Genie at large

She was barely a week old when on a chilly December night, my son spotted her in the middle of the road. He was riding his bike and saw this pup squatting. A large SUV zoomed past over her. She was oblivious to what could have been her last day on this earth.

Son got down the bike, picked her up, gently covered her with his jacket and brought her home. The rest of our family discovered her the next day morning. She had appeared in our life like a Genie, so we named her Genie.

She then resembled a hedgehog, tiny and ball-shaped with lots of fur on her back. Her belly was hairless and smooth. Tiny bugs swarmed on her back - thousands of them. This was our first experience with such a small pup, so did not know how to get rid of the bugs. I foolishly put her under a tap and bathed her.

Genie started shivering. We got scared. I took her to a veterinary hospital run by an animal lovers' charity. With medication, she survived the ordeal.

As Genie grew she must have felt claustrophobic in our small apartment. We used to take her down to our common ground. However, there other dogs must have felt jealous of the prefered treatment being meted out to her as they would miss not a single opportunity to attack her.

Finally, we took her to my village near Surat.

Genie is a enjoying the freedom of fear-free world in my village.

Will write more about Genie later sometime.

Gate crashing at fashion parade

My foster mom and dad - Chhaya and Basant Rawat - decided to make us participate in a much-hyped dog show in Ahmedabad. 

Such shows are usually for the dogs 'owned' by the rich and the famous. Each participant dog was carefully groomed by the owner in all the necessary canine ettiquetes - when to growl, when to wag the tail, when to sit and how to bring back the ball or frisbee. 

Our mom and dad had got both of us - Durjan (Brown) and Suresh (White) - washed and brushed early in the morning that day. They also made us wear fancy chain and collar, which reminded us of the tie worn by young sales executives. 

At the fashion show held at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Stadium both the dog participants and their owners had turned out in their best attire and attitude. However notwithstanding their smart turnout and pedegree, when it came to grabbing attention, we stole the show. Our foster parents proudly paraded Durjan and Suresh unmindful of who won the 'Miss Ahmedabad' and 'Mr. Ahmedabad' titles among the 'watchdogs' and the 'lapdogs'. For once, we felt it was the day of us the 'underdogs'.

Mom, I miss you

(Golu and Julie)

I always waited for her eagerly. She would lie down and feed me and my sister, Julie,everytime she returned 'home'.  Sometimes, Julie and I would fight, but mostly we would feed on her peacefully. 

Mom and Julie are no more. They were crushed to death by a speeding car.  I wept and went hungry for many days. 

I was wailing by the side of the road when a man and his wife picked me up and took me to their home. Tears streamed down my eyes. The man and his wife gave me roti and milk. Later, they washed me too. I too was hit by the car and my hind leg was injured. The couple took me to a hospital where they bandaged my leg.

I am living in their house since then. I miss my mom and sis and sometimes break into sobs in the dead of the night.

I am waiting to be picked up

Your child will love me as much as I love your child. Walk with me, run with me and play with me.

You will find my cousins roaming the streets in your town. They also love you and your child. They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I say love is in the eyes of the beholder. Look at me and you will feel the love in my eyes.