'Living in an independent house has its set of joys and sorrows.' So went the general opinion about people who preferred other housing schemes such as flat system in a building. But my parents had a different view to it. My mother loved to have a garden, and that too a well maintained one; my father saw to its cleanliness besides watering the plants. My sister and I would be of help only occasionally during vacations in trimming the plants, tilling the soil and getting the compost pit ready. But together, it made the effort worth it when the whole family enjoyed in the company of the small lap of nature; which included not just plants and trees but also animals, birds and bees.
It is quite natural that due to the garden, we had quite a few animal visitors. Dogs would come to the house to enjoy the cool shade of trees in summer, dig earth in winters to enjoy the warmth and give birth to puppies in the rainy season. Cats were too proud to do anything in the garden; they preferred to be indoors commanding our full attention. Squirrels too found the surrounding conducive for jumping from tree to tree and eating tender buds and ripe fruits. The birds would visit the small container of water (that my mother ensured to keep full with fresh water) to either drink water from it or have an elegant bath in it by spreading their wings and flapping it till some of their friends kept a watch for danger which existed in the form of our cats. And not to forget the bees, they had also found a niche for building their own understanding of a home ie the honeycomb. At night or early morning, the mongoose family also roamed the garden and gave us a glimpse into their own world.
This all suffices for the ideal description of our family garden and our love for animals and how together we all stayed in perfect harmony. But one day, we had seven additional sweet little guests. The dog had given birth to seven puppies; all precious and tender. We were overjoyed and ecstatic ! Our parents warned us not to be too involved for they were stray and would live by the laws of nature. Indeed the average ten year old life of an Indian stray dog is full of struggle and stressful.
However, my attention was caught by an ugly looking though very healthy male pup. It was quite boisterous and active. Had it been good looking, it would have made a good home for itself. But God had other things in store for him. As most of the puppies perish before they complete their first five months, nature was no good to this set too. The ugly looking pup had become more ugly due to malnutrition and all his brothers and sisters had died too as a result of eating stale roadside meat. The male pup had survived the food poisoning but had become weak as a result. To add more to misery, one evening, it came with a profusely bleeding jaw; one could see that it was very hurt and would not survive the night. It did not allow us anywhere near for it would cry at the sound of human voice and steps. We retreated.
The next morning, we expected a dead pup, but there it was; still lying on the ground with a bleeding jaw that clearly exposed the broken and missing teeth on the left side. Its sight made us wonder of who could be the perpetrator of such an inhuman act. The wound showed that it was hit with something big solid object. All that we could do was pray to God to have mercy and end its suffering. But fortunately, there was an improvement in the situation. The puppy allowed us to come near. We did try to clean the wound and feed it milk with a crushed painkiller dissolved in it. But no! the pup would have none of the milk nor the console of humans. It did allow us to touch it but it's distrust of the humans was quite evident. His eyes reflected suspicion of us all. The agony and blood loss had made it more weak. The good thing was that once it was in our garden, it had hardly left its favorite spot which gave us hope.
The second dawn, with its bright reddish orange glow, brought us back in this world from our deep sleep. A walk in the garden, brought us to the place where the pup had slept last night, but hey ! the pup was missing. Where could it be ? 'Must have wandered to some other final resting place' was all that we could think. But surprise of all surprise, there it was weak and tired sitting near the banana plants. It lifted the head and with a faint smile, it wagged the tail. Again, we gave it milk to drink and although with difficulty, it drank most of the milk. The bleeding had stopped too. All that remained was a swollen jaw and a battered soul.
Slowly the pup regained its strength and against all odds, proved to be a winner in the race for living. In the next week, we saw a tremendous change in its spirit; from broken to a winner. My mother fed it regularly with Indian bread and milk. She would feed him early in the morning in the backyard, for which she had to open the back door. Our pup, who slept on the front porch, would come running in the backyard on hearing my mother's footsteps. Gradually, it started showing confidence in our family members, it wagged its tail whenever we went near it, allowed us to touch it and in return it loved us dearly. We had to work hard to earn its trust. Gradually, over a few more months, the ugly pup metamorphosed into a healthy though ugly dog. It looked different with its half set of front teeth missing, its one ear standing upright and another ear in horizontal position, the body and tail covered in long fur (unusual for an Indian breed) and the color of the fur, a combination of white, brown and black. We lovingly called it Abnuma.
