Kali and Chuk Chuk

Being the godmother of all the strays in my Block, I had to take care of Kali and Chuk Chuk in the freezing cold of the Capital last year. Yes, all of them have names. We also know who is related to whom like Yellow is Chuk Chuk’s maternal uncle whereas Bhalu is just a family friend. Kali is Chuk Chuk’s mother. When she was expecting Chuk Chuk and her brothers we were all very worried whether she would be able to survive the physical and mental trauma of giving birth to her puppies as she herself was extremely weak and fearful of all other dogs. But her elder sister took care of her, I suppose, pre and post delivery, and three siblings were born on a blessed day in the winter of 2022.

As soon as forty five days (post birth) were over, Chuk Chuk’s brothers were picked up by unknown foster families and I hope they are getting the love and care they deserve. But Kali, being possessive of her offsprings, felt their absence very keenly and would keep looking around for them and cry bitterly.

Mind you, she herself was underage when she became a mother of three healthy infants. So, we had to give her the emotional and psychological support in addition to saving her from the bitter cold of December. Sorry, I do not have a picture of Kali and will post as soon as I get an opportunity to click.

Our neighbourhood is dog friendly and we took it in turns to give shelter to the mother and daughter in our homes from November and December of 2022 to January 2023.

However, Chuk Chuk was a growing and very energetic and inquisitive kid. She destroyed three pairs of shoes of our kindly neighbour. She attacked my Skechers but I saved the pair with minor injury in time. Thereafter, the furnitures were her target which I wouldn’t allow.. She was not toilet trained and did not hesitate to pee or poop anywhere she felt like. But the worst was when she became playful in the middle of the night and nudged and nibbled my pet Rinky or tried to occupy her bed.

Rinky is puppy friendly but she is also very particular and possessive about her own things. And mind it, she doesn’t like to be disturbed during her dreamtime. So frictions began. An irritated Rinky would frighten Chuk Chuk off who would break into a loud cry of protest , wake us all up and wet the floor in mortal fear. Chaos….chaos….

We were unable to understand Chuk Chuk’s nocturnal needs. Then one fine night when both Chuk Chuk and her mother were safely ensconced in my house we knew why Chuk Chuk would become so fidgety at night. She was with her mother in one makeshift bed and as the time came she suddenly took to her mother’s breasts and started suckling though she was past that stage. The sound she made in the silence of the night was chuk…chuk…chuk. Her mother was also not bothered by her this behaviour. She welcomed and hugged her. I guess it made them both warm and comfortable. Perhaps Chuk Chuk was in the habit of doing that at night though she was too well fed by the residents of our Block.

It’s her habit of suckling and making that funny noise in the silence of the night which gave her the name Chuk Chuk. Earlier she was called out by various other names. Ajay, the dogkeeper of the Block, called her Chawanni which means twenty five paise or four annas (very small coins) because of her miniscule size and her determination not to grow. My mother’s attendant named her Chingri which means Shrimp. But now the girl has got a proper and respectable name – Chuk Chuk.

With the change in weather now she is up and about and always on the look out to come nside and encroach upon Rinky ‘s bed. Rinky, being the occasional saintess that she is, now treats her with dispassionate detachment and allows her a small portion of her huge mattress. Chuk Chuk has still not been able to control her peeing habit and does it more when excited and delighted to see us. However, Rinky, being the eternal mother, has all of a sudden started milking. For her both Kali and Chuk Chuk are like her children being so small.

Kali’s health has improved and we are thinking of getting her sterilized in a bid to control the stray population in our area. Kali is absolutely black….jet black. That’s why the name. But what we have not been able to figure out till now is how come all her pups are pure white or light beige in colour. Who is the culprit ? I think I will put my sleuth-ish neighbour on the trail to unravel this mystery.

Till then….

This is Chuk Chuk and Bhalu