#tailtales

[xjustanotherbasketcasex]

Love yourself in every form!

[thatbonggirlblog-blog]

Tail Tales - part 2

Bitten off shoes…Bitten off cable wires…Torn curtains and foot mats…Sliced and torn newspapers and magazines… Yes, Snoopy was growing up. This little guy was a menace, especially for my parents. To me he was my playmate..my brother. He would follow me wherever I went, he knew my schedule, he was extremely possessive about me and he was also my protector. He could get angry on anybody in the family for whatever it is that pissed him off..but with me it was different. Whatever I did, it never pissed him off ! I remember when he was like 3 months old, one day I was busy playing with him by the porch of our house while Mom was cooking in the kitchen. I started calling out for my Mom..I was giggling and calling out for my Mom. Like any mother, my Mom came running at her child’s call..only to see me holding Snoopy by his little tail upside-down! That little fella was coolly hanging in there while I said “Look Maa, look how I have held Snoopy”. My mother had a minor heart-attack that day I believe. She stormed at me asking me to put him down. I let Snoopy go and he hopped right back onto my lap. Mom yelled me trying to explain how I should never do that again…and how his tail is not a rope by which I can hang him, it’s a part of his body. She went on about how I would feel if she held me by one foot of mine and hung me upside down. While I carefully listened to all of that, Snoopy kept on barking at my Mom because she was scolding me. Mom gave him a piece of her mind too! She resumed cooking and we resumed playing…That night Snoopy peed and pooped all over the kitchen floor. Aaahhh that smart-ass revengeful little Dog. Imagine a 3-4 month old pup knowing what will totally piss my Mom off!! And so it began..The “Man to Priced Possession” mapping. This guy was all set to take on the world with this tool of his and he was going to pee, poop and chew his way through anything and everything.

Mom = Kitchen

Dad = Electronic items / Music system / any kind of wires

Grandma = In house temple!

Grandpa = Newspapers and his favorite cane chair set

Me = Awaaahhh..nothing…nothing at all.. he loved me with all his heart and soul…Okay once he peed on my study table. However, I am pretty sure he did that because Grandpa used the table more than I did and he did scold Snoopy for something a day or two before this happened.

Anytime Snoopy got scolded, we would discover any of the above items being peed on, pooped on or chewed and destroyed. The funny thing was, he never forgot! Let’s say Mom locks up the kitchen because she knows he is going to do the dirty dancing in there. Snoopy would wait for days to be able to get his revenge. One fine day you just enter the kitchen and slip on his pee – revenge done. If you scold him for that…then you get another one soon. All this was hilarious to me..but in hindsight, I now see what my family went through with this little fur-ball that I inflicted on our family. Snoopy was extremely intelligent, lightning fast and had absolutely no estimation about his body size and capacities. We moved to Lucknow when Snoopy was approximately a year old. The Lucknow phase of my life would always be the best. Mom taught in the same school that I studied, Dad’s office was inside the campus where we stayed, Grandma and Grandpa were around most of the time except a few trips to Kolkata and I always had Snoopy by my side. Our house in Lucknow was a beautiful bunglow and how bunglows work is that there are more than one or two entrances to the house. We had a main door with the door-bell. Other side there were french windows to our private little garden. The garden had a small gate to the campus lawn outside. We also had another door to the backyard and the garage. The number of times that Snoopy has fled through these multiple gates is just beyond the numbers known to the human race. Anybody sitting inside the house, hears a gate / door open and close…the first thing one needs to do is start looking for Snoopy because he has definitely escaped. Our campus had guards and guard-booths at multiple turns and points. We would receive running commentary and updates from all the guards as to where they saw Snoopy last while we would be running around to find him. We had this chase at least twice a month and we stayed in Lucknow for 8years…do the math…No, it did not reduce as he aged. It was his favorite game and Grandpa was his biggest target. My dear and cute Grandpa would slowly open the door..stick himself to the door while going out..and then slowly close it. Thinking he managed to make an exit without Snoopy escaping. He would turn around and see Snoopy sitting near his feet..outside the door. That fellow would actually sit back and wait for my Grandpa to be done with his process and show him that despite all the efforts, he had escaped. The moment Grandpa saw him and yelled his name…the chase began… God knows how he pulled this off every single time!

