He was the most abused , most ignored ,most ill-fed and most cowardly stray dog I had ever seen .A brown and white small dog, with a beautifully curled white tail and a pair of warm brown eyes-neither ugly nor good looking but pathetic looking with a haunted expression on his face- I didn’t know whether he deserved to be called by some name, any name .But I who had brought up all types of dogs , all pedigree dogs with papers of merit showman-ship to whom I had given such exotic names as Juno, Rex, Jupiter, Quixote, Daffodil, Poppy and Tulip or so-so names like Blackie, Brownie, Dolly, Tommy and Wooly, was lost for a name for the first time. This stray dog had such a strange expression and such a strange personality that I wondered what name would describe him best when I talked about him to others.
Days went by in this state of suspended animation. The dog remained without a name. One October Saturday, I was looking through the window and found this dog lying with his leg crossed, ears erect, looking up at the sky, with a bored expression on his face. One female dog was surrounded by nearly ten to eleven dogs – dogs of different shapes, sizes, colors and breeds. They were fighting, snarling and biting each other in a frenzy to win her favour. It was a mad scene. But this small dog was lying quietly with disdain and contempt written largely on his face conveying the message “These dogs are fighting for a pleasure which is transitory – a pleasure which I disdain and reject – how noisy and quarrelsome these dogs are – do they not realize that dogs are made for better things in life?” Immediately I named him Stoic, because the Oxford Dictionary defines a Stoic as a person to whom pleasure and pain are the same.Stoic became an important personality in my life. Every time I saw him, I would double with laughter, at the placid expression on his face.
His behavior was quite funny. Whenever he walked the street, he would look this way and that way to see if the coast was clear. If he found a male dog coming, he would avoid him and hide in the nearby wild bushes. One can see only a pair of terrified brown eyes and the tip of a trembling tail. Even the straight ears would be folded back so that no dog would find his hide out. After the dog had gone away to a safe distance, he would come out from his hiding place as if it was not he who was hiding there but it was the place that had hidden him against his wishes! With his hind legs he would throw mud on the hiding place, and walk away jauntily in the opposite direction!
Twilight time found him trembling with fear for his dear life. Every shadow became a potential threat and the rustle of leaves a horrendous war that drove him to frenzied barking. Even the mewing of a cat made him cover his eyes with trembling forepaws and whimper with terror. Cyclists became giants on giant wheels and when he saw one, he would run for his life howling. This howling brought him more misery .Fearing that a howling dog is a harbinger of death, people would throw stones at him, so that he would stop this blood-chilling sound. This made him still more miserable. He would retire for the night without a sound. How miserable he must have been the whole night, one can well imagine. Next morning Stoic would be back, walking slowly looking for a place to hide, if a dog came opposite him.
It was the month of May. My son was convalescing from a serious illness.ost of the time he was in pain. But the doctor insisted that he must do exercise. So he would take short walks upstairs. When he climbed the stairs to go up, my son’s face would be etched with lines of pain and unhappiness. But when he came down after an hour, his face would be relaxed, all lines of suffering erased, with a smile that told me that life is not as bitter as it appeared to be. I asked him what caused this change. He showed me Stoic who was furiously barking at a lone dry leaf on a tree, which went on spinning before falling off the tree. My son said that Stoic and his cowardice tickled him so much that he forgot the pain. If such a tiny mongrel could survive in this huge, threatening world why not a young man of twenty-five, face his pain with courage and recover fast? I felt hot tears pricking my eyes. What all our prayers, our tender care, doctor’s careful treatment and the solicitation of his friends did not achieve, a small, cowardly stray dog had achieved. Stoic had caused a renewal of hope and happiness in my despondent son! My husband and I became ardent fans of Stoic. Even to-day, after two years, whenever our son rings us up from Chennai, his first question is “How is Stoic “? Our son has wholly recovered and though people might say that I am a foolish woman, I still believe it is because of Stoic, my son recovered faster.
We adopted Stoic as a member of our family. Of course, we are not sure if he is aware of his exalted status.But unconsciously, without knowing why, he underwent a tremendous change .Gradually he has become more confident, more courageous and more of a regular dog. His frequent visits to our house, to eat a tasty cream biscuit one-day and drink hot milk another day and then have a quiet nap on the doorstep with a full-stomach with no nightmares to keep him awake ,have transformed him in to a handsome fellow. He has gained weight; the hair, which had been torn off by his cruel enemies, has grown back. Battle scars, which had been shameful reminder of his cowardice, are all hidden now. Now he never folds back his ears, but walks the road with eyes shining with the light of battle and a permanent growl in his throat.
The other day I was sitting and watching life go by.I saw two dogs slinking away with their tails between their legs, trembling, afraid even to run. I was curious to know what made them behave like that .In a few seconds, I found Stoic walking behind them, majestically and at the same time menacingly. I was reminded of the time when he himself had been as cowardly as they were now. What is the strange psychology of this stray dog?
