Different post scheduled for #Foto Friday
While walking Buddy bright and early this morning, I saw a group of indie dogs who came and chased us. They were following their natural instinct : being territorial and looking for food. My natural instinct was to aid my boy and then feed those dogs, in that order. Obviously the end result was satisfactory. But it prompted me to post the below pictures. One thing I noticed in these dogs. They are either very friendly with humans, or are terribly scared. There is no middle ground. The former are of course easier to handle. The latter take some effort before they start trusting you. So here’s to the canines who have let me feed them!Note: Most of the images were taken while walking Buddy, holding a phone in one hand and managing a high energy dog is not easy- therefore the image quality may not be the best in many cases.Image gallery
 |  |
| This guy lived in our old neighbourhood. He practically raised a pup on his own. He never got along with Buddy (and vice versa) but very friendly with humans overall. | This pack of dogs used to live across the street from where we lived in our old neighbourhood. I used to call them the Gang of Wassypur– after the Bollywood movie with the same name. Very friendly chaps, of course a different story when it came to Buddy. |
 |  |
| This shy male hangs around the main entrance of GKVK in North Bengaluru. | This beautiful male lives in Jakkur area of Bengaluru. I was visiting a friend’s place of work when I noticed him smelling my car. He must have picked up Buddy’s scent. Friendly with humans, but cautious around strangers. |
 |  |
| This old female was attacked viciously a few months ago, and her tail was almost ripped off. A chunk of flesh had been bitten off from her left hind leg, around the thigh. I crushed some antibiotic and vitamins in pieces of chicken, and hand fed her several times a day. She disappeared for a few weeks. I feared the worst, but she came back healthy and active as ever. | “Mauli” I typically do not name dogs. Because you know what they say: once you name them, you get emotionally attached to them. We were leaving our old neighbourhood when this guy was abandoned by the human family he used to live with. Alone and depressed, he would howl at midnight in pain. I used to go and talk to him, console him, and feed him. He never ate any food offered by others, with me, he was okay. A few weeks later, he returned to his element. |
See also
When Pictures are worth a thousand Hours : sorting and arranging challenge
Powered by Inline Related Posts
Not all stories have a good ending, unfortunately
 |  |
| Much to my regret, I could not save this female, Both her legs were shattered- probably she got hit by a car. By the time I could arrange for medical aid for her, it was March 2020- peak lockdown time, and later it was too late. She was gone | This happy go lucky guy was Buddy’s friend, and very high energy. I had to chase him away at times! One fine day, he disappeared forever. |
 |  |
| This guy was infected with pavro. I had just started cultivating trust with him- when one fine day, he was gone. | We were looking to get this high energy, friendly pup adopted. One day, she was run over by a car. |
Background: How I began feeding Street Dogs
I have always been an animal lover, and been friendly with dogs. (The reverse wasn’t true in some cases). Back in 2011, we lived in Gurugram.One fine winter morning, outside the main entrance of our apartment building,there came an old, mangy, tired dog.He just showed up, and found a place to rest in a grassy patch near a telephone pole. I was leaving for work, and seeing this dog, something told me to help him. I pulled my car to the side of the road, walked to a nearby store, and bought a pack of biscuits. Parle G. Not the best nutrition for the canines, but certainly one that could save the day. I offered him some biscuits – the entire pack of 10 or 12, rather. He ate one, and went to sleep. That evening as I returned from work, I found him sleeping in that very area. I feared for the worst, but hearing the sound of my car, he woke up, and wagged his tail.That was a good sign! My wife was scared of dogs back then, she protested, but finally relented. Dinner for the dog was some milk and rotis.
They move on to a better place
The guy not only survived, but he became a healthy, active and burly chap who later even found a girlfriend. One fine day, he migrated away. I recall seeing him in a different neighborhood a few months later. Since that day, when a dog I feed has disappeared, I believe that it has moved on to a better place. Takes the pain and disappointment of losing them to an extent.About this blog post
This post was written as a part of the #bloggingchallenge for February 2022 under the theme #FotoFriday. This post is a picture collage of street dogs who have let me feed them. These pictures are taken by me in Bengaluru and other cities over the past several years.Word count: 900. Time taken : 1 hour 45 minutes (began reminiscing as I looked at the old pictures)
This post was updated on 2022-06-04
