10 things dogs can teach you!

Ten valuable things dogs can teach you! 

1. Live in the moment 

While we humans are busy crying over our past and worrying about our future, a dog knows how to live in the present.
Whether dogs play, eat or go around exploring things, they remain engrossed in whatever they are doing at that moment.

                                 

2. Forgive!

Humans lack a lot when it comes to forgiveness. We have an unhealthy habit of holding grudges. On the other hand, a dog never holds a grudge. It'll still wag its tail when you pat him after yelling at him for an hour. A dog will never be angry with you for neglecting him or even hitting him in anger. 

                                      

                             

3. Character over appearance

We usually make a notion of a person by their looks. But a dog doesn't see if you're fair or dark, pretty or ugly, tall or short, slim or fat, rich or poor. If you are kind to him, he'll love you like nobody else does!

                                              

                                           

4. Accept yourself

Short ones want to be tall, Too tall ones want to cut out few inches, Fat ones want to shed off some weight, Skinny ones want to put on weight and blah blah. But a dog never remains conscious or has a low self esteem because of his appearance. A mongrel dog will show his emotions without any hesitation and so will a St Bernard. They accept the way they are.

                                     

                           

5. Enjoy the Nature

Surrounded by concrete walls everywhere, we've forgotten to go out and enjoy the breeze brushing against our faces. On the other hand, dogs enjoy going on walks, playing in parks, getting wet in the rain, etc.

                                   

                             

6. Be loyal and trust your loved ones

We fail to be loyal even in our immediate relationships. While, give a stray dog a slice of bread one day and he will walk along with you from then on to make sure you're safe. Loyalty and trust are the reasons why dogs surrender to you when you take them to the vet or groom them.

                               

7. Be happy with what you have

While we are never satisfied with our grades, jobs, homes, families, cars and what not, dogs are happy in what they get. My dog plays as enthusiastically with an empty juice can as he does with a chew toy. A dog will be grateful to you whether you give him meat or leftover stale bread.

                             

8. Never lose the kid in you

We have restricted ourselves to activities that comply with our age. We hesitate to go out and play with the kids on the street just because we have outgrown our childhood. Whereas, a dog loves the simple things in life and does not have an age limit for the activities he likes.

                                       

                             

9. Emotional support

We fail to render emotional support to our loved ones at many times. But remember, no one will remember our grades or monthly income the day we die, all that remains is what we did for them. Go home with a sad face and your dog will try his best to cheer you up. I sleep with my dog in my arms when I'm having a bad day and it goes away in minutes!

                                        

                             

10. Unconditional love

Being such amazingly designed, we still fail to understand what unconditional love is, while your dog loves you unconditionally in its true sense. We limit love with the barriers of expectations. But a dog will love you the same even if you go from riches to rags.

                             

They give us so much to learn and still so many people hate dogs.

Break the barriers, go Hold a Paw!

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Animal Sexual Abuse - A Matter of Shame for Humans.

Note: Some of the content in this post can be disturbing and graphic. Do not continue if you are below 14 years of age. 

STOP ANIMAL SEXUAL ABUSE!

What is Animal Sexual Abuse?

Animal Sexual Abuse is also known as zoophilia, bestiality and zooerasty. It is the nasty act of molestation of an animal by a human being. Animal sexual abuse can be in the form of vaginal, anal or oral penetration; oral-genital contact; penetration using any body part or object. It may include killing or injuring an animal for sexual satisfaction.

Sexual abuse in itself is a disturbing yet hush-hush issue all over the world. The abusers usually target victims who can’t speak against the abuse and hence in India itself, 53% of the children have been sexually abused in some point of their life. In most of the cases, animal abusers have also assaulted women or children and when they didn't find a way to do that, they molested animals.

Legality of Bestiality around the world.

Statistics

There are no clear statistics as to how many animals have been sexually abused because these cases are carried out secretly and the victims can’t indicate, let alone speak about it.

Consequences

Sexual abuse may cause injuries or even death to a victim animal. Cases of dogs with severe rectal tearing from anal sexual contact; cats killed by penetration by a human male; chickens decapitated to increase the abuser’s sexual pleasure; animals beaten stabbed, or mutilated during or after sexual contact; and animals crushed for sexual gratification are commonly reported. In some cases, the animals may not have been physically injured.