The only training that we were ever able to give him was that if he sees his leash in our hand, he would stop running and sit down where he is. The problem with the training is that…he has to bloody SEE the leash! Cunning fellow would hear us calling for him while running behind him with the leash…and not turn back!! Just so he doesn’t have to see the leash. Another issue with that training was, if he saw JUST us…without the leash…even then he wouldn’t stop. It then actually becomes a game of “Catch me if you can”. It was only once that he ever came back home on his own. It was the month of April/May and Lucknow weather had gone up to a scorching 45-48 degrees. It was dry and hot winds blowing everywhere. We didn’t even know that Snoopy had already left home post lunch through some tiny opening. Sometime around three or four in the evening, we heard a scratching sound on our main door. Not knowing what it could be, Mom slowly opened the door. In came a totally dehydrated and panting Snoopy who just dragged himself to his bowl of water…drank all of it and just fell asleep there itself. First, we were shocked…then we were relieved and then of course we were worried if he fell ill. Naughty boy was then patted with some water in his head and given the seat right in front of our humungous desert cooler. As far as I remember, he did not escape during the summer afternoons ever again…evenings of course, were still escapable. Good thing about having him around was we never ever faced a problem with rats or mice or cats. Super Snoopy always to the rescue.

Year 1996, my younger sister came into our lives. She is 8 years younger to me and she was a pre-mature baby delivered at 7.5 months. Understandably, everyone was extremely skeptical about a pre-term new baby in the house. Everybody except Mom and me were too scared to even lift her because she looked so small, weak and fragile. Another person who was all jumpy to take care of her was….yes, Snoopy! Dogs have this sense where they know when there is a new member on the way. They also automatically treat the new member as a part of their pack. Snoopy’s pack had all of us in it and he was extremely excited to have my sister join in. He would jump onto the beds and sofas where my baby sister has been kept, sit close to her and guard her with his life. I understood that and always spoke to him like a little brother saying things like, “she is not to be confused with a chew toy..she is OUR baby sister and we are sitting here to take care of her”. Snoopy heard it… I knew he did..and he understood that well. The problem were all the adults in the house. Except me, everybody else would shoo him off the moment the saw him coming near the baby. I would get yelled at for letting Snoopy stay nearby while I have the baby on my lap. Understandably, everybody was skeptical that the baby might contract any infections or fall ill given her low pre-mature immunity. Snoopy was kept on the leash for more number of hours than usual. His general freedom was compromised plus “cuddle-time” with Mom and me had drastically come down as well. Snoopy construed all of this as my little sister taking over his place. He decided that the little baby who was supposed to be a part of his pack had turned out to be the traitor and turned everyone against him. So it began..as years passed, Snoopy began to dislike my sister’s existence!! That is the time it all came back to me…Why Toffy back in Jabalpur hated me so much. Toffy was my Mom’s pet. And when Mom got married, he became my maternal Grandma’s pet. Since the day Mom had me, Toffy’s “cuddle-time” had reduced. I was the villain in her life. She never forgot me…in fact she always remembered me..that is what made her so angry!

By the time I made this major discovery, Toffy had passed away back in Jabalpur. Dad was ordered a transfer from Lucknow to Bombay. Ohh the mighty had fallen…We were supposed to move from our lavish duplex bunglow to a 3BHK flat with no balcony (huge by Bombay standards but rat-hole compared to Nawaabon ka sheher). Given the movement, we were concerned about how Snoopy would not be able to cope up with the change. He was used to open spaces and gardens which won’t be available in Bombay. Given that Toffy had passed away in Jabalpur, there was a need for a watchdog there as well. It was then decided that Snoopy would be sent to Jabalpur while we move to Bombay. This added further hatred towards my sister in Snoopy’s mind. Just when things had started to get better and my sister was big enough to be able to be around Snoopy, he was separated from us. It was bad…I was extremely sad and I am sure he was too. I used to hear from my maternal Grandma how he waited for days at the main-door thinking we would come back to get him. Days passed and he realized that we would only come by during vacations. Snoopy had latched on to my Grandma in Jabalpur, she was the new mommy for him. There were brand new stories he was creating in Jabalpur. One such story was where he went on chasing a cat for hours. He was so busy chasing that he didn’t see where he was going and fell into the septic tank. The idiot kept barking at the cat from in there instead of giving out a cry for help…he didn’t even care that he is bloody sitting in a pile of shit!! I can’t even begin to explain how we cleaned him…Yuck!! He just wanted that cat dead…and one day he did kill it (I am not happy about it but just look at the perseverance!). My sister got bitten once or twice while trying to pet him on those vacations (silly girl would go behind him under the Sofa..Duhh! I still don’t blame Snoopy). Check out my sister’s petrified look when asked to pose with Snoopy…Its hilarious!

