For dog lovers and more...

The past weekend (17 Feb 2024, to be exact!) marked 6 months since we took in a stray dog by the name of Boy. Such a simple yet profound name given to him by the rescuer and feeder and we have stuck by the same name.

The following article which was written 3 months ago detailed our early days experiences of trying to home him! I share here with all of you in case any of you are looking at 'adopt don't shop' or are simply looking for some inspired universal truths, or Dhamma, on a Monday afternoon to get the week going!

As for how Boy is doing today, well the photo at the end of the article below, which was taken as a we-fie with me right before Lunar New Year, should tell the full story! No further words necessary!

Ajahn Boy: The dog who teaches me Dhamma

We have taken in a street dog since mid-August 2023. For those living in the Kota Kemuning – Bukit Rimau area, they will know of the famous ‘roundabout dog’.

He is Boy, the spotty dog who would sit in the circles of the largest roundabouts even when it was raining heavily and would everyday walk the entire 3km radius of our community, in his former life on the streets. Prior to homing him, we spent close to 5 months getting to know him and for him to know us.

From the first days of feeding him on the streets till now, I have learnt a great deal of Dhamma along the way. Let me share some of these below:

Non-attachment

To many, a stray dog is one without a home. But, to Boy, the world is his home. Everywhere. Every corner of the street. Whenever he was tired, he would just sit down somewhere shaded that was comfortable. No attachment to anywhere specific. Live the moment.

Impermanence and aniccha

During the early days of feeding him on the streets, Boy got bitten by other strays a couple of times. He was never part of any packs; always alone. When females in packs were on heat, Boy would ‘try’ to get close and would get bitten by other males then.

Three times he got bitten.

In the first two rounds, we fed him medicines orally besides oil drips on his wounds. He would disregard the pain and continued his ‘pursuit’. Would he still be alive the next day or, would he be dead by then? It was never certain. All I did to distract my mind then was to count the number of days left in the ‘heat’ period – a hopeful but unnecessarily foolish act! The ‘heat’ or in fact, more importantly, his ‘pursuits’ would of course naturally conclude at some point! Whatever that begins must end.

Love and lose

In mid-July, he got bitten for a third time. This time, it was really severe. Almost the entire body had bite marks and although he was still able to move and walk about, he was literally not actively on ‘pursuits’ anymore. The dog rescuer felt there was no choice but to forcibly muzzle him and take him to the vet.

I was worried that if the muzzling went wrong and he escaped us, this would be the end. In short, I was unwilling to move all in for fear of seeing him die. It was a case of love and lose; if I was unwilling to accept losses, failures, defeats or deaths, then I was never truly loving!

Love and hurt

We took him in for the first time around the third week of July. We tried to chain him, but he got so upset that he pulled and bit the vinyl covered wire chain and it was so painful to see that we released him. He tried to squeeze his way through the grills of our gate that his left front foot bled. It hurt to see all these. That same night, he escaped.

It left a doubt in me: should we have ‘respected’ his wishes and let him be? I did ask myself then: was it the right kind of love and compassion to try and home him? Or, was it a better kind of love and compassion to let him roam freely?

A brother of the Dhamma, Duhwee, shared his wisdom on how Boy would never survive in a man’s world. My lesser mind kept pushing back with the thought that Boy had survived the past 4 years on the streets and should be fine for the rest of his life!

Which was more hurtful? The hurt in trying to home him? Or, the dangers of letting Boy roam freely on the streets?

Or, was I never really concerned about any kind of dangers to Boy in the first place, but was only bothered with the ‘pain’ I would experience in my mind trying to get him to live in a home? This last point was a true revelation for me; our mind tends to get clouded by concerns of those around us – the external world – when in fact, the real concern of the mind was really that feeling we’d experience within us.

Patience and giving Boy more ‘time’

Homing a stray is never a straight line. As dog trainer Shirin Dhabar of Mumbai shared, there are great days and then, there are really bad ones.

Boy is a very patient dog. Interacting and observing how he would sit around to learn about human movement and activities in a new and unknown environment unveiled the point that I have much to learn when it comes to patience.

The first weeks of homing and walking him between up to mid-Sept unearthed all the worst characteristics of my ‘self’ or atta; the craving for immediate success, the fear of encountering problems or dangers and the general lack of patience for not having seen a straight-line, day-by-day improvement of Boy conforming to instructions.

All these clouded my mind.

His refusal to walk home each time I took him out for walks truly frustrated me. To make matters worse, I misinterpreted the actual meaning of what the dog trainer told me: “You need to give him time.” I was at my wits end as by then I was already walking Boy between 2.5 to 3 hours daily and there was no more time I could squeeze out of my schedule for him.

This misinterpretation was a case of my narrowed perspectives due to my clouded mind.

Adopting a more patient approach a’la Boy, I learnt that the dog trainer’s key message to me on time, was not about extending the walking time for the dog. Instead, it was about repetitively reinforcing certain messages, instructions, commands and also actions with Boy to build bonds, gain trusts and also to influence, lead and manage him.

Have we reached the destination?

It is close to 3 months since Boy joins our pack! Have we reached a stable, end-point of happily ever after forever home for the rescued dog? Not really. There is probably never any end point; we are humans and he is a dog. We are all living beings who are constantly changing and evolving.

It is always a journey and I will continue learning about the universe and the Dhamma from Ajahn Boy, my teacher, throughout the many moments of interactions with him everyday.