Last month, I was at Viratnagar, my village. As is the custom, I went to meet my best friend Naveen and his family straightaway. But this time, I also met an adorable addition to the family. A couple of months old Doberman pup.
Now to be honest, I just hate dogs. Don't you start judging me, there is a traumatic incident from childhood where I barely scraped through the teeth of a ghastly canine. Since then, any and every kind of dog I have come across, I have maintained my safe distance, without exception. Cats on the other hand, are my spirit animal. A highly intelligent creature.
But this time, the moment I looked upon this tiny toddler-ish cutie, curled onto the sofa in the drawing room, I got the vibes that there is something wrong with this boy. It sat motionless, staring into the wall, with an untouched piece of bread next to it. On a closer look, I found it had almost zero fat on its skin, almost down to its very bones. And when it didn't bark for a single instance in 15 minutes, I stopped pretending my disinterest in it and asked my friend's mother- "Is it sick? Did you bring a wrong breed in the name of Doberman, aunty?"
Aunty then told- "We brought it just yesterday evening. Its owner had to give it away due to reasons unknown. It was one among 5 siblings and habitual of their presence around. Suddenly its whole universe changed and now it's lonely, afraid and sad. It hasn't touched any milk or bread since yesterday. It will take quite some time for him to get accustomed to us all. But as you can see, it is a highly intelligent creature to even show such humanly emotions."
After hearing its sense of loss, and a subsequent feeling of fear and mistrust, I could sympathize with this pup. When I inquired if they had named it yet, my friend's 8 year old son Aarush rushed out shouting- "His name is Tigerrrrrr".
"Alright, come here Tiger!"- I picked up giggling Aarush and went closer to pat my hand on Tiger's forehead. It lifted its head and stared right back at me, as if searching for an assurance or affection. I had none, blame it on my past encounters. It looked away, as if with disgust. It saw through my facade and repulsed.
I felt pity, not for it but for my own rigidity of thoughts. And called out its name once again, but with a little bit more humanly respect this time. And to my surprise, this time it looked back responding to its name. I slipped my hands beneath its feet and around its head to pull it into my lap. It growled meekly. Normally, it would slip through the fingers right away in defiance and hide under the sofa or behind the bed. But It Did Not. It just sat in my lap without any fuss.
I began stroking its head and its growl became gentler by the minute, till it eventually settled with ease. I dawned upon me that I was not stroking away Tiger's, but my own fear and mistrust. And in the process made my first friend from this intelligent species after years of hesitance.
All it truly needed was just a stroke of compassion and some humanly treatment.
Storyteller's Tip:
Transformation from a challenging situation to a change of heart - such humane stories can connect across time, place and generations.
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