A few weeks back when the missus was away sleepless in Seattle I drove down to the farm at 4:45AM with the kids and Bagheera, our pet Indie, in tow. We reached around 6AM and Nagalakshmi, the better half of the farmer couple that resides at the farm looking after it, went catatonic fussing over the babies. She made their favourite potato bhaji and rotis for breakfast and gave them fresh milk from the cowshed to drink. We all tried to communicate in sign language, broken Telugu and of course Google translate. I went about my tasks for the day. While the kids were away in the flower block harvesting the tuberoses, I was in the mulberry patch giving the remaining bushes a hard prune with Bagheera keeping me company, Koti and Nagalakshmi caught a russel viper hiding in the custard apple block… Anyway towards the end of the day Ria asked me if she should pluck the huge papaya from the tree. It had been there for a while and I had, over the past 2 months, often thought of taking it off. I said go ahead and she very carefully took it off the tree and carried it above her head like a Mufasa showing Simba from the Pride Rock. Back at home I was imagining that this one would have a bunch of seeds and I would process them then plant them back at the farm, get a lot of female trees and have lots more good papaya to share with everyone. Three weeks the papaya sat wrapped in paper. Yesterday I cut it and yes there were seeds tonnes of them. I shared half of it with Praveena and the rest I ate (kids and Sonali don’t like Papaya much). It was so good, sweet and just right ripe.
Lately you do not find seeds inside papayas. I was thinking this has to do with the fact that most commercial scale sellers pluck them at a very raw stage when seeds have not yet formed, chemically ripen in transit and sell to a ready clientele at the city who gets something that looks like papaya but is probably just chemicals. Patience is what results in true wholesomeness.
But this isn’t about the Papaya at all is it? No, it’s about the story of hope, perseverance, vision, belief, strength, love and purity of heart that unfolded this week. Laddoo had appeared at the gates of the building where we used to live suddenly and no one had any idea who the mother of this absolutely adorable maybe 2 month old Indie pup was. The other dogs that used to stay around the building and were taken care of by residents took him under their wing almost instantly. Proof that when stray dogs are cared for, vaccinated, fed regularly and given a non-hostile environment they become less vile and more inclusive. Laddoo himself was a leader of men and dogs. He quickly established himself as the defacto adopted kingpin of the pack. He was extremely comfortable with humans and because of his size and absolutely adorable eyes that held your gaze he made sure you were a friend for life within a few minutes of spending time with him. Bagheera, our pet Indie, took a few days to warm up to Laddoo and his charms but eventually this guy too succumbed to the little mutt and became good friends with him.
Laddoo wasn’t afraid of anyone, he was always trusting and always enthusiastic about new experiences. Bugger had a rubber band entangled in his tail when we first met him. Probably some sick humans idea of a dumb joke.
This picture was Ladoo and Bagheera meeting for the first time. Laddoo always emanates a very excited, curious vibe. He is always open to exploring new things, going to new places and readily making new friends.
Soon Prachi, a resident and a very ardent dog lover, had taken over and got the boy properly vaccinated and setup a crate for him at the security post. Others brought food, toys, blankets even a bunch of warm clothing because this was peak winters. Laddoo was thankful for all the attention and played with everyone with wild abandon. His best time of the day was early mornings when the pet dogs would come out for a walk. Laddoo would exhibit exemplary gentleman behaviour and sit patiently while walking alongside you when you stopped to hand out treats. Often I had to tell Bagheera to learn from the well mannered good boy.
Then suddenly one night chaos broke out. Laddoo was missing! There was a hunt launched and everyone put in their best efforts but he was nowhere to be found. A CCTV grab showed him running into the buildings basement in a very scared manner. Possibly someone hit him or something. The next 4 days we kept searching to no avail. Then a bright idea came to one of Laddoo hooman friends, Prachi. She went into the forest area and laid out a food trail. A kid this small, all of 4 months would be trusted to want food. It worked. Laddoo appeared from the jungle area badly famished but so much more happier to be back with his hooman and canine friends. A round of visits to the vet followed because this was no ordinary feat, surviving in the jungle after having become dependent on hoomans for his food and water. Laddoo was visibly weaker but he bounced right back.
