Never too Busy to Care- Save our Strays!
About 2 years ago, I was on the road, on a date, coming back from a picnic spot near Electronic City. My date and I had just gone to some neat places that side of town, like the Central Jail, the Infosys building and the like.
Just as we were talking about our day, we passed by a stray Daschund. It had all the marks of a well kept dog, lost on the road- a well maintained coat, stained with mud and pieces of what looked like straw. It had a pair of gigantic eyes, possibly larger than usual because of the trauma it'd endured recently.
As we stopped close to it, I remember it looked with hope and then with fear as it took a few steps back. I wanted to scoop up the little fella, and take him away to an animal shelter, or better yet, home. I had a labrador, a year old, who was just recovering from a surgery.
It pains me till now, to say it, but nothing came out of it. We'd stopped temporarily, and in all honesty, I lacked the courage of my conviction to do something for that dog. And as quickly as we had stopped, we resumed our journey..
To break up my emotions, I remember feeling confused and conflicted. How would I know that the dog was ok, and not bite me. How would I then take him half way across town to KRUPA.. and what would happen to my date, who didn't seem too eager to help out. And then the impossible thought, what if its owners were just around the corner, and I took him away.
By the time I'd made a decision, we were not too close to the Daschund. We returned, but couldn't find him. My worst thoughts were, that he'd run into the road and got himself killed. I've never let go of that, and I know to a lot of people reading this, it may seem to be a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill.. but that's not true. Any pet owner's worst nightmare, is that this would happen to their dog, their child.
So what can we do?
- Trust your instincts. Listen to yourself, believe in yourself and believe that you know the right thing to do.
- Put yourself in their position. What would you want, and are you in a position to give them that.I know that that dog needed shelter, food and comfort, and yes I was in a position to give him that.
- There's nothing to fear but fear itself, they say. Step up and be the best that you can be, when there's a situation that you are not sure of.
- And if all of this doesn't ring to you, then fine, offer monetary help to the shelter nearest to you. It could be for pets, humans, abused women.. what ever it is, it cannot and will not be a bad thing, to donate so that it activates others who want to help.
- Lastly, time cannot be a hindrance, only an excuse, not a reason. I know that I can never get that moment again, and I've never forgotten it. If time was the reason, I wouldnt still be feeling guilty, would I?
Just as we were talking about our day, we passed by a stray Daschund. It had all the marks of a well kept dog, lost on the road- a well maintained coat, stained with mud and pieces of what looked like straw. It had a pair of gigantic eyes, possibly larger than usual because of the trauma it'd endured recently.
As we stopped close to it, I remember it looked with hope and then with fear as it took a few steps back. I wanted to scoop up the little fella, and take him away to an animal shelter, or better yet, home. I had a labrador, a year old, who was just recovering from a surgery.
It pains me till now, to say it, but nothing came out of it. We'd stopped temporarily, and in all honesty, I lacked the courage of my conviction to do something for that dog. And as quickly as we had stopped, we resumed our journey..
To break up my emotions, I remember feeling confused and conflicted. How would I know that the dog was ok, and not bite me. How would I then take him half way across town to KRUPA.. and what would happen to my date, who didn't seem too eager to help out. And then the impossible thought, what if its owners were just around the corner, and I took him away.
By the time I'd made a decision, we were not too close to the Daschund. We returned, but couldn't find him. My worst thoughts were, that he'd run into the road and got himself killed. I've never let go of that, and I know to a lot of people reading this, it may seem to be a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill.. but that's not true. Any pet owner's worst nightmare, is that this would happen to their dog, their child.
So what can we do?
- Trust your instincts. Listen to yourself, believe in yourself and believe that you know the right thing to do.
- Put yourself in their position. What would you want, and are you in a position to give them that.I know that that dog needed shelter, food and comfort, and yes I was in a position to give him that.
- There's nothing to fear but fear itself, they say. Step up and be the best that you can be, when there's a situation that you are not sure of.
- And if all of this doesn't ring to you, then fine, offer monetary help to the shelter nearest to you. It could be for pets, humans, abused women.. what ever it is, it cannot and will not be a bad thing, to donate so that it activates others who want to help.
- Lastly, time cannot be a hindrance, only an excuse, not a reason. I know that I can never get that moment again, and I've never forgotten it. If time was the reason, I wouldnt still be feeling guilty, would I?
Comments