Rasha al Raisi - Rahma is a simple woman with a kind heart. Like many Baluchi women of her generation, Rahma left school at an early age and got married. She had nine children and now she’s a proud young grandmother.
Rahma grew up in a house where her dad had kept stray dogs. He loved his dogs, always grooming them and taking them for walks. During old age, he sent his grandchildren to walk them.
After living for years in their grandfather’s house, Rahma’s children got used to having dogs around them. When they moved to their new house, they insisted on having one.
Rahma’s neighbourhood was filled with stray dogs that the police often shot down. She was worried. The children calmed her down saying they would keep it in their garden with a collar on all the time. After getting a small breed dog, they put a collar on it.
A few months later, Rahma found an injured young dog near her house. She had heard a big fight the night before and realised this was the cause of the injury. Rahma decided to take care of him, giving him water and food leftovers.
The dog’s wounds healed and it grew bigger and stronger. Her children decided to name him ‘Tiger’. Standing guard the entire day, Tiger became a regular fixture at Rahma’s house.
If you asked for directions to her house, people would say: “Drive till you see the house with the big dog in front of it.”
One day, Rahma’s husband came rushing in saying he had just spotted a police patrol heading towards their house. Rahma knew it was her neighbours who had complained they were intimidated by his size.
Rahma and her husband pushed Tiger into their garden to hide him from the policeman. Her husband rushed into the house to get a collar (used on their small dog) for Tiger. The collar didn’t really fit him. Tiger almost choked when Rahma tried to tie it around his bulky neck.
When the policeman knocked on the door, a nervous Rahma opened it. The cop had a look at Tiger before announcing there was a complaint about a stray dog outside their home.
Rahma faked surprise: “What stray dog? We only keep those two dogs indoors all the time.” The policeman didn’t look too convinced, eyeing the filthy dog with a collar much smaller than his neck.
He cleared his throat before saying they should make sure all their dogs are kept in the garden with collars on all the time. The coupled nodded in agreement and waited for two hours before releasing Tiger outside.
A year later, Rahma moved to a new house and was heartbroken she had to leave Tiger behind. A few days later, they heard some barking and saw Tiger standing in front of their house, wagging his tail. They were happy as well as astonished he could find them so quickly.
The new neighbourhood wasn’t as welcoming as the previous one. Since the neighbours were not happy with Tiger’s presence, Rahma’s boys built a cage and kept him in their garden. This enraged the landlord, who said it’s either them or the dog in the house.
Rahma’s boys are still looking for a place to keep Tiger. Rahma says he’s a loyal dog and must be treated accordingly.
I wish Tiger would find a loving home soon.
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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