True life dog stories:

The forsaken dog

by Sumana Saparamadu

This is a true story about a dog owned by a resident in Borella. It happened over 10 years ago.

The man - we will call him Mr. X--- was very proud of the dog and took good care of him. The dog too was very obedient and loved his master.

By some ill-luck, the dog got a skin disease. This disease is called mange. Either because the dog did not get the right treatment at the right time, or because of the dog's ill-luck, the mange spread all over his body. The once cute dog was now a disgusting sight. As the mange got worse his master's attention and care got less and less. He became horrible to look at, and his master drove him right out of the house and garden and shut the gate.Now the poor dog went along the road, stopping at garbage dumps and ate whatever he found there and slept in any shelter he found.

* * * * *

One day a young man who saw this thin mangy dog eating at a garbage dump, felt sorry for him and stopped. He called him kindly and the dog came up to him. He had a bread roll with him and he gave it to the dog. The dog ate it all non-stop, and looked gratefully at the young man.

The young man made a sign to the dog to follow him. The dog followed the young man to his home.

"What have you brought?" asked his family members who were shocked and repelled by the dog's condition. "Drive him away, chase him out. We cannot keep a mangy dog."

Despite the family's orders, the young man kept the dog, away from the family members. He got the dog treated by a veterinary doctor, gave him food to eat and looked after him. It did not take long for the dog to recover completely.

Now the dog was as good-looking as before, and very playful. He did not fight with the next-door dogs. He became friendly with all the neighbourhood dogs.

* * * * *

Time passed. One day, Mr. X, the dog's former owner passed that way. He saw the dog playing with the other dogs. He stopped and watched the dog playing. "Surely, this is my dog," he said to himself and called out 'Timmy', the dog's old name.

Hearing his old name, the dog turned around and looked at the stranger. He stood still, as if in shock. He must have recognised his former master's voice; but he did not run up to him. Mr. X called out his name a few times but the dog did not budge. He gave one last look and went into the house.

Then Mr. X opened the gate, went up to the house and knocked on the door. The young man came out and Mr. X said, "This is my dog. How did he come here? I am taking him away. Timmy, Timmy, come on."

"There is no dog of yours here. I brought him here when he was going from garbage dump to dump looking for something to eat. He was mangy. I paid a veterinary to treat him and cure him. I spent a lot to get him back to good health. I fed him and looked after him. If you saw the state he was in when I brought him, you would have driven him out of sight." The argument between the two was getting louder and louder and neighbours came to see what was happening. "Let us go to the police station to sort this out," suggested one neighbour. The two men agreed.

* * * * *

Now the two owners and the dog and two or three neighbours are at the police station. The young man is holding the dog by the chain. The dog is seated by the young man's feet.

The two men told the police their side of the story. After recording each one's statement the police officer was thoughtful for a few minutes.

The police officer had got a bright idea. He asked the two men to stand apart and took the dog's chain into his hand. "We will let the dog choose his master," said the officer and took the chain off the dog's collar.

At once, the dog ran to the young man and started licking his legs.

"The dog loves this young man," said the police officer. "The dog's behaviour shows that he is the real owner. So we will give the dog to him."

But Mr. X was not ready to accept the police officer's decision.

"Although the dog now shows affection for this man, he is mine. I brought him when he was a little puppy, fed him and looked after him till he was grown up." Mr. X went on and on putting forward his claims to the dog.

The arguments were dragging on and on, with no sign of ending. The youth became impatient.

He told Mr. X, "All right, then pay me what I spent to get the dog treated and cured." "How much do you want?" asked Mr. X. "Rs. 2,000." Mr. X took out his purse, pulled out a Rs. 2,000 note and threw it at the young man and chaining the dog dragged him away. As the dog was being dragged away he turned round again and again to look at his kind master.

But the young man did not see the dog looking at him. His eyes were full of tears.