All along I have been anti dogs, not a 'hater' particularly, but somehow couldn't imagine myself living with a pet, who couldn't be caged, or swim in a tank. As a child, I probably did express my desire to have a pup to my Mum, who told me that I would have to leave school, stop playing or going out for vacations, as she wasn't prepared to take care. I thought then, 'how mean?!'. Ofcourse, when I was in my teens, I finally realized that yeah probably my Mum was right, what she meant was that it was too much of a hassle and a big responsibility. And I was happy that we didn't have one, since I was very happy with the way my teenage was going on. Laughing, bunking, playing pranks, secret crushes, gossips...You know how all this is a 'BIG DEAL' for a teenage girl!! And in the middle of all this I became an anti dog person.
Well, life happened later, which is another story, not to be talked about on this post.
I got married. Had a baby. In that order.
My son suddenly developed this fetish or passion or became passionate about DOGS, when he turned 7. I remember we had moved to Gurgaon, and we were living in this nice condo, where he would go down to play everyday. He used to come back with stories about all the cute pups he met. He knew the breeds, their names, their habits, their likes and dislikes. He knew all the breeds. You just had to describe the kind of dog you saw, and he would tell you the exact breed. Not only that, he was also able to tell the characteristics of a particular breed and their life span. I was amazed. Zapped actually.
Then, everyday, after finishing up with a dog story, as a conclusion to the story, came a line "I wish we had a pup". He obviously knew that I wasn't too keen in getting a pup. His father had a pet dog for about 14 odd years, and he was also fond of dogs, but, unfortunately for them, I wasn't ready.
We soon moved back to Bangalore, after settling in, one day when I was just browsing Facebook, I came across a post from my friend (who is a complete dog lover by the way), where she had clicked and shared a pic of her and her pup. She looked happy. That got me thinking, and I sat down to introspect. You know have a lil chat with yourself frame..That kind of chat.
I realized that my problems of getting a pup were actually nothing in front of the craving that my son had. I was used to living in a spic and span house, smelling good all times, and after my son turned 5, had got used to being more independent. Besides that, there was no strong reason to not to get one and fulfill my lil one's desire.
Being in a nuclear family, there were lot of other factors to be considered, like where do we leave the pup, if we travel? Are there any pup friendly places? How to train? etc...
So, I pinged my friend online, and had a long chat with her, as she grew up with dogs in her ancestral house in Mangalore, and here she lived in a flat, worked in a multi-national, her job required her to travel, and she still managed a pup.
She answered all my questions patiently (thankfully)! Figured out, that Bangalore was a dog friendly or pet friendly city, and there were nice dog care centers available at a nominal cost. In and around there were lots of resorts which were dog friendly. She told me about all the pet shops. She also put me on to a dog breeder. Finally, towards the end of April, we brought a Cocker Spaniel, as that is my son's favourite breed. After a long discussion with myself, I had a long discussion with my DH, who obviously told me that I should think over it carefully, as it's like bringing home a baby. On the way, also, I was apprehensive, but finally went ahead with the decision.
On 26th April, we brought a 30 day pup home. We had decided to surprise my son, so he was at my sister's place.
The happiness on my son's face was priceless. My son named him 'Buddy', he came across this name in one of the Enid Blyton books that he had read. Incidentally, when I was a child and dreamt of owning a pup, I wanted to name him 'Timmy' from Famous Five, (again an Enid Blyton series).
Buddy, has turned my house and life upside down. I took my time to get comfortable around him. Initially, I wouldn't even hold him, but now he is all over me. The way my DH and DK cuddle him, play with him, allow him to lick them, I really don't think I can do it that way. I share a different equation, he is very affectionate with me, and he probably senses that am not too comfortable being licked, so he doesn't do that with me.
This lil pooch, has made my son responsible, kinder, patient.
I guess this is what is called puppy love ;).
Well, life happened later, which is another story, not to be talked about on this post.
I got married. Had a baby. In that order.
My son suddenly developed this fetish or passion or became passionate about DOGS, when he turned 7. I remember we had moved to Gurgaon, and we were living in this nice condo, where he would go down to play everyday. He used to come back with stories about all the cute pups he met. He knew the breeds, their names, their habits, their likes and dislikes. He knew all the breeds. You just had to describe the kind of dog you saw, and he would tell you the exact breed. Not only that, he was also able to tell the characteristics of a particular breed and their life span. I was amazed. Zapped actually.
Then, everyday, after finishing up with a dog story, as a conclusion to the story, came a line "I wish we had a pup". He obviously knew that I wasn't too keen in getting a pup. His father had a pet dog for about 14 odd years, and he was also fond of dogs, but, unfortunately for them, I wasn't ready.
We soon moved back to Bangalore, after settling in, one day when I was just browsing Facebook, I came across a post from my friend (who is a complete dog lover by the way), where she had clicked and shared a pic of her and her pup. She looked happy. That got me thinking, and I sat down to introspect. You know have a lil chat with yourself frame..That kind of chat.
I realized that my problems of getting a pup were actually nothing in front of the craving that my son had. I was used to living in a spic and span house, smelling good all times, and after my son turned 5, had got used to being more independent. Besides that, there was no strong reason to not to get one and fulfill my lil one's desire.
Being in a nuclear family, there were lot of other factors to be considered, like where do we leave the pup, if we travel? Are there any pup friendly places? How to train? etc...
So, I pinged my friend online, and had a long chat with her, as she grew up with dogs in her ancestral house in Mangalore, and here she lived in a flat, worked in a multi-national, her job required her to travel, and she still managed a pup.
She answered all my questions patiently (thankfully)! Figured out, that Bangalore was a dog friendly or pet friendly city, and there were nice dog care centers available at a nominal cost. In and around there were lots of resorts which were dog friendly. She told me about all the pet shops. She also put me on to a dog breeder. Finally, towards the end of April, we brought a Cocker Spaniel, as that is my son's favourite breed. After a long discussion with myself, I had a long discussion with my DH, who obviously told me that I should think over it carefully, as it's like bringing home a baby. On the way, also, I was apprehensive, but finally went ahead with the decision.
On 26th April, we brought a 30 day pup home. We had decided to surprise my son, so he was at my sister's place.
The happiness on my son's face was priceless. My son named him 'Buddy', he came across this name in one of the Enid Blyton books that he had read. Incidentally, when I was a child and dreamt of owning a pup, I wanted to name him 'Timmy' from Famous Five, (again an Enid Blyton series).
Buddy, has turned my house and life upside down. I took my time to get comfortable around him. Initially, I wouldn't even hold him, but now he is all over me. The way my DH and DK cuddle him, play with him, allow him to lick them, I really don't think I can do it that way. I share a different equation, he is very affectionate with me, and he probably senses that am not too comfortable being licked, so he doesn't do that with me.
This lil pooch, has made my son responsible, kinder, patient.
I guess this is what is called puppy love ;).
Beautiful beautiful writeup ... Pics of buddy here please
ReplyDeleteThank you!! Will post it soon :)
ReplyDelete