Abnuma loved the garden and would guard our house with all its courage. I wonder if I should call it courage at all; for its battered soul had yet not healed. Abnuma was too much afraid of people all because of the teeth breaking incident. At times, it would not even bark, only look suspiciously at strangers. Strangers in turn looked at Abnuma with hesitation for they saw a different dog; not a timid one. The situation would become so funny that Abnuma was afraid of people and people were afraid of Abnuma; for he did not bark. And as the popular belief goes - 'Dogs that don't bark, bite'. Many strangers never dared to enter our house compound; all thanks to Abnuma. He (the 'it' changed to 'he' with time) hardly left our house, but it was all going to change for the better.
Slowly, Abnuma started to go further than our house, he went a few houses down the street, then further more to the end of the street and then the whole colony. This way, he gradually expanded his jurisdiction and made himself the boss of small dogs as he had no big strong contenders to compete with. True, he had little competition from other stray weak dogs, which helped him to survive. Whenever we called out his name, he would come running as fast as a leopard, his hind legs crossing the front legs, his long hair all flowing in the air and bringing along with it, his long bushy tail. We watched with pride 'Our Abnuma', how magnificent he looked. He may have been half wolf and half dog but one thing for sure, he belonged to our family. At the end of two years, Abnuma had become quite noticeable and admirable. His soul may have been battered but now his spirit had mended.
He waited at the gate for me and my sister if we ever got late in the evening. He always preferred to sit in the porch in our company. He enjoyed the company of birds and mongoose too. Slowly his confidence grew.
Once, we all friends were enjoying our talk on the porch and the now five year old Abnuma was sitting near us. He felt happy to be around us. Suddenly, one of my friend started talking a little bit more loudly and with her hand stretched, she started towards me. Abnuma found it offensive; immediately he started barking and growling. We were all taken aback by his behavior, for he never barked, he only cowered in fear in front of others. Quickly, my friend quietened and we all pacified Abnuma. His personality was becoming more visible, he was very protective of his family.
During my summer vacation, one of my neighbor asked me to coach his son in Physics for about a month. I agreed and visited his house where I was teaching his son on the first floor. After about 45 minutes, I saw Abnuma standing on the first floor door and wagging his tail. He had found the ground floor door open and had hoodwinked all to reach the first floor on listening to my voice. He found it perplexing that my voice should come from the neighbor's house. Finally, I had to leave the session in order to bring a very concerned Abnuma back to our home. After that day, whenever I went to the neighbor's house, Abnuma would patiently wait outside the neighbor's house and walk with me to our home.
When Abnuma was six years old, he developed a problem in his ear. His ear swelled and we contacted the Vadodara Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VSPCA) and told them the problem. They said that it was a common problem which required surgery. We agreed to go ahead with the surgery and accordingly he was taken to the center. Abnuma had never left his colony and was fearful of strangers, so no wonder that he would find it difficult to be at the center for a week. My mother took me to the center on the second day itself. We found Abnuma in a corner with his bandaged ear. The surgery had been successful. The blocked blood vessel had been taken of and the swelling had gone. The doctor asked us to keep Abnuma at the center for another three days. I looked at Abnuma and his eyes locked with mine. It is difficult to describe what I saw in his eyes, but one thing for sure, he was pleading with me to take him home. I started crying and did not feel like leaving him for a minute longer. Looking at my face, my mother had no choice but to ask the doctor to let us take Abnuma home. The ride back home in the Indian rickshaw was the happiest moment for Abnuma. He sat with his face in our lap. Was he glad to be back in his home !
These are the most fond memories of our beloved 'Abnuma'. He lived a very normal life for another year and the best of all was that he showed us how a battered soul or broken spirit can be fixed with will power and a little caring hand to make life even more beautiful. His memory till this day brings tears to our eyes but also shows us that life is all about surviving hardships and giving joy to all.
