Dogs fascinate me-- not just my own pet ones or the cute ones or handsome ones but all kinds. I somehow feel extremely strongly for even a stray. I wouldn't call this compassion, because that would imply that I have the same feeling for all animals, but no, honestly I don't. I only have this feeling for all dogs.
Probably this is why, wherever I have lived other than home, I haven't missed my dogs that much. In a country like India, not one but quite a few strays adorn the neighbourhoods of any city. So, I've always had my fair chance to love dogs, if not own them at all times. To be frank, I wouldn't go to an extent of cuddling them or touching them (hygiene issues obviously) but I kind of kept track of the strays around me, fed them a pack of Parle-g (cheap and wholesome), every now and then and that felt good.
The place where I live now has two sides in the same building, front and rear. The front side which also happens to be the main side is shared by three dogs. Young energetic and very very alert. The rear side of the building however, falls under the territory of just one female dog. I have been seeing her sitting poised and calm at the gate, everytime I go there, with an air of assertion and power. She's beautiful too- a cross probably with a golden retriever, she has a coat of brown, very furry but rough coz of her living conditions. She came to be my personal favourite almost immediately. Very calm, very meek-- she's a delight to watch. She wouldn't eat until the giver has faded away from her sight, and only after that she would settle down and start chewing ever so sophisticatedly.
Nevertheless, what I saw today, broke my heart. I was rushing back home and saw the rear gate luckily unlocked and thanked my stars for saving me the time and energy of encircling the whole building to enter from the front gate, and as I drew closer in the dark, I smelt of something very musty, very unbearable and tacky. I looked harder and there she was, that dog, burying her face into her forelegs. I went closer and I was heartbroken to see that she indeed looked extremely sick. Her coat was shedding badly and had patches all over, her nose was so dry and she smelt foul. I so clearly remember this smell, it came from one of my dogs who had been terminally sick of Parvo Virus.
I couldn't stand the sight and rushed to the shop closeby and bought two packets of Parle-g biscuits. I knew very well that with her coat shedding the sugar will only harm her, but I wanted to give her temporary relief from the hunger and cold I saw her in. She was starving and was too weak and sick to even get up. The incessant rains for the last five days are to be blamed I guessed, I felt so helpless and sorry in my heart as i knew what the outcome is going to be! Hoping against hope, I returned home telling myself that I'm going back there first thing in the morning, with a bowl of warm milk.
Probably this is why, wherever I have lived other than home, I haven't missed my dogs that much. In a country like India, not one but quite a few strays adorn the neighbourhoods of any city. So, I've always had my fair chance to love dogs, if not own them at all times. To be frank, I wouldn't go to an extent of cuddling them or touching them (hygiene issues obviously) but I kind of kept track of the strays around me, fed them a pack of Parle-g (cheap and wholesome), every now and then and that felt good.
The place where I live now has two sides in the same building, front and rear. The front side which also happens to be the main side is shared by three dogs. Young energetic and very very alert. The rear side of the building however, falls under the territory of just one female dog. I have been seeing her sitting poised and calm at the gate, everytime I go there, with an air of assertion and power. She's beautiful too- a cross probably with a golden retriever, she has a coat of brown, very furry but rough coz of her living conditions. She came to be my personal favourite almost immediately. Very calm, very meek-- she's a delight to watch. She wouldn't eat until the giver has faded away from her sight, and only after that she would settle down and start chewing ever so sophisticatedly.
Nevertheless, what I saw today, broke my heart. I was rushing back home and saw the rear gate luckily unlocked and thanked my stars for saving me the time and energy of encircling the whole building to enter from the front gate, and as I drew closer in the dark, I smelt of something very musty, very unbearable and tacky. I looked harder and there she was, that dog, burying her face into her forelegs. I went closer and I was heartbroken to see that she indeed looked extremely sick. Her coat was shedding badly and had patches all over, her nose was so dry and she smelt foul. I so clearly remember this smell, it came from one of my dogs who had been terminally sick of Parvo Virus.
I couldn't stand the sight and rushed to the shop closeby and bought two packets of Parle-g biscuits. I knew very well that with her coat shedding the sugar will only harm her, but I wanted to give her temporary relief from the hunger and cold I saw her in. She was starving and was too weak and sick to even get up. The incessant rains for the last five days are to be blamed I guessed, I felt so helpless and sorry in my heart as i knew what the outcome is going to be! Hoping against hope, I returned home telling myself that I'm going back there first thing in the morning, with a bowl of warm milk.
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