Friday, September 21, 2012

Oh, how heartless can one be?

These thoughts would sound like juicy gossip. But my intention is not to take advantage of someone else's discomfiture. It flows from the agony of a lovely dog, who's in the house next to mine, that I've been relating to all these days.

I've this neighbour who'd bought a Dalmatian pup about a year back, with much fanfare. And now they want to part with the hapless animal! In the initial days I'd to dissuade them from using heavy chain on the pup as I saw the animal having a tough time bearing its weight. The problem with many of these wannabe dog owners is that they acquire the animals for projection as a status symbol and not out of any genuine love for them! And from the beginning I'd realised that my neighbours, sadly, belonged to this category.

The dog used to be left in the house, unattended for long periods, as they went about their outside errands and its barks and wails were frequent. Being a dog lover one could only lament silently along with the unlucky animal!

The reasons for their disenchantment are churlish and flimsy and I'd like to quote a few that are being bandied about, to highlight their gross ignorance:-

       (a) It has no manners as it snatches food meant for the people.
       (b) It has gnawed away the edges of expensive shoes and curtains, even certain pieces of furniture.
       (c) The whole house is smelly thanks to its excreta even after taking it out for doing the needful - once
             in the morning and once in the night!

I wish that they only knew that their dog was going through its teething phase and the poor animal doesn't have 'disciplined' bowel habits which has to be patiently taught over a period of time. A big piece of bone for the former problem and taking the dog out for more forays would have sorted out their anguish. And what do I tell about manners? It follows what it sees from its master and the other members of the family!


Tailpiece.

I've tried to tell them that they should not give away the animal but by spending a little more of their quality time with it, the dog would get to be a sweet heart of their dreams. Wonder whether they've accepted my reasoning that the dog, if given away, would fret and assume that there's something grievously wrong with it and ultimately lose the will to live?       

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