Kutti Boy

Dogs like Kutti Boy are common in plantation areas, where irresponsible owners let their purebreed dogs mix freely with the local INDogs. This not only mongrelizes the native dog population, it creates a host of unwanted puppies who are then heartlessly abandoned to their fate.

This endearing young mix-breed had a very sad life until dog-lover Peggy Rustomji came to his rescue. He is now living with her on her coffee plantation in Kodaikanal, and has two other dogs for company, Gilly and Minnie.

Peggy tells us his story:

Who can account for a twist of Fate? Is that how Kutti Boy and I came together? He was for sale as a “jadhi” (purebred). Rani came to me with this news one morning adding a sad tale of his present condition. Yesu to whom he had been given to sell, could not look after him. His diet was left over sambar and rice, and his accommodation the goat shed.

I have never bought a dog in my life, and those I have kept through the years have all been of the Heinz 57, mutt variety. However, even without seeing him, something touched my heart and prompted me to succumb. The next morning, money paid, Rani brought a furry, bedraggled, confused dog into our lives, name not known. He was being called Kutti, the all purpose appendage to an unknown dog. I added BOY to give him an identity.

This is Kutti Boy’s story. One day a young girl on her way home found a young puppy whining in the gutter. She picked him up and brought him home. For the next nine months he was her pet, and whatever name he was then given, it spelt comfort.

The time came for the family to leave, and leave Kutti Boy. He now had to become street-smart and a survivor. Garbage was his diet and home. He was found snuffling in it when the garbage van came to collect it to be taken away. The question is, was he thrown into the van intentionally, or landed there to be tipped out onto the garbage pit in the village, where the driver of the van had a brother. When he saw this dog, who with a stretch of the imagination could be passed off as “jadhi,” he was quick to see the possibility of a quick buck.

We discovered Kutti Boy’s “jadhi-ness” was threefold, which put together made him into a handsome dog. His hind legs are slender and not at all strong, he expands upwards into a barrel chest with a neck supporting a collie head. His colouring is divided into black, brown and white. He has a bushy white tail that is his “crowning” glory! Half of one ear has been cut off, and he has lost some teeth. What other traumas he has known we shall never know. But with care, love, security, and a lady playmate to boot, we hope he will continue to bond. He is already taking on his responsibilities as a caretaker and friend, and he is generous with his love.

He is a gift.

Peggy Rustomji
Kodaikanal