A sexually abused Dog.

Until it is consensual from both sides, any sexual relationship is considered as sexual abuse. And since animals don’t have an ability to respond, sexual relationships with animals is an indisputable form of sexual abuse.

Who abuses animals?

Men are the primary abusers, although women and children may be forced or coerced into sexual acts with animals or may be abusers themselves. Reports indicate a wide age range of abusers. Abusers may feel isolated, insecure, and powerless. They may have difficulty in forming healthy interpersonal relationships with other adult humans and may have experienced neglect, physical abuse or sexual abuse as a child. Some may suffer from mental illness.

*A recent appalling case included three pit bull puppies who had been sexually abused in North Carolina. Various objects, including metal screws, had been placed into their rectums, which caused intestinal perforations. Sadly, one of the puppies had later died as a result of her injuries. The other puppies have each had four surgeries due to their injuries.

Why do people Sexually Abuse animals?
 

People sexually abuse animals for a variety of reasons. Many abusers fall into one or more of the categories below:

1. Opportunistic/Experimental:

This type of abuse is often viewed as the act of a curious youth or a lonely man. These individuals may seek out animals for sexual gratification because animals are accessible, vulnerable, and non-threatening. They may abuse an animal out of boredom, insecurity, curiosity or as a substitute for a human partner.

2. Fixated/Primary: 

In this category of animal sexual abuse, animals are the primary or exclusive focus of a human’s sexual desires. These abusers often refer to themselves as "zoophiles".

3. Domineering/Sadistic: 

Batterers, rapists and pornographers may force women, children, and other vulnerable individuals to have sex with animals in order to humiliate, dominate, control, and exploit the human and animal victims. Children who have been sexually abused may act out their abuse on animals in an attempt to gain a sense of control.

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Abandoned...

Remember how excited you were when you brought me home? You called your friends to your place so that they could meet your new dog.

I was naughty and tried to chew almost everything but you forgave me every time with a warning..


..Even when I chewed our Mom's favourite shoes

..Or your pillow

My innocent face was enough to melt your heart.

We were the best playmates!

You called me your best friend!

And did strange things to me

We slept in the same bed

You made me wear your clothes in the winters.

You shared every story with me and when you felt low, I gave you a lick on your cheek.

Your feet were my favourite pillow!

But as I grew older, I started getting sick. You took me to the vet so often.

One morning, I couldn't hear you...or anyone from that day on.

I didn't know what was wrong. I was craving to listen to your voice!

You took me to the vet but even after coming out I couldn't listen to anything.

I stopped understanding things. I was confused all the time.

When I peed in the home, you beat me. But you didn't do that when I was a child!


You didn't hug me like before and didn't let me sleep on the bed. I didn't like it in the yard.
Was it because I couldn't listen to your stories anymore?

One day you and Dad made me sit in the car. I thought we were going on a nice picnic!
Wait, where's Mom?

I loved the place you took me to for the picnic. As we got down from the car, you patted me and drove off.

I waited for you all day long, but you didn't come. I waited for some more days, but soon I realized that you have ABANDONED me.

Is it because I'm old and couldn't listen to you? Or is it because I pee and poop in the house?
I promise I won't do that anymore. Please take me back!

You didn't come so I went to search for food. I haven't eaten anything in days. Finally an old lady gave me some leftovers. I wagged my tail and licked her hands in return. That's all I could do.

As I was roaming around one morning, something came rushing towards me and hit me hard!

A man came and took me into an ambulance. I felt weak and hurt. I could see wounds all over my body. Would these people save me?

My pain didn't stop. All that came to my mind was your hugs and kisses.

The man who brought me here tapped my leg and injected something in my leg. It gave me a tingling sensation. I suddenly lost vision and closed my eyes...forever.

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Ross, a fighter.

Ross, two days before he died.

As the strong rays of the sun penetrate my eyes, I wake up slowly. My abdomen still hurts. It feels like my body is torn apart. I feel blooding oozing out of my stomach. I try to recollect what landed me into this situation.

Um..yes.. I remember trying to go inside the lush green field so that I could jump around and play with my siblings, but as I was jumping over what they called “the fence”, something pierced my stomach. It caused a lot of pain and I screamed for my mom but she howled and did nothing to help me. I was unable to move for a while but then I gathered all the strength I could and got away from the iron fence that had pierced my abdomen. The excruciating pain made me scream. There was blood all over. It made me want to puke and I don’t seem to remember anything after that. 

