Compassion For The Untouchables

It is a lousy feeling when you desperately want to follow what your heart says and yet mindful of the serious repercussions resulting from it. Following my heart here means showing some kindness to a starving stray bitch and her three puppies and the repercussions are....

 It is a known fact that Islam forbids any direct contact with these canines. All contacts, either intentional or otherwise, should be followed by  a special cleansing ritual using mud and water. It is this rigid condition that have the  Muslims shying away from the dogs. (At least that is the reason I would like to believe) Even if I'm prepared to undertake this tedious religious obligation, mud and all, I am sure there would still be a few who would be misled into thinking that I am a tad too compromising, as far as religion goes. On the other hand, I am positive the vast majority of Muslims the world over would not hesitate to show the same compassion for these unfortunate strays had they been presented with the same scenario that was portrayed before my eyes.

A few mornings ago, when the garage door was opened I saw this poor thing and her young ones crouching in front of my gate. They were obviously not bothered by my presence, giving not the slightest of indication that they would leave the place immediately. Ever the soft-hearted, I decided to let them stay and rest their weary bodies for a bit more until I saw mummy scratching herself raw, an obvious sign of the presence of fleas!  Despite the darkness of the early morning sky (it was 5a.m.) I could still make out their balding skins with scattered patches of the remaining hair.  I had no choice but to shoo them off and only when they stood up did I notice how thin and scraggly both mummy and puppies were, one pup was limping badly.

Yes,I solved one problem in chasing them away only to encounter yet another one which is even more heart wrenching, one that keeps gnawing at my conscience even as I am writing this. 

Was I cruel in chasing them away when all they needed at that time was just a temporary shelter before starting their day scavenging for leftovers? I am in a terrible dilemma.........giving them food, even once, would have them camping outside my house for good. This gesture, no matter how noble and appropriate they may appear to me, would definitely be met with an all round disapproval from my neighbours. They would most certainly resent sharing their living space with a bunch of hungry, dirty, smelly, flea-infested and occasionally violent four-legged intruders. Much as I hate to admit, they are absolutely  right!

Then, there are my eight stray cats to consider. These fuzzies will emerge from all corners of the earth converging in my house for breakfast and again in the evening for dinner, without fail, before disappearing to their hideouts. Like my neighbours, they, too, would not have consented to my desire to take custody of their life-long enemies as well. The dogs would be another hurdle for them to overcome before they reach their destination......my house, of course!

Last but not least, there are those fleas to consider. I don't want them crawling all over me. I have seen how my cousin suffered huge rashes over his entire body and it took days to ebb off. I am not ready to take the  risk.

So, where do I go from here? How do I feed those hungry dogs without making my neighbours wary of my religious beliefs, without betraying my poor cats and without exposing myself to those dreadful crawlies. Should I just erase the whole sad episode from my mind or succumb to my heart's desire and hence, risk being ostracised yet again? I am at a very difficult crossroads. I just hope and pray that I don't see them again and that God Almighty has found shelter and food for them.

I should have taken a photograph of those poor things that morning but my sole objective then was to chase them off and I worked really hard at that to the exclusion of everything else. Ordinarily, that's how my one-track mind works but at 5 a.m.,it automatically shrinks to a much narrower track, unfortunately!!!!! So, that explains why there are no photos.

P.S.  I managed to capture an image of mummy minus the young ones when it came round again a few days after I started writing this article.

This is the best shot that I could offer of the poor dog minus her young ones.  Her legs are obviously faster than my aging ones for me to focus properly.

The black patch outside the gate is the silhouette of the unfortunate dog

One of the stray cats waiting for breakfast to be served in a danger-free zone atop my dividing wall at the break of dawn!

Two more of the strays on the other side of the dividing wall on no man's territory 

One more stray cat waiting patiently for its turn to be served.