“Come here, Choti,” urged the kindly animal shelter caretaker doling out glucose biscuits from a tin can to the prancing dogs around him. “Don’t you want one?”
Little Choti wagged her tail and struggled to keep pace with her taller peers, dragging her deformed hind legs along the concrete floor.
The assorted puppies in a nearby enclosure let out shrill yelps, demanding their share of treats. Mom turned her attention to the clamoring curs who jumped up and licked her fingers through the iron grates. “Let me out of here!” they all seemed to say, while a baby buffalo and a white calf calmly chewed cud and surveyed the din from their side of the corral.
A lot of people I know may not classify a visit to an animal shelter as the ideal treat on one's birthday, but mom is the kind of person who’d rather be cooing at canines and domestic animals than indulge in retail therapy at the closest mall. Therefore, when her sister-in-law asked her if she would like to accompany her to the CUPA shelter in Hebbal to pick a new member for her family, mom jumped into the car with as much excitement and giddy anticipation as the devout reserve for a place of worship.
As they alighted from the car, a welcoming party ran up to greet them, gently poking their wet muzzles into the bag mom was carrying, and sniffing out the cookies she had brought them.
“Hello,” she said, stretching her palm out in acquaintance. Mom was duly rewarded with a light lick and a tail wag as the canine committee accompanied the visitors inside the complex.
“We don’t have any purebred dogs. OK?” warned the supervisor, leading the humans to the puppy pit. About 20 fluff balls of assorted sizes and colors huddled together, some on a dog bed, a few on the wet floor, amid empty steel bowls and puddles of urine, poop and vomit.
Palm-sized puppies slept in cages. Piled one on top of the other, they rooted against their littermates for warmth. Month-old strays of various shades of brown and black looked at the visitors briefly before yawning and settling back for a nap. “We don’t know anything about these pups, so there’s a 50-50 chance that they might not make it,” explained the person in charge, urging potential adopters toward hardier, older pups.
Presented with an array of choices, each one as adorable as the next, the humans stood in front of the kennel surveying the puppies. “Remember, they choose you,” mom recalled reading somewhere.
As she stood in front of the enclosure thinking about the day she brought me home from a similar place, a gangly puppy with lopsided ears threw himself against the yellow bars of his enclosure, clawing to get out. Furiously wagging his tail, he lunged for a biscuit that mom held out, toppling his companions who were similarly begging for treats and attention.
“He’s pretty cute,” the women decided, watching the five-month-old’s antics. He wasn’t the best-looking pup of the lot, neither was he the most graceful, but he possessed a certain charm that convinced mom’s sister-in-law to bring him home.
“What do you think, Terr?” asked mom as I greeted the new family member on arrival. The puppy cowered and stuck his tail between his legs as I licked him on the nose.
Relax, little one. You’re safe and in a loving home now.
Happy rebirth day! May your new life be markedly different from the one you left behind.
25 comments:
How cool!! Now I know what you meant by a great day in your email :)
Mom is wonderful! Nice of Terri to welcome the new one.
Hope the new puppy starts a blog soon!
Veena
Sands, it was a happy day, followed by two kinds of cake puppy's mom brought over in the evening.
Veena, new puppy's mom is an excellent writer. You never know ;)
good on you for doing that!!!! congrats ..Srikanth
dad, are you fed up of mom's nagging yet?
Srikanth, kudos to puppy's mom for not caving in and shelling out big bucks for a fancy breed. Mutts are equally loving.
ra, obviously mom's not very good at this nagging business :)
Awwwww! They make my day, dogs! Cheers :)
Awwwww. Waiting for the nagging to turn fruitful!
Can't wait to see the new pup! Visited the animal shelter recently to look for Pikey and there were so many cute balls of fur, it would've been hard to decide on one had I been looking! Good luck to your sis-in-law for breaking it in.
How lovely! And belated b'day wishes.
If your mom hasn't read Marley and Me by now, please ask her to - it's a book after her own heart.
ano, mom was a maudlin mess while reading Marley & Me. She couldn't stop crying, and kept hugging me for some reason.
Muser, I thought of you and DS when I peeked in on the cattery. Mewling little balls of fur said, "Take me home, please!" I'm sorry about Pikey. For me, it's almost like losing a child.
dipali, she needs practice.
Nishchita, thanks for stopping by.
Hey, I dont know if you saw this story in DNA that appeared sometime back, this might be a good place for you or your friends if you are looking to adopt dogs:
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/slideshow_animal-shelter_1268360
The emaciated St. Bernard had me in tears. Some people need to be soundly thrashed I think.
Ron, pure-bred puppies cost a fortune, so these ex-owners obviously have a lot of disposable income. It looks like this animal shelter and the one we went to are on the same campus. Hey, anybody looking to adopt a homeless dog/cat? Mom would love to come along for the ride.
Amazing writing style! Im so impressed. Im reading all your posts. Now in Feb 2008 :) I just love your style of writing from Terri's viewpoint
They do. While the reporter was at the shelter for this story, this guy apparantly came to abandon his fifth dog. Golden retriever. He told the reporter that he likes them when they are pups but gets tired of them once they grow up so he leaves them at the shelter!!!
How do these shelters decide which dogs to take in, the roads are filled with stray dogs esp. in Bangalore.
Some dogs have been left also because owners couldnt handle them after growing up, arent there dog care centers (or whatever it is called) as in US which can train these dogs?
Surely if you can afford all that money on a pure bred, you can also afford these centers for training them?
Sachita, shelters usually take in dogs that have been turned in. Due to financial and spatial constraints they don't go out of the way looking for homeless strays.
Ron, wow, I wonder if the rich guy treats his sexual partners also the same way?
Doli, thank you, thank you. Praise is always welcome and much appreciated.
Since Mom seems to be lacking in nagging prowess, I'm sending nagging vibes via the internet.
Animal shelters, esp. ones in India leave me feeling all torn up because I have to pick one (or two) and leave the rest behind.
- DS (tapping foot impatiently for puppy and Terri photos)
Totally understand the sentiment that the dog chooses you - not the other way around.
We initially went to the shelter to adopt a lab on which we had done loads of research about temperament,etc, but came home with a dalmation-mutt instead! When Rummy looked up to me from his cage, there was no choice - he was the one! That he turned out to be a totally insane dog who probably does not even know he is a dog in the first place is a story for another day!
cluelessness, he sounds like Marley. You should write about him.
DS, shelters aren't the most pleasant or relaxing places to visit, but I found so many attractive college girls volunteering at this shelter that I felt the animals were in good hands.
Aww - look at those ears! He should have no trouble keeping dry when it rains. Has he been christened yet?
-DS
So happy, haven't read your blog in a while! I cried like a little girl during Marley and ME, Marley resembled New Castle soo much. Happy to read this blog! belated happy birthday!
the picture is so sweet!
Very very cute, Terri's Mom! Good luck raising him :-)!
Chitra, he's not my dog. He lives next door. I am dogless for now and not enjoying this new found status.
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