely decisive; unlike others, she did not spend hours comparing the pups, her eyes were honest and kind and what’s more the family was vegetarian! I had always wanted Mutthu to go to a vegetarian home and learn to appreciate fresh fruits and vegetables. And this is not all; the family lived in rural Bangalore in a spacious house with acres of land around the house.

Very soon we were in a room completing the adoption formalities. The volunteers were recording Mutthu’s details and those of the other pup and explaining to the lady the terms and conditions of the adoption. Mutthu received his shots for rabies and distemper from the camp doctor and the other pup received his too. And the next thing I saw was the family carrying both the pups and walking away.

The story does not end here

Despite everything, I still felt that I had abandoned little Mutthu. My good friend G from France who has four animals in her farm, out of which two are rescued, tried her best to comfort me and convince me that I did not abandon Mutthu but had acted in his best interests. While I know this is true, the part of me that kept suggesting me to turn away from the camp had gone ballistic with grief. The only way to calm it was to keep in touch with the family and take Mutthu’s updates. And in any case, part of the terms and conditions is that the family has to agree to follow-ups. Mutthu’s new family readily agreed, in fact they were more than welcoming! That was again a positive sign. A day after the camp, I called them up to ask how the pups were doing. “Mutthu is running around in the garden and playing with us and the other pup is sleeping,” they said. Incidentally I had told them Mutthu’s name and added that if they so do wish to, they can change it. I was elated when they said they liked the name and wished to continue with it. “We are having a namkaran (name giving ceremony) for the other pup after two weeks, can you come?” they asked me. “Of course I will be there!”, I said. After some general chit-chat about puppy care and how clever and intelligent Mutthu is, we hung up.

Peace!

I was at peace at last. I got a thumbs up from the part of me that had tried encouraging me to scoot from the camp with Mutthu and what a relief its approval brought to me! This does not mean I do not miss Mutthu, I still do. I still gaze at the spot I had first seen him from my window and in my mind’s eye I can see him squatting there and howling....

Won’t you let me in....

After my post on a successful puppy adoption camp in the city of Bangalore which I reported about here, I think I owe it to my blog to record why a bunch of think that non-pedigree pups should be adopted. Btw, just FYI, Let’s Live Together has organized another puppy adoption camp on the 13th of September in its office premises—through which 40 Indian pups will get adopted. Anybody interested can go their website to check more.

Some news never make it in the daily newspapers. Sample these:

Street Pup Hit By Vehicle, Spinal Injury Sustained, Paralyzed For Life.
Paralyzed Pomerian Pup Found On The Roads, Family Suspected Of Abandonment
Street Pup Found With Throat Slit, 50-Year Old Man Held For Stoning
Old Doberman Found Abandoned In The Streets
Sick Lhasa Apso Found Abandoned On The Steets Eating Garbage
Starving Street Dog Moved To Shelter By An Animal Rights Volunteer
Great Dane With Elephant Chain On Neck Rescued
Female Doberman Dumped Over Vashi Center Wall
Four-day Old Indi Pups Tied Inside Gunny Bag And Throw Into The Sea

Somewhere in my consciousness these headlines ring a frantic bell. It sounds all too familiar! Woman Burnt Alive For Not Bringing Dowry, A Sharp Rise in Female Fetus Abortions, Young Girl Publicly Lynched, Ten-year Old HIV Positive Boy Boycotted In School, Elderly Man Forsaken By Family, Tries To Commit Suicide.... and many, many more.

The similarity I find in both sets of headlines is that the victims of the crimes against them are decreed “unwanted”. Clearly, there is some dark force out there who is deciding that some creations of Nature are unwanted. But, how can a marvelous, bountiful, giving, earth not have enough space for the old, the infirm, the girl child, the pups, the kittens, and every other organism that is created here by different processes but with an identical higher goal—to live, love, and co-habit peacefully. Regrettably, most of us have forgotten the highest purpose of our existence.