As I look around I see my mother lying beside me and some kids surrounding me. My sisters are still playing around.

I see a teenage girl approach me. I growl at her. I am really scared right now; is she going to hurt me? Even after I growl and try to scare her off she comes near me and lifts me. My heart beats faster. Why is my mother quiet? Why doesn't she stop her? When her face comes near mine, I figure out she’s the same girl who used to give my mother chapattis and milk and played with us. She calls me “ROSS”.

She wraps me in a soft cloth. It feels comfortable. Her white shirt turns red with my blood. She cuddles me and kisses me on the forehead. I am less scared now and want to reciprocate her kind gesture but I can’t lift my paw, I feel all the energy leaving my body. She suddenly gets inside a small room and it starts moving. The noise nauseates me. The next thing I can remember is she holding my muzzle and a man in white coat piercing near my wound. Suddenly the pain disappears but I can’t feel my stomach. From the corner of my eye I see him stitching my open wound. He wraps a cloth around my belly. Ugh it feels so uncomfortable! The girl lifts me in her lap, hugs me and comes out of the “doctor’s clinic”.

She shouts on the roadside and the same kind of room comes there, oh it’s an auto-rickshaw! She takes me near my mom. My mother feeds me milk and then the girl picks me up again and sings me to sleep in her lap. I like the warmth and coziness of her lap. It feels similar to my mother’s embrace. I’m woken up by the loud voice of a lady. It seems that she’s the girl’s mother. She points to the red stains on the girl’s shirt. Oh wait, is she scolding her? The girl puts me on a blanket and goes inside her house. When it gets dark, she lets my mother and siblings in and we sleep together on the blanket inside a small room.

The next day, she unties the cloth around my belly and pours a brown liquid on my belly. I resist as it hurts a lot. She comforts me and kisses me again. I lick her cheek; I don’t know how to kiss. She wraps another cloth around me. After a while I try to tear the cloth with my teeth. She scolds me. I won’t repeat it when she’s around from now on. Days pass by like this. After many days, the doctor comes to the girl’s house and she holds my feet and muzzle. He does something on my wound with metal objects and pierces a needle near it just like he did before stitching my wound. The girl does not wrap a cloth around me now. I feel so free! She lets me go out and play with my siblings and mother now and my wound doesn't hurt too. I am so happy!

The girl gives me and my siblings, milk to drink every day and plays with me and cuddles me often. I like her company. One day, a man comes near her. I bark at him as loud as I can. I want her to be safe just like she wants me to be. I love her more than I love my mom. She saved my life.

A month passes by and I’m out one day playing on the street. Suddenly a red car comes so fast towards me that I don’t get the time to get out of the way. The wheel hits me hard on my belly and I scream in agony. The man from the car looks at me and then speeds away. My mother comes but she can’t figure out what’s wrong. I feel short of breath suddenly. I have to make a lot of effort to breathe. Am I gonna die?

I wait in front of the girl's gate but she doesn't come out. After a while I see her coming towards her home with a bag on her back. She picks me up and hugs me. But she looks at me suspiciously. Something’s not right. She watches my chest and touches it. I wail from the pain. She takes me again to the same doctor in an auto rickshaw. He tells her something and I see her eyes getting welled with tears. She gets me back to her home and gives me milk to drink. But the milk is bitter this time. She makes me wear a coat. I like the coat, I look good wearing it. But I still can’t breathe.

I figure out that sitting on my hind legs makes me breathe better. I lay down to sleep but I run out of breath suddenly. To breathe, I have to sit. But then she takes me in her lap and I fall asleep. She gives me milk to drink again but I can’t gulp it down my throat. I am hungry and weak but my stomach hurts and I can’t breathe at all. She forcefully makes me drink bitter milk sometimes. I hate to do this but I have to growl at her. I notice that she takes me to the doctor more often now.  He pierces the same needle, but now on my bottoms. As days go by, I find myself weaker and it gets harder to breathe. She gets dog food for me. Mother told me once only lucky dogs get to eat it. It smells yummy so in spite of the pain, I eat some granules.

Ross taking his nap.

Ross, sleeping on his sister.