Stoic had been a stray dog, starving for love and care. Though he had never starved physically for food, he had been starving psychologically for love. Now that he had been offered unconditional love by us, he has changed. Love has changed him from a stray dog to a pet dog. If a stray dog could be transformed by so much of love, how much more would human beings change if love is given,unconditionally. At this time when Mother Earth is agitated with natural calamities and man-made disasters, let us think of the healing power of love. Love is a wonderful gift of God given to man, to give and to take.
Days went by in this state of suspended animation. The dog remained without a name. One October Saturday, I was looking through the window and found this dog lying with his leg crossed, ears erect, looking up at the sky, with a bored expression on his face. One female dog was surrounded by nearly ten to eleven dogs – dogs of different shapes, sizes, colors and breeds. They were fighting, snarling and biting each other in a frenzy to win her favour. It was a mad scene. But this small dog was lying quietly with disdain and contempt written largely on his face conveying the message “These dogs are fighting for a pleasure which is transitory – a pleasure which I disdain and reject – how noisy and quarrelsome these dogs are – do they not realize that dogs are made for better things in life?” Immediately I named him Stoic, because the Oxford Dictionary defines a Stoic as a person to whom pleasure and pain are the same.Stoic became an important personality in my life. Every time I saw him, I would double with laughter, at the placid expression on his face.
His behavior was quite funny. Whenever he walked the street, he would look this way and that way to see if the coast was clear. If he found a male dog coming, he would avoid him and hide in the nearby wild bushes. One can see only a pair of terrified brown eyes and the tip of a trembling tail. Even the straight ears would be folded back so that no dog would find his hide out. After the dog had gone away to a safe distance, he would come out from his hiding place as if it was not he who was hiding there but it was the place that had hidden him against his wishes! With his hind legs he would throw mud on the hiding place, and walk away jauntily in the opposite direction!
Twilight time found him trembling with fear for his dear life. Every shadow became a potential threat and the rustle of leaves a horrendous war that drove him to frenzied barking. Even the mewing of a cat made him cover his eyes with trembling forepaws and whimper with terror. Cyclists became giants on giant wheels and when he saw one, he would run for his life howling. This howling brought him more misery .Fearing that a howling dog is a harbinger of death, people would throw stones at him, so that he would stop this blood-chilling sound. This made him still more miserable. He would retire for the night without a sound. How miserable he must have been the whole night, one can well imagine. Next morning Stoic would be back, walking slowly looking for a place to hide, if a dog came opposite him.
It was the month of May. My son was convalescing from a serious illness.ost of the time he was in pain. But the doctor insisted that he must do exercise. So he would take short walks upstairs. When he climbed the stairs to go up, my son’s face would be etched with lines of pain and unhappiness. But when he came down after an hour, his face would be relaxed, all lines of suffering erased, with a smile that told me that life is not as bitter as it appeared to be. I asked him what caused this change. He showed me Stoic who was furiously barking at a lone dry leaf on a tree, which went on spinning before falling off the tree. My son said that Stoic and his cowardice tickled him so much that he forgot the pain. If such a tiny mongrel could survive in this huge, threatening world why not a young man of twenty-five, face his pain with courage and recover fast? I felt hot tears pricking my eyes. What all our prayers, our tender care, doctor’s careful treatment and the solicitation of his friends did not achieve, a small, cowardly stray dog had achieved. Stoic had caused a renewal of hope and happiness in my despondent son! My husband and I became ardent fans of Stoic. Even to-day, after two years, whenever our son rings us up from Chennai, his first question is “How is Stoic “? Our son has wholly recovered and though people might say that I am a foolish woman, I still believe it is because of Stoic, my son recovered faster.
We adopted Stoic as a member of our family. Of course, we are not sure if he is aware of his exalted status.But unconsciously, without knowing why, he underwent a tremendous change .Gradually he has become more confident, more courageous and more of a regular dog. His frequent visits to our house, to eat a tasty cream biscuit one-day and drink hot milk another day and then have a quiet nap on the doorstep with a full-stomach with no nightmares to keep him awake ,have transformed him in to a handsome fellow. He has gained weight; the hair, which had been torn off by his cruel enemies, has grown back. Battle scars, which had been shameful reminder of his cowardice, are all hidden now. Now he never folds back his ears, but walks the road with eyes shining with the light of battle and a permanent growl in his throat.
The other day I was sitting and watching life go by.I saw two dogs slinking away with their tails between their legs, trembling, afraid even to run. I was curious to know what made them behave like that .In a few seconds, I found Stoic walking behind them, majestically and at the same time menacingly. I was reminded of the time when he himself had been as cowardly as they were now. What is the strange psychology of this stray dog?
Stoic had been a stray dog, starving for love and care. Though he had never starved physically for food, he had been starving psychologically for love. Now that he had been offered unconditional love by us, he has changed. Love has changed him from a stray dog to a pet dog. If a stray dog could be transformed by so much of love, how much more would human beings change if love is given,unconditionally. At this time when Mother Earth is agitated with natural calamities and man-made disasters, let us think of the healing power of love. Love is a wonderful gift of God given to man, to give and to take.
Prof.MeenaDorai
1 comment:
Wow... Thats an amazing article..
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