Dobbie…the Contortionist….Potter and Pushpa

The story of Dobbie can not be complete without mentioning her siblings and a beautiful humane soul named Anchal, a teacher who finds time to feed 60 plus Indies every day, even as she and her husband takes care of 20 plus disabled dogs in a shelter, aptly named Second Chance. Anchal ma’am called up one evening as we were celebrating the successful adoption of our 8 indie pups (Well, not ours, but those of Jumpie and some unknown mom – that’s another story altogether). She was requesting us to foster four abandoned pups who had been packed in a gunny bag and dumped outside her society gate. Oh no, not again were my initial thoughts, thinking of the hurricane created by those eight pups even as Reena justified four as a smaller number.

It was almost dark by the time those desolate pups could be brought home. Reena named them Pepper, Bhaalu, Dobbie, and Mowgli based on their mannerisms and appearance. Dobbie clearly was the weaker one or as what some call, the runt of the litter. As per Darwins theory of evolution, Dobbie never had a chance to survive in this bad bad world, being the weakest and most fragile pup with a slow eating style.

All efforts were on to make them healthy when tragedy stuck. Bhalu, being most inquisitive, managed to wriggle outside the fenced compound and was viciously attacked by one of the indies outside. We found him unconscious in a pool of blood with a head injury. Dr Rao of Yapral gave him 30% chances of survival, but Bhalu held on. Two weeks of care, he was back – bouncing around, proving the resilience of Indies.

Seeing Dobbie’s and Bhalu’s photos online, one set of prospective parents got interested. During their home visit, Bhalu turned on his charm and clung on to Gowtham even as Dobbie’s frailty made her less adoptable. The happiness of Bhalu finding such loving parents outweighed the sadness of letting him go. After all, he was the smartest and sprightiest of them all…..well, that happiness was short-lived.

Unknown to all of us, a villain was lurking in the background, Mr Parvo. Probably from one of the adoption drive location where Dobbie and Mowgli had gone, they got along Parvo, a much dreaded killer. Even before we could react, Mowgli bade goodbye to this unkind world, and Bhalu, aka Alex, also breathed his last at Gowthams home. Dr Rao of Yapral and Anchal ma’am gave vital inputs to keep Pepper and Dobbie alive. IV line, drip feeding, sponge sessions, Dobbie the frail one breathed on while Pepper seemed unaffected by the virus.

Perseverance paid, and Dobbie was soon back on her feet. An apparition of bones and a big set of ears, it was still too early to predict her future. Being a fighter, she kept at it, all the while thanking us with her bulgy, black, watery eyes.

Adoption drive visits started again. Pepper got adopted next at the Neredmet camp. In the same camp, when a prospective parent wanted to see her, Dobbie clung on tightly to me, maybe trying to say, “Don’t let me go.” So, Dobbie and Tikki (another indie pups, from our neighborhood) returned home.

Slowly and steadily, even as the dog of the house, Scooby faded away, Dobbie started asserting herself. Tikki being the darpok or faint-hearted, gave Dobbie more room. Whether it be standing over Tikki, or sleeping upside down with all legs in the air, or barking at the gentle giant Duke (German Shepherd, neighbour), Dobbie became the Don. Her poses, at times convoluted and contorted, cannot be replicated and have to be seen to be believed.

With Tikki gone abruptly, Dobbbie became lonely. A bit lost, less hungry, more sleepy.. she was into an emotional downswing. Thats when Pallipad ki Rani decided to walk into our home. Kamli’s arrival changed it all, and Dobbie was no longer the lone wolf.

And yes, our black beauty lives on…from a puny, thinframe gunny bag pup to an expressive, lovable yet ferocious, moody but mushy, black but grey at places, little girl who sleeps with wanton abandon, with her legs up in the air and body contorted in a mix of 90 and 270 degree angles…she sleeps and barks on…….❤️