I came home tired from work and as soon as I opened the door, she welcomed me all happy and giddy. I saw her and instinctively, bent down on my knees. And when I held her in my arms, for a moment, I forgot I was dead tired.
Lucy licked my face and put her paw in my hand, wagging her tail. Never had I ever felt I was important for any human but Lucy loved me with her life. But, our journey was not for a lifetime and soon she took her last breath. Losing Lucy left me devastated but at the same time inspired me to start working for dogs. Even now, I vividly remember Lucy when I look at the dogs I work for.
But, Lucy was not my first love. I always loved dogs since my childhood; I had a Lhasa Apso (Tony) at first. I have three dogs now—a dachshund and two street dogs—at home. There was a time when I was so obsessed with dogs that I took in 38 of them and tended to them like my own children. However, with a full time job, it became hard for me to give them time and had to find them other homes.
People call dogs their best friend, despite of that, they rarely take good care of their pets. My heart aches every time I see a dog not being fed and treated the way they should be. Many take in dogs when they are small, think they are cute. But, taking care of a dog is as sensitive as taking care of an infant.
Grandfather and grandson found dead
They can’t speak and express their feelings by words, but if you look at them closely, they are always communicating with you. They will behave in a certain way when they are happy, sad, angry, hungry or thirsty. The way they bark and wag their tails, tell more about what they are feeling. If they are feeling sick or vulnerable they will stay in one corner but will show you their love by licking and welcoming you once you come back home. Observing is the key, you will find more about your dog and are sure to learn how to love selfless, if you just spend enough time with them.
They just lack the language to express not the intellect to understand. Dogs are also good at observing your feelings too. When you are feeling low, a dog will notice and will come to console you in his/her own way. They are great secret keepers and will always stick by you. They are always on alert and will always protect his/her master from any potential danger. They may lack the conscience that we humans have that doesn’t mean they deserve less respect, be it at home or on the streets.
By looking at the dog, a great deal of information about its owner and how well s/he has been raised can be seen. They provide dogs with food and water but will keep them in chains. Imagine you are chained, would you be called free? Freedom is as important for dogs as it is for humans. Giving them shelter and food is not enough, as owners, they have to take the responsibility to vaccinate them on time.
When even dogs at home are treated unfair, it comes as no surprise that humans have don’t consider lives of street dogs. Street dogs roam around the streets and are more than capable of fulfilling their hunger without human’s help. But people kick the dogs, curse at them, and attack them with stones, acids and tars. People talk big about humanity but they forget about it even when they see a dog struggling for its life. It’s amazing to see how a person can waste their hours sitting idle, but can’t tend to a dog gasping for breath on the roadside.
For me, dogs are more important than humans in my life. I have been working with dogs and for them and they take up most of my life. I wanted to do so much for dogs and their welfare but I was unable to do as I had planned. This took a toll on me and I started giving less time at home and faced many problems, emotionally and financially. I went bankrupt and eventually, went through depression and even tried committing suicide.
One might have a hard time believing my story but at that time I was so sure I was failing to do what I wanted to do for the dogs that I was left with no choice. Even at that point of my life, dogs I was working with helped me come out of that phase. I started working more rigorously.
People, who know about my love for dogs, sometimes take it for granted too. People have left street dogs and disabled dogs at my doorsteps. I have invested so much of my time that I have roamed around the streets as a dogcatcher with NGOs, tried door-to-door campaigning for dogs’ welfare. I have collected donations on behalf of those NGOs but they just used me and the donated money was not even utilized.
I take care of the dogs. It is hard to feed them two or three times a day with no funds and huge income but still I put money from my own pocket and give them one-meal a day and water all day.
Dog training is an art, but most of the people don’t understand that. I went to India and Thailand to learn dog training techniques. With that now, I recently held seventh national Dog Show, which was a great success. Simultaneously, I have been lobbying to establish a National level Kennel Club to register every dog in the country.
I offer dog trainings and breeding but I have decided to only work with people who are ready to be involved in the training, not with those who leave them with me to get them to behave. It’s a team work and I want people to start understanding that.
As told to Nasana Bajracharya by Prabin Ch. Bajracharya (Dog Behavior and Handling Specialist at K9 Dog Training & Care)
