61/ 100 Cow Watching Dog
Keeping an Eye on Things
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have noticed by making this project that most of the dogs I’ve featured have been asleep (or resting at least) and almost never on the bare floor – they seem to like to make a bed out of just about anything available.
Something else we found when we stayed in places for a few days was that the same dogs stayed mostly within their little territories and we would see them in the same places every time we walked by. Considering they aren’t held captive by anyone and could, effectively, travel anywhere in half of the world, it’s quite fascinating that they are content to live in a relatively small area. I suppose they have no concept of the larger world and, given that they already have what they need, they have no reason to look for a new place to live.
The dog in the photograph above was in the small Rajasthani town of Pushkar. A nice town full mostly of young Israeli men, allegedly avoiding military service whilst they smoked copious amounts of weed. There were so many of them that the cafe menus were all written in English and Hebrew.
The route from the tiny village we were staying in took us through this small but bustling square each day. There was always something going on there, especially in the early morning when the first rays of sunlight started to warm the chilly night air of the Thar desert. Cattle appeared to see if any food had been left out for them. A fruit and snack vendor had arrived to set up for the day and tourists, like us, were passing through looking for a place for breakfast.
On a high stone plinth, set on one corner of the square, was always this same dog. It was only there in the morning – perhaps it had other duties in the afternoon – but it clearly liked to observe the movements of the people and animals through this busy intersection. Perhaps it was there to guard its space, or maybe it was because it had found the best place to warm itself in the gentle sunshine?