It’s getting colder day by day. The girl’s mother doesn't allow her to take me inside so she sits with me in the yard and makes me sleep on her. I also climb comfortably on her chest and take a cozy nap. At nights, she goes inside and my mother comes inside their yard. I sometimes sleep on my mother and sometimes on my siblings’ back and they let me do that till they themselves are tired from my weight.

One day, she doesn't come back home till evening. And when she does, her eyes are swollen red. It seems she’s been crying a lot. I come walking to her feet and sit there. She picks me up, hugs me and bursts into tears. I hate to see her cry. I lick the tears off her cheek but she cries harder this time. She spends more time with me from that day on. I can sense her sorrow. She seems to be in great pain.

 Meanwhile, with passing time, my body starts going weaker. I run out of breath a lot and the doctor comes everyday now. He pierces that needle daily but unlike before, he doesn't talk to the girl in a hopeful tone. I realize it won’t be long before I die. The girl looks after me as if I’m her child and cries sometimes. The next day as she goes out with the bag on her back, I feel alone. I don’t have any energy left. Her mother feeds me some honey. I’m hungry so I lick it off her finger. After sometime, I fall down on the ground. I can’t get up. I hear a faint sound of the gate. The girl watches me lying on the floor and rushes to pick me up. I’m woken up by her light pats and concerned voice. Her face becomes sad holding me and she tries to feed me but I’m too tired to eat anything.

The following evening she takes me inside, makes me sleep on her and wraps us in a blanket. Her mom doesn't scold her this time. I feel my pain reaching the peak. I can’t help but wail repeatedly. At midnight, she makes me sleep with my mom in the room we do every night. Before letting me go, she hugs me tighter than ever and kisses me repeatedly. I can see the love in her eyes. I reluctantly go inside and sleep with my mother.

I’m suddenly woken up early in the morning night. There’s a sharp pain in my stomach and I can’t seem to breathe. I struggle to breathe but my chest hurts more than ever. I try to walk towards the girl’s door but fall down on the way. I feel the energy evaporating from my body. The pain in my body reaches to a level till I can stand it no more. I let out a last weak cry and my eyes shut close…

Ross (centre), with his siblings on either sides.

**This article is written in the form of fiction, based on a true story. Ross died at the age of 4 months after having gone through abdominal hernia and later a diaphragm rupture. His body was too tender to perform a surgery on him but even then he made it for around a month with meager amount of food. Unfortunately, we lost him in December 2012. Even though he was in a critical condition himself, he never failed to provide emotional support to the writer after she was sexually abused. He'll remain in our hearts forever**

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Stray Dogs - Knowing Them.

Stray dogs. 

I think I need not explain who they are, just peep out of your balcony and if you don’t live in an apartment on the 12^th floor of a posh building, you’ll get a glimpse of what I’m writing about.

Dog has been believed to be the best companion of man. Owning a dog, I understand what the thousands of quotes about dogs on the internet mean. If you ask me, I can go on writing about the benefits of companionship of dogs but I’ll spare you the boredom. Let’s get to some facts.

GRAPH SHOWING THE GROWTH RATE OF DOGS IN SOME OF THE COUNTRIES

Have you ever wondered why does India have such a large dog population? Where do so many dogs on the streets come from?  Now, this is something most of us are unaware of.

India has long been home to the Pariah Dog, one of the world’s oldest canine breeds. Most rural families own at least one. As villages and rural areas turned into cities, these dogs became stray dogs.

Moreover, many insensitive dog owners abandon their dogs on the streets when they find looking after a dog a responsibility heavier than they can handle. Many irresponsible dog owners allow their pets to go out on the streets in the mating season of the strays resulting in a large population of mix breeds or mongrel dogs.

In slightly varied forms, the Pariah Dog has existed for over 14,000 years all over Asia and North Africa but India has a higher population of stray dogs. Wonder why?

The environment in India has conditions that encourage the population of stray animals – lots and lots of indisposed garbage and slums. Stray dogs are scavengers by nature and garbage provides an ample source of food for them. Moreover, stray dogs are also kept as free-roaming pets by people living in the slums and on the streets such as rag pickers.  

Although there are stray dogs in developed countries too, but they are abandoned pets or runaway dogs. They are unable to survive on the city streets as they cannot find anything to feed on. And most of them are captured, housed in animal shelters and re-homed.

