heating it up

my dear hairy dog, you are experiencing your first summer in hyderabad with temperatures already reaching 39 degrees C and you are having a terrible time... i knew it would be bad... didn't think you would suffer so much my poochie.... you pant from the time you wake up to the time you sleep....sometimes you are unable to sleep in the afternoons because of the heat... like yesterday when we were at Amma's place and you kept changing positions and places on the floor when the floor tiles heated up with all the heaving....you have also begun to refuse your afternoon meal and do not want to go for a bathroom break till about 5 p.m . All you want is the a/c, you will settle for the fan if that's the only thing available... you drink copious amounts of chilled water, ice cube consumption is a minimum of 6 per day and you lap up buttermilk whenever offered. you are after all an iyer boy. I am seriously considering shaving off your hair. but the shallow human beings around you are worried you will not be as handsome.... what shall i do my love? tell me.... 

the truth about having a dog

i wrote a really long post about the reality of life with a pet, especially a dog. i love you, there is no doubt about that... and i wont trade you for anything.... i had to write this because in the last few days i've had these kind of encounters

spaced out girl #1: hey! can i touch him? whats his name? how old is he?
me: yeah of course, his name is Sage he's 9 months old
spaced out girl #1: i love dogs too and want to get one... infact where did you get him from? can you give me the number?
me: oh that's nice... yeah sure, some guy i met through a vet. where do you work? (she was walking with a laptop bag and a dangling Id)
spaced out girl #1: oh great, please give me, i want a Lab, will he have them? i work with XYZ company.
me: then who will look after the dog when you are at work? cos when they are small they need to be fed and cleaned etc...
spaced out girl #1: oh i was hoping you can help me here, do you know of any dog day care centre where i can leave the dog, because my hours are unpredictable.
me: oh! no i dont know of any, but even if there are, it would be very tough on the dog... so maybe you should think of it when you can spare the time....
spaced out girl #1: noooooo but i wanted one....
me: ok... goodluck then!

couple stops their bike and the girl gets off to pet the dog
girl: may i (gesturing if she can touch Sage)
me: yeah sure... he's friendly
girl: we also want to get one... where did you get him?
me: from a friend (way easier than explaining about the breeder)
girl: he's so cute... are you working?
me: yes, but mostly from home, although i do leave him for about 8 hours when i go to office
girl: do they need to be with people? cant they stay alone? because both of us are working so we will have to leave him in the house.
me: oh, better if they have company atleast till they are 5-6 months, cant leave them for more than few hours, because they will do susu potty in the house...
girl: oh but what about using the toilet? wahan kar sakthey hain na?
me: yes if you train them... but they need to be fed also when they are small, below 5 months they need 4 meals a day.
girl: oh ok... i and my hubby work night shifts, we come back at 2 a.m do you think its ok to make them also into night shift?
me: i dont know, i havent tried it. but will you have the energy to spare?
girl: yeah that's what i am thinking.... but they are so cute no? i wanted one badly....
guy: do you think we can keep saint bernard in hyd?
me: people do have them, but they suffer in the heat of hyd.
guy: yeah because my friend has one in bangalore
me: ok, bangalore is much cooler than here... also, they need space, you cant keep them in a flat
guy: no no, flat mein hi adjust ho jaata hai
me: i dont think that's wise... anyways nice talking... chalo goodluck then!

these are the kind of conversations i have.... i know dogs are cute... but they also involve atleast 2 hours of your time per day to care for them. if you cant give that, dont get one....

in the last few months, i have tried to help a dog orphanage which rescues and rehabilitates abandoned dogs. they have a large number of purebreeds which are abandoned by people who pay money for them because they cannot take care of them anymore.... all animal shelters will tell you similar stories....

so read my post here... tell me what you think....

lounging.......

here you are, snuggled in the razai with K when i went in to wake him up on monday morning and lost you too to the 'lazy morning reluctant to get out of bed'