Charlie and me - Feb 2021

Owning a pet does not come easy. Whoever says that (no one that I know has ever said that), is lying. It’s the constant attention that they demand in their first few months, iterative vacuuming, moping, cleaning floors, rugs, carpets in the house, getting used to pee and poop appearing in all corners of the house, throwing up indiscriminately for no obvious reasons, barking sessions in the middle of the nights, trip to the vets, more trips to trainers, dog parks and pet stores. It's never-ending. This is not even considering the behavioral issues of the pooches like jumping, nipping, lugging and tugging during walks, biting virtually everything, incessant barking, etc. So yes, the first few months had been a struggle as a down owner. Within the first month or so, while chasing Charlie Seema slipped and fell pretty hard on her back and that was when Seema threw in the towel and was insistent that we give him up for adoption to another family. It was only after vociferous threats of “I go, if the dog goes” from me, did she finally relent to keeping him. But I could sense behind those smoldering eyes that for a hot minute she was considering throwing both of us out of the house!!!

Charlie seems to have matured though, over the past 2 months. The issues still remain about the jumping, nipping, and tugging, but his bathroom habits have settled into a routine, where he whines loudly every time he needs to go. He’s also realized that every time he whines, we jump and take him out, which he many times uses to roll around in the snow or just stand and watch people pass by outside. I’ve had to miss many meetings to rush him out in a rush only for him to frolic in the snow or chase the birds on the trees. Most times I don’t even have my damned jacket, hat, or gloves on. Brrrr. 

He’s grown a lot since the time we got him home as a cute, adorable 8-week puppy over 3 months ago, who weighed about 20 lbs. in Nov to about 60 lbs. now. We kept up with his steady diet of kibble that he was being fed, when we got him from the breeder, but over time he’s acclimatized to an Indian palate and staple diet of idlis, dosas, yogurt rice, buttermilk, rajma, chicken/turkey rice, fish, etc. Seema feels guilty if he doesn’t get his idlis or dosas over the weekend and feed him ‘Neer (instant) dosas’ out of sheer guilt. Seema’s warmed up to him since he knows where his food comes from and showers her with that extra bit of affection.

Dogs are good and simple souls. What you see is what you get from them. Complete loyalty, complete adulation, complete love. They don’t care if your rich, poor, black, white, male-female, young or old, an idiot or a savant. Once they take to their families and win their trust, they maintain that sustained level of affection for the rest of their lives. Every morning when Charlie wakes up and walks out of his crate, he greets us with the same affection as if he’s seeing us for the first time after a long separation. His joy no bounds as he enclasps us with his paws with unfettered glee and tries to lick our face. While his behavioral issues still remain, he’s calmed down a lot from a couple of months ago when he’d tear up the house. The rest of the training will be a work in progress over the next year or two, and hopefully, he’s turn out fine after that. 

The time that Charlie is not napping, which is almost 23 hours in a day, he is a bundle of energy and is zipping around the house, keeping everyone on their toes. He has a rubber ball that we play fetch with or he likes to play catch with me inside the house. He brings the ball to my feet and thrust it in front of me as if to tell me ‘Come get it if you can’. I then pretend to chase him around the dining table and the family room threatening to take his ball away from him and he seems to enjoy evading my outreached arms and outfoxing me with the ball. After 10 minutes or so he falls down panting on the floor, and the balls roll out of his mouth. Ha!!! Stupid mutt.

We, humans, have domesticated all other creatures on earth successfully, but the bond between dogs and humans may be the most harmonious of these relationships. It’s a pact that so special, that it’s difficult to explain it to those who haven’t quite experienced it. There are many reasons why you wouldn’t want to go thru the pains of breaking in a puppy, but once that phase is over, you’ll build something so deep, loving, and intimate that it will sustain you for a lifetime.

Some nights Charlie gets up at the crack of dawn, maybe because he’s thirsty or he needs to pee or whatever. So, I drag myself out of bed, attend to his needs and make tea for myself. He likes to sit and watch the sun come up outside the patio door and I sit at the kitchen table, sipping my tea and stare out the door, enjoying the sights and sounds of the day that’s about to unfold. Man and dog, in perfect harmony with the universe. It’s going to be a beautiful day.