The other side of Community Dogs

It's more than a decade now since I, along with my sister, started feeding community dogs. It all started with one - Mystique (Mishtu in short) - who mysteriously disappeared one fine day; but what stayed with us was the phenomenal feeling of inner peace that comes out of spreading selfless love amongst these voiceless creatures of our streets through food, water, medication or just a hug or two. What started off literally as a “stray” incident, has now blossomed into a full-time activity of regularly feeding a gang of nine community dogs (and others that we chance to meet) ensuring that they are healthy, vaccinated, spayed, and neutered. We have even managed to dispose of the dead bodies of some in an effort to put them to rest in a dignified way. We are now associated with a number of shelters, NGOs, non-profit organizations, and individuals who carry out such activities on a much larger scale for a whole lot of other animals - cats, cows, buffaloes, horses, donkeys, monkeys, lions, tigers, elephants, camels, and the likes.?

Getting back closer to home, the community dogs that we look after, teach me a lot of life lessons; especially lessons in leadership, every day.

Let me introduce them to you:

1. Snowy is the undisputable father figure - the oldest of the lot. He has fathered most of the current pack members and members of the pack that passed away over time. Snowy is like top management and his leadership style is very distinct. Snowy commands respect. He just sits in one place with one paw over the other much like a distinguished gentleman while the rest of them prance around. He doesn’t like to be bothered with hugs or any other displays of affection. I have never heard him bark or seen him get into a fight or show other forms of aggression. But when Snowy is served his food, everyone stays away and lets him eat it first. When I am with Snowy, I feel this is his world and I merely exist in it. I aspire to be a leader like Snowy.
2. Sunny is the exact opposite and the arch nemesis of Snowy. Sunny represents Gen Z. He is a new kid on the block who was welcomed by the pack with open arms, nay - open paws. He is trying his best to take Snowy’s place as the alpha leader of the pack but his strategy is very different. Sunny has a comical bark and he tries to disarm Snowy who cares two hoots about him. But what Sunny has managed to successfully do, is become extremely popular with the other pack members and even the passers-by. Everyone just loves him and his comedy. Sunny is like the young, dynamic, go-getter who is an outsider but is trying to make his mark and climb the corporate ladder swiftly. He knows how to keep his team engaged but is unable to bridge the generation gap between him and the top management who remains suspicious about his intentions and highly critical about his methods.
3. Michael Jackson (MJ) is like that high-potential but extremely cautious team member who excels in his job but is extremely fearful of taking a leap out of his comfort zone. He has mastered the art of catching biscuits and other treats flung at him in mid-air. No matter how high, how low, or at what tricky angles these are thrown, he manages to catch them by jumping so gracefully in different directions that he almost comes across as someone who could easily get first place in a dog show. But he is constantly watching his back, he is extremely fearful, uncertain, and insecure all the time just like that team member who is a great performer in the current role but is afraid to get out of the comfort zone - the moment someone passes by, MJ is out of sight. He takes no risk to further his game and is even willing to miss a meal if the road is not clear - even if it means losing out the juiciest bits to competition.
4. Bubbly is the youngest upcoming pack member. She stays close to Sunny who is her role model and Team Leader. She is a quick learner - she has learned how to chase squirrels up the tree, rats down the hole, get into fights with other packs, chase passers-by, and generally do other naughty things thanks to Sunny. She started off on a not-so-good note - she was the only surviving pup from her litter, her mother passed away not long after she was born, she battled tick fever and was hospitalized for a better part of her puppyhood. But when she got back, she fought her way to good health and is bouncing away to glory now. In short, she has come up the hard way and has miles to go ahead of her. She aspires to take Sunny’s position soon.
5. Sparkle is the elder sister of Bubbly and is the quietest of the lot - or so it seems - till the time someone from the pack gets into trouble. Sparkle is like HR. She tries to solve disputes among quarreling pack members; but, she is highly biased. There are frequent fights between Sunny & Bubbly; but when Bubbly is getting the better of Sunny, Sparkle ignores her. The minute the game is reversed, Sparkle beats the living daylights out of Sunny - just like HR (pun intended ??).
6. Patch is the outcast of this pack. He is like a team member who has radically different ideas of how to run a business. Patch has a loud voice and he is not scared of expressing himself - whether to other pack members or passers-by. Many a time I feel he is just voicing out his opinions without the intention of harming anyone. He tried reasoning out with Snowy but got kicked out of the pack. So he created his own! They say you can take a dog out of a fight, but you cannot take the fight out of a dog. That's Patch and I identify a lot with him. My leadership journey is very much like this.?