You will agree that pups born on the streets have no control over their birth. Had they the choice, we can be sure they would not have chosen to be born on earth and live in the constant fear of being squashed by motor vehicles, made prisoners inside gunny bags and left to die, and all of that. The “street” pups are born of dogs of two kinds—Pariah breed and Mongrels. Pariah breeds are pure breeds while Mongrels are mixed. Both these kinds of dogs form the vast majority of the stray dog population in India. They are called “strays” because they are born on the streets and live on the streets too. By this logic, an abandoned pedigree dog living on the street is also a “stray”. I learnt these basics from Rajashree’s blog, an ardent animal lover. Since in this article I mean to write why the Pariah breed and Mongrels should be adopted, for all practical purposes I will refer to them as “Indian” dogs.

Indian pups need a home because the rapid “growth” of the country has made them vulnerable on the streets—Reason No.1

There are many dog lovers in the country who like to keep dogs as a member of their family. The prevalent practice is to adopt “pedigree” dogs or in other words foreign breeds with a recorded line of descent. If the motive is to give and share love and affection with an animal as a member of the family, then Indian dogs are as capable of giving and sharing love as any other dog from any part of the globe. The website of the Blue Cross of India, Chennai describes Indian dogs thus:

They have—“The intelligence of a Poodle and the loyalty of a Collie. The bark of a Shepherd and the heart of a Saint Bernard, the spots of a Dalmatian, size of a Schnauzer and the speed of a Greyhound.”

I would say even if Indian dogs did not sound such super duper champs, I would have still adored them. I know of a lady from France who came to Chennai to study dance and during her stay grew fond of an Indian street dog living near her apartment. She named the dog “Ooty”. Many a evening I would spot the white lady on her trendy bike being trailed by Ooty. They looked more like pals and less of a human and a dog. At times the lady would bend over to Ooty and say something to her and Ooty seemed to understand. It used to be a blessed sight. When the lady was about to leave India for France, she booked Ooty on the same flight with her. And that is the dream ending to this anecdote.

We also have the very recent case (last month) of Hugo Boss—a four month old Indian pup who found a home in Canada after a Canadian couple adopted him. Hugo Boss was found in a very sad state by an animal lover—a lady—on the streets of Ahmedabad. The lady picked him up and brought him home and later posted his details on the web for adoption. A Canadian couple responded and it was as if God spoke up for Hugo Boss that moment. Not only this, Hugo Boss's fantastic tale has become quite popular in the print media. The Times of India, Ahmedabad edition did several articles on Hugo Boss and I have the link to one article here:

Ahmedabad bids Hugo tearful goodbye

In case you wish to see pictures, you may click Hugo’s Incredible Journey and Friends old and New from Rajashree again.

Hmm, just wondering aloud and with lament, every time do we have to be told and demonstrated by westerners how precious our own things are.

Indian pups should be adopted because there is no difference between them and foreign breeds—Reason No.2

If Indian pups are not adopted because of “prestige”, then I can only say that prestige is an illusion created by the limitations of the human mind. Related to the prestige issue is the third big reason for adopting Indian pups—organized professional breeding of foreign breeds. Professional breeders of pedigree dogs have unleashed the unethical practice of mass breeding. Female “breed” dogs are kept permanently pregnant throughout their reproductive lives. In many cases they are made pregnant by artificial means. Invariably these dogs live in substandard conditions. Once the bitch is not bodily capable of bearing pups, she is literally thrown out and left on the streets. If you have seen old pedigree dogs roaming the streets and wondered who left them there, you have some clue about their ill-fated past.

Of course many pedigree dogs are abandoned on the streets by their owners because either the dogs have grown old, or have a disease, or the owners have moved out, or simply because the owner does not want them anymore. Ah well, that’s another issue and I won’t go into it now. Last month, the Chandigarh government ordered dog owners to stop breeding their pets. The administration has also asked people not to buy and sell pets from each other. I do not know the intention behind this order but I hope it would be strictly followed. Professional breeders and dog trainers are already protesting against the order. It is not hard to imagine why. If it is anything that drives these people to breed and train dogs, it is nothing but money. It is hardly a love for dogs. I know for a fact that that these people do not touch Indian dogs even with a bargepole.

