Lately, my sensitivity to the plight of dogs has increased. Possibly because of two main reasons. One, the crazy dog lady near our house who has 4 dogs, 4 puppies aged about 4 months and 5 small puppies, aged about two m onths old. Another reason has to be because last week, when we went to check a few beagles that were up for adoption at CUPA, we found that they had suspended operations till further notice.
We have a few Marati neighbours who are your typical neighbours, the sort that clean the street in front of their house. Also strictly vegetarian, they actually buy milk from a milk man, the sort that has those aluminium cylinders with fresh cow milk. They also have a garden in the waste land between the walls of their house and the street, cook all day (everytime I'm around the window of their kitchen, there's always someone inside, cooking!) Well kept homes are a rarity these days, atleast those that are clean inside and out.
That's why last week, when the crazy dog lady's puppy (the younger batch) went into the Marati house, there was chaos. Cruel chaos saw them trying to get the puppy to leave the compound of their house, with sticks and beating. My room faces our garden and car park, and right there, there was squealing and barking. By the time I rushed out, the commotion had stopped and so had the squeals.
I couldn't find courage in my heart to face the inevitable and look at what had happened. All I can say, is that there was one puppy less.
What's the point? Of being vegetarian, when you don't understand the essence of being kind?
That's not the end of the crazy dog lady's dog stories. They get beaten every other day, by various neighbours. The reasons are not always clear, but one can only hope that there are reasons. I saw one of the older dogs, the mother of the most recently born puppies with a circular flesh wound. No way that came from a fight with another dog, no way.
They don't bite, these dogs. They look for food in the garbage heap near the house, on the empty plot of land. That's what encourages them to live here. The garbage that the same neighbours that live around here, throw onto the empty plot of land. That is where they get their food, I don't see anyone else feeding them. Neither do I see any government organisation coming over to make these dogs infertile.
And I keep asking myself what I can do to help them. There is no CUPA, there is no one else out there that cares. In a country like ours when not everyone has food, the animals around us suffer. Birds don't fly in this city anymore, and if they do, they certainly disappear over Diwali. There are no sparrows in this city anymore.
I suppose it's affluence we have to thank for this great boon, that we live in a city with many rich in wealth. But someone once said that it is irrelevant that you are rich in wealth, if you are not that in kindness. What's the point of sterlizing our homes, when our streets are littered with garbage. Being inhuman to our animals, and then flocking to the forest resorts to see animals in their so called natural habitat.
We can buy sugarcane for our festivals and decorate our doors with the plant. Or we could grow the plant at our doorsteps, and have it as ours. One is a commodity, the other our own. When will we, as a society, ever own our land and our space, and understand that what we own we share, and it is when we share that it ever becomes our own.
We have a few Marati neighbours who are your typical neighbours, the sort that clean the street in front of their house. Also strictly vegetarian, they actually buy milk from a milk man, the sort that has those aluminium cylinders with fresh cow milk. They also have a garden in the waste land between the walls of their house and the street, cook all day (everytime I'm around the window of their kitchen, there's always someone inside, cooking!) Well kept homes are a rarity these days, atleast those that are clean inside and out.
That's why last week, when the crazy dog lady's puppy (the younger batch) went into the Marati house, there was chaos. Cruel chaos saw them trying to get the puppy to leave the compound of their house, with sticks and beating. My room faces our garden and car park, and right there, there was squealing and barking. By the time I rushed out, the commotion had stopped and so had the squeals.
I couldn't find courage in my heart to face the inevitable and look at what had happened. All I can say, is that there was one puppy less.
What's the point? Of being vegetarian, when you don't understand the essence of being kind?
That's not the end of the crazy dog lady's dog stories. They get beaten every other day, by various neighbours. The reasons are not always clear, but one can only hope that there are reasons. I saw one of the older dogs, the mother of the most recently born puppies with a circular flesh wound. No way that came from a fight with another dog, no way.
They don't bite, these dogs. They look for food in the garbage heap near the house, on the empty plot of land. That's what encourages them to live here. The garbage that the same neighbours that live around here, throw onto the empty plot of land. That is where they get their food, I don't see anyone else feeding them. Neither do I see any government organisation coming over to make these dogs infertile.
And I keep asking myself what I can do to help them. There is no CUPA, there is no one else out there that cares. In a country like ours when not everyone has food, the animals around us suffer. Birds don't fly in this city anymore, and if they do, they certainly disappear over Diwali. There are no sparrows in this city anymore.
I suppose it's affluence we have to thank for this great boon, that we live in a city with many rich in wealth. But someone once said that it is irrelevant that you are rich in wealth, if you are not that in kindness. What's the point of sterlizing our homes, when our streets are littered with garbage. Being inhuman to our animals, and then flocking to the forest resorts to see animals in their so called natural habitat.
We can buy sugarcane for our festivals and decorate our doors with the plant. Or we could grow the plant at our doorsteps, and have it as ours. One is a commodity, the other our own. When will we, as a society, ever own our land and our space, and understand that what we own we share, and it is when we share that it ever becomes our own.
Comments
I am sure you know the word HYPOCRISY. We are a nation of hypocrites. We will shout slogans against corruption but when caught jumping traffic red light we are the first ones to settle it with the traffic cop with little under the book. We crib about traffic sense but do we ever care for those who cross roads at traffic junctions using pedestrian zebra crossing? We need to first clean our own inner self before we clean surroundings. I feel sad at the way they had treated that small pup. And why does that dog lady does not give those dogs shelter and food?
Take care
The dog lady is a homeless vagrant who at some point of time adopted a few dogs and grew the family.
Can't blame her, she herself sleeps on the empty plot of land. Just had another episode with the dogs, second this week.
Finally went out there and told the set of boys I caught the other day for their inhumane beahvior.
Wish there was more that could be done!