Dogs and the community are interdependent

Just over a decade ago, a community dog who was a fixture of our neighbourhood, got into a territorial battle with some new, younger four-legged residents. When his wounds got maggot-infested and unbearably painful, there was a scratch on my door. The moment I opened it, Kalu (apparently his original name, given by the local chowkidars, was Jambuvan) rushed in and headed straight for the bathroom. There he sat, stinking away, looking utterly exhausted and in pain.

My son and I were unsure about how to take him to the vet to get him treated: he was a "street dog" after all and could bite us out of sheer, blinding pain and panic. My son wrapped his arms in thick towels and gently picked him up; Kalu did not protest. It is as if he knew we would do what is best for him. A huge chunk had been gouged out of his hind leg, and it was festering, so off we went to get his wounds dressed. The vet said Kalu needed to stay there for at least a week.

That brought a second revelation. When I would go to visit him twice a day at the kennel facility where dogs-stray, abandoned or sick-were lodged, to check that he was comfortable and recovering well, I noticed an unusually large number of black Labradors. They were clearly pets and had been abandoned in middle age. Back then, no one really wanted to adopt a "senior dog". If they were cute, fluffy, golden or white, then maybe. If they were black, indie, old or ill, then never.

There were so many abandoned black Labs in the shelter because people bought them as puppies to ward off the evil effects of Shani (Saturn) whose malefic gaze lasts for seven and a half years. The black dog-Yama's companion-absorbs the baleful vibes on behalf of its "family", who then callously abandon it once that period is over. The selfishness of humans is unparalleled. Do they imagine that Shani and other Hindu gods they worship do not know what they have done?

Humans take advantage of a dog's loyalty and unconditional love (even when they are badly treated) to use and throw out at will. Among the lakhs of street dogs in Delhi that two judges condemned to life imprisonment without even being given a chance to be heard (via their rights advocates) are hundreds of these cruelly abandoned pet dogs. Their "families" are nothing less than criminals and yet they will get away scot-free, even encouraged to do so again and again.

Kalu himself was a mountain dog who was brought to Delhi by someone when he was a cute puppy and abandoned when he grew up. Luckily my South Delhi Bengali neighbourhood accepted him and admired his many qualities, including a distinct lack of greed (he ate very little, never scavenged) and a gravely philosophical demeanour. He would walk into houses on our street and be welcomed like a senior neighbour. No one thought he was dirty or dangerous.

Mind you, Kalu did not want to be "adopted". He was a free spirit who valued his independence. He was sterilised, vaccinated and healthy. Only in his last year of life, when the street got too harsh for his old bones, he adopted us. He walked into our house, settled under our four-poster bed and that was that. We all learnt so much from him: love, trust, dignity, resilience, forbearance. When he passed away peacefully, everyone came out as we took his remains for cremation.

All street dogs don't want or need "adoption" (only abandoned ones do) and they have much to teach us, but only if we regard them with love not loathing.


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