The Puppy at Lamayuru

Image attribution: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We stopped for lunch at a dhaba near Lamayuru during our recent long ride through Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab. As we parked our motorcycles, we were greeted by a little puppy. He was quite enthusiastic, smiled, and licked my gloves as I sat on my haunches to speak to him. After a moment, he ran off to greet a white Caucasian couple who had also stopped by at the dhaba and got a few belly rubs in the bargain. However, he had moved away from them a moment or two later. "He's probably looking for some food," it led the girl to remark. She or her partner did not offer him anything to eat, though.

Soon, the little guy was under the table of another small group of patrons having lunch, looking for tidbits, but they shooed him away.

When our meal arrived, we saved a chapati for him, which was broken into small pieces and fed to him. Our mechanic had a pack of cream rolls in his car, and the little guy was also given one. I hope the food filled his little tummy. He was still munching away happily when I rode away.