Homeless Animals: Mythological Creatures and Vehicles for Gods?

By Anu Lal

Animals are also part of our moral and social lives. They represent our capacity to love something outside of our own species, thereby taking part in God’s permeating love for us all. Animals help express the good in us. They also provide sustenance for us. Writing about homeless animals from India is ironic. Although in India we often treat animals as mythological creatures and vehicles for gods and goddesses, they are frequently mistreated.

Every day, stray animals meet with accidents on the roads. There are systems in place, in my place, which is Kerala, to castrate street dogs when their population seems to grow beyond control. There are measures taken to take them from the streets and kill them. However, there is no system in place to rehabilitate street dogs. Apart from some NGOs whose work is mostly neglected by mainstream society, no one bothers about homeless animals. Cats often find a domestic setup by virtue of their soft demeanour. Mostly dogs get abandoned in the streets and become, over time, dangerous to themselves and the human population trying equally hard to survive side by side.

The previous day, as I was coming back from my workplace, on a turn near an elevated climb on the road, I saw a group of dogs to my left. One of the dogs was sleeping. The others were sitting in a circle around the one lying asleep. I reduced my speed as I was turning the bend in the road. The tyre of my car disrupted the loose gravel accumulated on the blacktop due to the heavy rains throughout the previous week as my vehicle moved closer to the dogs. As a natural response, I had expected the sleeping dog to move away or at least show some sign of discomfort.

As I watched closer at that moment, I realised that the dog was comfortably lying there, not opening its eyes, not moving its ears, not moving its tail. The neck of the dog was placed at an unnatural angle in the ground. Its face was resting on the ground, the way I had never seen a dog could do on its own. Then I realised it was dead. The dogs who surrounded it were mourning the death of their compatriot. None of the humans seem to notice it. Even I was driving past the incident without worrying too much about what might have happened to that canine neighbour. The dog was probably knocked down by a passing vehicle. That was the most probable explanation in this context.

This is not just a specific incident in a small town in Kerala. Every state and every city in India has hundreds, if not thousands, of stray dogs, cats, and other animals that have either lost their owners or been abandoned by their owners. Every day, several animals are ill-treated. Often, road accidents kill them or handicap them. Most of the animals are not safe in human environments when they are left unattended. There needs to be a coordinated attempt from governmental and non-governmental organisations to fund rehabilitation procedures for homeless animals. At least today, 17 August 2024, when we observe International Homeless Animals Day, let us take a step forward in the right direction to be responsible through our actions towards the homeless animals.

About the Author

Anu Lal is an Indian English author of twelve books across genres such as the novel, short fiction, novella, novelette, and nonfiction. He has a masters degree in English literature from Kannur University.