The security guards who manned the gate took him under their wing at this point and understood how this kid like any other human kid needed to be cared for and protected. Lots of cars that used to enter and exit were the first thing that Laddoo learnt to avoid. He was the reason why a number of kids in the building started getting up and getting ready quickly for school because if they got to the gate early they could spend time playing with the adorable mutt who was always waiting for them when they came to catch their school bus. It was adorable to see Laddoo snuggled in in his blanket and wearing his cute orange jacket. Everyone pitched in with his incredibly well stocked house by the gate. The new challenge pretty soon was to feed him less, not more. Everyone loved to give him treats, I would’nt be wrong if I said that this was a pup who was growing up suddenly not on regular food but a diet of treats. Kids would bring packets of treats from the supermarket inside the society and feed him whenever they got a chance. Adults rushed home from office to make sure Laddoo got his dinner on time. Others woke up at the crack of dawn to go walk their pets and also ensure that Laddoo got his early morning breakfast of buttermilk so that he developed a healthy gut. His vaccinations and vet visits were fully taken care of by Prachi and Abhishek. I used to go out with Bagheera for a walk at around 6-6:30 and would ensure that both of them got a little bit of discipline and training. I would run with them, make them sit calmly and wait for the treats that they knew I had in my pockets. Laddoo was so much more well mannered than our very own pet Indie Baggu who incidentally had had expert led obedience and discipline training. Laddoo never jumped if I had treats in my hands, he sat absolutely patiently like a true gentleman. Baggu on the other hand was an absolute mess. I figured these morning interactions would help some of Laddoos discipline rub off on Baggu as well. They don’t say puppy eyes for nothing, both of them sitting and looking up at me waiting for treats would’ve melted any persons heart. They made it appear as if they haven’t eaten in days and “could you, would you please give us a treat sir”… full Oliver Twist vibes “Please sir could I have some more!”… always.
Things were looking great not just for Laddoo but also for the residents of the buildings around. The kids were discovering that dogs are not always out to attack you, they are in fact least interested in attacking you. All they really want is a pat on the head and maybe some food. In fact a belly rub and you own them for life. They just want to feel loved and wanted. It is us who bring our inherent fears into the equation and transmit out fears in a form that comes across as hatred. Anybody who sees hatred coming from the other person almost automatically gets agitated and sometimes attacks. Then again there are cases where these dogs have been so severely harmed all through life, hit, starved, chased away and left uncared for that they develop ferocious instincts. Laddoo was teaching us that a dog is as playful, maybe more so than a toddler, as inquisitive, as easily trusting and as malleable as a child. Research says that a full grown dogs mental faculties are as good as a those of a 2-2.5 year old human child. Explains how they are always super happy to see you even if you’ve been out of sight for just a few hours.
Laddoo was such an absolute bundle of energy that when he did not get hoomans to play with him he turned his attention to poor old Bucky. This is an aging Indie who used to sit at the bus bay and like a sage just watch the world go by. Every dog in the 2km radius was in awe of the old veteran and deferred to his sagely advise. He never barked or chased or ran after food or in any manner showed any signs of being a clown. It was almost as if Bucky was done with living and was preparing for the long ride into a sunset. Laddoo took it upon himself to make sure Bucky got out of his grownup sage like demeanour and acted well more dog like.
