By Express News Service Priya Chetty-Rajagopal The author is a CXO search consultant, civic evangelist, Bangalore champion, Google-Doodle aspirer and certified dog slave since 2007 CHENNAI: A dog that’s been run over? No big deal, you may think. For communities, the guardians, the streeties who have lived peacefully together, it’s heartbreaking. Last week, a senior dog at JP Nagar, sleeping peacefully on the sidewalk was run over by an organisation cab. The community rushed her to the hospital. After a painful one-hour struggle, the doctor announced that her spine was broken in two, and she gave up and died. Her name was Asha and she was an adored doyen of the community — she even had a couple of litters before she was unceremoniously caught and neutered. This loving matriarch was getting on in years, but had an excellent appetite. When she slept, her tongue would stick out sideways making her look just like a little puppy. My friend Harini was one of her caretakers who ensured that this docile girl was in good health. Are they devastated? Yes. Are they angry? Very. But what does one do? Revenge is a cold salad. This time the car licence was captured by the residents, but it’s not always the case. Memphi, Dhiraj’s adored Indie pet, was also run over and although the owner was eventually caught, nothing happened. Yesterday, Lola, a beloved community dog at Indira Nagar, was run over by a speeding truck leaving her extended family devastated. My own Parkie, Buckette, the beloved Queen of the National Military Park, was run over on Ali Asker Road by a speeding SUV despite there being two speed breakers at the spot she was hit. My chest just tightens when I think of how she suffered. Her eyes were still wide open in shock when I held her. These may be street dogs to most but they have their own family, and their loss cannot be forgotten. With Asha, despite the grief and rage, the concerned organisation expressed their sincere sorrow and decided restraint was needed. The driver was questioned. While the FIR may hang in balance, what do we really need to do now? The driver is penitent, but Asha is dead. I can humanise this and argue what would happen if this was a young child or a senior citizen? Maybe we don’t need to. It is enough that she was Asha and she was ours. The worst are drivers who do not care and often do it deliberately. They must be brought to book. Our Parkie Fakem was found in a pool of blood in Cubbon Park last month. Yes, laws need to be tightened and implemented; yes, communities and police need to be more empathetic to the rights of these poor sleeping dogs. However the space for Asha came from love and compassion and it’s laudable the community came together in the same spirit to create something with the organisation which will ensure that other Ashas do not suffer the same fate in future. Initiatives decided upon were Asha-branded compassion classes on animals which will help students realise their role and their own impact on animals and the environment. An annual #HopeForAsha Essay and elocution prize is organised that helps schools think better on kindness towards such animals. If these cohorts of police, schools, drivers have a better sense of the impact they have in saving an Asha, surely the world will be a better place. For now, trusts like CJ Memorial Trust, CABC and others can ensure that people deliver the promise and hopefully this becomes something that Bengaluru will be proud to have started in her name. (The views expressed are her own)

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