7. Scratchy is one of Patch’s pack members. He believes in the hybrid model - he is absent most of the time and is found moonlighting in another area where he is part-timing as a member of another pack along with Blacky & Softy who are looked after by the families of laborers working at a nearby construction site. At night, they help the security guard ward off trespassers. Scratchy too was a member of Snowy’s pack long back but he opted to move out after he got a raw deal from the others when he contracted a skin disease which earned him the name of Scratchy. After we painstakingly cured him, he decided not to return but joined Patch’s team instead.?
8. Casper is the third member of Patch’s pack. She started off as someone extremely timid and was a part of the pack of which Elsa & Snowhite (Whitey) were a part of. Elsa & Whitey literally ruled over her but for better or for worse, they stuck together through thick & thin (which Casper was - almost skin & bones before she joined Patch’s team). But once she found the perfect team, she miraculously changed into a healthy, energetic little dog who even with her limp is now found bouncing merrily on the streets; just like some of us need a good match-fit to progress in our careers. Whitey unfortunately was chasing dreams bigger than her - she graduated from chasing bicycles to motorbikes, then cars, and buses, and ultimately got run over by a tractor. She was one of the most energetic dogs I have ever seen. She was half monkey - climbing smoothly over walls, fences, even the top of cars. But the cruel world has a knack for snuffing off your life when you are at your prime. One moment you are at the top of the world, the next moment you are dead as a rock; with poor Elsa left all alone and scared. Together they could literally brew up a storm.
9. Brownie is the sweetest one-eyed girl ever. She belonged to a two-membered pack of which Smiley was the head. Smiley was my darling. In spite of being old & weak, he had a pleasant demeanor and an engaging personality. But at the same time, he could fight like a pro - fight for his territory and fight for Brownie. Smiley was a true leader. Pleasant, approachable, and intelligent but at the same time, ready to take any problem head-on, leading from the front. He would help the security guards of a nearby office building keeping intruders at bay. He had immense self-respect and never crossed his boundaries. He never took his position for granted. He never entered the building premises even when the guards let him. He stuck to his place near the gate. When Smiley passed away, Brownie was devastated. She stayed by him till his body was taken away. She took a long time to recover, but recover she did. In fact, the shy Brownie who never allowed anyone near her now allows me to pet her. I waited for years to gain her trust. Gaining trust is not easy - you have to invest time and effort. But the result is worth the wait. I had hoped that after Smiley & Whitey passed away, Elsa & Brownie could come together to support each other, but life is full of contradictions and you cannot expect pieces to fit together like a jigsaw. So they continue to live their own separate lives which they have come to terms with.
10. Chutki is a member of a different pack whom we do not regularly feed but she deserves a special mention. Chutki is small but she is an alpha female - a typical woman leader who ruthlessly rules over the other two members of her pack - Pluto & Timon (that is if Olive - the glutton - is not around ??). She is a dynamite in a small packet and reminds me of the fact that it is not the size of the dog in the fight that matters but the size of the fight in the dog. That's Chutki for you! And when George Bush (Georgie) struts across the street with a couple of his cronies behind him, he is most wary of Chutki - the others he can handle, but not this firecracker!

Apart from these, there are so many others who went away - Happy, Mama Bear, Limpy, Shylo, Thomas Edison (Tommy), Chotu, Marble, Chocolate, Chikoo, and some others who died - Babu, Goldie, Bunty, Radha, Daisy but their memories are strongly etched in my mind since they touched my life in a very beautiful way. Their unique personalities always taught me something. And the best part is, I have not been alone on this journey. My human pack - my gang of girls - Suvarna Bhambure , Priyankita Sur , Minal Khona , and Ritu Choudhary - are with me. When I see Ritu sending an old blind Burpy to a permanent shelter to keep her away from the dangers on the road, when I see Minal move heaven & earth to save Bubbly from certain death, when I see Priyankita running from pillar to post to search for her lost Wolfy, when I see Suvarna rescuing a lone Phoenix from the streets and getting him adopted after months of fostering, and when I myself hold the paw of a dying Goldie in my hands asking her to let go and she dies in my arms, I know all this makes sense. Leadership and life lessons apart, I know this is the purpose of my life, my life’s mission and I will keep fulfilling it till I am ready to cross the rainbow bridge myself to meet my pack on the other side.