Stray Dogs Have a Loving Heart

They miss their loved ones

The kind Dr.Sigi who looked after stray dogs

There are three stray dogs in the vicinity where I live. They were being fed by a very generous and sweet German Doctor Sigi.

Sigi works with WHO and is the kindest person I know. She lived in house Number 26 and I live in 29. It is a blessing to have good neighbors. I am happy that the people around me are wonderful.

Dr.Sigi made friends with people but she was closest to two people here, one of them being me. She would share news about her family and friends and her partner freely with me. I had written about her earlier. You can read it here.

One day she invited me to dinner. I found that she had 4 dogs of her own and she was very proud of them, In a big utensil, I saw that chicken was being cooked for them,

In addition to her 4 dogs, the three strays loitering around our houses were her friends for she made no distinction between her own dogs and them. In the pan, there was chicken sufficient for 7 dogs.

I asked her, why so much meat and she said that there were 4 of her dogs plus 3 of the stray dogs that she also fed and it was their treat dinner for them as it was a Saturday.

The dogs started barking loudly as they were hungry or maybe they knew that it was their treat day. Her house attendants went to feed the dogs but they were looking for her attention and kept on barking till she went out and fed the dogs herself.

After giving each of them two morsels each with her hands they became quiet and she came back to sit with me with one of the best wines in her home.

We settled down when she heard one of the dogs whining away. She went out and said that she had not given enough love to one of them and he was calling her.

She was so sensitive that she could understand the cries and the barks and their various movements. This left a mark on me.

After this we made several visits to each other's homes and each time I learned a lot about how great an animal lover she was.

People started getting upset with the strays and wanted them out of our gated colony. Sigi would have none of this. She got special Kennels for the three dogs outside her gate and they would come and sleep there. She would see that there was ample food and water for them over there.

The first winter came and all three dogs had clothes on them and respectable woolens to save them from the harsh cold weather.

People around were very uncomfortable because they did not want the strays to roam around freely in the vicinity.

The people protested that they had no time to look after the strays and they should be thrown out.

Sigi took them under her wings. Now besides food, kennel, and clothes she looked after their injections and took care of their illness.

Each time a dog fell sick she would take them to the hospital and look after them like they were her babies. One stray had died earlier and she had given him an honorable death by giving a proper last rights cremation.

After that, these three looked after her. In return, they loved her a lot. However, for some time they started biting the people around and there were many complaints again but Sigi took over all the complaints and kept looking after the dogs without any fear.

People around were scared as the dog bites became more frequent and they had to go to take injections.

It was surprising that with Sigi they were always gentle and loving. However much they barked at others, they always calmed down when Sigi was around.

Sigi lived in Ishwar Nagar for about 9 years. Finally, her landlord gave her a notice that she wanted to rebuild or sell the house. Sigi had no choice but to look for another house as her lease was not being extended.

Dr.Sigi relocates leaving the dogs

She looked for another home but there was no home befitting the space that she was looking for. She looked for another house and finally, she did find one.

29th February was her last day in this house. Since the time she left the three strays are sitting around her house and are morose. They have tears in their eyes and they are sad.

They would not eat or leave her house. She sent food for them and promised to keep on sending food for them.

The dogs will have even greater changes in their lives as the kennels will have to be shifted and they will also ultimately have to move from there. When you pass from her house you feel sad but it is even more sad to see the dogs waiting for her in the hope that she will come and feed them.

You can see that the dogs are missing her and they love her a lot but life keeps on changing for people and dogs alike.

Stray dogs have a loving heart. They will miss her but life will go on. Life will never be the same for them. They may even be ousted by the other residents who have been protesting for long. There will never be another Dr.Sigi to take care of these dogs.

I did ask Sigi to take them with her but she said that the dogs will be displaced since they are used to this vicinity, and they won’t be happy to shift from there.

Dogs not only love people, they love where they live and are very clannish. They like their friends also and do not want to leave them.

I wonder what will happen to these dogs. We have to wait and watch.

©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2024.

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