The crude impact of advertisements on the minds of people is another thing to deal with. The Hutch advertisement that uses the innocent Pug is responsible for the hectic breeding of Pugs and the soaring rates of Pug pups. These pups are brought and sold for as much as Rs. 30,000/- and more. Just like we question—who gains from Fair & Lovely advertisements, it is high time we question who gains from animals being used in advertisements! From most of what I know, the glamour of animals used in advertisements is limited to their images on print and on screen—they actually live a life of dejection when they stop to “perform”. The matter of ethics about animals in advertisements is a separate issue again.

Indian pups should be adopted to beat senseless and unethical professional breeding—Reason No.3

A Beautiful Day

TODAY was the BIG day! If you are wondering what I am talking about.... this is about the rally cum adoption camp I had announced in my post dated August 10.

TODAY, the weather seemed to have miraculously cleared after the last few days of heavy rainfall. Bangalore woke up to a sunny but cool morning. We breathed a sign of relief and thanked the weather Gods.

TODAY was a significant day for animal rights advocates as well as the street dogs in the city—a message conveyed, a point made, an awareness created, and 15 little pups in loving, secure homes. Tonight, all the 15 of them will perhaps sleep in a home they can call their own for the very first time.

This post will be mainly photographs, I shall write about the issue behind our efforts in the next one! The event began with a great rally consisting of lots of banners, posters, people, and slogans! I have here some slogans that I remember:

Save the puppies! Save! Save!

Indian dogs! Bhow! Bhow!

Street dogs can change your life! Yes they can! Yes they can!

Save us! Bhow! Bhow!

Can Indian puppies survive! Yes they can! Yes they can!

Save the street dogs! Save! Save!

Adopt the street dogs! Adopt! Adopt!

The march being flagged off.

A message conveyed, a point made.

The rally was followed by the adoption camp. The pups were first vaccinated! I must reiterate that all the pups were "Indian street pups"—saved from the streets from various life threatening situations. After the pups were vaccinated, little colorful ribbons were tied around their necks. They looked a pretty picture!

Soon people started walking in to adopt the pups. They got to choose their new family member first, after which they had to complete an adoption formality.

Enjoy the pictures! The families were also given counseling by the doctors and volunteers.

All the families with their new babies received puppy care kits from Let’s Live Together and some more pampering from Pedigree who had also set up stall.

There was someone who did not hesitate to adopt the pup with three legs. For the records, this little one runs the fastest!

It was a beautiful day!

Four Little Paws

I am writing after a nearly four-month long hiatus. I was having one of those angry conversations with God once again. Certain events in these months had made me feel extremely restless. Living in this city had started to choke my innards as violently as the exhibition of violence outside—extreme levels of cruelty, silent suffering and pain!! I was feeling very, very angry and helpless.

Angry, because I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the brutality all around (I often asked, are all planets equally violent.... If not, WHY AM I HERE?). And helpless that I couldn’t do anything to make a perceptible difference. Even the choices that I had made in my life seemed so meaningless before the mounting violent choices of others!! I tried to write but no words would come out except for an overpowering sense of felt bitterness. “I can’t take it anymore!!!!” My innards screamed. All I could see around me was an overwhelming lump of mass made of material that looked just like humans but with brains that can think of nothing but “I”, “me”, and “mine”! Compassion, love, and empathy sadly limited within “I”, “me”, and “mine”!

More than three months passed, and in this time I went on a road trip to Coorg and another to Shirdi, watched Harry Potter, few other movies—old and new, the reality shows on television, wondered about different things but didn’t write about any! The trip to Shirdi was significant. Sai Baba of Shirdi holds an extremely special place in my existence. He is my guardian angel, and someone who shows me the path from the other side. I was in Shirdi for the first time for a long awaited darshan. “Why is the earth so cruel?” I asked Him too. “And if I have to feel sad every day witnessing the cruel acts of my fellow humans, how do I live....”

A few weeks back I received a mail from someone called Achala Pani and the contents were such that I went to meet her immediately. Very soon I was introduced to her world of street pups, street dogs, and abandoned breed dogs. I learnt how she along with some volunteers work on a project called Let’s Live Together, how they pick up abandoned pups and injured pups and foster them till they find the pups a loving adopted home. I learnt of stories with happy endings, of how little pups found loving human homes. I felt answers to my angry questions beginning to come....

