Some day in May/June 1998:
It was a sunny morning. My sister, cousin and I were in the balcony looking at a lady in her late twenties or her early thirties. It was a surprise call from our neighbour. Her son, who was probably 8 years old, was with her and they were both admiring the pups at my home.
“My son would like to play with them”, she was telling us.
“Can you bring them to my home?”, she added.
A sparkle of joy spread through us as we knew that the pups were going to be adopted and they would be living a happy life thereafter.
The pups were given. My cousin and sister did a good job of giving instructions on what to feed the pups. They were still drinking milk.
That evening, the neighbour called us again.
“The pups have made my house dirty. Please take them away”
We didn’t know what she was expecting from a pup, let alone animals. She was probably expecting a miracle from the pups. We never heard a word from her again. The pups were at my house again. They were in a better place!!!
Ten years later:
December 2008
“Take it away!”, the guy said. It wasn’t a request. It was an order. There was harshness in his voice. He spoke in a tone that spoke of his desire to let us know that he is a rowdy. The sun was setting fast and darkness was already prevailing in that vibrant but lonely street.
I looked at the innocent harmless pup in the road. It was more than two months old and was just developing teeth.
“It is very naughty”, the guy told us earlier that evening.
The last time I saw the pup was two months before that night. A lady had adopted it. The pup was tiny and innocent and it still was innocent that evening. And now, the lady was out of station and her brother was facing us.
“It is biting everyone here”, the guy complained
Ganesh, a member of TAGS, was also with me. He went, took the pup and brought it near us.
“Take it away!”, he again ordered.
“People like you should take care of the pup. How can you just abandon it?”
He looked at me as if I had made a big mistake.
“You take it!”, he said. He made me look as if we were forcing them into trouble.
“The pup is growing and so is its teeth. As it’s teeth gets bigger, it will tend to bite anything it sees, even humans”, I started explaining. Ganesh was helping me with showing him the teeth of the pup.
The guy gave a “you can’t cheat me” look and he adamantly refused.
“We would like to speak to the lady who adopted the pup”, Ganesh requested.
“I am in charge of the house now. I am her brother. You can tell me everything”.
After a while, he obliged to the request and within minutes, I was speaking to a lady over the phone.
“Please take away the pup. We don’t want it”, she echoed the voice of her brother.
I was frustrated when I heard it. I was told that the lady had adopted the pup out of her own will. And now she wants us to take it back. After a few minutes speaking to her over the phone, I knew it would be fruitless.
“Alright. What do you say if we vaccinate the pup and bring it back here?”, I asked over the phone.
“Oh? Injection?”, the lady thought for a while and then continued, “Ok. We will take it back”.
I gave the phone back to her brother, who after hanging up the phone, looked like a kid who had just got a candy he requested.
Ganesh held the pup and we both drove out of that place. I knew for good that I should never bring that pup back to that place again. It needed a better place. If that lady wants vaccination to be done, she probably would want us to take care of all the medical expenses in the future. Moreover, with that guy around, it was not a safe place for the pup. It did get a better home. It is now safe and lives a happy and luxurious life.
People never change whether they are educated or not!
P.S: A special thanks to Karthikeyan for helping the pup.
