Hello, everyone! My name is Hope. and I’ve lived through a lot in my two years. I’m a sweet, black-and-white street dog from Gurgaon, India with a thunderbolt-rainbow story. Without the care and love of my rescuer Jyoti, I wouldn’t be here, looking ahead to my own home and clear blue skies. Neither would my six dear puppies: Goji, Kenzi, Obi, Pinto, Sriracha and Sugar.
I was born alongside a busy street where huge cars were always hurtling by. Since I am a courageous doggy, they never scared me. But one day I made a misjudgement, and didn’t see a car until it was nearly on top of me. Everything went black. I woke up confused and in pain, in a strange, scary place, but with the kindest young woman beside me. She called me Hope and saind her name was Jyoti. Jyoti told me the emergency veterinarians saved my life. My skull was fractured and my jaw had been dislocated. She said it was a miracle that I survived.
I spent a week in that nice hospital, but don’t remember much due to all the sedatives and pain medications I was on. Jyoti planned on having me spayed before going home, but the vet discovered I was already pregnant! Jyoti promised she would help me raise my babies and brought me back to her house. A month later, I had six beautiful, healthy puppies who made both me and their godmother Jyoti very proud. I kept them all well-fed and warm.
Jyoti tried everything she could think of to find us homes, but no one in India wanted me or my puppies. So after months of unsuccessful searching, we’re headed to Jyoti’s rescue partner in Chicago to find nice families. Because of my accident, my face looks a little funny now, but Jyoti says I’m beautiful inside and out. I’m a very sweet girl who’s never behaved badly, and I know I would be a wonderful companion. I am very sweet, gentle, and low maintenance. I don’t ask for a lot – nothing makes me happier than affection and love from my humans. My other favorite pastime is toys! I love to collect them and arrange them on my dog bed – I will play with them too but amassing them and hoarding them is the BEST. I’m great with young children and I enjoy meeting new dogs. Cats? Who knows? But I do know I’ll be more careful around cars!
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Desi (day-see) dogs live on the city and village streets of India, with an estimated 400,000 in the capital Delhi, alone. Also called Indies, Indian Native Dogs, or pariah dogs, these dogs have changed little over thousands of years. Desi dogs are highly intelligent, alert, good-looking, athletic, and full of character. Many urban desi dogs have recent European breed ancestry too, along with sighthound sleekness and speed.
While most street dogs experience indifference at best, some neighbors and business owners look after their community dogs. Delhi’s extreme weather (cold winters, sweltering summers, thick smog, and monsoons), dangerous traffic, disease, human violence, and attacks from other dogs, ensure that most desi puppies die before reaching adulthood. It’s a great irony that increasing numbers of status-conscious Indians are buying expensive and ill-suited foreign breed dogs, while more resilient and regal-looking native Indian dogs often have to travel internationally to find willing adoptive homes. Most of the desi dogs that ISDF places could not survive on Indian streets due to early orphaning or injury, or have been rescued from especially threatening situations.
If you are interested in adopting Hope, please contact Dawn Trimmel at info@istreetdog.com. You can also find our adoption application here. Your application must be approved before scheduling a meet and greet.