Miss Lily is our newest member of the Sauparnika clan. Don't get me wrong, Begum our cat still rules supreme, however with a little segregation laws imposed! Well the story as always centres around me not being able to turn off the switch on my emotions and look the other way when anyone is the underdog (excuse the pun!). So as one thing led to another with me getting into spaying and neutering my street dogs, this one heart throb Miss Lily with her silly ways always seemed to get the raw end from her male gully friends - and in particular was rather bullied by her ever so swishy brother, Coffee.
So after watching many raucous sessions over scraps thrown at them by well meaning neighbours that ended up into snarling battles as there was never ever enough food to satisfy their growling tummies, I started feeding them pet food each night. I thought now I would rest easy and that they would let by-gones be by-gones and wag a tail in peace and harmony.
However on my return from a short trip away from home I discovered Miss Lily badly injured and unable to stand up. Either hit by a vehicle or beaten by some irate neighbour because they dig holes in peoples gardens, she was not in a good shape at all. Now being so vulnerable the male dogs were even more hostile and intent on playing the bully boys to the hilt, loosing no opportunity to attack her, almost as a time-pass activity amongst themselves. So I bundled her off in the animal ambulance and sent her to my veterinarian friend Dr. Angela Lobo to be kept in her hospital till she recovered. After a full checkup and complete grooming the doctor suggested I temporarily board her in my garage and see her through her dose of antibiotics. So plan of action all set into place, I put her into the garage. Now truth be told I hate confinements that appear like prison time and seeing this poor frightened soul in a corner of our garage looking rather bemused, turned my heart upside down and made me feel like a wicked witch minus a pointy hat and broom.
So I frantically started calling up friends to see if anyone would like a dog as a pet…..and of course the answers were many polite refusals! Then I thought of asking my friend Mini Buddiraj who is a friend of all the street dogs she ever encounters, and who has a farm house purely designated to housing her stray friends. She immediately agreed and so off we went with all of Miss Lily's paraphernalia - bed, food, bowls, blanket etc and handed her over to Mini. This was at around 11 am that day.
At 7 pm the same day, just when I was about to step into a CCD cafe for a quick cup of my favourite Hazelnut cappuccino, my phone rang. Mini was on the other end and told me that Miss Lily was completely traumatised, was refusing to eat, and was not allowing anyone anywhere near her. So immediately we abandoned our coffee session and set off to meet with Mini at a designated location from where we then drove with her to her dog shelter, to pick up Miss Lily!
Of course as all guilty mothers do I told Miss Lily a huge white lie. I told her I had merely left her for a picnic date with friends!!! She was just so relieved to see us that I think she would have bought any darned excuse to get rescued from her own misery. We then bundled her off home and the story has a happy ending! She now reigns supreme on the ground floor of Sauparnika, whilst Begum sits like the true matriarch that she is up in our private quarters on the first floor. They both are given turns equally to be in my studio which is on the second floor, so peace and harmony regions for the moment with no border violations occurring.
Surendran looks on rather nervously as he enters home these days from his studio, because he doesn't quite know whether some other four legged friend from the outside world has found sanctuary at Sauparnika. I must admit I am rather tempted, as I do believe a pink Beatrice Potter pig and a Picasso-esq goat may well and truly add a touch of class to the existing menagerie we are at The Collective Studio Baroda at Sauparnika …so lets just wait and watch….Noah's arc may well and truly return!
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