The subject matter of my writing may seem a bit odd to people, but there is an unexpected aspect that is repetitive in keeping a dog in India. As @itslokithegoldador arrived two years ago, my pawfamily has faced rude encounters with anti-dog people in the housing society garden and in the commonplace lifts. It may seem surprising to people but young women and girls who are on a walk with their dog seem to threaten the existence of people who are uncomfortable with happiness.
Even a dog birthday party is turned into a reason to bar pets dogs from playing and walking in gardens. The people are frustrated, unhappy, disgusted with themselves to projectile vomit their hatred towards a voiceless animal who is wondering why is this human screaming expletives to my pawfamily?
It may seem that I am exaggerating, but here are the instances that I clearly remember that have emotionally scarred me but my dog just wants to have a pet and some attention from the aggrieved party:
When Loki was a puppy, he used to play with every dog and was very social and still is but is choosy with his friends as he has a lot of pride. When I pass through the lift, people repeal with fear as if he is a snake, but he is just sniffing you to know whether this human is capable of showing my any affection.
The most horrendous encounters happened four times, twice with irrational so called " family oriented parents" setting anti-social misbehaviour standards in front of their kids with a heart patient being disrespectful and grossly physically intimidating towards me for using the same physical space in a lift to commute downstairs and he standing there with his whole family waiting on his floor for the lift door to open to shout obscenities again. The level of irrationality is baffling to me.
Scientific Fact: It's been shown that heart attack patients recover faster and live longer when they have pets at home. Even petting your dog can help lower your blood pressure. The latter can be attributed to the release of oxytocin, known best at the cuddle hormone.
Mentioning this scientific fact as the irrational being was using him being a heart patient as an excuse to misbehave with a complete stranger due to his issues , beings are complicated and unreasonable. One of the many reasons dogs are better than humans.
Another such encounter was a woman wearing a saree, projecting to the world she is a woman who is a mother to her daughter who is so disrespectful that she calls me a " bitch" for standing up for myself an my dog as she goes to leave her daughter to school. Manners of the highest degree.
Thank god, I listened to Megan Markle podcast episode after this morning encounter as it gave me a unique perspective towards what happened.
The other two encounters were with elderly men who were definitely suffering from mental illness or loneliness as both of them intentional followed me around when I was with Loki to initiate an argument with me with instructing me where I should walk with my dog. The behaviour was strange but it still occurs to this day.
Rest of the encounters have been minor with people obstructing our path on a public road, dirty looks towards Loki, which make by blood boil, and if I was in an alternate universe, I would have punched them in the face. It may seem like a extreme reaction but when you have been harassed for doing nothing multiple times when you are trying to take a walk with your dog and have a good relaxing time, peace disruptors with bad energy deserve to be treated, how they are treating others.
Loki has exponentially grown in size as per his breed which has opened the pandora's box of mistreating beings( they don't deserve to be called human), irrational and unreasonable individuals trying to spoil your mood with their hateful energy.
While I respect the personal space of people young or elderly who are afraid of dogs, Loki is well trained to sit peaceful between my legs in a crowded lift and go for a pet only when he gets positive vibes from people. All I ask in return is to be reasonable and rational and stop projecting your issues with pet dogs with negativity.
While the most blatant abuse of power with regards to this subject was from the former security guards who stopped me and Loki from using the tower garden to play, it was a Sunday, my mood was already in shambles as I was rigorously job hunting and the parents of my father had just passed just a week back. The moment was ripe with a burst of anger with my father and mother fiercely protecting their two children as Loki is the youngest kid in our family.
The whole three adjacent towers know Loki as having a fiercely protective family who will rip you to shreds with their words and actions if the situation escalates. The local police station was called and the guards were given a stern warning to keep their distance from me and Loki and the solution that the constable suggested hit me like a arrow especially as a young woman existing in a patriarchal world, he suggested don't let me walk with Loki, I won't get harassed. The suggestion was fiercely objected to my family and I have never felt more loved and protected as I did at that moment.
The instances of harassment can be described as microaggressions over an extended period of time but their impact is on the mental health of individuals who are on the receiving end of the abuse and harassment. The walks have been peaceful as of late but an elderly man did become triggered by Loki's friend being off leash which was an overreaction but the dog parent was at fault as well as according to pet policy, dogs need to be leashed in public gardens. Loki has a special long leash to play peacefully without any worry for such case.
Have you been harassed, disrespected in public for just walking with your dog, if yes, feel free to share your experience in the comment section and if not, consider yourself extremely lucky.
As today is World Photography Day, here are some photographs of Loki to release serotonin in your brain, also known as the happy hormone and Loki is still recovering from his bacterial infection with topical and oral medication but getting better everyday and a thorough care guide coming soon:
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