Dog Tails

The other day I was walking along and this guy came up and enthusiastically said, "Doggie!" I said, "Dog?" He said "FD one!" (which means faculty division one- which is one of the building on campus.) I said, "Yes, there are dogs at FD one." (As there are everywhere.) Then he said, "biscuit! eat!" So then I realized that he was trying to tell me that he had seen me feeding the dogs by FD one. I nodded, smiled and said, "yes" and went on my way.

Here is a link to some truly pitiful begging. I've named this one Scout.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=716129924033915623&hl=en

Most of the dogs still run away from me (as they do with anyone who looks at them) but those that haven't have learned that I hand out cookies. So, it isn't unusual for me to be followed around. One day I was going to visit Mallika and the guard to the women's hostel stopped me. This was unexpected since Mallika has told them I can come see her any time and even without that - the guards generally only keep men out. I was about to ask what was wrong when he sternly said, "no dogs." I turned around and there was this little dog standing right behind me looking up expectantly.

Apparently the women's hostel has a "problem" with dogs. They have discovered a broken bit of fencing and now they know how to get in. There is a mess hall in the complex, and for obvious reasons, but dogs like to hang out there now. People here are usually afraid of dogs. (-and other animals as well. I've seen a grown man jump away in fright when a little lizard went by.) So, Mallika has been getting calls in the middle of the night from girls needing to go to the bathroom, but they can't get out of their room because there is a dog outside. Mallika seems to share their sense of danger, which I don't really get. I asked her, "Are they bad dog?" She says, "Oh, yes! They are street dogs!" I said, "I know, but are they biting people or even growling at them?" She says, "They are street dogs!" Last week there was a "terrifying" incident where a girl had some sort of plans early in the morning so she went for breakfast early. Coming out of the mess hall, there was no out around and she saw five dogs. She screamed. Another girl came out and saw what was going on and went to get the guards. Since the guards were out numbered by the dogs, they were afraid to get involved. So the two girls threw rocks at the dogs to get them to run away. Mallika was telling me about how horrible this was. I asked, "But were the dogs doing anything threatening?" Mallika says, "There were FIVE dogs and only ONE girl!" It is amazing she lived to tell the tale.