12/02/2026
Around ten days ago I spotted them for the first time. Two little faces popped up above a pile of trash alongside a canal. First I thought there would be a mother around. Perhaps they just explored the place a bit. But then next day on my feeding round they were sitting on the same spot with fear and hunger in their eyes hoping I would understand they were motherless and too small to fend for themselves. Someone must have dropped them there, only around 5 weeks old, the poor babies.
When I am doing my feeding round a pack of around 10 dogs pick me up from my home and then we walk alongside the canal to different feeding spots. I knew with this bunch of dogs it would be difficult to feed the puppies on the pile of garbage. I tried to distract the pack and placed some food near the puppies. For some nights I managed to do so with lots of efforts to protect the puppies while eating.
But the day before yesterday when I walked with my pack of ten direction puppies from far I saw one of the puppies in the middle of the street standing next to something on the road. That something turned out to be his sibling, dead, hit by a car. It was clear that the puppy was devastated, not knowing the difference between life and dead yet. He truly believed by staying there the deceased puppy would come back to life again. It was heartbreaking to witness and the first thing I did was getting rid of the remainders of the puppy. There was no solution for the other puppy. Having so many dogs at my place it was a no-go to bring him home. I had to figure out what to do and I continued my feeding round with a heavy heart.
The atmosphere was grim. Dusty, bumpy roads, meters of trash and even deceased animals piling up alongside the canal. Everything greyish. During the day with bright sunlight even harder to digest. An unbearable odour coming from the canal. It couldn't be more dark. And their in the midst of decay I spotted them. Three colorfull dolls. Almost unreal the contrast. It was as uplifting as it was sad. What should I do? Take them? I couldn't bear to leave them behind in the trash. I did not have room left in my trolley with food. They were pretty big. Keeping them in my hands would look like I stepped out of a horror movie. Couldn't risk that being already the talk of the village. So I took all the food out being watched by a trash collector. Never mind, he would understand. For me it was important, these dolls were symbolic. They stood for the innocence and pureness of strays. Born untouched, healthy and beautiful soon being taken by the hazards of street life. We can help, we can fix, we can clean! So I took them in order to wash and to fix them. Meanwhile my heart still heavy because of the puppy. I checked on him on my way back. He was back on his old spot. 'Safe' on his pile of trash.
Next day something came to mind. I would pick him up and place him with the dog that had a litter recently. Here he would have a chance to survive if the mother would accept him. I searched for him but could not find him. Then at night at my feeding round I was completely surprised to see the little guy among the pack of ten. They took him in and Champ the pack leader as seen in the pictures took care of him. If the pack leader accepts another dog in the pack the others have to live with that. They got my blessing. Even when it was still not the best solution the most important was achieved. He belonged. So I continued my feeding round with this tiny little puppy trying to catch up with the pack.
