Whitey & Us!

A dog lover since childhood, my husband was known to adopt strays in the colony, feed and care for them. Although he always longed to bring one of them in, his parents would hear nothing of it. Along came Whitey and everything changed. Born in one of the quiet corners of Sector A, Pocket A Vasant Kunj, Whitey was a fiesty little thing. The story of how Whitey found a home in Gaurav's room is his fiesty nature...something Gaurav says they both share ;)

As the story goes, Gaurav, while in college in Bangalore would see Whitey on his visits home during the holidays. Whitey would walk and play and follow Gaurav and his friends while they walked around the colony during their late night hang out sessions. He was a very territorial dominant dog, and with these young boys by him, he felt even more confident to conquer the streets! This continued for a few years till Gaurav completed his education and moved back to Delhi. Now Whitey along with his docile lovable companion Browney decided to stay close to Gaurav's gate. They would eat at the gate, stay there all day long and sleep under some of the cars parked close by.

An energetic, playful yet slightly ferocious thing had caught Gaurav's fancy. He would follow Gaurav and his friends all the time and happily play with them. The only time he would leave their side was to bark at the guards of the colony when they walked by hitting their huge sticks to the ground. Till one night Gaurav found Whitey charging and biting one of the colony guards. At the moment, after shooing Whitey away and Gaurav took the guard to the closest open hospital at 12.30 pm for initial first aid and anti-rabies vaccination. As Gaurav would later notice, Whitey was scared and would always try charged at all guards on hearing the noise of their sticks hit the ground. It reminded him of how he had once lost an old friend, another stray, to a guard hitting him on the head with the stick. He then made it clear to the guards and all others that Whitey and Browney were under his care.

One day, on returning home from an outing, Whitey was nowhere to be found. Gaurav searched everywhere only to be informed the MCD had come and taken the dogs. Gaurav was ready to go fight with the neighbors who had called them to get rid of his friend and ally! But soon Whitey was back. As per law the MCD have to return the dogs they take away for sterilization to the same spot they picked them from. A relieved Gaurav took care of a scared Whitey and as the bond between them grew, so did Whitey's possessiveness of the area surrounding Gaurav's house.

Browney and he would sit there relaxed until someone would come to enter the house and then Whitey would charge at them. He would also make it difficult for children in the area to play close to the house. People had started to complain. But this was only Whitey, docile little Browney would just be by his side, more for his own safety. For everytime they entered into a fight with other dogs, Whitey would be in the forefront protecting Browney too.

After one such fight late in the night, Gaurav found Whitey with his ear cut open and a few maggots in the wound. Due to the bond the two shared, Whitey let Gaurav take care of him all through the night. And as soon as the vet opened in the morning, Gaurav and Whitey were there to get Whitey's ear healed.

The process was slow and long and required application of an ointment on to Whitey's wounds. It was during this time that the bond grew stronger. And more importantly, due to the frequent application of medicine needed for his wounds, Whitey had found a home in Gaurav's room, much to the unhappiness of Gaurav's family!

Over 6 years later, Whitey, who we estimate is now 7 or 8 years old, is now an integral member of our family. He now lives with us and we cannot imagine our life without him. He has lost his old friend Browney but made new little friends, ones he likes to dominate and scare sometimes. Extremely territorial and faithful, this little white mutt is the center of our world!

He is the happiness we get at the end of a bad day,

And the love after a bitter tiff..

He is the baby of the house,

And the brother that protects us..

He guides us when we are alone,

And without doubt follows us in whatever we decide..

His wagging tail and drooling mouth,

Those rationed licks and the puppy face..

His love for food and his love for us,

Our baby is here at home with us!