Laddoo had this habit of walking up to people and trying to see if they would play with him, interact, give him a treat maybe. He would roll over and beg for belly rubs at the slightest hint that you may be a dog person and would understand how sacred that activity of receiving belly rubs are to doggos, they absolutely love belly rubs. Sometimes if you ignored him long enough he would playfully jump onto you and try to pull you so that you would get off that damned phone and come play with him. Usually this happened when parents were dropping off their kids at the bus stop. To address this we requested the security guards to make sure he is in his crate or at least secured to a post with his leash so as to not scare any grown up. Children I often saw would go on all fours and try to play with him rolling in the mud and all even if he was tied up. Kids do not have the same fears that we develop as we grow older. Growing up at some level is a scary thing.
So around 6 weeks back we moved out of that building and moved 7km away to another one. Leaving Laddoo behind along with the other pawtastic gang. Over four years we had made really good friends with the doggos as well as the hoomans in the area. It was not a very long distance however the daily interactions with Laddoo would end. Anyway life moves on we said our goodbyes, gave him the last belly rub and pushed off. Or so we thought, Laddoo was having none of it.
A few weeks he gave us to settle in and then absolute tragedy. Around last week of April we got word that someone in the society had complained about Laddoo being too clingy and that they felt threatened by him. The security guards started keeping Laddoo out of sight however this gentleman was adamant he refused to close the ticket. He it seems forced the guards to physically relocate Laddoo. So one morning around 10AM the guards called out to Laddoo and he ran to them. They picked him up and as often happened he stood happily in the front of the scooter. The guards drove off to a place 3km from his home, a secluded spot. There they took off his collar, put him down on the ground and bolted. Laddoo apparently ran after them for 300-400 metres however he tired out how far would his small legs take him? Also this is when he would’ve encountered the first pack of ferocious dogs who attacked him. Dogs can be territorial and do not allow any new dog into their territory. In the case of Laddoo I feel he was disoriented, shocked, scared and tired after the chase.
The first time someone noticed he was gone was 23rd of April and when we found him on the 11th of May he was covered in bad bite marks and bruises and was running from a pack of dogs chasing him. Looking at the place where he was dropped, opposite the abandoned Karvy building, in Nanakramguda and then where we found him, along the boundary wall of Ira Realty, I can clearly count at least 4 gangs of dogs who would have had a go at the poor kid. When we first noticed he was gone we started asking around, went into the forest area to check (yeah the same forest area that was about to be flattened recently). A group was setup and we started exchanging messages on where who was searching, formulating strategies. Again this was about 4-5 days after Laddoo was so painfully dislocated. The security guards under duress refused to tell us what had happened, just saying “we don’t know”. The CCTV technician refused to be available OR have the correct authorization to share footage. Finally when a resident filed a missing cycle complaint and asked to check CCTV for the period when we felt Laddoo was lost we were able to realize the truth. CCTV clearly showed two of the guards lure Laddoo onto the scooter and zoom off with him. When confronted they said they had been forced because a resident was refusing to close a dog menace complaint and they would lose their job over it. We had them show us where they dropped Laddoo off. And then began the search to beat all searches. We all walked at different times of the day with our dogs all around the drop off point. Soaked our own socks and took bottles filled with this water to mark a scent trail (this was chatGPTs idea I spoke a lot to the AI to figure out how we could find Laddoo) all the way from where we thought he could reach till Laddoos home (the society that shall not be named because it could be any society today we are all so anti dogs)… The pets marked their own scent along these routes. We dropped a truck load of treats all over these trails. But no no sign of Laddoo.
