38/ 100 Blue Sweater Dog

Just around the corner from our apartment in Jodhpur there was always this same dog with demonic eyes, tied up to a pole and wearing a stylish warm blue sweater. As this was January, and technically winter, someone had thoughtfully donated some clothes to keep this little floppy-eared chap warm and, if I was honest, on the chilly morning I made this photograph, I was a little jealous.

The other dogs in the neighbourhood were unchained and free to roam loose but this stubborn breed are particularly known for their sure-footedness and, apparently, can easily scale walls and escape. But why would they want to escape in the first place? Surely their lives were pretty nice? As you can see in the photograph it has its own bottled water (no puddles for this guy) and a packet of crisps.

This fine chap wasn’t always tied to this same post, we saw children walking him and leading him to the pile of food used for feeding a small herd of cattle that lived in the narrow streets between the houses. However, there were no chapatis for this dog, only the healthiest alfalfa and empty pea pods. He spent most of the day sunbathing and contemplating life.

Unfortunately the apparent kindness shown by the owners of this particular pup in the gifting of a glorious bit of knitwear has a sinister shade. Whilst this creature, with its very unusual bark, will surely be kept nice and toasty and better fed than it’s street-fellows this also means that it stays fitter and healthier and loses much less fat in the colder months.

All these things are important when you’re going to end up in a curry.