THE LIFE OF STRAY DOGS

SHARMILA CHETTRI Animal Rights Activist People For Animals - Sikkim

Let's start with their name, oh pardon me, they don't have a name, some call them strays, a dirty, filthy creature, "BHATUWA" in our local language or whatever they wish.

A stray dog’s days starts off usually with a bad gesture such as people throwing stones at them or even water, in some cases, hot boiling water as they unknowingly spend their nights in the areas they find safe or just a place that provides them shelter. Running away from the abuse, they start looking for something to eat in the garbage yard, but it's never easy for them to fill their empty stomachs. Starving strays fight with their own to grab a bite of leftovers, but that's a life for them- Survival of the fittest.

However, every now and then they meet kind good humans too, who feed them some good amount of food and biscuits. They shower love to them but not all days are good. There are days where they are chased away when they are in need of medical assistance with wounds and maggots. When chased away by people, they have to hide in filthy drains, all for sustaining life. They don't understand the hatred of humans towards them.

Contrarily, pedigree dogs, who are the same creatures like are given good food, love, companionship, which our street furries are deprived of. Humans always choose breed pups over our Indies, and the Indie pups who are left abandoned on the streets have to suffer their whole lives.

What humans can't see is that these dogs are all the same. The love of a dog is unconditional, be it your pet or a stray. Show them kindness and love once and they will be grateful to you for as long as they live.

Harsh winter is  a living hell for the strays. They are covered up with each other while the fortunate ones are covered with  blankets, cuddling with their owners. Summers too are not easy for them as they have to search for water and in the absence they have to drink water from the drains crossing highways, risking their lives.

Sometimes heinous crimes and atrocities are also acted out on them. For example, the recent case of shooting a stray dog at Kazi road, Gangtok. The dog was shot in a broad day light! Yet, there was no single witness to speak up in the incident. They have to take shelter under cars and sometimes they are crushed over which costs them their lives.

If we can shower so much love to our pets, why not strays? Why this inequality in love for dogs?

Motherhood is a birth right of every biologically producing being but these strays don't even have the liberty to reproduce or give birth as within days or month their puppies will be killed by vehicles/animal cruelty or die of hunger and the mother dog can't even express her sorrow and grief when they see their child being killed. If it was for humans they would have gone into depression and thousands of people would have come demanding justice and showing sympathy but who would sympathise with them?

Even if you can't adopt them, maybe you can begin your act of kindness by not harming them—perhaps by feeding them every now and then. And if and when your love for them grows, maybe you will give them shelter and, with time, a home. Maybe some people will read this and change their attitude, but for now, I leave it up to just ‘maybe?’