The strays at the backyard of my house keep changing. The old ones are not seen any more, new entrants are there and the daily routine of throwing the bread continues.
This write up is a tribute to a special one that has come in front of our house a few months back. A shabby dog with a torn tail and frightened eyes, who used to give us pleading looks. Paranoid about unfamiliar strays, we tried to shoo it away, but it refused to go and behaved as if someone told him to stick to our house. It seemed to be a well-trained one as many of its manners are not of a stray. It is potty trained too as it never dirties our place. Initially, it somehow sneaked into our compound and slept under the car at night. Slowly we started feeding it. The day the Municipality workers came to catch the strays, the dog was whining so sadly that our tenants requested them to give him back. They promised to vaccinate it and return and they did so.
Now he is our loyal guard dog who refuses to come inside the compound and sits in front of our gate and barks at every stranger and every biker who rides fast. People in our lane love it and they too do their bit of feeding. It is also friendly with two other strays who are fed by our neighbor. No other dog dares to come to our lane as long as he is there. His presence is also keeping idlers at bay. Fidelity thy name is this nameless dog.
