The Mother Dog

I am scared of dogs. Some of my friends might say they are beautiful creatures, best friend for man etc., but all I can remember when I think of dogs is the one which chased me close to eight kilo meters, when I was ten. And then I was working in night shift till last year and each and every day getting down from the cab at midnight was scary.

Timing was everything. I will look out of the window to spot the stray dogs in the street, which would have alert by then, would start to get up from their nap. The moment I step down from the cab they will come rushing with loud barking. It was enough raise my blood pressure up few notches. I remember one particular dog in that. It was always fierce, I remember her teeth shine in the midnight darkness. Getting bit by her is my worst nightmare. Thankfully it didn’t happen. The only way I knew to stop them is to bend down and pretend picking up a stone.

I switched jobs and was made responsible for a team in a day job. The team kind of became my family as I spent more time with them than my actual family. I really felt home in that corner space I sit in daily earlier than others, planning for the day and then delegating the tasks. It took a toll on my personal life. A big toll. I didn’t have social life at all. I attended far less marriages. I forgot birthdays and I had  to be replying Skype calls and emails when I was spending a Saturday evening with friends.

Like all good dreams, this too had to end.

We ran into some financial problems and we are inching and reluctantly stepping towards closure of the company. I hate to be in the firing line. I had to answer thousands of questions from hundreds of people. I am partially responsible for what happened, but I hated to be in the firing line. After long calls and discussions, I came home to see the dog which terrorized me during my night shift days. She had mellowed down a bit and started licking off my feet before I took them off from my bike. As usual, I ran into my house and asked my mom about it.

“The dog gave birth to five puppies last night. They are in our motor room” she said.

“Wonderful” I thought.

The days followed that were the same. When the dog was far away, I had the time to bend down and pretend to pick up the stone. Now, it always gets the sound of my bike and rushes to the gate and starts licking. I shooed it away once and I picked up a stone. Instead of running away, she was down on the road, at my feet, ready to get hit by the small stone I picked up. I was not able to do anything. I ran into the house, before she could get up.

I was talking to my office landlord to let me stay for eighteen more days and not charge me for that (yes I am cool like that). They said, they will get back to me. It is not difficult to run away from all of these. I can get a new job. I can get a job where I am not responsible for everything. Most importantly I am not responsible for the next month salary of bunch of people. But here I am looking to fix things. If I failed, I will be forgotten so easily. If I succeeded, this will be passed on as one of my responsibilities.

It was drizzling when I reached home. The weather was perfect to have a smoke. I was outside the gate smoking. Our house owner came in his bike with lot of bags. I helped him with the bags while the dog rushed and started licking his feet.

“Is this so much a nuisance?” he asked me

“Nope. She is a new mother. She is just scared. And it is raining and I already have a bad experience leaving puppies in open when it rains. Let it stay” I said.

“It is Ok for me if it is Ok for you”

“I know how it feels to get beaten when you are down and need to protect the people you care”

The dog is still irritating but it keeps me from running away and face the situations. Hope the dog and its puppies get a place to stay and survive.