I begin with ‘Give
animals a brake’ series with the tale of my brave son, Ronaldo, who went by the
mantra, that it is the spirit of life that matters and not the number of limbs.
However, he shouldn’t have lost a limb in the first place, if not for that
careless driver.
October 2014, Ronaldo
was about a
year old, living on the streets, when he was dragged under the wheels by a car
for an average of five hundred metres. The driver was certainly blind, but deaf
too to the screams of Ronaldo, as the driver continued talking on the phone, as
narrated by the locals.
Good Samaritans stopped the car and pulled
Ronaldo out. Too much damage had happened. Ron then underwent two botchy
surgeries by a novice insensitive vet. Then an expert surgeon saved Ronaldo’s
life by operating upon him for the third time, following which Ronaldo came home.
Thereon, he became the star in whose glory we
basked. Those who dropped by, were in awe of his energy, especially during the playtime
when he turned out to be more powerful than his four legged counterparts. His
spirit of life made us forget that he did not have a limb. He was a hero. In
2015 he led a rally in Vadodara on three legs. He was courageous as he even
stopped a six feet cobra once from entering our home as he blocked his access.
There are countless dogs like Ron who lose a
limb, do not get the appropriate veterinary care they deserve and seldom do
amputees get a home. There are victims like Ronaldo happening as you read this,
for which there are no stats. To honour Ron, I implore we give animals a brake.
To participate in the give animals a brake campaign, write to info@bridgingrainbows.org
#calltoaction #giveanimalsabrake
