Give a dog a bad name

The scare of canines returns after a mongrel bites on a morning walk

I had a morbid fear of dogs since childhood, thanks to my mother’s graphic description of taking 11 painful injections on the stomach after a dog bite. During my adulthood, a street dog bit my neighbour’s school-going son. As was the practice then, the dog had to be observed for 14 days. But the mongrel was out of sight. Within a week of the bite, the boy developed hydrophobia and had to be hospitalised. When we visited him, he became violent on seeing a water bottle in my hand, unnerving me. The next day, he died. This increased my fear, and I avoided going anywhere near any dog, whether pet or otherwise.

But two months after my marriage, my wife expressed a desire to have a pet dog. I put my foot down, but she would not give up easily. She tried to convince me that pet dog bites are not life-threatening. She pleaded, she cajoled, and she observed maun vrat. My very marriage seemed to reach its brink.

My deputy, the local police inspector, was quick to sense this. Knowing me to be a tough and no-nonsense boss, he thought out a way to take revenge. He brought home a pedigree Doberman pup and gifted it to “Madam” with a flourish. I wanted to wring his neck, but my dear wife was his raksha-kavach.