Just finished reading Rory Stewart's book on his walk across Afghanistan where he relies on the Islamic practice of offering food and shelter to the weary traveller. On the way he befriends a large dog which has been abused by previous owners, who cut off his ears, tail and knocked its teeth out with stones. The dog which he named Babur (Tiger) follows him everywhere, crossing mountains covered in snow and the hot desert plains. After a trek of some 1000 kms they arrive in Kabul, journeys end where Rory Stewart decides to take Babur home with him to Scotland. Spoiler He takes him to see a vet and pays for an airline ticket but they cannot travel accompanied so he leaves Babur with a friend and flies home. Sadly the story does not have a happy ending because a few days later he receives a call from his friend to say Babur had died because someone had given him bones which he could chew without teeth and as a result bled to death. Reminds me of the time in the 1970,s when I took my Basset Hound (Hugo) to The Sultanate of Oman where dogs were considered unclean but at the end of 3 years the Arabs I worked with had accepted and loved him as much as I did.
Call me blinkered, or just plain coward, but much as I admire the author , I just cant read sad dog books at the moment . I read Pen Farthings book about the dogs in Afghanistan , it haunted me for a long time
I'm with you there @kateincornwall, it all makes me so miserable and I have nightmares as well. But I agree it probably is blinkered .
Happy that one dog was saved though. Unfortunately many humans think they are above everything else on the planet