[Abnuma contracted a skin disease later on, and gradually became weaker and weaker and finally had to be put to sleep to free him from his misery.]
It is quite natural that due to the garden, we had quite a few animal visitors. Dogs would come to the house to enjoy the cool shade of trees in summer, dig earth in winters to enjoy the warmth and give birth to puppies in the rainy season. Cats were too proud to do anything in the garden; they preferred to be indoors commanding our full attention. Squirrels too found the surrounding conducive for jumping from tree to tree and eating tender buds and ripe fruits. The birds would visit the small container of water (that my mother ensured to keep full with fresh water) to either drink water from it or have an elegant bath in it by spreading their wings and flapping it till some of their friends kept a watch for danger which existed in the form of our cats. And not to forget the bees, they had also found a niche for building their own understanding of a home ie the honeycomb. At night or early morning, the mongoose family also roamed the garden and gave us a glimpse into their own world.
This all suffices for the ideal description of our family garden and our love for animals and how together we all stayed in perfect harmony. But one day, we had seven additional sweet little guests. The dog had given birth to seven puppies; all precious and tender. We were overjoyed and ecstatic ! Our parents warned us not to be too involved for they were stray and would live by the laws of nature. Indeed the average ten year old life of an Indian stray dog is full of struggle and stressful.
However, my attention was caught by an ugly looking though very healthy male pup. It was quite boisterous and active. Had it been good looking, it would have made a good home for itself. But God had other things in store for him. As most of the puppies perish before they complete their first five months, nature was no good to this set too. The ugly looking pup had become more ugly due to malnutrition and all his brothers and sisters had died too as a result of eating stale roadside meat. The male pup had survived the food poisoning but had become weak as a result. To add more to misery, one evening, it came with a profusely bleeding jaw; one could see that it was very hurt and would not survive the night. It did not allow us anywhere near for it would cry at the sound of human voice and steps. We retreated.
The next morning, we expected a dead pup, but there it was; still lying on the ground with a bleeding jaw that clearly exposed the broken and missing teeth on the left side. Its sight made us wonder of who could be the perpetrator of such an inhuman act. The wound showed that it was hit with something big solid object. All that we could do was pray to God to have mercy and end its suffering. But fortunately, there was an improvement in the situation. The puppy allowed us to come near. We did try to clean the wound and feed it milk with a crushed painkiller dissolved in it. But no! the pup would have none of the milk nor the console of humans. It did allow us to touch it but it's distrust of the humans was quite evident. His eyes reflected suspicion of us all. The agony and blood loss had made it more weak. The good thing was that once it was in our garden, it had hardly left its favorite spot which gave us hope.
The second dawn, with its bright reddish orange glow, brought us back in this world from our deep sleep. A walk in the garden, brought us to the place where the pup had slept last night, but hey ! the pup was missing. Where could it be ? 'Must have wandered to some other final resting place' was all that we could think. But surprise of all surprise, there it was weak and tired sitting near the banana plants. It lifted the head and with a faint smile, it wagged the tail. Again, we gave it milk to drink and although with difficulty, it drank most of the milk. The bleeding had stopped too. All that remained was a swollen jaw and a battered soul.
Slowly the pup regained its strength and against all odds, proved to be a winner in the race for living. In the next week, we saw a tremendous change in its spirit; from broken to a winner. My mother fed it regularly with Indian bread and milk. She would feed him early in the morning in the backyard, for which she had to open the back door. Our pup, who slept on the front porch, would come running in the backyard on hearing my mother's footsteps. Gradually, it started showing confidence in our family members, it wagged its tail whenever we went near it, allowed us to touch it and in return it loved us dearly. We had to work hard to earn its trust. Gradually, over a few more months, the ugly pup metamorphosed into a healthy though ugly dog. It looked different with its half set of front teeth missing, its one ear standing upright and another ear in horizontal position, the body and tail covered in long fur (unusual for an Indian breed) and the color of the fur, a combination of white, brown and black. We lovingly called it Abnuma.
