A Day of the Dog.

A stray dog is a common sight in any street of any locality in our country. The stray dogs are orphans of the town or city and are socially worst placed - in comparison with the pet dogs. Pet dogs enjoy the best of life – food, shelter, health, security and affection.

Pet dogs have personalized names. The stray dog has none and can only envy and convey its displeasure by yelping and barking at the sight of a pet dog.

The pet dog might be one of an Alsatian Bull dog, a Dachshund, a Greyhound, a Labrador, a poodle, a Pekingese, a Pomeranian, a Spaniel, a Dalmatian, a Scotch terrier or a native cross-bred depending on, the affluence of the neighbourhood. Nobody bothers to maintain a genetic account for a mongrel.

As we walk out of our houses, we are bound to meet at least one stray dog on the street. It will be, either lazing on the road or playing the game of “catch my tail if I can” or sport a doleful look, at the world. Pays scant respect as we pass by.

Down the street we may see three or four dogs engaged in “I chase, you run” physical fitness regime. They don’t bother with your presence and simply skirt around to continue the drill, as long as there is no threat perception.

Sometimes, during the drill, they pause now and then to sniff, jostle and lick each other to exchange interesting titbits about the neighbourhood.

A street dog knows its precincts well – the garbage bins, a house hold offering morsels of leftovers or a tea-shop where crumbs of biscuits are shared by the customers.

The stray dog is street smart, knows the art of survival and if required rises to the occasion to defend its territorial sovereignty. A stranger in the street or a stray dog from another ‘stray dogdom’ is not looked upon kindly.

The moment a trespass is noticed, one of the dogs raises the alarm and other street dogs rush in to the conflict zone - from nearby lanes and streets. That single dog’s call is like the sounding of a conch shell to signal the start of war, in ancient times.

They gang up, growl, snarl and bark menacingly at the intruder to the locality – growl and snarl as accompaniments to the bark. The facial expression of barred teeth, salivating mouth, stance and sparring reveals the degree of frenzy.  The pitch rises to feverish levels depending on the mood of the pack and the attitude of the intruder.

The intruding stray dog, if weak, stands its ground for a few barks, changes vocal gears to emit growls and the while withdrawing slowly from the scene of conflict and the local pack. Accepting de facto defeat, it runs away into another lane or by-lane.

If little stronger, the barking and growling match goes on for some time. Running out of steam, then it does a volte face in one of these ways – (1) beware of a possible chase up to the end of the street, it gradually lowers pitch, shifts ground and keeping its tail tucked in between the legs crosses over to the neutral territory. (2) To end the dispute quickly, turns turtle on the ground, raises its legs skyward, in abject surrender. (3) Puts up with some sporadic barking from the defenders and waits for them to loose interest in further discussions.

If the intruding dog is a daredevil, it matches bark for bark, growl for growl all the while aping the facial expressions of the defending pack. In this way it presents its view on the territorial dispute, justifying its right to trespass.

The din - they are not trained or expert singers, raised by male and female barkers continue to reverberate for some time. Unable to bear with the noise, a passer-by takes matters in to his hands, throws a stick or a stone at the howling pack.

Like an anchor of a 24 X 7 TV news channel announcing a short commercial break, the lead singer cum conductor of the orchestra, freezes the baton in mid-air and the barking stops.

Accustomed to stereo music, the human beings might find the chorus of the dogs - a little harsh on the ear drums. But these dogs care a wag for this human discomfort as they have an axe to grind- they are not cared for and why they should do so. Besides this apathy, these human beings made use of every available opportunity to shoo them out of vicinity.

The stray dogs have a feeling that they are a misunderstood lot. Whenever they get close to a human being, it is only as a ‘dogwill’ gesture to extend a paw in friendship. Sniffing or licking is the mode of communicating their desire, to the humans. They are anguished when the humans give the cold shoulder, due to fear of dog bites and rabies.

If they only could speak, they might have conveyed as much, to any one afraid of their friendly approaches. They wonder why the human beings do not put faith by their own adages “barking dogs don’t bite”.

Probably, in every assembly they might be discussing this matter of mistrust agitatedly. They might feel let down by the Creator - for not willing to reach the last mile and endow them with   the faculty of speech.

Then it might have been easier for them, like politicians, to counter the adage “barking dogs don’t bite”, in case one of their clan violates the saying and actually approaches with an intent to cause harm, by simply saying “I misunderstood it” or “I misinterpreted it” or “I  was misunderstood”

Alas! No one interviews them and they doubt, even if, any body gives a damn to a dog’s view. They are resigned to the fate of ‘dog days’ and ‘dog wars’.

The human beings in turn have an appeal to make to the Creator – provide us with a means to communicate with the stray dog that its bite is painful and needs visits to a doctor, not the veterinary kind.

At the end of the day, the street dog lies down in its favourite corner.  It pauses briefly to take pity on the well cared for pet dogs, who are kept chained almost for 24 x 7,let free inside the compound walls during nights and taken out for fresh air & to take care of the nature’s calls. In comparison it is placed in a better position – unlimited independence.

As the night wears on, the out look changes –about the shooing humanity and the pet dogs. It starts to bark loudly to announce and alert the sleeping house holds that a stranger has just entered the street – self appointed security patrol. It does it for its own safety or out of love for the uncaring humanity is a mute point amidst the cacophony that is sure to follow soon.

Here a word about the loyalty of the canines, pet or otherwise, has to be mentioned – not even a single bark goes unanswered. They raise their collective barks in unison while performing the duties of a sentry.

To show that they have nothing personal against the street dog, the pet dogs also join the chorus, echoing the warning sounded by the street dog. This symphony orchestra plays on till such time some one comes out and investigates the cause of the commotion.

When everything is back to normal, the street dog and the pet dogs resume their interrupted slumbers to get ready for another of those dog days.