Casper 'd Survivor

This is a story of a puppy which was abandoned by his mother when he was just couple of weeks into this world. Somehow the pup came under the care of a watchman of a construction site next to my uncle's place. The watchman, though a nice guy, hardly cared for the pup. One afternoon we happened to notice this little creature yelping around, probably it was looking for food and warmth. The next day I went to the site to have a closer look at the pup. It was crawling around next to cement filled sacks, a layer of cement scattered around them. Poor little thing was sniffing cement. I picked it up.. it was barely a hundred grams, it fit into my palm easily. The helpless little creature didn't resist.. probably it was so hungry it really didn't care about anything. Or may be its intuition told he would be fed.

At home, my aunt fetched a little bowl of milk for it. The little pup was suddenly alert.. the smell must've reached the tiny nose. We put the bowl on the floor, the pup almost dove into the milk. I had to hold him back so that only its snout touched the milk. He sucked up the liquid noisily, splashing it around. He emptied the bowl but he wouldn't stop licking it. He wanted more. Some more milk was poured into the bowl, the little fellow finished it all. Apparently his tummy was full. My aunt decided to adopt the pup. This picture here was shot a week later, on October 26th 2020, he was about three weeks old.

The first few days all he did was drink milk, pee and sleep. The red-black neck band was handknit by Pushpa.

He would drink until his tummy bulged out. Then he couldn't move around easily, he would start moaning. We figured that was his way of telling us to put him to sleep. We made him a bed with a thermocol box, a layer of newspaper topped by a sheet of cut towel. The rectangular pieces of cloth were made by Pushpa. In the beginning he needed to put to sleep by holding him in the hand, rubbing his head and back. Then he would push his snout into a corner of his bed and sleep. When asleep, quite often his legs made small movements as though he was trying to run. At times his snout would make funny motions as though he's sniffing. Many times he would roll around his bed, his head dangling on the side of the bed. His antics were endless.

This was one of this favorite postures. He would wake up and watch the surroundings before going out to pee. Soon after waking up, he would sniff around and come to the door asking for milk. His manner of drinking milk was wild and messy for several weeks. He had to hold him back with considerable force to stop him from stepping into his bowl. And he did know when to stop.. he would go. until his tummy weighed him down.

Casper emptying his bladder. When he was awake he would pee every fifteen minutes. Made us wonder where he stored so much liquid in that tiny body.

Uncle already had a puppy for month, we called him named Cocoa. On Casper's arrival didn't go well with Cocoa, he was jealous and dominant. Cocoa would bite tiny Casper as though he was a stuffed doll. For Casper's safety, he would be locked up in a room at night for a week. He would yelp at night due to hunger or loneliness but held on until morning when we freed him. During the day we let Cocoa and Casper play together. Cocoa's jealousy waned after a week, that's when we felt it was okay to leave them together at night. However, Cocoa was dominant, when it came to food or snacks, he had preference. Casper too got used to being at second preference. During the day when they played together, Cocoa would maul Casper all over. Casper would scream and free himself. Cocoa would catch Casper and give the same treatment again. Casper learned to get defensive and then fight back - he could actually get angry and growled. While Cocoa's movements were slow, Casper was swift, he would bite Cocoa four times in four seconds.

The name Cocoa was selected for his chocolate color. Cocoa's brother, a off-white colored pup was just across the road, named Cooper. The names of siblings both starting with C was coincidental. When the new pup arrived, the name Casper popped in my mind. The three names Cocoa-Cooper-Casper... had a nice flow. So the name stuck.

During his second or third week here, he became ill. His fur would be moist. His bed would be damp with his moisture. His bed needed to be changed two or three times a day. Pushpa used to take care of his laundry.. he he hee. We were odds at his illness. He was itchy all over, the little thing would scratch itself like mad. His fur weakened, shed hair exposing skin in patches, developed small blisters. His ears were bare. Apparently he had worms in his tummy. We took him to a clinic where the vet administered deworming gel and prescribed pills as well. While the medication worked inside, my uncle started external herbal therapy. He would extract liquid from crushed neem leaves. mix little turmeric to it. The herbal medicine would be smeared all over his fur making him greenish yellow. Then he would be left in sunlight to dry out. The next morning I would brush his fur with a toothbrush. Clumps of hair would come off as the roots were weak. This treatment continued for almost two weeks that's when he showed improvement. Despite the illness his appetite was strong. One afternoon Casper was exploring the garden. One of us tapped his steel bowl on a stone which sounded like a school bell. Casper recognized his bowl and came sprinting. He could really sprint fast even when he was sick.. he had some reserve stamina for certain things.

