FROM THE HEART OF AURRSA: RIO TALKIN'

WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF!

Yeah, you heard right. That's me, Rio, saying GOOD MORNING to you in doggie language.

Have you heard the latest news from the human world regarding us dogs? We have now been given a new status: COMMUNITY DOGS

Apparently, in March this year, there was some ruling thanks to two separate petitions by some kind-hearted animal lovers. My human friend sent me this snippet from an article in moneylife.in.

To read the article, use the link below

https://www.moneylife.in/article/stray-dogs-from-ownerless-to-community-owned/70648.html#:~:text=The%202023%20Rules%20define%20a,abandoned%20pedigree%20dogs%20that%20are

We strays have been hoping and hoping for so long to have just a home to be loved in but not many humans seem to love dogs and especially not us street dogs. They are so afraid of us. Not all of us bite, you know, just the ones who are traumatized. Its a defence against future attacks from your kind.

A mother's natural instincts are to protect her babies, yes? It's the same even for our mothers. It hurts when a human throws stones at us or hits us with sticks or rods. My body bears the marks of many such outrageous acts.

I'm an ALPHA dog so I am dominant and always try to get my way. You'll notice how I appear first on the scene whenever there's food being served. My humans call me a FOODIE!

In our pack, we have a hierarchy as you humans do. The Alpha dogs lead the pack, the Beta ones follow the Alpha and the Omega dogs follow in the rear. It's an unspoken rule that Alphas always eat first, then the Beta dogs get their share and only after that can the Omega dogs eat. Now, think about it, humans. If there's not enough food to go around, what happens to the Omega dogs? They remain always hungry. This can cause them to rob and attack to get food.

CAPTAIN - BETA 1

Cataract is an Omega dog. My feeder calls him the Underdog. Whatever!! So, when our feeder doles out the meals, I get to eat first. (Big grin). Captain is first among the Betas and is strong enough to challenge me but he's cool. Mum feeds him alongside me sometimes and I don't mind.

There's another chilled out guy in our pack. Mr White. He will not bother to come even if he's called several times. He has a secret crush on Mum ever since she medicated him for mites. Boy, was he scratching himself crazy before the meds program. Mum didn't tell him she was hiding the pills in cheese. He thought she was giving him special treats. Ha! Ha!

Mr White with Cataract outside Mum's door. They think they own the property!

After Mr White, there's this cute girl Blacky that joined us out of the blue. Fortunately, she was spayed or we'd have had babies by now. She too is cool. Eats like a dainty old lady, she does. I suspect some family dumped her because she is very fussy with food and has a very delicate disposition. I like to court her at times. But no hanky panky.

Mum has a soft spot for all of us and really wishes she could keep us in her balcony especially on rainy days but she has a big dog that's super Alpha. Even I keep away from the old hag!

MUM'S SUPER ALPHA

One day, Cataract, our Omega dog, was happily eating in said balcony and the old hag got crazy and screamed at him so fiercely that he never again ventured near the place. Mum was sad. She thought she had won the favour of Cataract and was successful in making him comfy. Little does she know how traumatized he is.

We sure are pleased with the court verdict that makes us seen and heard now. With the new status of Community Dog, our humans will look after us better. All we need is our basic needs met of food, water and a safe place to sleep. As you know, we need at least 16 hours of sleep in the day if we have to guard the territory at night. We barely get 10 hours since we are constantly shooed away from the staircase area and have to sleep outside in the grass or on the roadside. Mum would like to make a kennel for us but the other humans might object. Maybe she should try to petition the court for the right to build a kennel for her 'community dogs'.

Extracts from the article