3 years after Snoopy was moved to Jabalpur, he left us. That was a very very bad phase. More so because my Grandpa had also left us the same year. Snoopy died a very peaceful death. It is said that Dogs have a very painful death but this fellow defeated pain too. He loved having sweets..he had one last Rasgulla, probably suffered a massive cardiac arrest and just slipped away. After he was gone he is still remembered for all his menace, intelligence, courage and the love he had for each one of us. The amount of trouble that dog gave us was nothing compared to the loss that we were feeling once he left us. This is how it is…they give you a lifetime worth memories and they never leave your side until their dying day. Years passed and just like my parents, I promised myself that NO MORE DOGS… It is just too hard to watch them die and you curse yourself to have brought them into your life in the first place. Since the time we moved out of Lucknow, it had been 6-7 years that we were living without a dog at home. My sister had also grown up on all the family dog stories just like me. Also, bitten by Snoopy 2-3 times (I still don’t blame Snoopy..lol!). Time had come that she started fussing about having a pet dog like all of us had at one point. It was a complete no-no from my parents as well as Grandma. I however, being the 8 years elder sister (almost a third parent) felt what she said. The only pet she ever knew, hated her..she needed her own pet. Dad was posted in Sikkim for a while so it was comparatively easier to disobey him (sorry Baba). Mom was convinced with a bit of emotional blackmail, cute puppy videos and promises of us taking full care of the dog. Grandma, was a tough nut. But we knew she is all soft and mushy for pets inside…so we decided to surprise her!!

Mom and I went to the pet shop one February weekend. We did not tell my sister as we wanted to surprise her. Once again we were almost about to give our heart away to a Pomeranian puppy when all those memories of chasing Snoopy came screaming back to us. We wanted a more calm and trainable breed. We also needed no Labradors or Alsatians given the size of Mumbai flats. In came this super lazy, super black, super furry cocker-spaniel. This guy didn’t even make a bloody sales pitch to impress us! There was a Dachshund along with him who was so excited to see us (for no reason at all) that we almost picked it. Somehow my beloved mother had the idea of scratching the cocker-spaniel’s ear (dogs love that). There was an immediate glow on this one’s face. Mom stopped scratching and he immediately raised his paw to pull her arm back to scratch him. He then cuddled into her lap. That’s it..SOLD!! This guy is basically a rag-doll…just needs the food and cuddles. We took him into the cab and on the way home, Mom came up with this amazing analogy of how he was for my sister to play with…She named him… “LUDO”. We reached home, my sister was playing in the park…she saw me with a black pup in my hand. Ran to me, took Ludo from me and gave such a loud shriek that all of Ludo’s laziness was gone. Memories of holding Snoopy for the first time flashed in front of my teary eyes as Ludo vigorously wagged his little tail and licked my sisters face all over…This was my sister’s pet..Ludo. Thus began the adventures of Ludo in our family…

…To be Continued…

[thatbonggirlblog-blog]

Tail Tales

I have always had a pet dog at home till the time I got married and moved out of what is now called, my “Parent’s home”. For the brief periods when I didn’t have a dog at home, I would pet the ones around our home. My parents themselves always had a variety of pets in their growing years and a dog was always the permanent member on that list. I have not only grown with the dogs but I have grown with the stories of the all dogs that have been a part of my family from even before I was born. Being a dog lover, I understand that my parents didn’t want us to be deprived of the joy of growing up with a pet dog. Having any kind of pet for that matter teaches you a lot of things such as compassion, responsibility, respect for life etc.. But having a Dog.. Oh…My…God… It teaches you pure love and feeds you with a lifetime worth of memories. Yes, I am very partial towards Dogs as compared to any other kind of pets. I have petted cats, birds and fishes as well. However, I really believe that dogs totally change you as a person. And they speak! People who have dogs know that they speak…it’s hard to explain but trust me, they do speak..but only to those who know how to listen.

When I came into our family, we had a female Lhasa Apso at home named “Laali” in Kolkata. Please ignore the Bengali names that we give to our pets…the human pet names are even worse. So, from what I remember, Laali was a bit old by the time I could understand the concept of having a pet…like I was a Playschool / Kindergarten kid. I don’t remember playing with her extensively because she was more of my Grandma’s pet. Grandma literally fed her with hands. But I remember Laali following me around the house and the fact that she liked me and I liked her too. At the same time there was another Lhasa Apso at my maternal grandparents’ place in Jabalpur named “Toffy”. Toffy hated the sight of me…like she hated the fact that I existed. As a child I never understood why Toffy hated me so much while Laali was totally fine with me. I was born in Jabalpur and technically Toffy knew of my existence before Laali and still she hated me. I just grew up thinking that because I don’t live in Jabalpur all year and only come by during vacations, she probably keeps forgetting who I am and keeps getting angry thinking I am a stranger. That’s because she had absolutely no issues with my cousin brothers who lived next-door and were regular visitors. Toffy was younger than Laali and so Laali left us sooner. I was too young to understand what was happening but I remember Laali being really sick. My Dad and Grandpa would make multiple trips to the Vet with Laali all wrapped up their arms. I was asked not to go very close to her or try to play with her. Extra care was taken of her and on one rainy night I saw my dad leave the house with Laali in his arms…I never saw her again. My parents never sugar-coated it for me that she had been sent to the farm or whatever. I was told that she was very ill as I could see…and that she couldn’t make it and that she is in a better place now without any pain. As pet owners, my parents wanted me to understand both the highs as well as lows of having a pet.

