SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Fall 2016 Dharma Dogs: A Narrative Approach to Understanding the Connection of Sentience Between Humans and Canines Anna Caldwell SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the Animal Studies Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Caldwell, Anna, "Dharma Dogs: A Narrative Approach to Understanding the Connection of Sentience Between Humans and Canines" (2016). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2500. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2500 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Dharma Dogs A Narrative Approach to Understanding the Connection of Sentience Between Humans and Canines Cadwell, Anna Academic Director: Decleer, Hubert and Yonetti, Eben Franklin and Marshall College Anthropology Central Asia, India, Himachal Pradesh, Dharamsala Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples, SIT Study Abroad, Fall 2016 Abstract India has the highest population of stray dogs in the world1. Dharamsala, a cross-cultural community in the north Indian Himalayan foothills, is home to a number of particularly overweight and happy canines. However, the street dogs of Dharamsala are not an accurate representation of the state of stay dogs across India.