Read Part I and Part II
I returned the next day to Anadu across the lake and settled in. What a fabulous place this was. Like a dream, really. There were stone paths between garden walls that led here and there on the mountainside. There were many kind of birds singing and flying about. Sheep, goats and water buffalo were singing their animal songs in the warm sun that rose each day over the mountains.
In the evening Shiva cooked dinner over an open fire, as he did every night. As darkness fell the lights from the town across the lake twinkled and the stars shone above. Moonlight reflected across the lake. I was beginning to think Never-Never Land really did exist.
There were only about fifty houses in Anadu. No roads, no store, no Internet, nothing of that sort. But there was no shortage of dogs. Every house had one, or two, or three. They were used mainly as an early warning signal against leopard attacks, and they lived purposeful lives that city dogs can only dream of. Not only did they live in a dog’s paradise, but each dog had an important job ¾ canines love to have a job, as we know.
They visited each other during the day, trotting the stone paths. At night they talked to each other. It only took one to get a howling conversation started, and then they all joined in. Each had their own unmistakable bark or howl. What a hilarious thing it was to hear!
That night, over dinner, the conversation turned to these dogs. I told the family about No-Name. As it turned out, what I thought was their dog was the neighbor’s dog. Their own dog, Rambo, had disappeared one week ago. Yes, this pensive dog loitering around the house was Tara, and their dog was Tara’s missing best friend.
They told me that Tara was almost always waiting at their house in hope that Rambo would soon return. I felt so sad for the dogs. And for the entire family. Easy started to cry.
‘Bring no-name here,’ she sobbed. ‘Really?’ I replied. ‘The dog is in very bad shape, and not very well.’ Again Easy repeated, ‘bring him here, he can live with us, no problem.’ Oh, that bittersweet joy!
Neither Easy nor Shiva had any idea that No-Name was a mastiff, a mountain dog. The perfect dog for Shiva, who for a long time had been a mountain guide. This might just work out really well, I was thinking.
What a great match it would be, but would it be possible to get No-Name over to the other side in the boat ¾ and even if we could get him over, would he make trouble or run off? These questions would soon be answered. In the morning Raj and I would take their boat over and try to bring No-Name back to Anadu.
Next morning we paddled over. We pulled the boat up and headed to the restaurant where No-Name was sure to be (a ten minute walk). And there he was, curled up on the side of the road across from the restaurant, beside the bicycles for rent. He struggled to get up and staggered over to us ¾ he knew me from our previous feeding encounters.
We tied a rope around No-Name and off we started to the boat. But he would only walk a short distance and then he would stop. So Raj pushed his back end while I pulled on the front end. This worked well and we finally reached the boat.
I carried No-Name into the boat and off we went. He was a very good boy on the way over, mostly just standing there looking out over the water. When we reached the other side, there was no need for pulling and pushing.
It was as if he knew this was his new home right away. Without prompting, he followed us up the path to the house where Shiva, Easy and Tara were anxiously waiting.
It was more like a home-coming than an introduction. Tara, a little apprehensive at first since No-Name was so big, took to him quickly after the initial shock. Soon they were playing. You could tell that Tara was feeling much better now.
Right away, No-Name settled in to his new surroundings. Tara watched. After some exploration he lay down in the shade overlooking the lake and his old ‘home’. And Tara, well, she lay right beside the exhausted boy.
Shiva was a true dog lover. On No-Name’s first night he made a dog bed and even covered him with a blanket to keep him warm, since there wasn’t much fur on him, which is a result of the disease called mange. I almost cried to see that. Oh yes, Shiva already loved this new mastiff very much. And No-Name loved Shiva too. Indeed they had bonded.
Rambo never did return to Anadu, but Tara now has her Rambo II to love. And Rambo II has Tara, Shiva, Easy and Raj to love. And they all have Rambo II to love. Everyone was so very, very happy. Oh, and yours truly? He’s very happy too, to tell the tale.
I returned the next day to Anadu across the lake and settled in. What a fabulous place this was. Like a dream, really. There were stone paths between garden walls that led here and there on the mountainside. There were many kind of birds singing and flying about. Sheep, goats and water buffalo were singing their animal songs in the warm sun that rose each day over the mountains.
In the evening Shiva cooked dinner over an open fire, as he did every night. As darkness fell the lights from the town across the lake twinkled and the stars shone above. Moonlight reflected across the lake. I was beginning to think Never-Never Land really did exist.
There were only about fifty houses in Anadu. No roads, no store, no Internet, nothing of that sort. But there was no shortage of dogs. Every house had one, or two, or three. They were used mainly as an early warning signal against leopard attacks, and they lived purposeful lives that city dogs can only dream of. Not only did they live in a dog’s paradise, but each dog had an important job ¾ canines love to have a job, as we know.
They visited each other during the day, trotting the stone paths. At night they talked to each other. It only took one to get a howling conversation started, and then they all joined in. Each had their own unmistakable bark or howl. What a hilarious thing it was to hear!
That night, over dinner, the conversation turned to these dogs. I told the family about No-Name. As it turned out, what I thought was their dog was the neighbor’s dog. Their own dog, Rambo, had disappeared one week ago. Yes, this pensive dog loitering around the house was Tara, and their dog was Tara’s missing best friend.
They told me that Tara was almost always waiting at their house in hope that Rambo would soon return. I felt so sad for the dogs. And for the entire family. Easy started to cry.
‘Bring no-name here,’ she sobbed. ‘Really?’ I replied. ‘The dog is in very bad shape, and not very well.’ Again Easy repeated, ‘bring him here, he can live with us, no problem.’ Oh, that bittersweet joy!
Neither Easy nor Shiva had any idea that No-Name was a mastiff, a mountain dog. The perfect dog for Shiva, who for a long time had been a mountain guide. This might just work out really well, I was thinking.
What a great match it would be, but would it be possible to get No-Name over to the other side in the boat ¾ and even if we could get him over, would he make trouble or run off? These questions would soon be answered. In the morning Raj and I would take their boat over and try to bring No-Name back to Anadu.
Next morning we paddled over. We pulled the boat up and headed to the restaurant where No-Name was sure to be (a ten minute walk). And there he was, curled up on the side of the road across from the restaurant, beside the bicycles for rent. He struggled to get up and staggered over to us ¾ he knew me from our previous feeding encounters.
We tied a rope around No-Name and off we started to the boat. But he would only walk a short distance and then he would stop. So Raj pushed his back end while I pulled on the front end. This worked well and we finally reached the boat.
I carried No-Name into the boat and off we went. He was a very good boy on the way over, mostly just standing there looking out over the water. When we reached the other side, there was no need for pulling and pushing.
It was as if he knew this was his new home right away. Without prompting, he followed us up the path to the house where Shiva, Easy and Tara were anxiously waiting.
It was more like a home-coming than an introduction. Tara, a little apprehensive at first since No-Name was so big, took to him quickly after the initial shock. Soon they were playing. You could tell that Tara was feeling much better now.
Right away, No-Name settled in to his new surroundings. Tara watched. After some exploration he lay down in the shade overlooking the lake and his old ‘home’. And Tara, well, she lay right beside the exhausted boy.
Rambo never did return to Anadu, but Tara now has her Rambo II to love. And Rambo II has Tara, Shiva, Easy and Raj to love. And they all have Rambo II to love. Everyone was so very, very happy. Oh, and yours truly? He’s very happy too, to tell the tale.
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