--by Avantika Jhunjhunwala, Class IX
“I
talk to him all the time and in a way, he replies,”
says Utsav Maskey, a Plus
Two student.
“I
feel like he cares for me and that gives me a really good feeling. He’s attii (very) obedient and I like that.” Maskey, here, is not talking about
any human but rather his five-year old dog.
For
as long as humankind has sought companionship and protection, dogs have been
the
animals of choice. Dogs love you unconditionally. They don’t care how fat or
thin you are.
They’re not racists. They could care less what you’re wearing or not wearing.
As long as you
love them, dogs will love you back. And oftentimes, even if you neglect and
mistreat them, their love does not disappear.
Sashakta
Thapa, a 15-year old who owns three dogs, says, “When there’s something I can’t
tell anyone, I say it to my dogs.” Dogs, for most pet owners, are often such
sounding boards.
They aren’t judgmental and will not think less of you for anything. “After I’m
done, they come
near me to make me feel good,” says Thapa.
These
canines have qualities that are often difficult to find in humans–the way they
gently
cuddle up when you’re quiet, that look of longing they give when you leave
them, the way they
wag their tails when they see you returning and the manner in which they’re
ready to bite off
anyone’s heads if they so much as touch you wrong.
Street dogs and mixed-breeds can be
just as faithful. 
It is
strange, then, even after all this warmth, that people use the term “kukkur” to
cause offense. Dogs are among the most loyal and faithful creatures on earth
and sometimes, the way people treat them is extremely inhuman. They are kicked,
beaten and even hacked with knives. However, they return time and again, unable
to let go of their masters. The streets of Kathmandu are often host to dead
bodies of street dogs, sometimes in the middle of the street, crushed
ruthlessly by vehicles, and no one can be bothered to even pick up the carcass
and set it aside. That really doesn’t seem the best way to treat your best
friends.
Most
people favour pure-breeds but the qualities that make dogs attractive are not
simply limited to these expensive canines. Street dogs and mixed-breeds can be
just as faithful. Rather than breeding dogs, might it not serve better to pick
a dog from the streets and bring it home? Give it food, shelter and some love
instead of throwing stones at it.
The
shared history of humans and canines go back a long way, almost 20,000 years
ago wen
wolves and wild dogs were first domesticated by early man. Since then, an
inexplicable bond
has developed between the species. This bond is not something that is
contingent. It is a bond
that seemingly transcends boundaries and is often very difficult to explain
away. A German
shepherd, “Capitan,” ran away after the death of his Argentinian master Miguel
Guzman in
2006 and went directly to Guzman’s grave. He has not left the grave for six
years and the staff of the cemetery are now feeding and taking care of the dog.
According to Veronica, Guzman’s widow, no one had ever taken Capitan to the
grave and so, it remains a mystery how the
German
shepherd managed to find his owner’s resting place.
When
hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, Omar Eduardo Rivera, who is
blind,
was at his desk, working with his dog seeing-eye dog, Dorado. Rivera knew he
wouldn’t make
it so he let Dorado go free, ordering him to flee. The dog, swept downstairs by
the crowd,
returned for his master and with the help of another co-worker, managed to get
Rivera to
safety.
There
are countless such examples. The relationship between dogs and their owners is
often difficult to comprehend. Brought in as pets, they end up becoming best
friends and family members. The death of a dog is a tragic, heartbreaking
affair. Despite the long history we share, humans can be quite callous towards
our companion species. It really all comes down to how you should treat a being
that loves you more than they love themselves.
This article was written during the Feature
Writing Workshop by VENT! on 15, 16, 22, 23 December, 2012.
