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Aradhika Sharma
Two female dogs, sitting under a tree, were panting and exchanging news.
Dog-Gone
Rani: Did you hear, sister… Sheroo of Sector 18 died yesterday?
Bindu: Oho! That’s terrible news. He was such a gentle dog, always wagging his tail at everyone. Did a vehicle run him over or something?
Rani: Arre, nahin! The poor chap contracted rabies. It caused inflammation of the brain and, as a result, he ran riot, biting and attacking people.
Bindu: Very sad, but fallout of such incidents is that our whole biradari gets blamed. Humans behave as if our whole community is mad and dangerous.
Rani: Well, they do it with their own human groups too — label the whole community dangerous because of a few crazy, misguided terrorists. That’s how humans are, aren’t they?
Bindu: I guess so.
Barking up the wrong tree!
Bindu: The Municipal Corporation’s dog neutering body notched Kaloo’s ear again.
Rani: That’s the third time they’ve picked him up to ‘neuter’ him. At this rate, he’ll be without an ear soon. It’s ridiculous!
Bindu: Well, he’s a simpleton and gets trapped easily. The tough, smart street dogs get away and mutts like Kaloo keep getting caught and notched.
Rani: These humans better upgrade their neutering and sterilising programmes for dogs. Their inefficiency is making us, poor females suffer.
Bindu: Hain? How does their inefficiency affect us?
Rani: Sister, aren’t we getting pregnant every season because of those un-notched dogs? Plus, who wants unwanted attention from male dogs the entire time one is in heat? Wish I could walk in to a clinic to get myself sterilised.
Bindu: Yes, the only humane, legal and scientific way of dealing with us is to get us vaccinated and sterilised under Animal Birth Control Programme (ABC).
Rani: Humans ought to make more dogged efforts!
Every dog has his day
Rani: The folks in house number 248 in my street are horrible people!
Bindu: Did they hurl a stone at you? Did they kick you?
Rani: No, although they do that all the time... Yesterday, they gathered some residents from the street and came to quarrel with the nice lady who feeds us and takes us to the vet when we’re sick. They want her to stop doing all that.
Bindu: What business is it of theirs, anyway?
Rani: They feel that we all gather outside her gate at feeding times and create a nuisance for everyone on the street. They don’t realise that’s…
Bindu: They’re just being dogs in the manger!
Rani: Yes, they were hounding her till the nice lady explained to them that street dogs and their caretakers have rights and laws and there is no law that prohibits feeding of street animals. Apparently, citizens who choose to do so are, in fact, performing a duty cast upon them by the Constitution of India. Then they left with their tail between their legs.
Bindu: They should learn to let sleeping dogs lie!
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