Show kindness and compassion to stray dogs

Sir Frank Peters

A dog is the only creature on earth that loves you more than you love yourself and, not too surprisingly, it’s an anagram of God If it weren’t for dogs, none of us would have any sincere friends 

Sir Frank Peters

Shame! Shame! Shame! Countless tons of food are shamefully discarded every day throughout Bangladesh.

Most homes, except the poorest of the poor who can’t afford food even for themselves, continuously throw away good nourishing, life-sustaining food instead of giving it to their canine friends, those starving dogs and their puppies who roam the streets in search of food, a little human kindness and compassion, and encounter all forms of abuse and brutality on their ever precarious life-threatening journey.

Have we become such an indifferent and heartless society that we won’t even give what we don’t need... what we discard as waste ... to help fellow travellers on this earth who are down on their luck? And still expect to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven?

Where is the level of compassion within a human being, if they can’t even give what is worthless to them to benefit the canine homeless and destiture?

Why should stray dogs be made to suffer hunger totally unnecessarily? A dog is the only creature on earth that loves you more than you love yourself and, not too surprisingly, it’s an anagram of God.

If it weren’t for dogs, none of us would have any sincere friends.

If nothing else, stray dogs help break down the false facade of humanity we project and show it in its true crumbling, appalling state.

                                                Homeless

We may not be able to alleviate their homeless problem (but should try). At least we can help fill their stomachs and bequeath them a little comfort to face the long, bitterly cold nights of Winter during which many (especially puppies) are doomed to die from starvation and hypothermia.

Those who seek genuine friendship and appreciation can’t fail if they get themselves a dog.

There’s an old saying, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’. The poison in this case is all the left-over food that’s gathered in a bucket in the corner of the kitchen and then (outrageously) thrown into the dustbin outside... but that ‘poison’ is ‘meat’, sustenance, and life-saving to any stray dog.

A human does not really know what appreciation looks like until they feed a hungry stray dog. It is as if they had more than one tail and I’m sure many dogs wished they had to demonstrate how grateful they are.

I’ve been practising what I preach for quite some time. When I don’t have food to give and I’m approached by a canine fellow traveller I buy a packet of biscuits and give it those. When I return to villages, sometimes weeks later, the dogs, with tails wagging, are among the welcoming committee! They remember. Sometimes they even bring their newborn children to introduce them to me!

It’s quite an economic arrangement, I do not have to worry about engaging security, my canine friends are nearby to lend a helping paw – or a set of teeth – if needed! Ha!                                  Going about Allah’s work

It was particularly heart-warming the other day when I stumbled across eight-year-old Ayan Kabir in Vatara, Dhaka. He was busy distributing his family food left-overs and food waste to an unwed young mother and her offspring.

“She had ten puppies when I first saw them, but two have already died,” he said with sadness in his voice. “I’ve fallen in love with one of the puppies who licks my hand and never stops wagging its tail. I would love to take it home with me,” he said, “but I live in an apartment and it would be impossible, so I come to feed them twice a day instead.”

Do you mind it licking your hand, I asked him. “Of course not”, he replied, “I wash them the moment I get home.”

This week, a wedding near his home came as a divine blessing for the dog and its puppies. Young Ayan approached the organizers and took away a big bag of chicken, beef, and mutton bones, wrapped them up well to avoid any smell from escaping, and put them in the family refrigerator. The local canine community has been blessing the young married couple – and Ayan – in their own way, ever since!

No stray dog deserves to live a dog’s life as they do in Bangladesh. A little bit of compassion and consideration as demonstrated by the kind-hearted eight-year-old Ayan is all that’s necessary.

APPEAL

Make it a habit that after each meal, save all the bones that would normally go into the bin, and give them to the first dog you meet on the way to school, work, church or mosque. Show some compassion and humanity, and benefit yourself in the eyes of Allah and mankind by making a difference.

Niceness is priceless – it costs nothing to be nice.

(Sir Frank Peters is a former newspaper and magazine publisher and editor; a humanitarian, canine admirer, human rights activist, and an Honorary Member of the Bangladesh Freedom Fighters.) <SirFrankPeters@gmail.com>