PINCHU

Few days ago, I was scrolling my Facebook homepage. One of my friends had posted about a couple of dogs that were severely injured because some Mahan Prani hit them with a khukuri. I could not look at the picture for more than 5 seconds. Even the thought of the pain those innocent beings had to endure made my heart sink, and I wondered how evil the person who committed such heinous act must be. Fortunately, the dogs are in good hands now because Sneha’s Care, an organization working for animal welfare is treating them.

Incidents like these are not new for us anymore. Every other day, we see ruthless treatment and abuse of animals by the most intelligent species on earth…'humans’. Streets of Kathmandu are full of such speechless animals, waiting outside every meat shop, near garbage bins, trying to cross the road, or sitting quiet on the middle of the street without knowing what might happen next. Will they be subjected to a hit and run or batter and burn? Or will they be chained to death, poisoned or attacked with acid? How can people come up with such nasty ways to take lives of creatures who cannot even defend themselves? Wow human beings! You must feel so powerful to control harmless animals. You deserve a round of applause!

Since my childhood, I have always wanted to do something to stop mistreatment of animals. I am certain my close friends remember me saying, "dherai paisa kamae pachi stray animals ko lagi shelter kholchu." As far as I can remember, some of us had even made a plan to start this initiative once we had enough money. Though I have not been able to put my plan into action, it really warms my heart to see some wonderful people/organizations coming together to give voice to the voiceless animals and provide them the life they deserve.

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Initially, this particular post was supposed to be about animal cruelty and how I have not been able to work on my dream to found a shelter for animals. However, a slight change of plan because now I want to share a story about Pinchu who encouraged me to find a new motivation in life.

One evening outside a Chiya Pasal near Pashupati, a black dog was sitting quietly beside a tea table. When my friend and I clapped our hands and called her, she rushed towards us wagging her tail as if she had known us for a long time. Usually dogs around Pashupati do not go near people, may be because of the fear that they might get beaten, again. But unlike other dogs, this particular black dog surprised us with her friendly and playful nature. We heard from the Pasalni didi that this dog had come there from another place and was not able to get along with other dogs in the area. She guessed that someone might have abandoned her because everyone wants to own a cute puppy, but when they get bigger, they become a burden.  “Too much pee, too much poo, too much this and that!”

The moment we met this black dog, she won our hearts. We could not just leave her there because I felt like her cute puppy eyes were seeking help. Since both me and my friend already had adult female dogs in our house, adopting her was not possible for us. Therefore, my friend Aasutosh called one of his friend and explained the situation.  Aasutosh’s friend Dibesh readily agreed to adopt her. It was almost 8 pm and very dark when we got to Patan from Pashupati and gave Pinchu to Dibesh. Dibesh is the one who named her Pinchu because she has spiky hair.

Pinchu's wound is healing

Pinchu had a deep wound on her back when we met her that day. After few days, we took her to a vet to treat her wound and now the wound is healing. Today afternoon, we paid a surprise visit to Pinchu, and Laxmi auntie (Dbase’s mom) told us that she was scared of dogs previously but Pinchu  pleased the auntie with her jovial nature and she is quite fond of Pinchu now. 

                                         

Until a few days ago I was lamenting how I just dreamed big but never actually worked towards achieving it. Now I have realized that one doesn’t need to do anything huge to make a difference. Even a small step at a time can make a big difference. Looking at Pinchu and her new happy family offered me a great joy and also motivated me to struggle for animal rights. Go feed a stray animal, go adopt an abandoned animal, raise your voice against animal cruelty and advocate for animal rights. If we all did our part, how far could that day be when no animals get abused or suffer cruelty at hands of we humans?

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who are advocating and working for animal welfare. Many thanks to Dibesh and his wonderful family, Aasutosh and Dr. Ram Uncle (Dr. Ram treated Pinchu free of cost) for their help in finding Pinchu a new home. You people are great!

Laxmi Auntie