Of a curious belly...

There was every reason for a dog-catcher to throw his rope at Thomman. He never wore a collar – the symbol that helped identify pet dogs from the stray ones. Thomman was healthy and handsome. He had big black & white circles on his body. A chronic wanderer, he would walk into our house only at lunch and supper hours. In the early 1980s, animal protection laws were not very effective and the dog-catchers used to kill the dogs they trapped. It was on the way to school we saw his body lying on a drainage slab with his mouth open. Tears kept rolling down from my eyes till I reached school.

 Pomeranian dogs were fashionable those days. One day, dad got up early and left home before we woke up. He returned before noon, holding a white puppy in his hand. “Female… female dog… throw her outside now itself,” shouted my grandfather. “No, I paid Rs 50 for the puppy. I don’t want to throw her out,” dad said. Grandfather was cool, but he looked at his son as if he did something wrong. “Fine, it’s your call. You face the music,” he said, smiling at his son.

‘Puppy’ soon became a member in the family. Sister arranged a comfortable bed for her, using an old cotton mattress. But Puppy never slept on it. She would leave the mattress and settle down on the floor. As a symbol of friendship, scratch marks started appearing on our hands. One day while playing with Puppy we saw an old man standing at the gate. When we asked what he wanted, he said: “Nothing, children. I just came to see the puppy. Her mother is upset after she missed her,” he said.

Puppy grew up, responding to our gestures and commands. The ‘female’ tag was a bit tough to overcome. But ‘gender’ was not what worried my parents. What worried them was the fur-less body of Puppy. Pomeranian dogs were known for their fluffy fur. Puppy had little fur over her body, barring her neck, tail and thighs. Frustrated, dad once went to the dog-man’s house to check whether Puppy’s mother had fur.

As children, we were not much interested in the fur. So when dad and mom discussed about Puppy’s fur-less body, we were a bit worried. “Would they throw her out?,” we had our own doubts. A distant relative, however, helped: “A proper fur coat will appear only after the dog turns one year,” he said. Puppy turned one. Dad waited for a while, but mother gave up hope. Many who came to our house confirmed Puppy was not a Pomeranian.

Puppy turned two without fur, but dad still made a beautiful cage for her. It was to protect her from stray dogs. A friend told him it’s time to find a ‘mate’ for Puppy. Soon a black Pomeranian dog was brought in and put inside the cage with Puppy. Whenever I peeped through the door, I saw the black dog sleeping in a corner and Puppy on the other. The black dog was sent back a couple of days later.

Was it a turning point? Puppy soon found a ‘stray’ friend in the dead of the night. We caught hold of her with the stranger a couple of times. He was a local breed, with black and white circles all over his body.

It was with much curiosity we watched Puppy’s protruding belly. Mother was angry. Grandfather laughed. Dad kept quite. Puppy gave birth to four puppies. All the black fur-less ones had brown patches on their chins. Puppy was not much interested in taking care of them. As a result, two died. Dad gave the remaining two to a neighbour. The problem was solved. But more strict methods followed. Puppy was freed only in the day time. Even though she was freed in the night later, she never developed ‘friendship’ with strangers. She was 17 when she left us without ‘developing’ a curious belly for a second time in her life.