Then I met Four Little Paws. I met her at Achala’s. She was squatting at the far corner of the room, a little hesitant and looking steadily at me with her little black-pearl like eyes. All of a few inches high and with specks of white and rust in her otherwise black body, she made a perfect case to fall in love with her. She had been found a week back in a gutter all alone—no mother—no body to look after her—thin, weary, and sick. A volunteer had brought her to Achala’s home. Little Paws was initially terrified of human touch but very soon her flawless little soul recognized a “secure” touch.

I met Little Paws when she was already seven days in a secure healing environment. She was only 1.5 months old and I was deeply touched by the innocence in her that had seemingly made her put behind the traumatic first few weeks of her life. She enjoyed chewing my fingers with her pointed little teeth and it was a blessed sight to see her hold a biscuit between her two front paws and munch on it like a squirrel.

I was sad to leave the company of Little Paws when it was time to say goodbye. Within a week I was informed that she had been adopted. Another message from God. “Now calm down,” God said. Hmmmmm.... “But I want more. I want more!” I said.

“You will have more.” God said.

I dedicate this post to Four Little Paws and Achala. They got me to create something out of the felt bitterness. They showed me the face of goodness from the highest echelons of the spirit. I wonder what Little Paws is called in her new home. I will hold her close in my memory as those four little paws that chewed my fingers and while at it, made me despair less.

Photographs: Courtesy Achala Pani

Please adopt us, we want to be loved too

Mad Dogs and a White woman

The title of my post is inspired by the title of the autobiography of Crystal Rogers. The autobiography is called – Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman. On one of my tours around the city, I saw this extraordinary sight for which I couldn’t find a more apt caption – Mad Dogs and a White woman:


I took this shot from hundreds of meters away with a zoom lens which is why the images are not as sharp as I would have liked them to be. Clicking pictures from close quarters may have made the trio conscious of a stranger. Also, my behavior would have been outright intrusive, so I decided to intrude from meters away.... what to do, the temptation was too much.... !

When I passed by the trio and was within earshot, I heard the lady humming. The melody, in a flash transported me back to my Class V school room where we learnt Wordsworth’s – The Solitary Reaper. The sense of melancholy in the lady’s tune was akin to the sense I got from the poem two decades back! It would be charitable to say that I was “amazed”. It was more than that, I do not have the appropriate words. Like connecting to a forgotton thread.

I am sure the lady was not English (I have reasons to think she was from Israel), so I think it is fair to call her the “white woman”. The dogs are “mad” because I think all dogs are mad. To my mind, dogs are one of the craziest creations of Nature. Crazy, coz they are capable of snuggling up to you even if you have shouted at them. Crazy, coz they are capable of protecting you even if you have been mean to them. Crazy, coz they are capable of dropping their egos and apologizing first. And, crazy coz they are capable of listening unconditionally to your melancholic strains....

Nuisance, who?

It brings immense relief to learn that the Supreme Court has given a stay in appeal against the ill-considered ruling of the Bench of the Bombay High Court to kill all “nuisance” dogs in Bombay (23/Jan 09). It is unfortunate that the High Court did not acknowledge a central legislation. The Supreme Court guidelines decree that if and only a dog is found rabid or mortally wounded or incurably ill, can it be taken and euthanized as per the rules and guidelines.

Nuisance dogs have been defined by the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) as dogs that “bark” and “chase” motorists. While both characteristics are true of dogs, I fail to see how that becomes a reason to exterminate the dogs. Just like human beings, no dog is same – each has a distinct personality. Some are reticent; some aggressive. There are many dogs of both kinds in the locality where I live. On some days, in the dead of the night, they start to bark. Their barks have often woken me up and I have wondered what they are howling at. I tell myself that they must have good reasons to howl and I am able to sleep peacefully. They have never harmed any resident in this area. All of them appear healthy and some lucky ones are regularly fed by the resident families. When young children in the house cry and throw tantrums, their families do not consider snuffing out their lives do they...., humans do and say a number of things that can be termed as “nuisance”, but we do not talk of putting them to sleep, do we? People! You are not the only ones living on this planet and you are not the central point of Creation either, where have you dumped the humanly virtues of tolerance, compassion, and humility? Why make a big issue out of dogs that bark?!

