Well, let me introduce myself to you all I am Moti and you may call me a street dog, stray dog. Pariah , a dirty filthy animal etc … it doesn’t matter to me not anymore cause in the end … I will still remain the same- a Street Dog…A Pariah for you all. Want to have a peep into my daily life…well here’s my story for you….I begin my day every morning around 6 am when I am kicked and shooed away by the sweepers and at times stones are thrown at me or a stick poked into my bony body reminding me that night is over and day beckons me…I shake myself and come out of my dreamy night and begin searching for tit-bits usually I manage to find some stale bread, rotis and if lucky half eaten chicken , mutton bones… but it’s never comes easily as I have to compete with many other neighborhood dogs many a times I get bitten and hurt in the process of grabbing a bite …but that’s life my friend for us street dogs we have to grab before someone else takes it. Not all days are bad, some days if I am lucky I come across a kind and gentle family which feeds me milk and biscuits… some even pat me on my head and say loving words while I thank them with a wagging tail and full belly…. But there are days too when I am shouted at, yelled at… stones thrown on me..abused and chased by kids and I have to run for my life and hide under the drain which is filthy and smelly to save my life all for a piece of bread. What makes me wonder is the amount of food people throw away…without a second thought of feeding us …but I guess in the end its God’s way of providing us with food…Man’s anger or hatred against us is something I have never been able to understand… while on one hand the houses which house bred dogs who are same like us are given good food, water , milk etc… are cared for, loved, hugged and played with and we are chased away from the street because the so called Breeded Pets are on their way… what humans fail to see is that in the end we are all the same race just different breeds….so why this big hue and cry? The most difficult and tough times are in winter when we have to shiver and cuddle up against each other for body warmth while our well placed brothers and sisters wear coats and are inside warm rooms fully sated and with a warm bed and blanket… or in summers when we have to hunt for water and many a times drink from dirty drains… or outside hotels and restaurants…we have to take shelter from heat and rains under cars and many a times we are crushed under the very car we take shelter from…. while our well to do friends up there are in nice air-conditioned rooms or cars ..go for walks with a nice shiny collar and leash and if we try coming close to them we are hit with sticks, kicked and shoed again and again…..which bewilders me….as they are so called dog lovers and if they can shower so much love and affection on their breeded upper class pets why not us…why be mean to us…we are not asking you to take us into your homes but can’t we just lie and sleep outside your homes and be given a meal a day… is it too much to ask for….How can man differentiate between two creatures of the same species. Who is there to take care of us when we fall sick… are too weak to walk and find food for ourselves…too old and frail to move …no one… the hard and harsh reality hits me: that I and my fellow friends are all alone in this cruel, selfish world and we have to fend for ourselves or else just lie and wait for a speeding car, truck, bus to crush us and take away what little life there was in us…But In the end, I must admit… my life in the street toughens me and make me ready to face all hardships in life… it makes me a fighter and also a sharer with my fellow beings and running carefree with my friends, tugging at them, playing with them, barking at times chasing a car, etc make my dull, monotonous life worth living.I don’t’ mind being reborn as a DOG in my next life …but can God be just a little bit partial and give me a better life to live… can I have the taste of both lives one outside on the streets and one inside where I am surrounded with warmth, love and happiness….. Well it seems a dream for many of us but you never know…the grass is always greener on the other side….Lastly for me the word “ PARIAH” stands for :
P: for Pretty and Perfect
A : for Adorable
R: for Reliable
I : for Intelligent
A: for Alert and Lovable
H: for Humble