Before going for my next summer vacation, I had taken a promise from my Grandpa that I wanted a particular toy when I came back from my vacation. Grandpa had told me that if I came first in my class I would get the toy (I was in Kindergarten by the way…please refer to my last blog to understand the performance pressure on a Bengali kid). It was one of those furry little battery operated dog toys. The one that would do a gymnast 360 degree flip after every 3-4 barks..walk ahead..move back..sit..and then again flip! It was very fascinating and very much in demand among all the kids. I did come first and so with Grandpa’s promise in my heart and the courage to face Toffy again, I boarded the train to Jabalpur..summer vacation had begun!

Among the usual summer vacation stuff we did at Jabalpur, one was visiting a lot of my maternal grandparents’ friends’ homes. Mom’s side of the family is a doctor‘s family that has always been based out of Madhya Pradesh. Understandably loads of friends and even more relatives were on the list. I visited one such family one evening and found out that their white Pomeranian dog had just had puppies! Cute-little-white-crawling-furry puppies!! They had barely opened their eyes…so they were only like a week old. This was the first time I had seen puppies..such small puppies. Mom’s friend saw my eyes glued to them and asked me to go sit down in their living room with my hands open on my lap. She came and handed over one little pup to me…This was the first time I had held such a little live creature in my hands. I remember sitting all through the evening till late at night in the same position…looking at it..stroking it..falling in love with it. Sometime in the middle it made some weird movements and aunty picked it up saying it might pee or something. It felt like someone took my heart away from me. She came back in like two minutes and I was back to staring. I don’t even think she got the same puppy back to me..she probably switched it. But it was still a furry little beating heart in my hands. That night I went home..didn’t really say anything about it to anybody. Days passed, vacation ended, I came back home. Grandpa handed me over the gymnast dog as promised. I didn’t smile, gave it back to him and said…”I want a real dog like the one I held in Jabalpur”. All shocked…he looked at my Mom for an explanation. Mom understood and explained to Grandpa. After a few days of sulking and a good amount of discussions amongst everybody in the house, one fine day Grandpa, Dad and I went to the place of a person who was Grandpa’s acquaintance. There they handed me over a one month old paper white fur-ball Pomeranian puppy. This one was a little bigger than the one I held before..squeaking and jumping and nibbling on my finger..Ohh I was so excited!!!! Dad asked me if this is what I was hoping for and “YESS!!” was the answer. Dad told me that the puppy needs to be with his mom for another week or so and then we would take him home. I was totally cool with that and Grandpa tells me I told the owner to take care of MY puppy. I went home and explained to my mom about the new member in the family. My family named this little guy “Snoopy” (after the comic character).

A week or two later, one afternoon when I came back from school I remember my mom telling me that there was a surprise for me. I entered the living room and saw Snoopy being fed by hands on my Grandma’s lap!! I instantly screamed and pounced to get hold of him. Grandma immediately yelled at me and did not handover Snoopy to me. This made me very angry and sad. Mom tried to explain to grandma that she shouldn’t be feeding the puppy by hand because it will become a habit just like it was for Laali. While the ladies were discussing feeding habits, I was more pissed about the fact that Grandma already had Laali as her pet and now she wants to take over Snoopy too?!! I got that she was missing Laali and wanted to pamper this little guy..but…He was mine!! While all this argument was going on suddenly Snoopy just VOMITS all over my Grandma’s lap!! Grandma screams at the top of her lungs..Snoopy jumps of her lap and runs to my feet and starts hopping and jumping for me to pick him up. Grandma was cursing the little guy and Mom was running with a cloth to clean the mess while trying to control her laughter (she always laughs when she is not supposed to and I get that from her). Amongst all this I picked Snoopy up….he gave a squeaky bark, wagged his little tail and licked my face. I still believe that he recognized me from last time we met and was extremely happy to see me!! There he was…MY Dog…My Snoopy :).

And thus began the journey of me and my first pet Dog…

To be Continued…