Some of us suggested lets get a Dog communicator to talk to Laddoo and see where he is. Desperate by now we figured it could not hurt. The communicators gave us vague and cryptic markers. A dargah/masjid/green painted building/small girl who has taken him home/tired/chased by other dogs. We went all over the area looking for markers. A wild goose chase if there were any. By now the security guards were repentant and they too joined the search. We would be combing through some back alleys and chance upon one or the other guard also looking for Laddoo. Prachi was having sleepless nights, I was crying in the balcony while it rained looking across at the vast city laid out beneath and wondering “where is the poor fellow? what have we done? will he have the skills to survive?” and then going back to sleep. Everyone else was equally broken. I never take my eyes off the road while driving but now I was driving with one eye on the side of the road hoping to spot the mutt. It became all consuming for those 15 odd days. The guards brought a pup they had picked up from Capgeminis offices claiming “this is Laddoo”. We ran through the identifying marks and realized no this is not Laddoo and then the Capgemini guards came asking to have their dog back. Abhishek went back and delivered this one back to Capgemini offices where the mutt ran off to his air-conditioned office after drinking from his bowl, clearly he knew his home. Another time we all rushed to this secluded spot near Kairos International school because Nishant had found the perfect match. This one we are convinced was Laddoos brother he was a very close match indeed but not Laddoo. Once Kavin found a close match at the quick commerce hub near the consulate, we rushed there only to realize this one too had been here for over 4 months. It was a frustrating yet educational exercise. We realized there are so many loving dogs out there just waiting to be loved back. They all met us in such a friendly manner as if saying “take us along we’ll also be as good to you”. One wishes one could do something for all these guys, they are all guileless and in need of a forever home (well not the cognizant fellow he already has an air-conditioned bedroom and caring people taking care of him). Posters were put up as a desperate measure, Abhishek announced a 10000 rupees reward for whoever finds and brings back Laddoo. Dipti told the story of how she went looking around the area where Laddoo was dropped off and that place was infested with drunkards boozing up. She called out to Laddoo and these guys thinking it was some game got off the ledge and started shouting “Laddoo! Laddoo!”. Prachi told of an incident where she was looking under cars (one of the communicators had mentioned that he is hiding under cars) and people came up to her and asked “maam can we help you?” probably suspecting auto parts theft, she had to explain the whole story to them.
I was hoping (because I am not a religious person I just hope I do not pray) that wherever he is he has made his tribe and his tribe is taking care of him. He is a born leader and he will find his way ahead in life. As humans we do not deserve this wonderful soul to be amidst us. At this point I was just laying out the scent trail as often as I could so that Laddoo could recognize us and know that we are around protecting him. I just hoped he would draw strength from this and find the courage to fight for his life.
Sunday afternoon Sonali and I left for Krishe to deliver some stuff to a friend. I had the urge to have something sweet. So I stopped at Rajshree to get my favourite sweet, some mohan thaal. Popped in a couple of pieces and then came back to the car. As I was sitting down I said to Sonali “this search thing is so flawed, how can we be certain that the very moment we are passing by a certain place looking for the mutt, he would be passing by that exact same place”. At the Goa 0 signal quite uncharacteristically I turned left (I usually go straight on this signal). Then just as I took the turn near Ira Realty I spotted a black dog being chased by other dogs. I said out aloud “that’s it, that’s our boy”. I slowed down as Laddoo passed in the opposite direction hugging the walls of Ira Realtys office. It was difficult to say for sure, he was covered in bruises and muck. Sonali said “lets park and check”. I took a u-turn, telling her to keep her eyes on the doggo so that he doesn’t run away. Because of the traffic it took me a few seconds. By then Laddoo had vanished. Sonali was like he probably went under one of these parked tempos. I spotted his legs behind a parked tempo and went and parked right in-front then rolled down the window and whistled. Laddoo came running like a bullet he rushed to the car, looked up absolutely stunned. I put the hand brake and looked out. When he realized it is me he jumped up onto the window. It was him, covered in the vilest smelling muck you could imagine, with bite marks all over his body, badly injured but his spirit was intact. The tail was going like a windmill, you could light up a tornado if you just figured out how to connect that tail to a dynamo. The side of the car was slathered in muck. I told him to let me come out and then I got out. I had some treats in the car, brought them out and our boy ate up like an absolutely starving mutt that he was right now. I did not need any further confirmation after he just lay down with his belly up asking for a belly rub. Still we called up Prachi to check if she also felt the same way. Sure enough apart from a rear left paw which should have been white everything else checked out. I figured the left paw was white except right now it was covered in muck so not visible. Sonali came out as well and now he was jumping onto her. He knew who we were and as much as we were happy to have found him he was happy to know that we came, that we did not forget.