Unfortunately, in a country like India where even millions of humans can’t find a home to live, the government does not provide animal shelters that have sufficient resources and are managed properly.

Most of the people in India loathe stray dogs. And why won’t they?

Stray dogs are a great menace to the human population in India. Let’s see why.

• Dogs are the most common carrier of rabies among the warm blooded animals. This fatal disease can be easily transmitted to humans. Sadly, India has the highest number of human rabies deaths in the world (estimated at 35,000 per annum)
• Dog bites- Most of the bites occur during mating season and fight among dogs when the pedestrians and other nearby humans often get bit accidentally. Females with pups get really protective and aggressive towards people who approach their litter.
• Barking and howling–accompanying dog fights usually over mating.

If the overpopulation of dogs is such a great problem then why don’t we simply kill them? Here’s why we don’t.

Mass killing of dogs as a population control measure was started by the British in the 19th Century. It was continued on a large scale (up to 50,000 dogs killed every year) after Independence by the municipal authorities all over India, with the aims of eradicating human rabies deaths and the stray dog population. By 1993, it was admitted to be a complete failure, since human rabies deaths had actually increased, and the dog population was also perceptibly growing.

Studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Animal Welfare Board of India (Ministry of Environment & Forests) show that dog population control measures which work in developed countries are unsuccessful in third world developing countries. The urban environment here encourages breeding of stray dogs, so no matter how many dogs were killed, they were quickly replaced by more.

When they are removed, the following things happen:

• Garbage, the major food source is not removed so dogs from neighbouring areas migrate to the vacant territories.
• The few dogs who previously remained behind due to fear, attack newcomers which causes violent and prolonged dog-fights. In the course of fights, dogs often accidentally redirect their aggression towards people passing by, so many humans get bitten.
• Since they are not sterilized, the mating continues hence balancing the portion of the dogs killed. Females with pups become aggressive and often attack pedestrians who come too close to their litter.

 Dogs breed at a very high rate (two litters of pups a year). It has been estimated that two dogs can multiply to over 300 in three years!

So apparently, killing the dogs is not the solution. Sterilizing and vaccinating them against rabies is.

Here’s why:

• Each dog guards its own territory and does not allow new dogs to enter.
• Since they are all neutered, they no longer mate or multiply.
• The main factors leading to dog aggression – migration and mating - are eliminated. So dog-fights reduce dramatically.
• With the decrease in fighting, bites to humans also decrease.
• Since females no longer have pups to protect, this source of dog aggression is also eliminated.
• Over a period of time, as the sterilised dogs die natural deaths, the population is greatly reduced.

It is a common notion that removing dogs from one area and releasing them in another area is an alternative solution to sterilizing them. That actually increases the problem. Since they would be entering the territory of other dogs, there would be a lot of dog-fights and eventually many humans would be bitten. Their original territories would also be left vacant, so new dogs would enter… and the chain would continue. This act is illegal and punishable under the laws in some places in India.

Many people might think why dog-lovers don’t adopt the stray dogs. (By the same logic, people who love children could be asked to keep the entire population of street children in their own homes!) 

 The thing my friends is, dog lovers have not created the stray dog population. They only try to provide them a better life. I am friends with various people who have helped a number of stray dogs so far and I’m happy to be one of such people. There are many organizations in India that have animal shelters, provide sterilizations and vaccinations for free. But sadly, most of the people are after the fancy breeds of dogs they see on the televisions, movies and the internet. Every time someone buys a dog, a dog capable of giving love and devotion missed its chance and has no choice other than living on the streets.

Many of us seek a remedy to our loneliness and communication gap with family by being highly active on social networks chatting with virtual friends for hours. For those, just try experimenting by spending some time with a four-legged friend, I can guarantee you that their silent presence and love will be more satisfying and fulfilling than the time spent scrolling and commenting on Facebook.

A CHART SHOWING PET POPULATION IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

If this post has in any way encouraged you to shape a life, ADOPT! 

There are several organizations that promote and help with choosing the right stray for adoption. 

And if you can’t due to any reason, go out and

HOLD A PAW! 

WAGGING TAILS BRING BIG SMILES! 

Source - http://www.wsdindia.org
              en.wikipedia.org
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Images may be subject to copyright.

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