Super Chaddi wala dog

the last few days, you've developed a rash near your... err... balls.... i checked and cleaned it... rubbed in some ointment... put some medicated powder... but today i decided i would have the vet check you...

we reached the vet at 1.40 p.m as directed. being a sunday and since the vet couple were on chutti for a few days, there was quite a line. We waited and chatted with fellow pet owners outside... as always we get asked after your breed, age and eating habits. no one wants to believe you are just a year old... anyways. I am always thankful that you are a well behaved dog and wait / sit / lie down patiently without getting antsy or embarrassing us. 

the doctor checked you, applied some powder and said nothing to worry but that we should stop you from licking yourself as that could worsen the condition. So his suggestion was to put an old underwear for you! i couldnt stop laughing...

We got home, you were drowsy from the medicated shots and so while i cut out a hole in one of K's old underwear to accommodate your tail, you just fell asleep. I put the chaddi on for you and couldn't help feeling so sad for how you looked. I am one of those people who cant understand why people put clothes onto an animal other than to keep them warm... i cant stand the tee shirts and all that are sold currently for dogs. to see you with a white chaddi and your tail sticking out from it... made me so sad for my beautiful poochie who temporarily looked like superman's sidekick. Get well darling... lets get those panties off of you quickly!

fighting for attention

some of the things you do when you don't think you are getting the attention you deserve

• climb onto a lap - mine or someone i am talking to
• paw my keyboard/ laptop or ipad
• try to knock the phone out of my hands
• fight with the printer / chords if i am printing something
• try to get into my lap and sit / sleep in it or at the least, rest your chin on my lap and look woefully at me

sometimes i yell at you because you try to eat the printouts as they come out of the printer, or you accidentally cause my laptop to shut down. But i know no one in this living world loves me like you do... and it makes me so guilty....

K says that once i leave the house for an errand or the gym or work, your job is to wait for me to come back home. Earlier, when you would hear the reverse horn of the car you would go ballistic and sit near the door waiting for me to enter. Now the sound of the car going over a manhole cover at the gate is enough to tell you i will walk through the door in a minute and you begin to bark with joy. So much love... sometimes i cant handle it!

How do you know?

From the time we brought you home, you have had more sense than us. That much is evident. When I am chasing a deadline you will sit absolutely quietly at my feet and beg to be taken outside only when the urge to pee is uncontrollable....

you have stayed by my side all of yesterday when i was laid up in bed with a back sprain... just like you slept on the floor beneath my bed, looking up every 10 odd minutes to check if i was ok when i was down with viral fever a few months ago....

how do you know? because you are otherwise bossy and when i am browsing aimlessly on the laptop, you head butt me so many times that i have to shut the laptop down. or when i am lying on the couch surfing channels, your persuasion with a ragged toy is spot on....

yet yesterday, you ate your food with minimal fuss, you didn't pull on the leash, you were very easy to handle.... one more reason i believe dogs are superior to us humans....

Happy Birthday Darling

My dearest darling Sage,

You turn one today my love! Happy Birthday and wishing you a lifetime of love.... you have brought us joy like we have never known. I don't know if you know how much happiness, peace and stressbusting you have gifted us. Stay happy, stay playful and always be our pupster!

Love..... K and A

some pictures of me and other animals

This is Jay, he and Bagsi looked after me when my parents traipsed off for a few days in April... he is one of my most favourite people in the world

see how paavum i look?

that's me with Kman lounging about on J &B's bed

Friends...

Fluffball baby, i have been too lazy the whole of last month and i didnt write anything here.... everything is status quo and so there is nothing much to report.... that's a nice thing actually....

oh wait... you wake me up at 5.15 a.m on the dot these days. i tried putting up a navy blue bedsheet to block out the morning light to con you. but your body clock is pretty much accurate and now that its summer, you have decided that 6.30 is too late and drag me out of bed at 5 freaking 15 a.m. I do not know if i can ever get over how less i am sleeping or how early i am awake these days... its almost 10 months since we got you, and this is still my number one topic to crow about! 

if i dont wake up at the appointed hour, you have resorted to sitting besides me on the bed and looking at your(gorgeous) self in the mirror on the wall to the right of me, and barking really loudly till i give up and get out of bed!

you have three sets of friends now... 

Shadow - the paavum male stray dog that loves you and wants to play with you. i called him shadow because of the way he would follow you

Petal - the beautiful doe eyed female stray that lives on the construction site that loves you, but bullies you and you allow her

Two face and Caramel - the two female strays and their mother that live near the gym two streets away and play with you each morning. 

they've each attacked each other in jealousy when their territories overlap. Petal, Two Face and Caramel sometimes escort you back home. they sometimes enter the building and it breaks my heart to send them away. 

K is very upset and has asked me umpteen times to stop the "swami and friends" routine as on the few times he has to take you on your walks, he cannot handle the strays you want to play with. Also when we go together, he gets impatient and angry sometimes. 

