Rescue of tiny puppies

9 months back, in Aug’08, I went to a movie library to get the movie DVD of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Over the weekend, with all the excitement , I was set to watch the movie which I had bought. But to my dismay, I realized the DVD read ‘Atonement’ by the director of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. I didn’t read the movie name carefully and picked up ‘Atonement’. With no other option I did watch the movie and it turned out to be a beautiful movie.

A quick narration of the movie – ‘Atonement’
“It’s about the suspicious nature of a younger sister who harbor certain thoughts about her elder sister’s courtship with a guy. Though her thoughts were based on few things which she happened to witness but she perceived everything wrong and concocted stories to oust the guy believing he was destroying her sister’s life. In later years, this younger sister realizes her mistake and pledge to unite her sister and that guy. While she was doing this , during a war her sister and the guy who was in military died suffocating in a pipe which was inundated with water. They along with the military troop were hiding in the pipe to avoid any hit by shelling. So, the story was actually about the younger sisters confession which she does on a TV when she was very old. Hence the name ‘Atonement’“


Coincidence
I saw the movie and forgot about it until recently after 9 months on 14th Apr’09, I thought how difficult it would have been for both of them suffocating in water. They would have wanted to come out and have gasped to breath. I was trying to imagine that how we feel if, we are in water even for few more seconds. Then I forgot again but did pray to God that this should not happen to anyone. Just 2 days later on 17th Apr’09, it rained in Bangalore after a long time. We decided to enjoy rain and I along with Sid , Hemant and Sameer was out in rain outside our house jumping and splashing water on each other. It was then that we heard the puppies crying. They were in the covered drain which is usually dry but gets water in the rain and is covered by the series of long running ramps outside each house.

We gathered around the drain’s opening and tried calling the puppies, in the meantime we also tried to stop the water to flood the drain though all this was to no avail. We prayed that rain should stop soon but it started raining even more profusely and we all were also drenched and shivering due to the cold breeze while the puppies started cried and howled even more. We all were helpless but could not find out a way of this situation. We then tried to call them out again and this time 1 puppy did come out running , we pulled him out and placed him in our veranda. The others who were still inside were crying and we could not even see where they were in the drain.

Ray of hope !
While few of us were trying to call them out , Sid and Hemant unable to locate a torch in the house brought rolled news paper which we tried to lit with the matchstick but due to rain it didn’t work. We then called for our neighbors. They are also a bunch of bachelors with great love for animals which is evident from the fact that they have 3 dogs in their house (equal to the number of permanent residents in their house). The house is actually a party house and always rocking with guests and parties and that night 1 guest from the house came with a torch while the residents were out for some work. He brought a flexible chargeable neon torch and Sid also managed to find batteries for our outdated torch. With this there was a ray of hope that we could actually locate the puppies in the long drain. Six of us peeped inside the drain taking turns by lighting the drain with the 2 torches we had. I could see water all over in the drain , there was no sign of any puppy. I felt that that they have drowned already and there dying howls were just a last attempt. But then someone did manage to see the two puppies very far off in the narrow drain. They were standing on a small rock, both balancing on it as the water level was rising in drain with just the tip of rock visible to us. Now it was almost quite palpable that the puppies cannot step down and run and come out as did the first puppy almost 10 min back, they could have easily drowned.

Action
The situation was even more demanding and we were to take a decision immediately. Yes ! the decision to slide and get into the drain which was already filled with water. It was a personal call so without losing any time I slowly did slide down inside the narrow opening. I managed to sit down in the drain with my feet in water and head almost touching the roof of the drain, all the more it was all dark. It reminded me of the OBT (out bound training days in Christ college). This was more dangerous and I was alone. Since I used my hands to slide forward in the drain, Sid asked me to hold torch in my mouth. Also , as I steered forward I feared snakes in water but the thoughts and difficulties vanished when I looked at the puppies who were restless and crying even more ,waiting for me to reach them. I don’t remember how and when did I cover a distance of 15 meters. I grabbed them both in hands and I felt a surge of achievement. J Soon I realized I need to get out. Though all this while everyone was shouting outside to encourage me but I could not hear them as I was too busy moving ahead but now I could hear when Sid asked me to move backwards slowly as it was not possible for me to take a turn in the drain to come back. Reaching the mouth of drain , I handed them the 2 puppies 1 by one, I lay down again , rolled myself upside down to step out of the narrow opening. As soon as I stepped out , there was a loud cheer and everyone was very happy.

Victory
I noticed bruises on my knees , elbow. My red Tee and green Skirt were now brown. I immediately went for bath while Sid and Sameer were trying to set fire on Pizza boxes and newspaper to dry the pups. After bath, I wanted to sleep immediately my whole body was aching but I wanted to see the pups. I went out to see them and saw brown one shivering badly. So much that he was not able to stand. So we were busy again, drying them, wrapping them in pieces of clothes. After 30-45 min, they were better. We made a place for 3 of them in our house. I went to sleep. I morning I came to know that they were perfectly well and were sent out of the house to be with their mother.

Bliss
Now it feels so happy, each day to see these pups playing around.
It’s a sense of satisfaction.

I feel I am important.
Each one of us ‘IS’ !!!