Brownie Adopts The Neighborhood (Part 1 of 3)

By any stretch of imagination, Brownie was neither cute, nor handsome nor cuddly. 

He did not fit into any of the typical descriptions of a love-able dog. Yet, with his unique personality he walked right into the hearts of many people. He also had his share of sworn enemies; but I will tell you about them later.

    My first memory of Brownie is of this young, probably two-year-old dog, running on the street on a winter afternoon in 2007. It was a cold and sunny day. Our area, being newly developed, did not have a lot of traffic. And here comes Brownie, leading a pack of four dogs and growling ferociously at the one trying to overtake him. He looked quite menacing, with his two canine teeth protruding out. 

   

Neighborhood watch - Dog duties

    Brownie was named so because he had brown spots on his white coat. His identity were two conjoined brown spots on his lower back, giving an impression of the figure 8 when seen from the front, and the symbol of infinity (∞) when seen from the sides. There were also some black dots, which could give an impression that he was dirty, even if he was quite clean. He was not a dog that you would want to mess with! This is how we saw him over the next few years, fighting for territory and food. He had soon established himself as the alpha male.

    Our locality, Dwarka in Delhi, was still developing and used to be quite desolate at night. Petty crimes and robberies were commonplace as many areas were uninhabited and under-construction. The first human friends who befriended Brownie were the night-time security guards. They valued him for his alertness and ferocity; and fed him regularly so that he would accompany them on the night-duty. Brownie was sharp. He could detect an approaching far-off stranger in pitch dark and would immediately alert the guards by growling.

    On these guard duties, he made another canine friend. Whitey was a light-buff colored dog with black shining eyes. While Brownie with his two teeth sticking out looked ferocious, Whitey was furry and handsome, by standards of street dogs. Always full of joy, he quickly befriended all the humans around. He would put up his front paws on your knees and demand your attention. I remember being surprised, on seeing my sister Pallavi, patting this street dog affectionately. I was ambivalent towards dogs, neither afraid nor friendly. Touching a street-dog was a big no-no for me, since they could carry infections and ticks.

     Soon, Brownie and Whitey formed a team and became best friends. They announced this friendship to the world spectacularly with chest thumps. This was a dangerous duo, and no dog dared to enter their territory. Their princely estate was a road stretching across entrances to no less than four apartments and an entire public park. Moreover, they had unquestioned, visiting rights to the areas of neighboring dogs, right up to the main road 260 meters away. Whitey's affectionate ways rubbed in on Brownie, and he decided to befriend humans in his own unique way.

 

Team Alpha - Brownie & Whitey

  My sister was walking down to the bus-stop on the main road. There were very few other people on the road. Suddenly, something wet and cool touched her hands. Shocked, she turned around to see Brownie, his two canine teeth sticking out in a grin. It was difficult to interpret if it was a growl or a smile; until you saw the smile in his eyes that literally said, "Wasn't that a fun prank?". A passerby commented in Hindi, "Ghabrao mat, woh shaitaan hai."; literally, translated to, "Don't be scared, he is a naughty dog". These surprise attacks became a trademark of Brownie; he would approach stealthily from behind and surprise you by touching your fingers with his cold and wet nose. The people who shouted, fled in fear or scolded him were not befriended; the ones who smiled at his prank were. Although, they were the best friends, Brownie would compete for affection of humans and food, with Whitey. We fed them sometimes with leftover bones from a meal. But that was not often. The dogs were well-fed, and all they wanted was affection and human company.

    They found this company in many people. The vegetable vendor who stood outside our society premises in evenings, the guards, and many of our neighbors; most significantly, an elderly gentleman whom they accompanied on morning walks, and a lady with two kids. This lady soon became their favorite. She fed them regularly and gave them medicines if they fell sick. Soon, they were duty-bound to drop the kids to the school-bus with her.
    Together the duo ruled the roost. If they were not chasing away intruders, they were chasing cars or playing in the park, happily rubbing their backs on the grass to groom themselves. Going by the number of white-furred and brown spotted dogs in our area, they must have "dated" a lot of females in their hay days. They guarded the street at night and entrusted themselves with further responsibilities in human affairs. This included escorting people to and from the bus-stop. Many a times, they would drop my sister till the bus-stop in morning. Whitey was a bit more adventurous. He would cross the main road after her, running like crazy to avoid the moving cars. In the evenings, at least one of them would be waiting for her near the bus stop, to escort her back. This company was welcomed, as the road used to be lonely at that hour.
    It was after this, that I truly warmed up to the pair. Brownie tested me with his "wet-nose" prank, and we soon became friends.

Part 2 (Brownie sees the City Lights)