Frank, the Lucky Dog from New Delhi
This entry comes from Monika Schröder, author of Saraswati’s Way and the forthcoming novel My Brother’s Shadow. She is the elementary school librarian at the American School in New Delhi, India. Last year, she and her husband adopted a street dog and here she shares his story with us.
You see them everywhere on the streets of New Delhi---medium sized dogs with yellow to rust colored-coats. The well-fed ones in our neighborhood have attached themselves to the guards in front of embassies or ambassador residences. They frolic in the sun, waiting for scraps or the occasional pat. But most of the street dogs in Delhi are malnourished or have lost all their fur to mange, and scavenge the garbage heaps.
We like to think that Frank found us. During the winter break of December 2009 a small, honey colored dog appeared in front of gate two of our school’s compound. He always gave a friendly wag of his tail when he saw us coming and would sometime accompany me on my morning run. He became such regular feature that on those mornings when he didn’t greet me at the gate I worried a bit for his safety. My husband and I discussed all the reasons why we shouldn’t take him in: a street dog might not adjust well to apartment living. What would we do with him during the summer monthswhen we leave Delhi? Shouldn’t we wait until we had our own house and garden? But then, on the last Sunday before school started again, we went to the gate and lured him inside. I called the vet, who came right away and told us that another family from our compound had already fed the dog and brought him in for a health check up, but due to allergies they couldn’t keep him.
On January 10th, 2010, our first day with Frank, my husband and I, like new parents, adored our addition to the family and discussed possible names. After we couldn’t come up with any appropriate Indian name my husband suggested ‘Frank’, which we both found suitable for the energetic puppy we now had in our house.
The first week was tough for us and most likely, also for Frank. We compared it to trying to live with a raccoon that nervously chewed up everything, cushions, furniture, shoes. He learned easily that he needed to pee outside, but it took a while to get him used to walking on the leash. We learned that Frank liked listening to my husband playing the guitar and after he tried to fit into the guitar case we purchased a dog crate which helped him to settle down.
But Frank doesn’t get along with other dogs. Probably due to his bad experience out on the streets of Delhi, he is terrified by any other member of his species and starts to bark and growl if another dog comes close. So when summer break approached last June we took Frank with us since we didn’t want to leave him in a New Delhi dog kennel where he probably would have stayed in solitary confinement due to his lack of social skills. Yes, we paid a fortune flying him to Germany on Lufthansa and rented a house in Bavaria that allowed dogs, where he was introduced to my parents.
Frank loved the smells of Germany. While hiking in the beautiful forests of my home country we also learned that Frank is a gifted mouse-catcher. With a quick sideways jump he would pounce on the tiny rodents, and quickly wolf them down, for a quick, nutritious protein snack.
In July we spent a month in Berlin, where we hired a dog trainer. She showed us how to teach Frank not to pull his leash and also invited us to participate in a class for fear-aggressive dogs. Here we practiced being with other dogs without angry barking and snarling.
But it was very hot in Berlin and already during our second visit Frank seemed more interested in digging holes than in paying attention to his teacher.
While we have reason to believe that he is very smart, maybe even gifted, I haven’t been successful teaching him any tricks. Frank has no interest in pleasing us, but is very skilled in finding ways to make us please him.
I had set strict rules when we first adopted Frank. No dog on the sofa, no dog on the bed. But with the help of my husband, who doesn’t believe in rules, Frank now has access to all furniture.
You wonder what all of this has to do with writing. Well, Frank has become a much valued author-companion. He listens to me when I read a draft aloud and calls me for a walk when he senses I need a break. He also loves stretching next to me on the couch, while I write.
He also is an expert sleeper and is adorable to look at when he drapes himself in one of his many resting poses.
But still, his most favorite thing to do when we take him on walks in the neighborhood is still to forage through garbage or sniff out left-over chapattis (Indian bread) that someone dropped on the sidewalk. As they say, “You can take the dog off the street, but you can’t take the street out of the dog”. . .
Middle Grade | tagged India, Middle-Grade, dogs
Reader Comments (4)
Very special article. It was very enjoying to read about the life of Frank.
I love that Frank is an expert sleeper. Congrats on the Kite award.
Hi Monika. Todd has previously sent photos of Frank and provided a brief account of how you acquired him. However, you have just caused a tear to drop from my eyelid while reading the story. Thanks for sharing the story of Frank and for provoding him with so much love.
I have a great big smile on my face right now just thinking about Frank. Thanks for sharing.