A
classmate told us that we would find the house easily. “Just ask for the dog
waali auntie’s house on Queen’s Garden road,” she said. Slightly hesitant,
we began hunting for an auto driver who knew where Queen’s Garden road was.
We got lucky, and soon we were on our way to the dog waali auntie’s sprawling
bungalow.
On reaching Queen’s Garden road, we asked a friendly traffic policeman if he
knew where the dog waali auntie lived. “Go straight down the road. Take
the first left and stop when you hear the dog barking,” he answered with a smile.
We took his directions and like he said, we stopped when we heard the barks.
After paying for the auto, we stepped out not in the least bit expecting what
we would be faced with.
There were dogs everywhere; in all shapes and sizes.
“So many of them,” gasped my friend.
Just as we were about walk past the gates, a Maruti car zoomed past us. Several
dogs ran towards the car excitedly. Some of them jumped on to the car as soon
as it came to a halt. The dog waali auntie stepped out. She seemed to
be talking to the dogs, who seemed to be competing for her affection. Patting
them, she walked into the house.
We walked in slowly. We were welcomed with exuberant barks and furiously wagging
tails. A gardener ran to us, asking us why we were there. When we asked if auntie
would meet us, he told us to wait there so he could go ask her.
We stood outside and looked around. I had never seen so many dogs in my life.
And strangely enough, all of them had scars of a frightening past. One dog limped
past us, showing us a bone that was sticking out rather uncomfortably. Another’s
eye had been bitten off. Others had big wounds that were being treated for maggots.
“Ugh. So painful," I thought. But they all seemed happy nevertheless, and
very friendly.
Dog waali auntie didn’t keep us waiting for long. Her helper told us
to wait for her in the garden. There were a couple of chairs there, but they
were all occupied by dogs. So after some gentle cajoling, four chairs were made
available for us. The dogs sitting on the other chairs wagged their tails as
we approached them. Dog waali auntie came out a few seconds later, wearing
a big smile. “Do we get you collars as well,” she joked.
After the initial round of introductions, we told her why we were there. “We
want to make a film on your pets,” we said. She seemed enthusiastic about it
and soon she was telling us about the place. “I have 250 pets of which 200 are
dogs,” she said. Apart from these friendly dogs, she had cats, donkeys, birds,
two buffaloes and a cow. All of them had a sad past. Either a previous master
had ill-treated them, or they had just been abandoned due to old age. But now
they were leading comfortable lives with dog waali auntie and her group
of helpers.
A vet came each day to dress their wounds. All their needs were taken care off,
both physical and emotional. “Do they all have names,” I asked wondering how
it was possible to remember so many names. “Yes,” she said. “But sometimes,
we realise we aren’t very creative. At one stage, there were three dogs here
called Raja. And then we also had three helpers called Raja. So whenever I called
for one of the Rajas, three dogs and three men would come running,” she said
laughing.
We were later given a tour of the place. A huge shed housed several beds on
which the dogs slept. “They are a spoilt lot,” she winked. The only cow in her
house had luckily escaped a fire accident. Her back was badly burnt and yet,
she was happily enjoying her dinner. The donkeys were on another side, eating
their dinner. We were told that they crave for some petting as well. Auntie
spoke to them gently and kissed them. “Go ahead, kiss them,” she urged. “They
like it.” We weren’t too sure if we wanted to kiss the donkeys, so we settled
for some petting instead. The birds seemed content in their spacious cages,
and the cats seemed oblivious to all the chaos the dogs were creating. In one
of the rooms inside the house was a playpen that housed at least 75 puppies.
“How cute!” we screamed. This was followed by an hour of holding all the little
puppies, who seemed to enjoy all the attention. In the adjacent room was a dog
that was nursing her puppies. While we cooed and tried to hold the puppy, the
mother walked around protectively, growling each time one of us picked up a
puppy.
The day finally ended. We said our good-byes and promised to return the next
week. On our way out auntie stopped us and said, “By the way, what are you bitches
called?” Laughing, we told her our names again and walked out feeling happy.
“This is heaven,” we said in unison. The animals were happy, and so were those
who lived with them. So we decided we would return again, for another taste
of heaven despite a hectic schedule in hell.
©
2001 - 2002 Roopa Sarah Thomas
