In the mornings, before light, and in the dark of night, you will see the dogs, alone, or in 2’s & 3’s, trotting up or down the roads, full of purpose, as if they are off to do their dog work. Whether they are fit, or cadaverous bags of mange-ravaged, flea-bitten flesh on bones, they look determined, self-possessed, and yes… “happy”. I am reminded of something Ric O’Barry once wrote, of dolphins - that theirs is a peculiar and particular curse; that of looking “happy” all the time, like they are smiling, as they swim neurotic laps in too small tanks and perform inane and degrading tricks for dead fish doled out by their “trainers”. So, too, these dogs - panting incessantly in the crushing heat, their mouths curled in what for all intents and purposes looks like a grin, their tails “wagging” as a natural extension of the movements of their spine as they jog along the baking road. I save food to feed them, and wonder if it is actually mercy to keep them alive another day.
Here elephants “dance” and take mincing steps in processions that last 6 hours, their legs hobbled by thick chains like super max convicts, which connect to more chains, around their necks, and mahouts wield long staffs with a sharp point at one end. Monkeys on leashes wear stupid little suits and beg, holding a tin cup out to the surrounding crowds, in the service of a man at the other end of the leash. Though the practice is illegal now, calves in the north are still branded with huge crude brands that cover their entire torsos and leave chunks of hide peeling off and festering. Oxen pull carts with rings and ropes through their noses, colorful birds flap about in wire cages in the courtyard of a house surrounded by jungle, fish bump and bounce off one another in murky tanks just meters from the ocean… … just what is it with humans…?
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December 2016
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