This Sunday morning, I had three surprise visitors at my gate making squeaking sound that attracted our watchman’s attention. On opening the side gate and checking, he noticed three young puppies prowling around happily in front of the cemented area of the gate.

By the time I went there to see the new visitors, the security told me that a lady who was passing by, had taken away one Puppy leaving the other two screaming. It was like kidnapping their sibling.

Soon, we fed the beige coloured healthy puppies with biscuits and let them there thinking they would soon find their mother who might be around. In the meanwhile, security told me another woman had brought water in a plastic container and left it near the puppies. This was the status of these visitors to my house when I left for my office.

Many thoughts crossed my mind as I was driving to the office. The word Dog in English when written in reverse order would read God. In Hindu belief, Dog has also the status of Narayana. Lord Dattatreya has four dogs with him, like security, on his wanderings. And Lord Kalabhairava’s vehicle is dog. The dog is known for its loyalty, like the parrot is known for its love. I also thought of an episode in Mahabharata where Dharmaraya went to Heaven along with his Dog that followed him loyally all along the difficult path. The Dwarapalakas at the gate asked Dharmaraya to leave his Dog behind and enter Heaven alone. Dharmaraya refused to enter. He told the Dwarapalakas that unless they allowed his Dog to enter Heaven he would not enter.

Dog has been man’s best friend among all domesticated animals known for loyalty. No wonder a Bank and a Gramophone Company had a dog as their symbol, logo. Well-known NGO, People For Animals (PFA) devoted much attention to the protection and care of all animals so much so that use of animals in circus is completely banned. However, they pay special attention to the preservation and protection of Dogs, especially street dogs. Maneka Gandhi is known for her love for animals and keeps writing about animal protection and welfare while being an animal activist.

Many times, I have seen lovers of pet animals picking up puppies abandoned or found on streets to keep in their houses. It is possible by the time I return home, some good Samaritan would have adopted these puppies and given them a new home and a family.

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