Voice of Indie

 

It was a sunny evening, as usual, people sat by the shore enjoying the view and Vizag's very own muri mixture. While walking on the footpath, a young woman stopped by an indie dog that was yelping loudly. She picked up the indie dog in her arms to pacify it. She quickly noticed a newspaper page beneath it—with a picture of indie dogs marked with a cross❌.

She took the indie dog with her to the beach. They both sat comfortably on the sand watching the waves. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Why was there a cross mark on dogs' faces?" The woman got baffled as there was no one around. It got her thinking, "Am I hearing voices again?"

"Here I am!" shouted the dog.

She looked at the dog and pinched herself, "What… what am I hearing?"

"Is that you?" she asked chaotically, pointing to the dog.

"Yes, I am Cheeto. Now, will you answer my question?"

She was in awe for a second like "Is this for real?". Somehow her fondness towards dogs and her curious nature made her reply.

"Even if I explain, you wouldn't understand," she exclaimed.

Just like she thought, Cheeto replied.

"At least try. It's breaking my heart to see this picture."

"What does that mean?" Cheeto asked again.

She began to explain, "Basically, Cheeto, dogs like you might be moved to shelters so that you would be less of a threat to kids and senior citizens on Indian roads."

"Do we look like a threat?" asked Cheeto.

"I told you, you wouldn't understand. It's all for safety purposes, not to relocate you against your happiness, Cheeto," she rebutted.

"Does this mean they will take me away from the beach, my friends, and the Parle-G biscuits that Rohan brings every morning? This is very bad. What did I do?" Cheeto snapped.

She quietly listened to Cheeto's rant.

"Every morning I enjoy running with Sharma uncle on the shore, and evenings are delightful with a variety of people. Some people even take pictures of me… like I'm a model. They all would miss me, right?" Cheeto asked, looking for reassurance.

She became awfully calm, not knowing how to respond. She then hesitantly answered, "They might miss you."

"Even if they don't, I would!" shouted Cheeto.

"What will they do… will they kidnap me, just like my cousin Choco? You know one day Choco was happily running on the footpath. A troop of big uncles captured Choco in their net and he never returned. They should have dropped Choco back after playing, right? Then why did they take away our Choco?"

"Will they take me away, too? Can you take me to your home, please? I want to stay back here," begged Cheeto.

She didn't have an answer. With a heavy heart, looking at Cheeto's puppy eyes, she said, "I can't take you home, Cheeto. Amma wouldn't approve of you. But I promise every evening I will come to play with you and bring your favourite food."

"No, no," cried Cheeto.

Being helpless, she bade good-bye to Cheeto. Cheeto was crying hard and her eyes welled up too.

The next day, she returned to the same spot near R.K Beach, but she couldn't find Cheeto. She called out loudly, "Cheeto!" but no answer.

She became nervous and ran all over looking for Cheeto, but found no sign of him. Tired of searching, she sat down on the bench in a park nearby.

She began cursing herself and imagining every possible worst-case scenario for not taking Cheeto home. Just then, she heard woofs and laughs from behind. She turned without any expectation and found Cheeto.

Oh God—the relief she felt at that moment, watching Cheeto playing with a little boy, was indescribable. That very moment she realised Cheeto, Choco or any other stray dogs were not meant to be restricted in shelters. They should be set free. 

Aren't we all meant to be coexisting?