Max is our 2 1/2 year old German Shepherd dog – we have had him since he was a puppy. We also have Kaya – another GSD. Kaya belongs to Richard & Saira but we have been taking care of her since May when we returned from our sojourn in India & Asia. We have, what Saira describes as, a “joint custody arrangement” since for about four months of the year Max & Kaya reside with them while we are out of the country and when we return to the US, we assume “custody” unless we are out of town town. We try and keep them together because we feel that it would be cruel to separate them.
I have always liked animals – after all, I wanted to be a vet when I was a child. Dogs are for me the ultimate embodiment of an animal that provides unconditional love and loyalty. Dogs are almost universally loved in the West. I remember when I first went to England from Kenya I felt that, at times, the average Britisher seemed more concerned about animals, and dogs in particular, than their fellow-humans.
The one group of people who seem indifferent to dogs to the point of actually disliking dogs, are Indians. Now this is a bit of a sweeping generalization but among the Indians I know ranging from most of my siblings to other relatives, friends and acquaintances, the attitude ranges from reluctantly tolerating dogs to wanting to have nothing to do with them. This is reflected in the fact that very few first generation Indian families in the US keep a dog as a pet, though it seems to be changing with the second generation. I find this aspect of how the average Indian reacts to dogs and other pets to be puzzling – after all, it was Gandhi who said “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. But go to any city in India and the condition of dogs and cats is pathetic to the point of being outright tragic.
I would be the first to concede that I probably go overboard when it comes to my dogs – after all, how many people go to the trouble of preparing food for their dogs at home to make sure that they get “wholesome” food as opposed to commercial dog food that is known to contain the most undesirable by-products of animals including diseased animals. But even leaving aside my own idiosyncrasy when it comes to dogs and their care, the almost universal dislike with which most Indians seem to view dogs and other pets is a mystery to me.
When I look at my dogs I am reminded of the following quote:
“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”
Here are a couple of pictures of the dogs including one with Deepali.
both pictures are very cute. but i still think it’s gross that deepali likes to lay on Kaya’s bed.
It is a cultural difference. Dogs are kept outdoors in India but in the West because of weather conditions as well as pets being viewed as part of the family, they are kept indoors. In India, people who keep a dog usually have servants to take care of the needs of the dog whether it is food, bathing the dog or other tasks.
Good blog, btw.
Unlike Muslim countries, where dogs are considered unclean and being called a “dog” is a big insult, there is no religious sanction for it in India ..but I can think of a couple of reasons why some Indians dislike dogs – an out of control stray dog population, some of which are rabid! Another reason is that unlike the West, dog training is quite rare in India, though things might be changing at least in the bigger cities. From personal experience, one of my earliest memories (I must have been about 2 or 3) is being chased by a neighbour’s Pomeranian. Another neighbour had a pretty intimidating looking and out of control Dobermann, that kept barking mindlessly at other apartment residents. Re stray dogs…this is not much of a problem in Kerala, but when I last visited Bombay, I was amazed to see the number of stray dogs in certain suburbs.
btw, very cute photo of Deepali and Kaya
Saira,
Kaya and Deepali have bonded. Just be glad that they are not sharing the same food!:)
Asha, the point about dogs in India being treated as pets to be kept outdoors is well made and it probably explains part of the reluctance on the part of Indians who emigrated to the West wanting them as indoor pets. Glad you like the blog!
Vivek, your story about being chased by a dog has a familiar ring to it. We have a common relative who will remain nameless who is deadly fearful of dogs. He told me that as a child he was chased by one, after he tried to run away from it, and ever since he is terrified of dogs. The irony is that when he ran and the dog chased him, it was probably a case of the dog thinking that they were playing! If one ran from either Max or Kaya, you can be sure they would give chase, though the reason they would do it is because they would think it was some new game! I can see, however, that at the age of 2 or 3 years, that sort of distinction would not be obvious.
Re stray dogs, I don’t know about other parts of Kerala but in Cochin there seemed to be quite a few wandering around – now I am not sure whether they were “strays” or just “outdoors” dogs given free rein to run around as they pleased!
You know I love dogs…well, animals in general. I love Max and Kaya and I’ve loved all your dogs in the past (actually not so much with Ajax). When I walk around in neighborhoods or on campus and someone has a dog, I make a point to say hi and pet them because I find them irresistible. There is one situation when I can’t stand dogs though. Stray dogs creep me out. I know it’s not their fault and with a bath they’d probably be good to go, but I find them disgusting. When I go to India and when I went to Mexico, that was the one thing about cities/poor areas I dreaded. In the U.S. you don’t find strays, or if you do, they’re still in kind of decent shape. I guess I have a very American mindset about dogs. Although I would ALWAYS pick people over animals. Which, like you mentioned, “the average Britisher seemed more concerned about animals, and dogs in particular, than their fellow-humans.”, is definitely not the case for a lot of people.
Well, Emmy – you are one of the exceptions but then you are really for all intents and purposes a “second generation” Indian-American and like I said the attitude to dogs and other pets is quite different than their parents!
I do agree with you that the strays in India don’t exactly draw one to pet them.
BTW, the comment I made about the “average Britisher” should be kept in context. I was not suggesting that they cared more about dogs than people – but more that it came across that way at times.