Saturday, March 31, 2007

A tale of a dog, another dog and...yet, another dog!

Ever wondered what it's like to be surrounded by pets (note the use of the word in the plural sense)?

Sure, pets (ok, dogs to be more precise) are a lot of fun and therapeutic and all that jazz but, ever wondered when it stops getting fun and moves onto a game of tact and diplomacy that would prove mind-boggling even for the most dog-loving of all dog-lovers.

Now, most people- when they are enlightened about the existence of not one, not two, but three dogs in my house- wonder what I was thinking about to get so many dogs?
So before I ramble on about the purpose of this post a little class in history won't hurt. Now the history of the dog-invasion into my house began with the first one...a pom-turned-spitz-turned pom (the metamorphosis being due to different attempts at identifying this dog's jaat by the vets and trainer in succession). Now this dog landed up on our doorstep primarily due to a childish whim by the cross-bred kids (read, my sis and I) who were still reeling under the influence of the now ancient movie, *&^$%#2@ (sorry, have forgotten the name of the movie, but it had that "didi tera dewar deewana" song). With the arrival of the dog began the reign of "Scamper-raj" for 9 long years. With this long reign came a complacency in the said dog's (namely, S Sr.) life. Then came fate with a diabolical twist in the form of my sister's friends, who decided to gift her a pup...and so began my sister's strange fixation for a lab and hence, we searched high and low (and rejected an adorable boxer pup), and finally found one. Alas, my mom having grown quite used to the reigning S Sr.'s quiet, accomodating ways sought to bring home the friskiest pup of the litter. Lo and Behold, our home is assaulted by a new pup in the form of S Jr.. Now, this latest addition does'nt go down too well with the reigning dog, who shows her displeasure by warding off all friendly advances made by the newbie. Hence, after a quick round of consultations, our home in a sudden flurry of activity sees a new pair (or should I say, 2 pairs) of paws...in the form of the previously rejected boxer (looks like the system of 1st lists and waiting lists for admission does also prevail in doggie land...what a pity! Is there no non-competitive place left?). And thus, began the maha saga of the three dogs...a saga that would give even Ekta Kapoor a run for her money.

Now, a lot of people ask me how it feels like to have so many dogs..."it must be exciting", they add. Well, sure it's exciting. The only problem is the continuous tightrope I walk...my feelings can only be compared to that of a much-married man with a mistress...such is the misery(read associated problems of inter-cannine jealousy). Play/pet one and the other jumps...I have to constantly juggle between the three, running outside to be pounced upon by the new entrants who in turn fight over the attention and then run back in before the older one brings down the roof with her barking (Do i hear you wonder abt the cause for baking? Well, it's just to reassert her presence. And as to why the older one and the yonger ones are kept separate...well, they've chosen to mark out specific territories for themselves).

But all said and done, having gone through the trouble of an endless cycle of cleaning up after them, feeding them in turn, reassuring them that the other isn't getting more/better food or attention, etc. etc., it is a LOT of fun! The very fact that they're all so different makes it better. S Sr, is the cultured, civilized one while S Jr. is the little tub of lard that will shower u with lots of attention, broken bones and a million slurpy doggie licks and finally, D's the rogue who never takes well to classes in manners but, still fascinates me with her brilliant intelligence (no, she's actually really smart and not just smart in comparison to Snoopy's goofiness...it's rather unfortunate that her name is such a misnomer!)

While it's true that my sis and I play the little "it's your dog" game when it comes to cleaning up or being held responsible for all their misdemeanours, we all know that life would never be the same for any of us now, without these dogs. Their antics are sheer entertainment...Sigh! they're the only things I'll miss the most when I finally leave this place...any chances of having a PIL to allow dogs as resident scholars in institutes of academic learning?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

umm, I don't know you. just came across your blog randomly. Nice style of writin, i must say. Esp the way you ended this one in particular. Very good use of words

Ananya said...

Thanks Shweta.

Anonymous said...

have u ever wondered wat happens to dogs wen not mated they fight 4 attention with the apparent mother figures in the house...
and have pseudo pregancies not very good if u've just cleaned the cupboard or any such dark cool place that had cowebs at a particular and have a semblance remember it shall be destroyed and the eternal curse of not mating your lady bitch (no offence to bitches)
on the whole a very nice peice....

Ananya said...

Dear dear Anonymous,

You never fail to amuse me with your rantings!