‘‘If there is a God then please let him help me now’’ was my terrified plea. I kept running but my little legs started to pain. My paws had been cut by the sharp stones and they hurt even more with every step I took. But I had no other option. Those big wicked dogs were chasing me and I was forced to keep moving as fast as possible. I could not stop or they would tear me apart. But I knew that I would not be able to go on much longer….
I was born along with my three brothers to my mother one night. We were stray dogs or as some humans would say, “Country breed”. But that distinction did not matter to us one bit. We were happy in our small family and it never bothered us that we could not have the life of the dogs living in houses. I was content playing with my brothers and sometimes even fighting with them for my mother’s attention. She would scold us a little bit and then play with all of us together. I loved my family very much and could not ask for more. But those were the good times which lasted only for a month.
One day I had a fight with my brothers and so I wandered off angrily. I stayed away for a few hours till I felt like going back at night. But when I returned to our home, an abandoned garage by the side of the road, I found no one there. Not my mother or my brothers. I thought that they were playing with me and so I called out to them. But there was no answer. I waited for a little while and when there was still no sign of any of them, I started to panic. Then I began my search for them. When I was still walking on the road, I saw something at a distance. I ran to it and realized that it was blood. My mother’s blood! There was no sight of her anywhere but I could smell her scent in the blood. I wished I was wrong but I knew that I could never be mistaken with my mother’s scent. At that moment I suddenly went blank. I wanted my mother back. Where was she? I cried and screamed for help but nobody was around. The blood was so much that I knew there was no chance that she was still alive. She must have been hit by a car and later somebody might have taken her body away. I could not believe this had happened. Just a few hours ago everything was fine and we were all together. Oh, my poor mother. I cried for a long time and did not realize when I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up hoping that it was all just a bad dream. But the blood still there, told me otherwise. I suddenly remembered that my brothers were missing too. So I went on to search for them but to no avail. I don’t know what happened to them or where they were. They just never came back. I was now alone in this big bad world. A frightened puppy who had no knowledge of how to survive on his own. Soon I started feeling hungry. It had been an entire day since I last ate. So I decided to go off to look for some food. It was not an easy task though. My mother had never taught us to hunt for food since she provided us with everything that we needed. I missed my mother and brothers.
I walked for an hour or so till I reached a huge dustbin. It was impossible for me to climb inside. But fortunately enough, there are humans who throw waste even outside the dustbin. From all of that rubbish I managed to fill my stomach with a few rotten fruits. As I was about to leave, two big brown, scary looking dogs came up to me from behind. They didn’t seem too happy to see me there. So I tried to move away as quickly as I could. But they continued to follow me. I had no idea about what was wrong but I soon came to know. They told me in very angry tones that this was their area alone. Only they had the power here and whosoever tried to steal food from “their bin” would have to pay. I did not know what to do. I was way too small in comparison to them and moreover, they were two in number. Fighting was not an option for me. I apologized to them over and over again and begged for mercy but all they did was growl at me. So I turned and ran. With the big dogs chasing after me, I moved as fast as my little legs would take me. Knowing that my speed was no match for theirs, I made use of my small size. When I saw a playground nearby, I crawled between the rails of the gate and entered it. The gate was locked and that proved to be a boon for me as they could not enter. They stayed outside and barked angrily.
I was safe for now and ak ll I could do was to pray for a better future. I was wandering around the playground when a little girl saw me. She ran to me and picked me up gently. Then she brought me close and hugged me, careful not to smother me. She was absolutely lovely and when I looked into her eyes, I knew at that moment that my prayers had been answered.
TO BE CONTINUED…….