Canine Conversations

I made a mistake of inquiring with someone whom I considered a friend if the couple loved pets. I was shocked, disgusted and dumbfound on hearing the thoughts. I was checking with this person if Narashima could get a place in their home. I got a NO. I said how about on your porch? NO. That NO was so harsh. I did not mean to go beyond in the conversation but this is what followed.

We have too many dogs in the compound. Owners don't take care of their dogs. They bark all night. Owners should muzzle them at night. Sometimes we want to call the Municipality to have the dogs put down! You know there is this law and I can do it.

I am wondering how many people in this world think this way. Further more the person went on to point out how I was wrong in getting Chimi spayed.

I am not a person who keeps quite when I hear or see something wrong but I was too shocked to react. Especially when its a person you consider a friend; saying these things.

I feebly attempted to say

If it were a dog ruled world and you had to be muzzled how would you feel?

I as a parent have taken the decision to spay Chimi because I want her to have a longer, healthier life. Besides other factors on convenience so that she can live with me as I live in an apartment.

After that conversation I was so shaken that I want to hold Chimi close to me all the time. I as a person have not been very selfish in life but yes living alone with just Dad for 5 long years sometimes dries out emotions. I wanted to share my life with someone and when Chimi came home my world changed quite a bit. 

I reflect on the last one year and a little more. I cannot think of Chimi not being a part of my family. I love her routine. Dad feeds her in the morning takes her for a walk. I spend time with her before I go to work. The whole day she gives Dad company. He is Dad to her too including discipling her. I return to a home filled with warm affection. Chimi dodges Dad to rush into my arms. Showers me with all her licks, pawing and wagging. We spend a good 30 mins together till she is finally calm. The rest of the day she is my tail. moving around the house wherever I go. I feed her and then we go out for a walk. If am working at my desk, she creeps into my lap. Once in a while pawing on the keyboard. At times when I shoo her away she comes back and does a uuM, uuM...as if she is tryin to tell me, "Enough now."

I love to watch her lazing, scratching, running after the insects that float into the home. To see her watching the pigeons outside the window keenly. Responding to a bark from the distant. I sometimes hold her near the window and we watch passerbys together. She does her duty of scaring strangers away with a gruff one.

At night once I'm in bed she comes to check if I have closed my eyes, leaning against the bed. Then she climbs on to the bed and makes herself comfortable near my feet. I know even with a slight touch when her body is warmer than normal. She knows when I am down and nuzzles me.

We go out on pleasure trips exclusively for her. She accompanies us everywhere we go. I have stopped taking flights instead we travel by car so that Chimi can go with us wherever we travel and our longest journeys have been 15-16 hrs. We don't complain. Chimi has motion sickness so she is very quite. I give her a pill to prevent puke.

There is a lot of cleaning we have to do as she is free to roam into any room. She is not allowed into the kitchen and she understands it. She sits outside the kitchen door while I cook. She is a quite dog, barks only when she senses danger. There are bouts of puking when she eats something when she is playing outside, she manages to do it even though we are hawk eyed, but we don't complain. Even my driver never complains when she messes the car and he has to clean it. We are human we do feel dirty but do the cleaning because we are committed.

She is completely untrained yet she has learnt the ways of the family and rules at home. We talk a lot to her like we would to a child. I love to whisper to her sweet nothings. At times explaining to her why Dad is angry with her. She imitates me throwing up her eyebrows just like me when she does "What?" as in what now.

She gets a sense of warmth when she holds my hand in the mouth. It is not a bite, never has she dug her teeth in, she is very aware that it is my hand and not a piece of bone.

When we visit my friend Sulekha she jumps on her at sight and when we depart she cries. Sometimes I call up Sulekha so that Chimi can hear her voice. All my family talks to her over long distance calls. If she is in the mood she woofs back else most times she is all perked ears and uuuM...uuuuM.

A sign of a kind soul is the way they behave with animals, servants and the helpless. I will always  continue looking for these qualities in people I want to befriend. Tell me you have seen many such people and they are in abundance. I need a reaffirmation after the above mentioned interaction.

To my friend, give yourself a chance and experience the joy of parenting a pet and am sure you will comeback to tell me that it has changed you for the better, even if the change is an iota. You deserve some unconditional love, you really do. Hope this melts your heart because I believe you may use harsh words but you have a heart that is capable of caring.