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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

India: The Dogs of Bhagsu

A farmhouse in Bhagsu
My humble abode in peaceful Bhagsu

Walking into Bhagsu, the suburb of Dharamsala where I was staying, I saw a sight. The three members of the local dog mafia – big, black bastards who had already terrorised the poor mutt living in our house on a number of occasions – were standing in formation, barking wildly at a cow. Two of them were standing back-to-back – though butt-to-butt is probably a better terminology for quadrupeds – and the third was baring his teeth from behind this barrier, leaping at the cow whenever it lowered its horns to charge.


1 When dogs feel in the mood, they first go at it 'doggy-style', and once the male has ejaculated, he lifts his leg up and slides around until he is butt-to-butt with the bitch (this position is known as a 'tie'). The happy couple stay in this position for 10 to 20 minutes, during which time the bitch's constrictor vestibuli muscles contract behind the bulbus glandis of the male's penis, preventing withdrawal. Clearly, this is no time to pick a fight with a cow.