A silent farewell at Chandpur’s livestock market
It was a typical busy day at the Chandpur animal market near Laksam Road. Buyers haggled, sellers shouted, and livestock bleated and bellowed under the open sky. But in one quiet corner of the market, a heart-wrenching scene unfolded — one that didn’t need words to be understood.
A goat stood tied to a post, calm but alert. Beside it, a brown-and-white village dog sat loyally, panting in the midday heat. The dog wasn’t there by accident. According to the owner, the two animals had grown up together.
“They’ve been inseparable since they were babies,” the man said. “The goat was just a month old when we brought in the puppy. Since then, they’ve been like siblings.”
But today was different. The goat had been brought here to be sold. The family needed money — school fees, household expenses, mounting costs. The decision had been painful, but necessary.
The dog, of course, didn’t understand.
When the goat was loaded into the van that morning, the dog barked frantically. It ran circles around the yard, refused food, and eventually had to be brought along — just to calm it down.
At the market, they were tied side by side. People gathered around, curious and amused. Some took pictures. But few truly noticed what was unfolding — the quiet despair in the dog’s eyes, the sense that it knew something was changing.
Eventually, a buyer arrived. After some bargaining, the deal was done. The goat’s rope was untied.
That’s when the dog jumped up, barking desperately. It tried to follow, pulling hard against its leash. A small child whispered, “The dog’s crying. Its friend is leaving.”
No one laughed anymore.
The buyer led the goat away. The dog didn’t make another sound. It sat down again, panting softly, eyes fixed in the direction its companion had gone. There were no tears, but in that stillness, a thousand emotions were understood.
Later, the crowd moved on. Bargains resumed. The noise returned.
But for some who witnessed it, that brief moment of pure, unspoken loyalty would linger.
Animals don’t calculate love. They don’t weigh relationships or plan for tomorrow. They just stay — as long as they’re allowed to.
