Unconditional love

The Mugalur Quintet share their birthday with a famous actor. Dolly, the matron kept a wary watch on her litter even chastising Jesse the father when she thought he was getting a bit rough with the pups. News soon spread and there was such a demand for the pups. My entry into the village has brought about two significant changes in the attitude of the villagers- everyone wanted a pup and most houses started sporting a flowering plant in the front yard. Dolly is a handsome bitch and she really had captured the imagination of the villagers. Soon the pups were more than a handful, literally and metaphorically,and were one too many for the two of us to handle. With a heavy heart and careful consideration of the would be owners, they were given away. One went to Bangalore, one to Hosur, one to Denkanikota and two remained in the village. Chintu, the eldest (second from left) who found a new home with the President of the local Panchayat was well cared for after an initial over-dose of worm medicine which killed her appetite. More trouble came four months later.

The family- me, my wife and the two dogs- was on a stroll on the banks of the neighbouring lake when Jesse suddenly took off chasing an imaginary alien across the road. A truck trundled by and seconds later we heard a very loud yelp. Fearing the worst I ran but Jesse came bounding back but I kept wondering about the yelp. Soon, the mystery was solved. Chintu’s owner came home carrying a bleeding Chintu. The truck had run over her right fore leg and whatever that remained of the leg didn’t look good. I advised them to rush Chintu to a vet hospital. To find a vet on a Sunday evening in the countryside….well, less said the better.

After an uneasy night, I went to enquire about Chintu early next morning. She was lying in the courtyard, half-dead, a blood-soaked bandage ( Hindi Film style) on what was left of her fore paw, surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers, none daring even to touch her. Poor thing, must have lost so much blood that she looked barely alive. I bent down and went close to kiss her. Lo and behold, she found sufficient strength to lift her good paw and place it on my cheek. It was an incredibly touching gesture and her unconditional love had tears streaming down my cheek. The on-lookers were stunned by her gesture and a murmur started going around. The pup seemed to draw strength from my touch and soon wriggled on her back to let me stroke her belly. Even as days old pup she used to love that. I did a quick Reiki on her and left hoping for the best.

The good news is she did recover and apart from a slightly twisted paw shows no signs or ill-effects of the accident. There is a very strange reason why I don’t go to see her often. She simply goes berserk if she sees me. She will try to climb on to me and then jump. I fear she might injure herself again if she lands on the misshapen paw. Yet, when I leave, she will not come beyond the imaginary compound of that house!

One can say so many things, like how a dog never forgets or about the loyalty of these creatures. True, I was the ‘mid-wife’ who delivered the pup and the first smell she smelt was mine. Yet, that one gesture of hers on that day, that one act of declaration of love is beyond description and explanation. Even now, when I talk about it, I can’t prevent the lump in my throat. The paw on my cheek remains firmly etched – burnt into my cheek and into my memory.