dogs club

Epic is not only a stunningly handsome little INDog: he's also an absolute hero!  His human Aparna Tiwari Pandey sent in his survival and rescue story.  'Kindness' is a word that should be ingrained in every decision that a person makes. When we returned to India after many years abroad, the biggest shock was for my daughter Sakshi, who had been out of the country since the age of eight. Her initial reaction to seeing so many street dogs on Indian roads was horror and disgust at the callous treatment meted out to these creatures by humans - including people in our housing society. She resolved to do whatever was in her control to help them. She spent all her pocket money feeding the dogs in our area twice a day. Although we initially viewed this with slight trepidation, as time went by we were bowled over by the intelligence, friendliness and protective behaviour of these street dogs. Dogs that were shunned by society and abused beyond belief, showed more humanity, kindness...

Here's an update on lovely Radha, from her human Connie Hills! If you've followed this blog for a while, you may have read her earlier posts  Radha   and   Radha eight months later . Our INDog-mix Radha, from Chennai, India, came to live with us in San Francisco four years ago. When I met her, it was love at first sight. That sweet face with big doe eyes melted my heart. She walked slowly due to her funny feet - which suited my pace just fine. At home, she was initially timid - stayed on her cozy bed round the clock - unless it was time for walks or food. She rarely drank water. Outside, she was reactive with other dogs, especially those off leash. She bristled at cars passing by, motorcycles, trucks, even pedestrians. We stopped walking her in the neighbourhood, and instead drove her to the park, or the lake - where there are fewer distractions. At our cabin in the mountains, she enjoyed the quiet of the tall trees. Photos below: Radha in the mountains In the last four y...

Revisiting Vandana's INDog family after quite a long gap. Here is Jelly, perched on high places in true landrace dog fashion, looking gorgeous as always! Now only Jelly remains of beautiful Chocos's clan . The beautiful, serene-looking area in which they lived (in Palakkad) turned out to be death-trap after all. The state of Kerala seems to have little law enforcement or decency where dogs are concerned, even pet dogs. In the last few years Chocos, her daughters and her friend Karumban fell victim to hostile and criminal neighbours, and there was one tragedy after another.  In an earlier post I had admired the freedom and safety this family seemed to enjoy; so much better, it seemed, than the fate of our city INDogs confined to sofas and pavement walks. Now with great sadness I have to take back those words.  Two other pet INDogs I knew of in Kerala also disappeared without a trace.  I suspect the life of village dogs all over India will also change a lot over the coming...

We have great news for fans of INDogs, Indies, aboriginal and landrace dogs, and Indian dog breeds! Presenting for your reading pleasure, for the first time ever, the digitised version of the highly sought-after classic, W. V. Soman's 'THE INDIAN DOG'. The original reference on the subject, published in 1963 by Popular Prakashan, and long out of print. This was the first comprehensive book on the topic of Indian dogs, and it remains an important reference which covers both man-made breeds as well as landrace varieties, with a chapter devoted to indigenous pariah dogs, and their differences from 'mongrels' or mix-breeds. A book then, that caters to the breed fancier seeking to discover Indian breeds, as well as the dog lover who admires the beauty of landrace dogs.  We would like to thank Popular Prakashan for graciously granting us permission to digitise the only file copy in existence. A huge thank you to Javed Ahmed of the INDog Project, for the idea and executio...