Dogs : Life on streets

 

Hello sir, the dog that you had sent for treatment last week, numbered 1772, has passed away!” said Rajesh, from the Frendicoes Hospital for Animals. I searched for words to reply on the call while being loaded with reports to submit within an hour. All I could ask him was if I could come there the next day for the final rites to which he retorted, “Bhaiya, kya baat kar rahe ho! Kal tak thodi rakhenge isko. Abhi dafna denge!” hanging up the call. The dog had caught a blood infection. While it was a non-fatal condition, the dog passed away, given his inability to recover thanks to his old age.

This was not the first time I had received such a call. It has been three occurrences now in the past three years when the dogs I send in a critical state for treatment, die. It may sound uncanny but not every time I want the dog to come back. Sometimes I wish the contrary, sometimes I wish the dog gets relieved as early as possible. This happened last year, when one of the dogs in my street got infected with Parvovirus in the chilly winters of 2019. I hadn’t seen this dog around the neighbourhood for quite a while, but when I saw him, I could barely recognize him. He was half his size, and seemed literally ‘dog-tired’ and all weary. I whistled as a gesture to call him. I thought he does not recognize me now. I went closer and tried to pet him on his head which he acknowledged by lowering his head and calming his overly cautious ears. My heart cried for him and my eyes became watery seeing him in such a pathetic state. For the next few days, his appetite reduced progressively. I knew something was wrong, how could the chubby and playful dog, as he was, has now surrendered to his life. I could not see him starving, I had to take some action soon or he might die. I called the regular hospital I look up to when encountered with not so comfortable scenarios as these. To my dismay, they rejected to admit any more patients due to the overcrowded facility. I searched for other NGO hospitals who could help this poor little thing. This time, it was the People for Animals hospital who took charge. But wait, did they come? Yes! But after 3 long days, what seemed to be ages for me to look at the dog lying right outside the house surviving the 6 degree nights and early mornings.

The person from the hospital who had come to pick him up, at the first glance of this dog, who was now starving for 7 days straight with a powerless body, said that this dog was dropped after treatment at the facility a month ago. I was extremely astonished and wanted to enquired further. This dog was hit by a car, breaking one of his rear legs 2 months ago and the same hospital treated him for the injuries and dropped him after a month of treatment, back to where he was picked up from. I was later informed that this dog has been infected with Parvovirus which is fatal for almost every single dog. And while this is a contagious disease and none of my other street dogs had it, I could only suspect that the dog picked this virus from the hospital itself during his last visit. Soon, the dog passed away and honestly, I had a sigh of relief.

This is the story of thousands of other strays in the country. Some die at the hands of human cruelty while others of starvation or fatal infections in the early days. Sometimes I ponder, do they deserve such oblivious ends? Why does the world not care about what happens to these street mates of ours? They come to this world dumb, suffer the brutalities of nature, without shelters, on empty stomachs and all alone. No sooner they see some human show the slightest signs of attention than they wag their tails in hope for nothing but love. Invisible to us, they fight the battle of life every day of their life. Be it brawling for a piece of bread or running for their lives.

Some may argue that dogs are wild in nature and they can survive on their own. I would say, if you said that for the dogs that existed 10000 years ago when dogs were not domesticated and lived in jungles, I would agree with you. But, for the lakhs of dogs who live in the streets of the world today cannot be considered as wild. Unlike in the wild, they cannot hunt for food in the concrete jungles of contemporary cities. Majorly, they depend for food on humans. They eat what we feed them or forage in the garbage to find something remotely edible.

Sometime ago I believed that spaying stray animals is an unethical practice and that is a breach of their rights to procreate. But, having exposed to the life on the streets for quite a while now, I agree with the practice. I believe either they should be adopted or should not be born at all.

I remember my love for the street dogs started when I was 8. I used to feed a roti daily to the then single dog who reigned our street. Everyone called him ‘Bidu’. He was a white indie dog, all clean and handsome. He was my playmate during my retributions of not being allowed to enter my home, for the petty crimes that I did, staying out of home beyond 8 o’clock in the evening, for instance.  When I passed out school, I fed the two dogs who had now conquered the street after our beloved Bidu passed away. And now, 6 years since then, there has rarely been a day when I don’t spend time with these stray babies of mine who have crossed the headcount of 10 across the neighbourhood. In a whistle, they come wagging their tails with a happy go face and tongue out. Did I tell you, every time I see them approaching me with their wagging tails after I return to home after a long day, my day is made?

I dedicate this piece of writing to the stray dogs of the world who continue to fight the battle for their lives every single day. They compete with the beautiful exotic breeds delicately for adoption but are no behind in their ability to form social relationships and in loving their pet parents unconditionally.
 

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