I dont have the heart to stop this. For one, allowing you to play with other dogs has helped make you more friendly than you could ever be. you arent disturbed, intimidated or otherwise upset about the presence of other dogs anywhere publicly. that i think is a good thing. i couldnt handle a dog that gets worked up and cranky when in the company of other dogs.

secondly, the sheer happiness and joy that you get out of playing with these pooches....they are so friendly and loving and you roll on your back and prance and play with abandon. I have tried to get you to play with the other dogs in the colony but somehow all the pet owners are so paranoid about letting the dogs off the leash. And for the sheer inconvenience or danger of falling while the dogs are winding their leashes around our legs trying to play, they avoid it. 

thirdly, the exercise! you get a good workout doing this and if it can keep you healthy, i wont stop it.

the dogs are friendly, the love is mutual, they are clean and have no skin issues or ticks or fleas. i dont see any reason to stop doing this. 

there are other things that tug at my heart.... like how sad it is for these beautiful animals to live on the road. without a family and no one to care for / feed them or play with them.

Petal is the one with the most heart melting eyes... each time i tell her, "bye petal...stay now... see you tomorrow" my heart breaks.... she's crying to be taken home... but i know i cant handle another dog. If anyone reading this would like to adopt her, please leave a comment.

Separation and Reunions

My Dearest Fluffball.....how much i love you... and how proud i am of you.... and very grateful to the two people who complete our lives... J & B. K's dad turned 70 a few days ago and they'd planned this trip to this place i hadnt even heard of to perform a pooja and get married all over again (cute! i know!). so calls were made, talks were had and i found what i thought was the perfect place for you to stay while we would be gone for a few days. A pet homestay that an old friend has started and she like me, looks after the pets like they are people... they are allowed access to all parts of the house and play etc. So i breathed easy and planned everything, tickets were booked and we were on a roll. Until i called her to confirm dates and she said she cannot accomodate you because she was booked fully. I was stunned. I did not have a plan B and so K and I went back and forth about how we were to deal with this.... we called a few places and were not happy as most places chain the dogs up.... you start whining when chained even for a few minutes when we are around... so that was not an option.....

With the date for departure looming large, and the personal stakes being so high, opting out was not really an option... so i turned to a standing offer from my generous friends B and J who before you, would not even be in the same room as a dog, leave alone be comfortable with one. they are the ones who have fallen head over heels in love with you(who hasnt?) and pet you and pamper you when they visit... which is weekly and you were taken first to their house before we brought you home... so you get the picture? J has always said that he would care for you if we needed to travel for a few days and while its always generous to have an offer like that, i never thought i would have to cash in on it so soon.

one thing about them, they cant say no to us... and so when i asked, the response was the affirmative.... I asked them to move into our house, so that the place remains familiar and the maid can come in to make your food etc...you would be in your own home and atleast that familiarity would comfort you....we needed to be out for a week, but cut it short to two nights to make it easier on everyone else....

I talked to you for a few days telling you i would be going to office etc....preparing you and hoping you would understand what i was saying....On the day we had to leave, we took you on your walk and fed you so that you wouldnt be upset and refuse your food later, K left the house half an hour earlier like he was going to office, as he couldnt bear to see you confused... when i left the house, you had your usual "mommy is leaving" sad face, but i walked briskly and was gone.....

for the next few hours, it was tough to swallow the lump in my throat... i had no doubt that J&B would spoil you silly and care for you well....i was worried what you may feel? abandoned? confused? angry? sad? would you think we were not coming back? i resisted calling and you seemed to be doing fine... J had taken leave for two days to be with you completely. it is a debt i can never repay.... he didnt need to do that..but he did....by the evening, you were fed and walked and played with and everyone was settling when you began to bite and attack them at sleeptime...they made an sos not knowing what was happening and i said you may be hungry... once you were fed and walked, you slept....

the next day was better, you apparently stopped sulking and accepted your lot....all was well and despite not having slept the last three nights, debilating heat, over 50 namaskarams to be done while bending and kneeling and wearing a heavy kancheepuram pattu saree, i couldnt wait to tear out of bed at 3.30 a.m and get dressed to catch the 7 a.m flight back. on the way back, i would have thrown up out of anxiety....

nothing prepared me for your reception.... you did the usual i am happy to see you routine... a few licks, picked up a cushion and walked around... and then, decided you wanted to punish me for leaving you....you went and sat by J's side and refused to even come to me for more than half an hour...to say i was heartbroken would be putting it mildly.... but i allowed you your time.... you went to K and licked him and jumped at him and loved him....ignoring me all the time... looking at me with hurtful eyes...when you were done being angry you came to me, put your head in my lap and licked me....i embraced you and hugged you till i think i'd have cracked your ribs.... you sat by my side the rest of the day, slept next to me in the afternoon and wanted to be walked and petted and talked to...by the evening, everything was forgotten and you loved me just as much again... everything was happy and shiny.

you were a trooper... J and B have shown why they are who they are... and i am grateful....for them as i am for you....

love... me