Abnuma loved the garden and would guard our house with all its courage. I wonder if I should call it courage at all; for its battered soul had yet not healed. Abnuma was too much afraid of people all because of the teeth breaking incident. At times, it would not even bark, only look suspiciously at strangers. Strangers in turn looked at Abnuma with hesitation for they saw a different dog; not a timid one. The situation would become so funny that Abnuma was afraid of people and people were afraid of Abnuma; for he did not bark. And as the popular belief goes - 'Dogs that don't bark, bite'. Many strangers never dared to enter our house compound; all thanks to Abnuma. He (the 'it' changed to 'he' with time) hardly left our house, but it was all going to change for the better.
Slowly, Abnuma started to go further than our house, he went a few houses down the street, then further more to the end of the street and then the whole colony. This way, he gradually expanded his jurisdiction and made himself the boss of small dogs as he had no big strong contenders to compete with. True, he had little competition from other stray weak dogs, which helped him to survive. Whenever we called out his name, he would come running as fast as a leopard, his hind legs crossing the front legs, his long hair all flowing in the air and bringing along with it, his long bushy tail. We watched with pride 'Our Abnuma', how magnificent he looked. He may have been half wolf and half dog but one thing for sure, he belonged to our family. At the end of two years, Abnuma had become quite noticeable and admirable. His soul may have been battered but now his spirit had mended.
He waited at the gate for me and my sister if we ever got late in the evening. He always preferred to sit in the porch in our company. He enjoyed the company of birds and mongoose too. Slowly his confidence grew.
Once, we all friends were enjoying our talk on the porch and the now five year old Abnuma was sitting near us. He felt happy to be around us. Suddenly, one of my friend started talking a little bit more loudly and with her hand stretched, she started towards me. Abnuma found it offensive; immediately he started barking and growling. We were all taken aback by his behavior, for he never barked, he only cowered in fear in front of others. Quickly, my friend quietened and we all pacified Abnuma. His personality was becoming more visible, he was very protective of his family.
During my summer vacation, one of my neighbor asked me to coach his son in Physics for about a month. I agreed and visited his house where I was teaching his son on the first floor. After about 45 minutes, I saw Abnuma standing on the first floor door and wagging his tail. He had found the ground floor door open and had hoodwinked all to reach the first floor on listening to my voice. He found it perplexing that my voice should come from the neighbor's house. Finally, I had to leave the session in order to bring a very concerned Abnuma back to our home. After that day, whenever I went to the neighbor's house, Abnuma would patiently wait outside the neighbor's house and walk with me to our home.
When Abnuma was six years old, he developed a problem in his ear. His ear swelled and we contacted the Vadodara Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VSPCA) and told them the problem. They said that it was a common problem which required surgery. We agreed to go ahead with the surgery and accordingly he was taken to the center. Abnuma had never left his colony and was fearful of strangers, so no wonder that he would find it difficult to be at the center for a week. My mother took me to the center on the second day itself. We found Abnuma in a corner with his bandaged ear. The surgery had been successful. The blocked blood vessel had been taken of and the swelling had gone. The doctor asked us to keep Abnuma at the center for another three days. I looked at Abnuma and his eyes locked with mine. It is difficult to describe what I saw in his eyes, but one thing for sure, he was pleading with me to take him home. I started crying and did not feel like leaving him for a minute longer. Looking at my face, my mother had no choice but to ask the doctor to let us take Abnuma home. The ride back home in the Indian rickshaw was the happiest moment for Abnuma. He sat with his face in our lap. Was he glad to be back in his home !
These are the most fond memories of our beloved 'Abnuma'. He lived a very normal life for another year and the best of all was that he showed us how a battered soul or broken spirit can be fixed with will power and a little caring hand to make life even more beautiful. His memory till this day brings tears to our eyes but also shows us that life is all about surviving hardships and giving joy to all.
[Abnuma contracted a skin disease later on, and gradually became weaker and weaker and finally had to be put to sleep to free him from his misery.]
hey swapna, i still remember abnuma, if i am not wrong he was that same dog, which you had as a 'pet' when we used to visit your place for project work ?
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