Hi, I'm Seema Rahmani, host of India's beloved pet show Heavy Petting on NDTV-GoodTimes, yet, first and foremost, I've been a person who has cared about the well-being of animals since further back than I can remember. I was born in the middle-east, in Kuwait, and at the time of my upbringing, I recall being privy to some rather harsh incidences (to put it mildly) with animals at the hands of some local young boys. Which actually makes me think about the fact that if we recall a young child picking up a stone and throwing it at an unsuspecting animal or pulling the tail of one to trouble it, it does tend to be boys who are the culprits usually, aren't they? Hmmm. Not sure exactly what this pattern is about but i feel it is definitely time this flawed behavior be corrected by all parents and role-models. And in line with that, I must make note here that I am delighted to be a part of Petnolpolis.com, an animal-caring-pro-active site, co-founded and managed by two wonderful young men who are genuinely concerned about animals and one of who, Burges Dandiwala, I initially befriended because of an experience we shared caring for a sweet, injured street dog he had taken to the local SPCA for treatment. So most definitely, he and co-founder animal-lover Zahir Wallani, both make it on my "HEROES" list.

Having lived for several years in the middle-east, in the U.S., and also here in India, I have definitely accumulated a wealth of experiences when it comes to people's attitudes towards animals and my personal feelings about the same. I hope I will be able to share several of these experiences with you over time. Kuwait did not have as many street dogs as we do in India. In fact they seemed to have close to none. I was too young to know about their dog population control policies and procedures but what i did witness was a callous and cruel attitude toward the very rare stray dog one may find on the street. And one such experience is what led to my family and i being blessed with "Lassie"... a sweet, protective, intelligent female street dog who made it into our home and hearts escaping a cruel death at the hands of a gang of local boys.

"Lassie"- as we came to call her because she responded to this infamous name of the dog on the popular TV show-so Lassie walked into my life, seemingly out of the blue, when I was 10 years old. One fine day, as I completed my 12 minute walk to school, i noticed a pretty, beige color, mid-size, happy-go-lucky dog, just turning the corner around my school. Now some of you can imagine how my heart skipped, hopped and did a somersault at the idea of getting my arms around that playful spirit and giving it a whole bunch of love and food! But I couldn't go after it because I knew i'd be late for class if i did. Choosing to be a good student that morning was a very difficult decision, but i went to class reluctantly (primarily because I, along with most students in my all-girls school were terrified of several of our teachers.) But let me tell you, as soon as that lunch-break bell ran, I grabbed my food (for the dog of course) and R-A-N out the gate. . . something i wasn't supposed to do, as in leave the school premises, but hey! Give an animal lover a break. . . especially in a country so sparsely populated by animals.

I couldn't find her. I sneaked around in search of her as much as i could without getting caught, but i returned to the school disappointed. I ate my lunch sadly and wondered where she might have gone... I was worried about her safety. Just then i heard a small commotion by the back gate, not far from where I sat. "There's a dog outside!" someone said. A street dog really was a novelty then for Kuwait. I burst out the back gate and fell right in love with the bundle of joy I found wagging her bushy tail and smiling at me with her big brown eyes as she seemed to fall right back in love with me. The bell rang to return to class and I asked her to be careful while i was gone and then meet me at the same spot when school let out... "PLEASE!" I begged. She wagged her fluffy tail and continued to smile happily. I reluctantly went to my classes again.

And if magic wasn't reality, "Lassie" ran right up to me when i stepped out the back gate at 12:30 pm that afternoon. Not just that, she followed me home and walked me to school every day after that, living quietly on our apartment building's roof-top terrace for the time in between. I would quietly feed her on the roof and play with her and spend all the time i could with her. She wasn't allowed in the house at first since none of my family members were really keen on dogs or having one for a pet. But then came the day that tested my intelligence and love for her, and my parents' intelligence and love for me. . .

. . . and I look forward to sharing the rest of this story the next time i blog. . .

Until then, remember to be human to animals. . .