(How do you title a story about a family of stray pups and their vagrant mother, and a family or rather a block of families that has adopted them ? Simple . The dog family. Canine or human , your choice !!)
They appeared suddenly, and unpredictably, like the bad weather.
Two bitches, one pregnant , and the other in last stages of life. Both were skin and bones, and both were capable of loud barks and displayed ample interest in food matter of any kind. (One was found nibbling leaves too).How is one to tell the difference between the living and the dying?
You can't. Both clung to life, like limpets. Chasing people carrying fragrant food hampers, sleeping in a garage they claimed as their own, and trying to turn male pets into prospective mates.
Every morning , a platter full of toasts, eggs, milk and other goodies would be kept in the garage by the faithful minions of the generous garage owners, and would be noisily dispatched , within minutes.
The nights would be quiet as both slumbered on a warm bed of old gunny bags, sheltered from the cold wind whistling outside. Occasionally, the brown bitch(the pregnant one ) would seat herself on some porch she fancied, and let out long melancholic howls, that resonated into the cold wintry night, making hearts cringe. In the villages, howling of a dog is considered bad omen-a harbinger of death . Dogs are also thought to be in the possession of the enigmatic "sixth sense".
A week later, the pups, eight round, cuddly masses of brown , white and black fluff were born. They were born at midnight,and in the morning, while their mother licked them clean, and they fought for a nipple-hold , tumbling blindly over each other, the other skinny bitch, the lean companion of the "brown bitch", was run over by a speeding truck.
They appeared suddenly, and unpredictably, like the bad weather.
Two bitches, one pregnant , and the other in last stages of life. Both were skin and bones, and both were capable of loud barks and displayed ample interest in food matter of any kind. (One was found nibbling leaves too).How is one to tell the difference between the living and the dying?
You can't. Both clung to life, like limpets. Chasing people carrying fragrant food hampers, sleeping in a garage they claimed as their own, and trying to turn male pets into prospective mates.
Every morning , a platter full of toasts, eggs, milk and other goodies would be kept in the garage by the faithful minions of the generous garage owners, and would be noisily dispatched , within minutes.
The nights would be quiet as both slumbered on a warm bed of old gunny bags, sheltered from the cold wind whistling outside. Occasionally, the brown bitch(the pregnant one ) would seat herself on some porch she fancied, and let out long melancholic howls, that resonated into the cold wintry night, making hearts cringe. In the villages, howling of a dog is considered bad omen-a harbinger of death . Dogs are also thought to be in the possession of the enigmatic "sixth sense".
A week later, the pups, eight round, cuddly masses of brown , white and black fluff were born. They were born at midnight,and in the morning, while their mother licked them clean, and they fought for a nipple-hold , tumbling blindly over each other, the other skinny bitch, the lean companion of the "brown bitch", was run over by a speeding truck.
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