Mekala Antony feels that dogs mean many things to people, but chooses to define them by what they aren’t. “A dog is not a status symbol, not a plaything, not a showpiece”, says the soft-spoken homemaker who changed two lives forever last year. The dogs she adopted were unlikely to find homes elsewhere, as potential owners refused to consider them for a host of reasons – they were Indian, one was a female, and both were semi-adults who had long overgrown the ‘cuddly puppy’ stage. But Mekala cared about none of that.
She recalls the brief period in her life when she had no pets, as their dog Peter had just passed away and they were overcome with grief. “My son would come home from school to emptiness”, she says. One Sunday, her son Aldrin Jeswinth heard about Lord Jim, a mongrel who’d been badly beaten up by intoxicated passersby at the construction site where he lived. He’d been rescued by Chennai Adoption Drive who treated and vaccinated him, after which they appealed for a home as it was too risky to send him back to the site. “We wanted him the moment we heard about him”, says Mekala. When the volunteers dropped off Lord Jim at their house, they bonded instantly. “They look up to you, like family, and pay you back with loads of loyalty for the little care you show them. And women like me feel safe when they are around”, she says, adding that they make children more sensitive and responsible.
Shortly after Jim’s adoption, Mekala decided to temporarily care for Daisy, a mongrel who hadn’t found a home because she was female, though she’d been spayed. The following week, Mekala was to take send a photo of the adolescent pup to be circulated on Facebook for adoption, but couldn’t bring herself to give her up as she’d fallen head over heels for the gentle-natured pooch. Daisy joined the family and soon became best pals with Lord Jim.
Mekala finds the idea of life without dogs unimaginable, and speaks fondly of Christmastime when the furry ones were part of the preparations, watching her as she decorated the tree. She acknowledges that while Jim and Daisy were fortunate to have been rescued, most others aren’t. “We read about lots of cruel, inhuman acts these days. It’s very sad”, she says. “Whenever I see a dog on the street… I think of the ones at home”.
