Canine loyalty and human betrayal

A few months ago, when our pug birthed four pups, a family known to us expressed interest in taking one of them. “It’s a desperate request from my children,” the head of the family said, making repeated phone calls to press his point. Eight weeks after birth, we asked them to pick up their new ‘family member’ as by now the pup was capable of surviving without its mother.

Brimming with excitement, the children, aged five and six, arrived with their father. They had chosen a black female, who was unaware that it would be taken to its new home. Like other puppies, it was given free of cost by us. We became emotional when it was placed in their car. The feeling of separation grew as the vehicle left, even though I was confident that the children would take good care of the pup. A few days later, I enquired about the little being. The report was encouraging. They had chosen a nice name: Sweety.

Nearly four weeks later, I saw Sweety when it was out for a walk with the family in my village. “It is more playful than we had expected and is always ready to go out,” I was told. The following day, I was invited for dinner by an acquaintance who lived in the street where Sweety’s abode was located. As I entered this street, my eyes fell on a glum dog. Minutes after I reached my host’s home, I saw it sitting near us, not bothering us at all. I said, “I also saw it at the street’s entrance.” This prompted the host to tell me the dog’s story.

He recalled, “Rocky was made homeless by the very family whom you gifted the pup. They always wanted to own a well-bred dog. As Rocky wasn’t one, they showed him the door the day Sweety arrived. Their lame argument was that Rocky might attack Sweety. Conveniently forgotten was the fact that it had once saved the family from thieves. Since then, it’s the neighbours who have been feeding the poor creature.”

Next morning, during a walk, several village residents whom I met repeated the sad tale. “A dog will continue to be loyal, but there’s no guarantee when it comes to human beings,” one of them lamented.

However, as there are always exceptions, my dinner host phoned me to share a piece of good news. “We have decided to adopt Rocky,” he said cheerfully. Later, I paid a visit to Sweety’s home. Over a cup of tea, I requested the family members not to repeat the cruel mistake they had made in Rocky’s case. “If dogs can be loyal, why can’t we?” I asked them.

Musings