Rewind to November 2019 and the journey thereon – Ms. M finally said YES after saying NO for almost 15 years, to having a canine at home.. Arrived Mr. D, who got a rousing welcome with the traditional Aarthi.. He was all of two and half months then. It was like welcoming a new born baby and Ms. M stood far behind watching with trepedition, at this new addition to the house – she was petrified just looking at him and wondered if she made a mistake by saying YES.

Ms. M had said YES subject to a list of conditions, which were agreed to those who wanted Mr. D at home – that was like a consolation to her as she watched Mr. D entering her home.

  1. I won’t take him for walks

2. I won’t play with him

3. I won’t clean after him

4. I won’t give him a bath

5. I will give him food and the list continued..

Mr. D was like that new born baby with no bowel control, He would pee and poop everywhere in the house and at anytime he ‘felt’ like (no pun intended :-)). Initially Ms. M would run to the place where he would pee and poop, clean it and ‘zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’ spray the scent neutraliser to ensure there is no residue of a smell; else Mr. D with his super duper sniffing may pee and poop in the same place a little later, marking his territory. Then came the period of Ms. M timing his biological breaks. She would literally lift him from wherever he was, take him to the balcony, close the door of the balcony so that he doesnt run back into the room, wait for him to pee, take him back into the room and clean the balcony.. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!! That was what Ms. M felt after a couple of weeks of all this cleaning.. She would rant and rave and cry because of all that work and her ‘I won’t clean after him’ went out of the window 🙂 🙁

As Mr. D grew, his teething started and the edges of the sofa and dining chairs got chewed.. When he was frustrated with something, he would scratch on the walls and peel the paint, leaving the cement gaping.. For Ms. M it was all her thoughtfully done home (after waiting for her boys to grow up) getting a raw deal from Mr. D.. Not a sofa or dining chair edge was left unattended to by Mr. D. All Ms. M could do was to wag her finger at Mr. D and whats app her Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr feeling to those who wanted Mr D at home. If Ms. M ran behind Mr. D to stop him from chewing or scratching, he would run faster; and his paws would slip on the floor. There started their play which continues even today. Mr. D’s signal for play is to stare at Ms. M, wag his tail, let out a sneeze and bark. Who is chasing whom after that, is anybody’s guess.. and all her ‘I won’t play with him’ went out of the window 🙂 🙁

Mr. D slowly learnt to hold his pee and poo and excrete them during his walks. Those who took him for walks (not Ms. M) carried a poop scooper and newspaper strips. They would scoop the poo with the newspaper strips and put it in the garbage heap collected on the road. Their contrinution to the non-littering of a public place :-). There was just once when Mr. D’s ‘walkers’ weren’t home and Ms. M had to take him for a walk. By the time she returned from his walk, she was so stressed out. Poor Ms. M..

As Mr. D got older, in the evenings he would get a trifle restless. Then started Ms. M and Mr. D’s joint venture to the terrace. Mr. D would gallop like a horse running after pigeons and squirrels and provoking his peer in the neighboring terrace to bark. Ms. M would take her brisk walks and jogs, with a water bottle in hand to clean if he peed. If he sniffed or heard someone coming to the terrace he would run to the door in excitement. Ms. M would have to run behind him to warn them beforehand. Knowing that she was going to leash him, he would evade her and no show of a treat would tempt him to come near her. After huffingly puffingly leashing him, she would say “Very bad, Mr. D”. He would look at her with that look of, “See, I am so leashable and you are calling me bad?!! Such a nice canine I am!!” Her ‘I won’t take him for a walk’ didn’t go out of the window but one step seems to be kept out 🙂

‘I won’t give him a bath’ hasn’t gone out of Ms. M’s window and will not also – more so because Mr. D is petrified of water and of being given a bath. He needs to be lifted and taken for his bath which Ms. M knows she can’t do.. Mr. D’s fear of water needs to be thanked for this 🙂 🙁

‘I will give him food’ also hasn’t yet gone out of Ms. M’s window and may not too. Her maternal instinct is the reason perhaps. Mr. D also knows the hand that feeds him – when he is thirsty and there is no water in his bowl, he will come to where Ms. M is and keep looking at her. When he is hungry, he will roam around the house and come back to look at her, as though to say “Lady, my food pls”.

Talking of food, there is one incident that Ms. M won’t forget – of Mr. D walking into the kitchen stealthily and gobbling up four large boiled peeled potatoes that were waiting to be made into a dish. When it was time to make the dish, Ms. M saw that the potatoes were missing and only a couple of smalllll pieces were left in the bowl. When she looked for Mr. D, she found him on the bed wide awake but with his eyes refusing to meet hers. She got no response from him when she called out to him. When she verbally reprimanded him, he looked at her for a second or two and lowered his eyes again. “Why maintain eye contact and get fired?” was perhaps his thought. This was one smart canine!!

A relationship that has no name!! A communication that only they understand!! If you ask Ms. M now if she has grown to love Mr. D, she would say “Not really but he is lovable indeed!!” Relationships grow with time 🙂