Everything is fine with Tin Laden today

Inder Sandhu
When the local NGO Peedu’s People in Chandigarh found a puppy hidden in bushes, cowering and very sick, they knew that saving him would be an uphill battle. Here’s the story.
Within minutes the puppy was diagnosed with parvo, a deadly virus that kills everything in its whirlwind path. The virus was determined but the puppy was resilient. Every passing day brought more hope to the volunteers. However, along-with the cautious optimism came a deep fear of having kept the puppy off the street for too long. He needed a home in case he survived.
The magic of social media brought his story to thousands of people. His tale was shared far and wide. One kind woman in the US offered to take him in as their pet but the US$1500 required to ship the puppy was prohibitive. As the puppy showed signs of winning his battle over parvovirus, the volunteers chose to name him. Then we have them weird names that we hope would stick in the head of potential adopters. So, he became ‘Tin-Laden.’ That’s how a dead terrorist became linked to a brown puppy with a curly tail. But that’s not where Tin-Laden’s connections with famous (or infamous) people ended. We turned to a ‘Go-Fund- Me’ to try and raise the money that would ensure a great life for Tin. Having called friends and family to collect some money we however stuck at US$50. Our volunteers were ready to call it off when the determined adopter Amber decided to leave absolutely no stone unturned. She sent a message to actor and stand-up comedian Ricky Gervais. She hit the send button and said a little prayer for Tin. In fifteen minutes she was frantically dialing us. When we answered the phone she was babbling—“He gave us the money”, she gasped and cried. Tin-Laden now had a Hollywood connection.
Amber just spoke because Tin couldn’t. Once we choose to be the voice of the voiceless, we must get our own apprehensions and prejudices out of the way and truly represent the animal. So, Tin Laden beat Parvo and time had come to say goodbye to us and the sorrow was overshadowed by the anticipation of a good life. Tin reached the US. He reached his forever family where Amber, Chris and their toddler August waited for him with their two other dogs and a cat. They took him in with open arms and coddled him with love and treats.
But Tin knows the universal world for ‘Love’ and he will be just fine.