Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Unwelcome Guests

I was never enthused by the idea of taming a dog at my place. Still, this animal manages to peep into my life every now and then, giving some or other kind of trouble.

I have to accept that India is a country famous for street dogs. And beware, not every street dog is as orphaned as its lean, sunken-eyed brother in the corner of the street.

I also have to accept that my neighbors prove to be very kindhearted humans, at least as far as their hearts affairs concerned to those street dogs.

And these street dogs are faithful lots. They wag their tail to my good-hearted neighbor, eat the leftovers they throw and promptly empty their entrails at my doorsteps. And the neighbor has no complains and is happy about his newfound relationship with dog.

A dog is very active animal. He needs to be playful. But not all the time he can get his counterparts help in making himself active. When his friends are away, bound to the four walls, which they are supposedly guarding, the street dog at my place has to do something. He finds my clothes interesting. An occasional forgetfulness on my part to collect the clothes is rewarded properly in the morning. I am of course allowed to collect the torn pieces of clothes and cremate them with due respect.

You thought the silly dog does not read newspaper? You are thoroughly mistaken gentleman. The dog at my place does. The funny part is, he does not keep the paper intact after it is read. He prefers to chop it into tiny pieces, and leaves it just before my doorsteps. And my neighbor admires the naughtiness of the playful street dog.

And come December, the mating game starts. As you know every animal has its own right to search a mate. So is the street dog at our place. This attracts a few more unwelcome guests. Though our S.D. cleverly manages to have all the fightings outside the complex, it is do or die situation you see. Hence when situation warrants, he could not avoid a nasty fight inside our complex. We all watch it with terrified eyes, holding our children intact, witnessing atleast half a dozen dogs fighting fierce fully.

So, one fine morning I decided to put an end to all these naughtiness of this playful friend. I administered stick therapy. For every wrongdoing he committed that day, he was properly given a vigorous dose of a heavy blow from a specially chosen stick. He felt the pain badly, that he almost stopped short of coming to our complex, but for appointed hour to have dinner.

The idea behind the whole post is, those who feed these dogs, really do not care to claim ownership of these dogs when it damages other’s property. They do not have time or care to train these dogs. But it is easier for them to feel sympathetic and throw some leftovers. The dog is brainy enough not to disturb its sympathizer. Either the street dogs have to be done away with or the nasty neighbors.