An elegy to Goa's loving strays who guard the silent alleys

It’s 1.47 pm, on April 6, 2024, Billy is wrapped up in cloth and carried down to the car. We are not too sure if he has been poisoned, but the doctor speculates that he has been.

Leaving for the hospital, I fear that he won’t return home like the rest, but I’m also hopeful that he will.

Born on the streets, Billy is an Indie dog who lives in my colony in Porvorim. The members of the society say that this is their home and have tried to get rid of Billy and his friends.

But, are the dogs wrong to feel the same about their birthplace, and the only place they’ve ever seen in their lives?

In their heads, this is the world as they know it – there is nothing beyond the road that they never cross, and no more people out there except the ones that they are used to seeing every day.

I don’t know what he addressed himself as before this, but Billy got his name only once we moved to Porvorim, as did the others. Unique in their own ways, they were each named after their personalities.

Pablo: Named after Pablo Escobar, this dog was the alpha of the pack. Nobody knows where the fights would take place, but he always carries the battle scars on his face.

Black Mother Dog: This one is self-explanatory.

Rasgulla’s father: Some people lose their identity after they have kids, the same happened with this dog after his adorable puppies were born.

Rasgulla’s mother: Yes, we have a favourite! It’s Rasgulla.

Rasgulla: As the name suggests, Rasgulla is white in colour and is sure to charm you with his sleepy, little face and his ability to eat an almond while holding it between his paws. (PS: He is scared of the pressure cooker whistle and everything else under the sun!).

Wade I: Wade has been christened as ‘wade’ because she used to 'WA'lk si'DE'ways.

Tripod: She is Pablo’s wife, who has taken after him and religiously goes to fight with the pigs in the valley when she gets time off from the incessant coughing. After having to amputate one of her legs, Tripod was left with three, thus the name.

Wade II: Named after the passing of Wade I, Wade II is Billy’s daughter and Rasgulla’s cousin. She has her father’s eyes and his ability to roll them when somebody is calling out to her.

Pet: Loving and super-friendly, Pet is everybody’s pet

Shaggy: is a fur-ball.

White pupper: Also known as ‘White Papa’ by some of the society ladies who refuse to understand that 'pupper' is slang for a puppy. (PS: White pupper hasn’t grown much and has perpetually been the size of a puppy)

Printer: Half black and the other half white in a straight line, this one looked like the printer ran out of ink midway!

Angel: Named after her passing, Angel died a puppy as a car accidentally ran over her sleeping body.

Malteaser: Named after the colour of the delicious chocolate, ‘Malteasers’.

Simba: Nobody knows where this little cub disappeared, but Simba was one of a kind.

Brick: This puppy was heavy like a brick. And, his twin sister, Thick, was chubby and ‘thick’ in all the right places.

Spot: With her rather boisterous personality, Spot had more than just a few spots.

Lizzie: Named after Queen Elizabeth, Lizzie was a fashionista and always smelt like expensive perfume.

Billy: Although just a batch older, Uncle Billy would take all the puppies on a walk and potty train them. He also taught the puppies that the stairs to our house existed.

The puppies eventually got into the house for a peep, but Billy never crossed the threshold, and neither did he ever try.

Having spent their entire lives sleeping on the gravel-strewn road in the heat of the sun, they always had little to no expectations from the people around them.

Their routine included sunbathing every morning and waiting for the sun to go back down because that meant everyone would soon return. If nothing else, they were always excited to welcome us back home at the end of every day.

But, trust issues came naturally when they could not wrap their heads around human beings and what exactly they stood for.

While one nice man came every evening with ten packs of the tasty biscuits for them to munch on, the man on the stairs roams with a stick that broke Spot's back.

“Do we trust them, or do we not?” they wondered.

The way we treat people is a direct reflection of ourselves, and dogs are some of the purest souls out there. So, while some put on a face to protect themselves, others died because they trusted too much.

There was once 20 dogs, there are 8, today.

Pablo died of old age, Wade I was found dead in the store room, Malteaser died at the shelter after being hit by a speeding vehicle on New Year’s morning, Printer died as a puppy, Shaggy died recently, Angel was crushed, Lizzie died of jaundice, Simba disappeared.

One evening, I heard Brick cry and run downstairs only to watch him die mysteriously in my helpless hands. Thick died on the operation table after she was hit by the cruel neighbour who could pay Rs 50 and get away with it, and Spot died in a similar manner.

This is an apology to all the dogs out there -- the ones we could save, and others that we couldn't.

Attacks on humans always make headlines, but why does nobody talk about the attacks on animals? There is an African Proverb that says 'Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter'. And, I couldn’t agree more.

A life is a life, but in the case of animals, a life is somehow worth less than a movie ticket, even excluding popcorn!

Its 2.47pm, on April 6, 2024, and Billy is no more. Wrapped up in a cloth, and carried back home to be buried next to the others, my sister is taking his paw prints on a sheet of white paper just like she did with Brick, Thick, Spot and the rest.

Billy is still alive in our hearts and in the CCTV footage of him walking up and down the stairs. But, in real time, we give him one last hug and say goodnight as we lay him down amidst the others before him, who lend him the soil – the same blanket that they used to keep themselves warm after they drifted off to sleep.