what an adventure!

Our neighbourhood stray dogs are really cool. They seem to know all of us living around & people who visit regularly. Only time I see frantic activity is when a stray dog from another locality strays in our locality as a part of sheer misadventure. Like howling hordes of Hunns they charge at the stranger. The intruder tucks his/her tail between the legs & run.

Yossie, oh maan... I was really touched by your story...

Cool, I'm glad! I shall!!

I know whatchya mean. My aunt & uncle, here, have a dog (local Desi one) and a german shep....and I nickname Chempi (the Desi one), "windshield wiper" cuz her tail wags like so...REALLY CUTE!! Both of them are so affectionate and lovable.

I've been a witness to that too..."breed" discrimination. I don't like it.

I used to give prasad/milk to an abandoned puppy in Kerala, when I was in Kottakkal. Saw it maybe for (2) more days, then never again.

Have something strange & corny to confess...arhem...everytime I pass by stray animals, especially dogs and cats, I close my eyes momentarily, put my right hand across my chest, pray that they'll be alright when I can't help them. they're special too..


I'm sure that scared you at first...but it ended sweet!

jyotirmoy, cool!
Yah, seen that too in Bangalore..running full speed...They're so territorial.

This puppy and I crossed paths when I visited home in Jan '05. He was frail, tired and scared. Did the usual whistle, he wagged his tail so hard he almost fell, but was hesitant to come closer. People must have been cruel to him in the past. He eventually got near me and we played for a few minutes, gave him some biscuits (that I had bought for a relative's son) and took a couple of pictures.

It was an instant bond and it took effort to leave the him (or her) by the time my brother had finished filling fuel in his bike.

I wish we had stray dogs here in California! Actually (Akshually) I'm looking for some animal shelter nearby so I can play with dogs that have no company at all.

-Mani

awe..... i'm sure you made the puppy's day!! Nice pics, esp. the 2nd one. I've taken quite a few pics too.

It irks me when I see some kids/even adults throw sticks or stones at them when they aren't doing anything. I sometimes have a word or two with them when I see them do that

That'll probably be the first shock when I get back to states this Fall.

Calif, i'm sure, has many animal shelters. Maybe even check out PETA's website? http://www.peta.org/

I guess you can say that I’ve tried my best to eradicate bad memories of dogs chasing or barking at me. I went ahead the same path this morning minutes before 6am with my uncle, who always carries a cane in his right hand and a baseball hat on his graying head to shelter his face from the looming burning sunrays. Behind me, the sun was teasing its way up the sky through hills yonder. So cool and refreshing the air felt on my face as I walked pass one of the wild jasmine bushes.

I had forgotten what it felt like to walk carefree, not fearing accidental bites from threatened dogs. I trembled as I had crossed the second bend of the road, where only a few days ago, (4) dogs had detained me. I kept repeating to myself, “I’m not scared! I’m not scared!” You know, the dogs instinctively can smell fear. To ease my mind, I remembered the heart-warming dog stories other people had generously shared with me. I trudged forward step by step towards the city, but instead of seeing (4) dogs; I saw (2) baby snakes lying dead in the middle of road. Of all the times I have been in India since 2004 from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, silently wishing to see snakes au natural, my first encounter was with (2) dead ones. So sad was I as I passed them by. Over (600) types of snakes they say, and only half a dozen or so are poisonous here. I wondered which type of snakes they were.

Ahh…city roads finally! Did I mention that boundary of our realm is guarded by about (2) dozen dogs? I had conveniently forgotten that piece of information subconsciously as we walked by them. The dogs here aren’t your ordinary sheep shepherds. They marshal cows and buffaloes.

It was lovely to see so many smiles and hear “Ram!” or “Narmade!” instead of the usual “Namaste!” in the morning. Practically the entire Ghat was awake. You could virtually count how many mandhirs (temples) you are passing, blindfolded, by listening to the lyrical chanting from each of them. Om Jaya Jagadeesha Hare… Ragupathi Raghava Raja Ram… Om Bhurbhuvah swah… and many more aartis, bhajans, mantras, and shlokas led us to the main part of the Ghat, where the chai wallas, subji wallas, and pooja wallas were setting up their stalls for the long day ahead.

Vilwa fruit and leaves, so auspicious to Lord Shiva, were on display at every nook and corner of the street. A mother and her two children getting down from the 3-wheel man-rickshaw to board the morning train to perhaps Nagpur. The aromas from the namkeen and sweetmeat shops along with the freshly laden cow dung were intertwined, as we crossed the railroad tracks to another Ghat. After a stretch, we stopped to return back. There, high up above, huge bee hives resembling flying saucers. They hung on the branches of the tall Vilwa tree, waiting for the local villagers to smoke, and steal their honey.

We took the back way entrance to our village, saying hello to the residents on their way to the market to sell their fresh vegetables wholesale. School seemed to be closed, as we didn’t see any kids in uniform. We did however; see avid cricketers, playing in the empty field by the railroad tracks. The bang sounds, “out”, and laughter were heard as we watched them for a little while before returning home to pet the newly born, adorable, huggable gray-eyed calf.

......a little reassurance........I don't think it's strange or corny at all, and I'm not saying another word

But at least you'd given some love and got some in return.......Yes, I can just imagine how you must have felt when you saw 'your' dog by the road side. Really so sad

[quote][What on earth is it about us that makes us irresistable to dogs? ---apart, perhaps, from the odd biscuit/QUOTE].......and the other side of the coin.......Dogs so irresistible to us? (Well, quite a lot of us ackshually...... )

Can we have a picture to back up your claim of grey-eyed calf being adorable and huggable? Pleasant writing! I witnessed a cow giving birth right in my backyard 20 odd years ago. It was terrifying, but seeing the calf stumble, fall, be cleaned up by the mother is as good as it gets.
Do you also get to drink fresh milk straight from the cows/buffaloes in your relative's farm?
Do people actually use Narmade to wish just as they would with Namaste?

my fingers were twitching so much to edit that part of my post....hehe...i'm glad i have company

Of course you can have a pic...as soon as I upload the pics. I took many! heee... i have stories about cows too ..they're really funny animals!

yes, we do get fresh milk from the cows. We first allow the calves to drink as much as they need, and whatever is left is what we take. There isn't much, but it's wonderful. The buffalo milk goes to the caretaker of the cows and buffaloes.

Yes, they do. It's actually funny how I learned how they greet you. When I used to greet the local villagers initially with just "Namaste", I would keep scratching my head as if they misunderstood my greeting. They were calling me a different name, as if my name was Sita Ram or something...LOL! Then, my uncle corrected me and told me that that's the way they greet people here...saying "Ram", "Narmade ...Har" (Narmada's Shiva) or "Sita Ram"..rarely ever "Namaste."

and it seems in a temple in Nepal, my aunt tells me just now, that all ladies are addressed as "Parvathi" and men as "Shiva"...not "Namaste".