Dogs, they run

It’s hard to believe how many dogs there are around the Kathmandu valley. They sleep rolled up in the side of the roads, they howl at the moon at nights and they go around minding their own business, sometimes stopping to see if you would have some treat for them.

I find it sad, that most of them are scared of humans, always eying are you going to kick and keeping out of the way. Then there are the ones who get so happy, when you greet them or play with them a bit. One time this one dog saw me waiting for a bus across the road. He stopped, looked left and right, crossed the road, licked my hand and happily went on his way – I guess he thought I deserved a kiss.

Mostly the dogs have a life of their own. They have their routes and their lives. I meet many of the same dogs daily at certain times in certain places: the one, in the mornings who has hurt his leg, but still he runs with three legs happily alongside the bus going somewhere, the ones that come and check our yard at work, sometimes getting a nap in the sun, or the dogs who live on my street, always checking who is coming and going.

Most of the dogs are very clever; they look right and left before crossing the road. They know the best places to find lunch or dinner. But sometimes these Tramps get into accidents, like the one I saw lying bleeding beside the road- there was nothing to be done anymore. There are also the Ladys – the ones who have owners. Some of them live only inside the human homes, others get food and perhaps shelter from the people, but may come and go as they please. I’m not sure how lucky are the ones living inside of peoples homes, it seems that there is not a lot of awareness about dog treatment here, and the home-dogs don’t get out for exercise that often.

In Buddhism is believed, that someone who hurts animals in his or her human life, like a butcher, will be reborn as an animal. After several reborns as animals, they will be born as dogs and after the dog life there is opportunity to be humans again. Also in Hinduism there is space for the dog.: Kukur (dogs) are believed to guard the underworld. And during the festival Tihar also dogs get their blessings; they will get a tika on their head and flowers on their neck.  

Though there is space in the religion for dogs, they are not respected animals in the Nepalese culture. I’m sure there are dog lovers, but for most the dog is a useless animal, because it doesn’t produce anything important: milk, eggs, meat. This also means that there are quite a lot of dogs in bad shape, with bruises, diseases, malnourishment… But nevertheless it makes me happy to see these creatures run around in their own lives, and I don’t mind the random kiss every now and then.