I had one of Bagheeras’ collars in the boot. We used to take spares along to the farm because Baggu gets seriously mud covered and then we have to give him a bath at the farm. I put that collar on Laddoo just so I had a handle on the poor fellow in case he got spooked by the other dogs who were standing by and ran. The boot luckily was empty, I opened it and like the guy who never learns from his mistakes Laddoo jumped right in. Like be a little less trusting boy! I had one of those calcium bones in the car which I gave to Laddoo to keep him busy in the boot while we drove him Home. We reached I opened the boot and out jumps the maestro, this is my dominion my home. Went straight to the bus bay first to look for Bucky. No Bucky, it seems that one has become severely depressed, not been eating properly and has gone away into the jungle area. He was anyway interacting with us because Laddoo wouldn’t have it any other way and kept pestering him to play and be less OLD. Next he headed straight for the food bowls that are kept for the dogs that stay around the society. He knew exactly where to look. Then everyone started coming in to meet the prodigal son who had returned. There were actual tears of joy all around. Of course Laddoo running to meet every new person that came to see him. Seriously beautiful reunion. Sonali and I got thanked for having found him and brought him back (like minimum effort maximum return what did we do). The kids were on video call and very angry with us for not having brought them along. They asked if they could take a rick and come meet Laddoo. We said we’ll come pick up both of you (one was at home with Baggu and one was with the grandparents) and bring you here. Meanwhile Laddoo had retired to his favorite spot in the grass. His left hind paw was by now showing white as well (all markers ticked but then did we at this point even need any markers?!)
Once the dust settled Abhishek and Prachi took Laddoo to the vet where he first received a thorough scrubbing and then injections to handle the bites he had sustained and the injuries all over his body. The vet prescribed the follow up and advised that Laddoo should be kept away from other dogs for a few days till his wounds healed. Utsav and Jyoti two of the young people who had never met Laddoo earlier but were an integral part of the search effort took him home for two nights, all of the others have dogs at home which would get him stressed and not help so much with the healing process.
Over the next couple of weeks Laddoo will stay at a dog hostel while he heals. We on the other hand need to figure out how to reintroduce him into his original home, or should we. We are thinking of getting him adopted however it is difficult to find someone to adopt a 9 month old Indie (yes the caste system does exist even amongst dogs).
All this has cost a substantial amount of money and will continue to do so over the next few days. So yeah if this narration touched you or made you think differently about dogs please do consider helping us raise the funds required to take care of Laddoo. We can raise the funds without a problem amongst the few of us in the core group however this is about spreading the word, getting the story out and making sure everyone understands that the doggo-hooman discord does not need to be as fractured and scary as it is today. A dog nearly lost his life just because a human chose to complain that he does not like this dog sitting outside the society and forcing security guards to displace the dog. This is not fair, we are humans for a reason and that reason is our ability to feel compassion for everything and everyone. A dog deserves to live and be loved as much as a human does.
Please use the above phone number or the QR code to send in your contributions. Even a 100 rupees goes a long way, we just want to know that you agree with us and are supportive of the fight we’re fighting for Laddoo and subsequently multiple others like him.
Oh and yes, the relevance of that papaya story at the start of this post? Well I believe in attraction. Thoughts become our reality. I visualized cutting into the papaya and getting a huge number of seeds from the great quality plant which I could then plant at the farm and grow more. It was exactly as I saw it in my visualization. I said that how difficullt and insanely impossible a search operation is when you expect Laddoo to be passing by at the exact same time as you are passing by that same spot… the universe does not listen to the yes or no, the universe just listens to the visualization. At the core of that statement I made was the visualization of me passing by and Laddoo passing by at the exact same spot at the exact same time… the universe always listens it always answers. Now or tomorrow or after 5 years is immaterial.