Once we realized that milk was the reason for his sickness, we switched over to jolada ganji (porridge). Cocoa rejected jolada ganji but Casper used to empty his bowl, lick it dry and then attack Casper's bowl. So Cocoa had to be fed chapati or rotti. After a week or so Casper realized the unfair treatment... why should I eat that gooey liquid when Cocoa ate delicious things. He refused to eat jolada ganji and go on hunger strike until it was time to feed Cocoa. Since he hadn't eaten anything my aunt would give chapati to Casper as well. Little Casper knew how to use emotions... shrewd fella! 

Casper's possessed amazing strength and stamina. We had to tie him with a length of twine to prevent him from straying on to the road. I used to tie the twine to a free stone weighing more than him. If he felt like going anywhere beyond the twine's limit, he would drag the stone along. So I found a heavier stone. With every passing day his strength increased. He would pull the bigger stone. Next it was a brick. The brick could hold him few days, then he was strong enough to drag the brick.

One day at lunch time he found his way out through the gates on his own. He was sniffing around on the road. A foot wide gutter runs along the edge of the road. The other side of the gutter is the house, the spot where the pups are fed. On hearing his bowl being tapped, he was alert, he had to reach his bowl quickly, he just decided to leap across the gutter. With his tiny legs, he propelled himself across the gap, hit the edge and landed in the gutter. Fortunately the gutter was dry and clean. I picked up the yelping Casper and put him down in front of his bowl. The moment he sees food, his senses go haywire. Yet we managed to teach him to sit when we said sit. Also he would run to his bed when I told him to sleep. That's Cocoa and Casper sitting obediently, patiently waiting for their turns to get cookies.

When Casper about a month old, we started taking them both for walks. Initially we had a leash for Cocoa and Casper was free because he followed us closely. Food and safety were his top concerns. Our usual walking route was two kilometers. Casper enjoyed walking no matter how long but Cocoa was a fusspot. Sometimes we changed the route, a longer one, no complaints from Casper. One evening our destination was Kelageri lake, a 5 km walk. Casper walked as though he walked in the house garden.. awe inspiring little fella he was.

Casper and Cocoa made friends during our walks. A bunch of kids near Shankarlingeshwara Devastana adored them. Casper would sniff at bags held by passers by, too curious a puppy. Once he sat in front of a lady walking with her hand in a bag. The lady understood and kindly said she didn't have anything to give. Poor Casper, what a disappointment. However, most times we carried a few cookies as a quick treat on the way.

One evening on the way back home, we took a different road instead of the regular one. Close to uncle's home is a doctor's home which has a big dog. He's a foot taller than an average dog but timid by nature, neither growls nor barks. He followed us curiously looking at Cocoa and Casper. Only Cocoa was on leash. He slowly stepped close to Casper, we felt it was okay. Suddenly he grabbed little Casper and bounded off towards his home. Three of us ran after him, Cocoa barking all the way. He went through the gate and dropped Casper near the door. Casper was yelping his head off. The commotion attracted a as small crowd. I went in and picked up Casper, relieved to see him intact but he was inconsolable. Pushpa carried him back home, he was crying all the way. The experience must've been traumatic. I was worried of long term effects. It was bit of tension when he skipped dinner that night. We were relieved when he ate his breakfast like before.

He's called the survivor because.. he remained strong despite being abandoned by his mom, then survived a week at the construction site without proper food or care, then a three week long fight against worms inside his belly, then he had to deal with the trauma of being kidnapped. He experienced all this even before he completed three months. He is strong, street-smart, obedient and sweet. This picture was shot towards the end of December. Cocoa and Casper refused jolada rotti, they want something else for dinner.

Normally animals smell things before eating. Casper in a hurry skips smelling, just take things into the mouth and decide whether to eat or not. One day Pushpa came out with a berry called chalakai (green colored spherical berry, has a thick skin and inside is a sticky liquid). She wanted to throw it out. Casper assumed she got it for him and without a thought took into the mouth. Few seconds later he spat it out. That's typical Casper. One day we accidentally discovered his secret treasure of pieces of bone, coconut shell, bits of chapati and shredded leaves buried in a pit next to a mango tree. If Cocoa came near his treasure Casper would bark as he was under attack. One of us would check and tell Cocoa to leave Casper alone. Casper had a knack of getting attention when needed.

Here's a video, a collection of short clips of Casper's antics :)

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