Meet Pedro Patel--the Gujarati Street Dog

 

One of the days of the trip we walked through the old town of Vadodara. While we were walking through the din and chaos of the markets, we had a street dog decide to walk with us. He stayed with us the whole time and we named him, Pedro Patel. He changed our lives--all of us. But I will tell you more about that later. 

We started out the day exploring ancient temples and mosques that dated back to the 8th century. To say that they were breath-taking is an understatement. Each one was impeccably cared for and restored. It is all about the details...these photos don't really do it justice! These buildings were amazing. 

Can you see Lucky Dragon!? 

We had to walk through villages and trek through muddy swamp trails to get to several of the temples, but it was still amazing! We saw things off the beaten trails and it was amazing. I loved stopping to smile and talk to the people passed. We did not understand each other's languages, but a warm smile communicates beyond barriers. They introduced me to their animals, their children, and their work. It was the best part of the experience! 

The ancient cistern. 

This farmer let me stop and watch him hook up his plow to his two Brahma bulls. It was cool to see him talk to them by name and watch them respond in kind. He was so happy to see me take a photo of him and when I let him see it, his eyes lit up. 

These women stopped and asked if I could take their photo. They giggled like little teenagers when I showed them the result. 

Someone caught a photo of me talking to them

I tried to capture life in the village as we walked through... photos really don't do it justice. People would wave and laugh as the odd white guy in shorts a pink shirt and a fedora waved to them. We had fun! 

We stopped to eat some delicious food (of course) and then went to walk around old town Vadodara. It was chaotic and full of smells and textures and sounds. I LOVED IT! It is overwhelming if you think about it, but it is also amazing. When you stop worrying about the honking and that a car may hit you, you can see all of the people around working their trade and the goats and monkeys peaking at us as we pass. 

Then we met Pedro. Somewhere along the trip a street dog complete with a missing half of a left ear, decided to adopt us. He walked with us the whole way. If we stopped at a store, we would stop too. If we went into a market, he would follow. None of us had fed him, and we definitely did not pet him. (although we wall wanted to)..but he stayed with us. It was endearing...for the most part. But as we walked down some back streets, Pedro for some reason brought all the dogs out! Soon we were being surrounded by dogs barking and growling. It was a bit unnerving. The whole group instinctively surrounded Lady Hiva and the two Muggles. We stood back to back as if in battled and used our umbrellas to keep the growling dogs at bay. 

It caused such a ruckus that it not only brought all the dogs, but also the people to see what was happening. Some laughed (I am sure it looked comical to see all the odd foreigners chased by street dogs)...others helped fend off the dogs with their sticks etc. Through it all, Pedro was with us. 

I loved seeing all the flowers and the temples. I had so many generous people give me some of their flowers. haha! 

Spikes to keep dogs off the car!

Pedro did not leave Koala Bear very far. 

Look how big this mango is!!

She was so happy to have Pedro around...even if all the other dogs hated him.Maybe that made us all love him even more. 

As we drove away, Pedro followed us. He looked so sad and lost. In the course of an hour...one with his constant companionship and us defending us and him from all the other dogs, we all loved him. We talked about him a lot. Koala Bear said she prayed for him that he would be safe from all the other dogs. She got a bit teary eyed as she talked about him. He changed our lives. 

Lucky Dragon drew a picture of him. 

Koala Bear was given flowers too...it was like she was prom queen!