Live and let live

November 26, 2013 05:31 pm | Updated 05:31 pm IST - chennai:

Maitreyi Sundar. Photo: Sonaal Bangera

Maitreyi Sundar. Photo: Sonaal Bangera

It was a monstrous large car that took my darling Bambi’s life. She was a gorgeous, fawn-coloured, Indian dog with a deer-like appearance which of course explains her name, and was one of the three dogs living in our residential street in Thiruvanmayur.

The three well-fed, much-loved dogs loyally guarded our homes. I’d like to quote D.H. Lawrence when he wrote “in this empty world there was room for a mountain and me”, why can’t we co-exist? Why aren’t we careful when we use machines in general?

I understand that mistakes are of common occurrence and that it is human nature to err but once you’ve accidentally hit a dog, why run? Why not take the animal to a hospital?

I am writing this not only to channel my distress and shock on having lost this lovable dog, but also to bring about awareness amongst people to give their undivided attention while driving and to be considerate of other beings in their surroundings. I would also like to point out that this is the monsoon season and animals are prone to search for warm spots due to the nippy climate. Cats and kittens find our car tyres to be an ideal place to curl up, so please check the tyres of your automobile before starting them.

Remember Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Without the well-being of animals, we lose yet another stepping stone to Gandhi”s India.

(The writer is a class VIII student and a volunteer with Blue Cross)

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