It happens with enduring regularity. I step out of my house, turn left, then right, then left again outside the gate and there he is, waiting for me, my canine nightmare. The moment he spots me, his ears cock and he stands up. I try to snub him, but I hear a faint growl. As long as I am running in his direction, everything is fine. The second I pass him, he thinks I am fleeing, like a thief trying to escape. Since he has designated himself unofficial policeman of the area, he tries to chase me down. I, of course, pick up speed with the dog in hot pursuit. Finally, I have no choice but to face the problem head on. I stop, turn around, pick a stone or pretend to and raise my arm. He tucks his tail between his legs and retreats.

By then, the street dogs on the remaining stretch of the road are wide awake. This entire process is repeated again and again. One day, matters got out of hand. A dog nearly feasted on a chunk of my calf muscle. My back was towards him (or was it her?), so he thought I was running away. I had my earphones on and had no idea the dog was barking and running straight towards me. Thankfully, when you have evaded enough of these vigilantes, you develop a sixth sense. I suddenly turned and the dog stopped, barely two meters away. Now I run with a stick in my hand and minus the earphones.

I had a very insightful conversation, with a CUPA volunteer I met at a party last week. I remember asking her, why there is no coordination between CUPA and BCC to counter the Stray dog menace in Koramangala? She mentioned that statistics revealed that in a hypothetical situation, assume all stray dogs are wiped away methodically, within a year the same number would be right back on the roads. The truth is that we humans are really to blame for the present situation, and its time we clean up our own act instead of blaming the mute creatures.

Shocked! Here's why? Because some of us do not discipline or sterilize our house dogs and let them father and mother puppies which we later shun, whose compassion is limited to dogs with pedigree. Because some of us, cruelly disown our pets and put them back on the streets when they are old and mangy, and therefore causing more trouble than they are worth. Because some of us, leave garbage unattended and uncleared and throw leftover food thus encouraging stray dogs to hover around on the streets and get into territorial street fights. Because of some selfish people, who feed the neighborhood strays because their homes be guarded and take no further responsibility to vaccinate and sterilize them. And the most harmful to the cause, the dog lovers who feed the animals much to the chagrin of the neighbors, when the law of nature actually dictates that there will be as many individuals as there is food. In ignorance, human intervention actually upsets this balance and makes beggars out of man's best friend, encouraging overpopulation and becoming a continuing nuisance later.

In a country where human rights itself is questionable, I have never understood the hue and cry over animal rights. But now my relationship with my canine nightmare has undergone a paradigm shift. I look at him with a newfound respect and uncannily he seems to reciprocate. We've now given up our cat and mouse game every morning and as I step out into the street he looks at me from his post and gives me a benevolent gaze. Don't feed the dogs, if your good deed is restricted to a loaf of bread and take away their ability to fend for themselves, do so only if you are prepared to adopt them wholeheartedly.