Those cute small furry paws reached out to touch my chin,
the small button like eyes looked at me questioningly, the small pink tongue
licked my nose. She was all of a month and I was holding her in my arms. A rash
decision to keep a pet had landed me at the shop. It was a dilapidated outlet
with dim lit aquariums stuffed in a corner, some dog food packets strewn around
haphazardly, the paint on the walls peeling, and the dust-coated furniture alleging
negligence. The guy at the counter yawned, seemingly disinterested at my predicament
of me not being sure if this was the right decision!
What I was not sure was if Jaya (wifey) was prepared to
welcome this unwanted addition to the family, family as in her and me. We were
married for a few years and fell into the category of the urban childless
couples ( DINK Couples to be termed appropriately ), busy with our break-neck
schedules, living a mechanical, soulless life, yeah the big Urban Indian Dream!
I would not criticize the concept much since it had its share of benefits and
disadvantages. Quite free from some social married responsibilities attached
with regular couples, we did enjoy whatever materialistic fulfillments life
threw at us, however deep down the void kept getting blacker and deeper. Maybe
it was only me as understanding a woman has been a raging debate for ages and I
do not consider myself especially skilled to crack the code. Jaya was not used
to pets. The occasional encounter she has had was with Jackie, a stray pup who
Shreya (her sister) had picked up on her way back from school and it was raised
in the household. He was a good dog proving his discipline and allegiance over
his dog years, finally passing away subject to negligence, not intentional but situational.
It’s not easy to keep up with a dog’s demands, love and attention primarily,
and food secondary. Statistically funny compared to how much we are willing to
go the extra mile for our human counterparts to quench materialistic and
emotional desires, but are not willing to shower a teeny, weeny quarter of that
intention for our four legged friends, for whom we are their entire world! I
will probably fail to connect with anyone of you unless you are a pet lover on
this point, hence understandable. We do keep pets in human forms, some of us, don’t
we? To obey our commands, and be a slave to our desires, whims, and fancies….let’s
not delve on that.
Anyways Jaya still stood in a corner of the dimly lit store,
while the shopkeeper eyed me disinterestedly, the look gradually converting to
suspicion. He was getting suspicious whether the deal would fall through. For
him selling a female pup was a non-profitable bargain, the moolah not there
which usually came from selling the male pups. He advertised the male ones
ranging from thousands to lakhs, depending on the breed and pedigree. I was
totally ignorant to all of this. I never checked the parentage, or history, all
I had asked him was to get me a female Labrador pup. There were a couple of
reasons for me opting out for a female pup. Experienced pet owners’ advice
playing prime role in enlightening me the nature of a female dog, less
aggressive, less energetic, and less troublesome. Since both of us had a
different working pattern, we knew the pup would be left alone at home majority
of the time. We faced flak and criticism and questioned our conscience if we
should bring the pup home to these adverse circumstances. However, it had been
decided. The second reason was my longing for a daughter! I was not sure if we
were to be parents to a human baby ever but at this juncture with the fluffy
coat tickling my hand and the inaudible whimper faintly emanating from the
small mouth, I felt the same affection I would have felt for a daughter.
The transaction completed, we walked out of the shop towards
my car parked under the flyover. I was still holding her in my arms when we
reached the car but had to free my arms to open the door.
“Would you mind holding her?” I asked Jaya
“What… “Jaya looked confused.
“How would I open the door?” I smiled back
She looked nervous, small beads of sweat forming on the
forehead. She licked her lips and said
“Are you sure I can handle her?”
“You will have to” I smiled back
I handed over the pup to Jaya. She clumsily enclosed it in
her arms. The pup looked up at her and let out a bark, Jaya smiled back. I
smiled to myself, I knew they would get along fine !
