I too like to be loved

It was a cold morning and with gray clouds refusing the sun to warm the earth it was a fantastic day - to sleep. Suddenly I felt being dragged inhumanely. After a few seconds I was in air and then… THUD –I hit against a cold metallic surface. Blank.

Now before all these happened life was beautiful. As usual, I was sitting beside an artificial pool, my favorite spot, in one of the software companies in India which helps US grow. It had rained heavily the previous day which was evident from the mess around.

Since it was a Saturday morning the usual hubbub was absent. There were only a few people, the unlucky ones who had to forsake their weekend for work, sitting around a table drinking coffee- their elixir of life- talking, mostly cursing themselves for having taken up this job. I always wonder how many sacrifices a software professional has to make in his lifetime. For what? Nobody has the answer, interestingly even he.

Two people who looked identical, holding hot coffees in their hand, passed by giving me the glare that everybody gives. It’s been almost a year now and I am used to these stares, though I am still figuring out the ‘why’ part. It was just after this I was dragged! Oh well, if you have no clue about who I am and are wondering if I am yet another bored software engineer telling his sad story, let me introduce myself to you. I am a dog, but wait, I am not the tiny one with fluffy hairs or the famous one that appears on T.V. following you wherever you go. I am stray dog. Yeah, now I can see your face contort like you stepped on to cow dung. Why? Nobody knows, even me.

It is not that I was hated from the beginning. Since I was born inside a software company, I was loved initially - thanks to the various initiatives in the name of protecting animals. I was the ‘choo-cute’ one to the beautiful girls and their not-so-handsome boyfriends who had to reluctantly agree. And simply a cute one to the other normal people. They fed me, played with me and cuddled me. It felt like heaven.

It is eerily dark inside and the thing in which I am has started to move. When my mother tried to explain how rude humans were toward dogs especially like me who do not come from posh kennels, I suppose she knew this would happen to me eventually if I did not move from that place. Trusting the love that you showed I argued with my mother. Now I remember how hard she tried to convince me.

A year passed and I had grown into a healthy dog. The fully grown canine teeth were so sharp and pointed that it could easily go through thick flesh and punch a hole if required. This gave me a ferocious look. And the same people who loved me started to hate. For instance, a few days back I went near a girl who used to feed me biscuits. She was horrified at the sight of me and started screaming. I was puzzled. If at all I could speak she would have known that I did not mean to harm her but I was actually trying to be friendly as usual. But she misunderstood because of my appearance. Probably this is what you people look for. You are too much concerned about the outer appearance that you fail to or forget to understand the true nature of the heart. One’s physical appearance is of little importance when compared to the nature of his heart - etch this simple sentence in your mind!

Incidents like this happened so often that my mother’s words resonated inside me. She told me that the humans are good at giving hope and then cheat later on. Now everything makes sense. I understand what my mother was implying then. Everything she told me when I left her to lead an independent life comes to my mind. This is another fact that I wonder about you humans. We start to lead an independent life so soon. You with all your extraordinary powers cannot do it and prolong it as late as possible. Why? You might argue that the complexity of my life is nothing when compared with yours. But wasn’t it you who made things more complex?

Now when I am being transported to a care center where dogs like me are cared for, or should I say a care center which protects humans from dogs like me, I feel cheated. This is the first time I feel that way. And for someone like me, who is designed to love and serve the master always, it is difficult to understand what it like to be cheated. May be I will also get used it one day like you, but remember one thing no matter how cruel you were towards me I will still continue to wag my tail out of friendliness when I see you next time. I may feel sad for not being loved but that will not stop me from loving you back.

To love comes naturally to both of us, the only difference is that you learned how to hate and I do not wish to learn that. I’m not asking you to love us but at least care for us!

Yours faithfully.