A day in the life of LIFE

This piece of news that i picked up from the Bangalore Edition of the Times of India dated 21st July forms an interesting read. Not that the it focusses on Veerappan's aide, but that Indian courts mandate such absurd policies for trials.. read on..truly informative..For a moment I thought we were talking of a high profile accomplice who is all set to enter politics...Nevertheless, I've always wondered : How different is a kennel from a prison ??

Source: TNN

Woof! Veerappan’s aide is a witness

Ittippa Leads A Quiet Life In Bangalore

By Pooja Virendra Kumar/TNN



Bangalore: Whenever the court summons him, he will be there as a witness. A trusted aide of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, he was arrested for being a part of the sandalwood smuggling pact and was released on a bond of Rs 2,000. Now, he is living a happy, yet, quiet life in a rehabilitation home in Hebbal.
He is Ittippa, the 13-year-old dog, once part of Veerappan’s core gang. His USP was that he could smell sandalwood bark and lead the gang to the spot.
In 1995 when the Kasargod police arrested some of the gang members, Ittippa was also taken into custody along with two other dogs of the gang. The three were kept in a lock-up in a veterinary hospital in Kasargod for three years. While two dogs died of poor health in the lock-up, Ittippa was reduced to a grey stinking mass of flesh due to ill-health.
He was released on health grounds after the Bangalore-based Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) intervened and signed the indemnity bond. “As per the bond, whenever the hearing of the case would come up, the dog is to be taken to Kasargod court as a witness,’’ said CUPA secretary Sudha Narayanan. Since 1998, Ittippa has been with CUPA under tight security. “The initial two years we had sent him to CUPA Animal Birth Control Centre in Koramangala as we were scared that he would be taken away from us,’’ Sudha said.
Now, there is a drastic change in his life-style at CUPA. Not getting into trivial fights with his canine peers, is just one of his characteristics. He sits only on his favourite bench in the CUPA garden, eats only mutton and rice and is prompt in his evening exercises.
Does he miss his master whom he has served for so long? He gets pensive and thoughtful at times and flinches in fear even if a hand is raised to stroke him. What it means is anybody’s guess.
* Ittippa was trained for identifying sandalwood tree barks
* His peculiar bark would send a signal to his gang members about the exact location of the trees in the dense forest
* As per the gang’s directions, he would protect the tree by going round in circles and continue barking