Good morning, another weekend, another conversation! After a few weeks of virtually daily rain in Bengaluru, we had a mostly dry, sunny, and cool week. I was happy for all the street dogs, including Bribo. But then, on Friday evening, the skies opened up, just 15 minutes after I’d fed him dinner. I think there was enough rain to make up for the rest of the dry week earlier.

I’ve truly loved rain—the heavier, the better—all my life. And yet, these days when it rains, my first thoughts are how Bribo and his fellow street indies must be feeling. That “switch flipped” the day I let Bribo and his mother Svelty into my life. Svelty tugged at my heart strings to get me to adopt her and Bribo (so thin he could barely get up the first time I fed him).

But, because the switch flipped, I now strangely feel connected to street indies and their lives. When it’s raining, I wonder if they’ve managed to find some cover. When Bengaluru nights turn cold, I wonder if they have found some warmth. When I hear sounds of dogs howling or barking nearby, my heart sinks. Was it Bribo? What kind of trouble are they in? What must they be feeling?

I cannot imagine what Bribo, who’s now vaccinated and neutered, would go through if someone were to forcibly take him away and put him in a shelter with dozens of other scared, anxious, mistreated, hurt, and hungry dogs. Who will he look to? What will he tell himself?

Thankfully, India’s Supreme Court has course-corrected on its earlier order to forcibly relocate all street dogs to “shelters” in Delhi. Yes, it’s true that dog attacks and rabies deaths are a problem. But the solution must be compassionate and community-driven too.

The more disconnected and disinterested we are from any “problem”, the more we want it just taken care of anyhow. But once we get involved, we want to be part of a sustainable solution.

ABC—animal birth control—works. So does vaccination. Except, most city administrations don’t stick to them seriously enough. Bengaluru, fortunately, is a city where both the administration and citizens do try their best.

A shout out to India Animal Fund, an organisation I came to know about via Parag Agarwal, its founder and board member.