Interview with Julie Palais (Julu) – Author of Sathi: The Street Dog from Kathmandu, Nepal

Julie Palais or Julu is an American author, animal welfare activist and student of animal law. She has published her book ‘Sathi’ The Street Dog from Kathmandu Nepal both in Nepali and English language based on the real story of a street dog in Nepal. She has also published her book, ‘Sathi’ The Street Dog from Dharamshala India in Hindi and English.

            During her recent visit to Nepal, Children’s Literature Foundation Nepal, CLFN had organized the ‘Meet the Author with school children’ program at Everest English School, Bhaktapur. Julie was invited as the chief guest of the program in which the school children participated and had a face-to-face interaction with her. At the same time, Sarita Aryal, the subeditor of Churedarpan.com interviewed author Julie and this time, we would like to present this interview with respected American author and animal welfare activist Julie Palais for our readers.

1. Please explain to us about your childhood. Where were you born and how was your childhood?

I am American and I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the East Coast of the U.S.A. My parents were both math teachers, my father at the university, and my mother in high school. I have two younger brothers. When I was growing up, I never had a dog, but I always wanted one. My father was not fond of dogs and my mother was afraid of them.

2. Being an American, you have traveled in various places of Nepal. How is Nepal in your view?

I have made 5 visits to Nepal since the Fall of 2019. Nepal is very different from America in many ways.  One thing that many Nepal people are very surprised about is that we do not really have stray dogs/street dogs/community dogs in America like you have in Nepal. Many Nepali people are surprised when I tell them we don’t have street dogs. Nepal is a very beautiful country and I enjoy my visits. The one thing that makes me a little sad is how many people throw litter and trash on the street and in the rivers. Nepali people should be very proud of their country and take better care of it.  We had the same problem in America back in the 1960s but then there was a “Keep America Beautiful” advertising campaign that encouraged everyone not to litter and to pick up trash along the roads and waterways. Now America is a much more beautiful country and is more welcoming to foreign visitors.

3. Which incident triggered you to write the story based on street dogs in Nepal?

As you know Sathi is based on a true story. A friend of mine found a very badly injured dog on the street in Boudha, back in the summer of 2020. The dog had been badly burned with boiling water thrown by a woman who didn’t like the dog hanging around her home. Then the dog disappeared for about a week and we thought he had died. But then my friend found the dog again and took him to the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre. Once the dog was treated and had recovered from his burns the dog was cared for by a man who was a dog trainer. The dog learned to walk on a leash and live in a home. Eventually, the dog was adopted by a woman who lives in Toronto, Canada and money was raised to fly the dog to Canada.

4. What is the situation of the development of the reading culture in Nepal?

I have been very impressed during my visits to Nepal how so many people are becoming interested in reading. I was also surprised by how many children read books in both English and Nepali language. I produced my book in a bilingual format so that anyone could read the book, whether or not they understood English. In that way, if children take the book home, then they can not only read it themselves but they can also read it in Nepali to their parents and grandparents.

5. Are the Nepalese kind to the street dogs?

Some Nepali people are kind to the street dogs and feed them, but many others are not very kind and throw rocks and sticks at them. I have also heard lots of other horrible stories of people doing much worse things to the dogs. I believe that this is because people are either afraid of dogs or it is because people don’t know how to behave around dogs. It may also be because they have had a bad experience in the past. In general, I think most young people like and are comfortable around street dogs, but many older people are afraid of dogs or just don’t like them. Human-animal conflict, whether it is wildlife (for example snow leopards killing livestock in the mountain areas) or street dogs is a big problem in Nepal (as it is in many places around the world). These are things that interest me and for which there are solutions.

6. You have a great love and affection for children and animals. Did you ever think of having children? Do you currently have any animals?

My life has been devoted to my education, my career, and my passions, which are traveling and doing what I can to improve the welfare of animals worldwide. I currently have three dogs who are like my children.

7. What is your advice to new authors who want to write children’s literature?

Write about a topic that you are passionate about and the words will flow like honey from the bees. If you want to write a children’s book with illustrations, find an illustrator whom you enjoy working with and who has the same passion as you.

8. Who is responsible for the protection of street dogs and what is the main problem that you see in Nepal regarding street dogs?

I believe that the protection of street dogs must be a partnership between the citizens, the government, and the non-governmental organizations (NGO) that are working to help the street dogs. The main problems that I see are that these three parties are not working together and in fact, in some cases, especially among the NGO’s, they are all competing with each other.  The only way the problems will be solved is for everyone to work together and follow well-proven protocols for solving the problems. Some of these ideas are shared on a website that I developed, which is www.globalstreetdog.org

9. You have written the story Sathi, The street dog in Kathmandu Nepal and Sathi, The Street Dog in Dharamshala India. Are these stories based on the same theme or different?

The books are virtually identical. The main differences are that one is in English and Nepali and the other one is in English and Hindi. Of course, the titles are different, and the only other thing that is different is that the resources that are in the back of the book are slightly different. The Nepali edition is available in book stores in Kathmandu and Pokhara and on Daraz: https://www.daraz.com.np/products/sathi-the-street-dog-from-kathmandu-nepal-i108377192-s1029224795.html?dsource=share&laz_share_info=1544380_100_100_900001023735_1459677_null&laz_token=abdb0581a2813093b35304f615efbfd2&fbclid=IwAR18L_NmeR47lGVeLuMQoBhw2VZsxjQx5b9tI09PLSdinB_Uaq8Ptui96xs

The Indian edition is available on Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8183632289/ref=sr_1_14?crid=301M1E54UAHEN&keywords=saathi&qid=1663145342&s=books&sprefix=saathi%2Cstripbooks%2C271&sr=1-14&fbclid=IwAR1bNFCU9eOQ6mMcZ3n1tbURhXAeRvJWThRaqlfTmyKT29cvc6xVg8a8Vbk

10. What is your future plan for writing books?

I have become interested lately in the topic of other animals in Nepal. In the future I may write a book about a Nepali tiger or a rhinoceros and maybe another one a goat who is tied up too tightly on a very short rope or about a baby male cow who has been abandoned by someone in the road and is hit by a bus. These are things that I have seen in Nepal which make me very sad and which shouldn’t be happening.

Presented by Sarita Aryal and Anjana Rajbanshi