About Me

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Mumbai, India
I'm a landrace dog fancier. Founder of the INDog Project (www.indog.co.in) and the INDog Club. Before that, I worked with urban free-ranging dogs of Mumbai from 1993-2007. Also a spider enthusiast and amateur arachnologist.

This blog is for primitive dog enthusiasts. It is part of the INDog Project www.indog.co.in. Only INDogs (India's primitive indigenous village dogs) and INDog-mixes (Indies) are featured here. The two are NOT the same, do please read the text on the right to understand the difference. Our aim: to create awareness about the primitive landrace village dog of the Indian subcontinent. I sometimes feature other landrace breeds too. Also see padsociety.org

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Samson the hero

This blog celebrates those stories, unsung and unknown, that unfold unnoticed in our cities.

Starving waifs become handsome princes...Ugly ducklings become swans...Unlikely heroes overcome adversity and emerge victorious, beautiful and loved by all. Because some of us recognize that they are heroes inside and give them a helping hand.

We change their lives and they change ours.

So, once upon a time there was this very thin and sickly dog on the mean streets of Pune. He had mange and worms and other diseases. He was weak and nobody cared whether he lived or died.

Then one day a couple noticed him.

The bond between Man and Dog is a mystery, and nobody really knows how it works, not even Science. But sometimes when a dog tries to say something, humans understand. That's what happened on this day.

He was rescued.


36 hours after his first treatment - hope, and a sparkle in his eyes.



A month later...







And two months later...



Another month passes, and Sammy is transformed!



Confident, growing strong, happy.



Below: Four months after the first treatment - Samson is a pet dog and now lives in Minneapolis with the couple that rescued him.


Below: Eight months after treatment...Samson the handsome!







The moral of this story does not need to be spelled out, but here it is anyway.

Let's not, ever, give up on any street dogs we see, however miserable and weak and sick they may look. That INDog blood flows in them all, in some measure, whatever other breeds may have entered their family tree. They are all descended from thousands of generations of survivors.

Give them a chance, make one a member of your family...and it's your life that will be immeasurably more interesting, fun and beautiful.
Photos: Lee Sverkerson
Minneapolis
USA

4 comments:

Yvonne said...

What a profound transformation! I salute the two people who took the chance to give Samson a chance at life. Samson, you are one of those heros that give hope to all! Yvonne, Leela, Rishi, Sipho

Lee Sverkerson said...

Thanks, Rajashree and Yvonne. To anyone who reads this, please note Rajashree's words:

"That INDog blood flows in them all, in some measure, whatever other breeds may have entered their family tree. They are all descended from thousands of generations of survivors."

These are such intelligent and affectionate beings. And they are so much fun! Samson does much more for us than we could ever do for him. And, as I research I see confirmation of what a veterinarian in Pune told me, that these dogs tend to be very healthy once given the chance to be. They are said not to be predisposed to diseases as the modern breeds are.

They can make our lives so much better. Yes, they are heroes.
Lee

wandereress said...

It's a touching and beautiful story and I love his expressions in the close up. Needless to say, It's a great thing to recognize the adorable creature inside every mangy one on the street and I so appreciate and respect you, Lee for that. Thanks for giving Sammy a chance. :) Juhee

June said...

Wow! what a beautiful transformation!Love reading happy ending stories such as this one.