I still remember the scene as if it happened just yesterday!
I had just entered my house, after a very demanding day at office, and there was my newly wedded wife jumping on the bed …shrieking on the top of her voice, enough to bring the entire neighbourhood down.
On the floor stood my 22 day old, pure white, thorough bred Spitz, a bundle of delight!
Or so I thought, when I gifted this most adorable puppy to my NWW( Newly.)!
She had then accepted this ‘ Very Special Surprise gift ’ with a very dry face, which sported a very wry smile!
This day was different. Gone was the ‘ wry smile on her dry face ‘. There she was standing(read jumping!) on the bed letting out blood curling shrieks similar to what Lady Attila The Hun would have let out on chancing upon a Lone Crusader.
' Decide this instant! Me or this little uncouth creature from hell!' She demanded to know! Insane rage writ all over her face.
So much for my ‘ Surprise gift ‘ !
All this while the little ball of shocking white hair, tainted only with two black spots, his eyes, kept staring at my NWW with the most quizzical expression on his face!
At that very instance I had a steely resolve to retain both. Both ….for sentimental reasons:-)
After much cajoling I could restore a semblance of sanity in my NWW! I somehow managed to convince her that I would take him back to Jodhpur( Rajasthan) from where I had fetched this hugely cute, lil puppy!( I was convinced, that in a day or two she would get used to Mig as we call him)
*That Mig is still with us after so many years is a testimony to the fact that my gamble, that day, paid off! He is so central to all we do! He has contracted cataract now, yet he still gives us the same joy when we see him stare at us with his most expressive eyes.
I suspect, the day is not far away when he will strike a conversation with us!
Ha Ha Ha!*
We are no experts on “ Pets ” hence this review is not intended to be construed as an ‘ Advice ’. We simply want to share how we have adjusted our lives with Mig around ( conversely, how Mig has adjusted with us around).
There are basically four simple things which we do!
We are extremely fond of our pet:
A silly statement!( That’s why they are called pets! Aren’t they?)
We make him feel loved & valued as a member of our family .
Unfortunately there are a handful of people (Thank God!Only a handful!) who don’t bring in Pets but ‘ animals ‘ At times for, apparently, no reasons & at times to, perhaps, show off! They aren’t, whom we normally refer to as, Animal Lovers! I have seen huge German Shepherds & Dovermans suffer! Chained 24 hours in the open, weathering vagaries of nature, howling …not barking, almost pleading to be released! A dirty dry piece of bread or a decaying bone littering the area! Then one day they succumbed & stopped howling * :(
Pets are like members of the family.
a. We never address / refer to him as a “ dog “ .
To us it is as sacrilegious as would be calling him a S.O.B .
b. Whenever we buy some household stuff, no matter how trivial it may be, we show it to Mig, let him sniff it! He would then give a very sagacious look & will almost always give his consent! Or so we think!
c. Whenever we get together for prayers we ensure that Mig is there amidst us!
d. We never hit Mig . If at all, whenever he has done something ‘ wrong ‘, we have always spoken sternly to him or at worst rolled a newspaper & tapped him on his back.( More for effect) Just hard enough to let him know that his action has not been appreciated.
Ensure that the pet gets the right kind of training & is disciplined .
We in our own little way trained our pet to do the right kind of things .
We ensured he develops the right kind of habits . For e.g till date he will wait for one of us to take him out for a stroll & only then he will ‘ relieve ‘ himself.
He knows that the Kitchen & the toilets are ‘ Out of bounds ‘ for him! A sharp reprimand is enough to dissuade him from venturing there.
He has his own comfortable bed & was never encouraged to sleep on the same bed where we slept.
Regular bath every week, an activity not particularly liked by Mig.
Regular brushing of hair. It will keep the hair shining & healthy.
Somehow we never are / were of the opinion that Mig needs to learn how to walk on his hind legs, or balance on his nose. We never subjected him to ‘ torture ‘ so that he learns few ‘ tricks ‘ which we could proudly show off in front of our social circle. We find this cruel & hence do not approve of ‘ Circus’ where animals are subjected to perform' tricks'. We believe that God did not create animals to be objects of amusement for human beings. There are enough and more human beings already amusing us!( Any thoughts on politicians?)
Mig is a member of our family . He need not be put on exhibition
Ensure that the pet is healthy.
Ensure periodic medical check ups . Always identify a good vet . A vet who is not just a professional but somebody who is an animal lover & empathizes with your sentiments towards your pet.
We maintain a separte medical file for him. This file has a complete update on his medical history . It tells us as to when his next innoculation( Rabies, distemper etc) is due.
Ensure that Mig does not have ticks & fleas .( A tick collar costing around Rs 200/- is pretty effective)
Timely feed & regular exercise( a fairly long walk, twice a day).
Supplement the food with some' Vitamin & Calcium' drops.
Few basic tips:
Avoid giving any food which is spicy or fried . The pets starts shedding hair early & will develop bald patches on their skin.
Little or preferably no “ Sweet ” stuff to be fed to the pets.
Have a separate ‘ Scrub ’ & Dish washing Soap to clean their utensils.
If you have kids, see that the kid does not come into contact with the pet’s saliva
Watch out for ‘ warts ’. If no attention is paid to these warts, they multiply fast! Removal of these warts are painful. If however you notice one, treat it immediately .( A homeopathic medicine by the name'‘Thuja “ with various potencies is extremely helpful in treating & eliminating warts( Please
consult your vet for expert opinion)
P.S: Please excuse me if these sound as ‘ bordering absurdity ‘ .but thats how we feel ‘!
~
A thousand flies & ten thousand fleas
Move around my house, as they please.
Six lizards & a harmless snake
Two frogs & seven tadpoles in the nearby lake.
Mosquitoes are my favourite pets.
Don’t believe me?
You wanna bet?