A few days ago, I saw a group of four dogs barking and chasing a car. The car was moving pretty dangerously and on looking closely I found it jam packed with hooligan-type men. I am proud of the dogs that barked and chased them out of the locality!

The issue in this case is perhaps of the large number of street dogs in Bombay. But, have we ever considered why? Studies have revealed that the population of street dogs is directly proportional to the volume of unattended garbage in the city. These studies are an outcome of the perseverance of animal lovers; especially in the city of Chennai. The city Corporation in Chennai had been pursuing the policy of mass killing of street dogs since the time of Independence. Ironically, the population of the street dogs never reduced! After consistent lobbying with the Corporation of Chennai, the animal activists were successful in pursuing it to drop the killer methods and instead resort to systematic sterilization and anti-rabies vaccination programmes to control the street dog population. Since the time the two programmes have started in Chennai, there has been a sharp decline in the cases of rabies in the city. The cities of Bangalore, Jaipur, and Hyderabad also run similar programmes for street dogs. As a result, all these cities haven’t seen any rabies-related deaths over the past five years.

Why does the BMC that has a municipal budget of more than some small countries in the world hesitate to sterilize and vaccinate the 70,000 dogs it claims to have? Why should the dogs have to die because of redtapism? With lofty examples in the country, why is the BMC inclined on going the Shanghai way, what is wrong with them – why have they dumped their brains and locked their hearts in the closet! What kind of heroism is involved in launching an offensive on a defenseless population? Surely, Indians should know better – who have suffered in the hands of oppressors since ages. I cannot help but draw a parallel between the Bombay HC order with the scourge that caused women to be forcefully burnt on the funeral pyres of their dead husbands in this very country more than a century back. It is the same mindset at work – the mindset of the dominant class (now mixed with capitalist thought) to wipe out anything or anyone they consider as the "other".

People; please focus on who the real nuisance is! Rest assured, whoever it is, we will not move a PIL to kill them!

Angels in the City

On some evenings when I pass by the main Thiruvanmimur bus stop in Chennai, a blessed sight greets me—a fleeting view of the top of a head with snow-white hair, surrounded by more than a dozen wagging tails. I consider those days as lucky. The head belongs to Mrs. B and the tails to none other than the street dogs of the area. The dogs stand huddled around Mrs. B to receive their daily meal of rice and eggs. Each day, many people witness this act of kindness. People say that Mrs. B has been feeding street dogs for more than 40 years! Moved by the initiative, one day, I decide to donate to Mrs. B's charity. But local people warn me against it. Mrs. B does not accept donations. Each time I pass her by, I am seized by a fervent question, "O Mrs. B, the chosen one, where comes your motivation from?" But, I cannot speak Tamil and Tamil is what she is conversant with.

There is a dog that looks at me with expressive eyes as I board my office bus. Each time I turn back from inside the bus, I find her gazing at me until either of us disappears from sight. I have often wondered what she may be thinking. One day, inspired by Mrs. B, I purchase a bun for the dog and just before getting into my bus, I offer it to her. She gazes at me some more before accepting the bun. As I look back from inside the bus, I see her chomping away, never for once unlocking her eyes with me, until we both are out of sight. Thus, feeding the dog becomes a daily ritual. Some more join in! I thank Mrs. B for the joy she brought me.

One evening as I am shopping for provisions, I am approached by a distinguished looking lady, "I have seen you feeding dogs. I am a dog lover…. would you like to come home for a cup of coffee?" Impulsively, I agree, my heart doing a little somersault with joy. Her house is around the corner—a duplex with a big garden. As she opens the entrance door, I gasp at the sight inside! At least six pairs of doggy eyes stare at me from bodies comfortably nestled on cushions. The lady laughs and invites me to come inside. Over coffee, she tells me that she has twelve dogs in her house—all rescued from various life and health threatening situations. Some are pedigree dogs abandoned on the streets by the owners while some are simply streets dogs brought in for a loving home. Suddenly, four young dogs come scampering into the room, bestowing the lady with their lavish kisses. I am told they are siblings. My eyes well up when I am further told that they were found inside a gunny bag thrown by the sea-side when they were pups—pups small enough to be held in the palm of the hand.