How man can be dog's worst enemy
Septuagenarian Padmavathy's animal shelter is hidden away in the Chennai suburb of Tambaram, its air reeks of assorted animal habitation, its kitten and dogs almost outgrowing the place in good health. And yet, the atmosphere remains obstinately cheerful; walls and perches are enveloped in pretty creepers, flowers and lush foliage. Padmavathy and her husband have not turned away a single injured, traumatised and needy stray in the 15 years that they have been servicing. Their organisation, The Animal Welfare and Protection Trust (AWPT), continues to be fuelled by the drive that started it - the horrific killing of homeless dogs by the Chennai Corporation and their collective vow to never witness such barbarism again.
"Of course we need funds," she says sheepishly, tube feeding a palm-sized kitten, with two slightly larger ones clawing into the threads of her sari on the lap.
Such heart-warming encounters instantly make the day for animal lovers like me. Those like Yulin as effortlessly suck the hope out my mind and spirit. When I come across a headline that reads, "China is literally selling animal cruelty as a fashion trend", I'm reminded that we, as a tribe, have come far away from any sort of fair redemption, lacking respect - leave alone - compassion, at the most fundamental level for creatures we share the planet with. Obviously, at more superlative levels, this includes fellow humans.
But why go that many miles away for reminders. Two days ago, India Today exposed the savageness a few dog owners - that's right, grown men you'd imagine to harbour love for, feed, befriend and safeguard their pets - were unabashedly displaying for the world to see in Delhi-NCR. Keeping their pit bulls, bull dogs, and Indian mastiffs caged and famished for days together, their ears and tails chopped off, these dog owners literally stimulate them to carnage, in bloody dog fights that are apparently a tradition of entertainment for their rich, suburban demographic.
As the dogs are unleashed at each other, growling, biting and clawing - sometimes to a kill - large sums of money exchanges hands in tight-lipped bets, after which the bloody, heart-wrenching photos of the "winning" canines are posted on Facebook as symbols of pride. There's a high chance of course that these animals may be nearing death after that intense violence and trauma, only perhaps a little later than the ones that lose; the fate of those is immediate; they are reportedly drowned in canals with chains tied to them.
What sort of monsters are we living amongst? Or it is some of our socio-economic position that injects this strange ability to be mindlessly vicious? In another corner of Delhi, a 61-year-old rag picker was being written about by us for looking after and feeding close to 400 stray dogs.
May be when you have little to lose, you become more capable of compassion, and less of arrogance.
It cracks me up to think that we've had to employ young, able-limbed sniffer dogs to guard our tigers against relentless poachers in seven of our most important wildlife zones. What an ego-buster.
In our centuries of high-handedness with nature, we've grown delusional enough to believe that we will be the last ones to perish. The reality though reminds me of the pale grave-diggers from Haider's "So Jao" - digging away and waiting to die.