Our Little Friend

I had been to the glorious Rann of Kutch with my gang a few months ago. Being food lovers, we couldn’t stop indulging in the tasty Gujarati food which is quite heavy for Non-Gujaratis. So, I had to jog every day to burn all those extra calories even on vacation but not everybody would accompany me. Some of them would sit back in the room and laze around. 

My friend and I had gone jogging one morning after sunrise. It was so beautiful out there and we really enjoyed the early morning breeze. We happened to spot a lonely dog sitting on the sidewalk. While my friend is afraid of dogs, I’m extremely comfortable with dogs and good at making friends with them. This is because I’ve been around dogs all my life and I can tell whether or not a dog is dangerous. We took a turn and headed back to the hotel. Just then, we noticed that the dog was following us. My friend was terrified! She couldn’t stop thinking about the dog biting her, killing her, and whatnot. I told her not to run since it would provoke the dog. The little one didn’t stop following us but he seemed harmless. To calm my friend down, I took her to a tea shop nearby to buy some biscuits for the dog. We did not carry any money and had to request the tea shop man to lend us a pack of biscuits. We explained the situation and promised to pay him back. He was kind enough to give us the biscuits and we finally fed it to the dog. 

Then, we jogged for almost a kilometer and reached the other end of the area. We thought this would rid us of the dog but no, he DID NOT stop following us! The dogs belonging to this territory barked at us but our little friend safeguarded us from all of them. It was so loyal to us after we’d fed him the biscuits. My friend too, who never had a pet in her life, was moved by its loyalty.

Whatever the case may be, the dog did not want to stop following us. We took a different route to evade the dog. We reached the hotel and went inside the hotel and looked through the window, only to find out that he was still there! His body language indicated that he was searching for us. He was roaming all the way around.

I felt so helpless! I couldn’t bring him to the hotel room nor could I take him back home. As a pet lover, this was one of the most emotional and difficult situations I’d ever encountered. Had it been in Bangalore, I would never hesitate to take him home. I really hope he is healthy and safe, wherever he is now. 

-Hariprriya