Pets, when they
enter your life, they occupy a large space in your heart…
No
matter how strong you are, how stubborn you are, they keep you twisted around
their curly tails and around their small paws …
Since I was a child I always longed to have a pet,
cat or dog… but living in city like Mumbai (Bombay, at that time), and with both
parents working, my Mom made strict rule “NO PETS” at home… Also because she
hated cats for leaving their fur and dirtying house…
Then
we shifted to our native place where we had an independent house with huge
garden area… After 6 months of my marriage when I went to my parents’ house, I
was bit surprised to be greeted by a cute black puppy, barking ferociously at
me… I was surprised, as I knew my Mom’s aversion towards pets…
Papa
told he is “Tommy” their new companion…
When one of our
relative came to know that my parents are on lookout for a dog, (obviously for
security and time pass reasons), he handed them a 10 day old black puppy, whose
mother was killed in a road accident immediately after giving birth to her
litter and his siblings had died due to lack of milk… he was the lone survivor…
My dad bought him
home… he was too sick and weak. He was so weak that he could hardly open his
eyes or walk or drink milk… they used to feed him milk with spoons… slowly he
started to feed on his own…he was taken care by
them as a small kid is taken care…
Their efforts did
pay… after nearly 15-20 days he tried to get on to his feet and move around… he
used to follow my Dad around the garden… Even he bought a change in my Mom’s
dislike for pets…
His bonding with my
Dad grew… wherever my dad went; he used to follow him… If he went to terrace
Tommy would follow him. When dad used to go to market he would whimper and beg
to be taken along… He used to wait near the gate till my dad returned… Tommy
could hear my Dad’s Kinetic coming from ½ km distance… he used to inform my
mom, about his arrival long before Dad reached the gate
Whenever I went home
along with hubby, he played with him… but whenever it was our time to leave, he
would come to us and stretch his legs in front of us and lay down…Not allowing
us to pass…
When I went for my
delivery, he would come and sit beside me in garden watching my tummy… he used
to walk alongside while I used to do my evening walk… but all hell broke loose
for him after arrival of my daughter…
My Dad who got his
first grandchild and was busy, so Tommy didn’t take this distraction or
division of my dad’s attention or love mutely… He used to keep on whimpering or
barking below my window at night, giving all sleepless nights…
Whenever Dad used to
carry Prerna in his arms, in garden he used to bark intensely and try to jump
on him… poor thing got scolded and beaten for 1st time by my dad…
But as days passed,
he got to know that Prerna is also a family member. His insecurity faded and he
became normal… he used to look at her with those deep brown eyes, smell her…
But as days of my
departure neared he grew restless… Mom told the day I left for in-laws place he
sat near gate whole night hoping for our return…
Dad had bought a big
black basket for him. He grew so attached to that basket that no matter what,
he never slept outside that basket…
His companion in his
initial months was a black cat, whose mother used to come in our backyard for
her delivery every 4-5 months… My parents used to have a very tough time,
because these kittens used to play and destroy their plants in garden…
Tired of this kitten
menace Mom and Dad decided to take and leave the kittens and their mother far
far away from their place… But in that litter there was a cute black kitten. They
decided to keep it.
When Tommy arrived,
the kitten used to play with Tommy it was a scene to watch, pulling each other’s
tails, running behind each other…
Slowly as Tommy
grew, he started to hate the idea of sharing food with the cat… So when parents
started to put his food in front yard and cat’s in backyard, he would finish
his food at lightning speed and dash to drive the cat and eat her share...
Until, finally the cat left the house for good…
Tommy became an
inseparable part of our house… Whenever Dad went out of town, inspite of
serving his favorite food, fish, he would go on hunger strike for a day or two…
He was a child in a dog’s body…
He barked at every
person who passed by our gate, killed any neighbor’s poultry, or wild monkeys
or garden snakes…
He was our security,
watch dog…
The saddest day
came, when my parents decided to sell the house and move back to Mumbai… When a
family from our vicinity decided to take him, no matter what they did, he didn’t
leave dad… With a heavy heart Dad then picked him with his basket and left him
in their car…
Even after a year
when Dad visited that person, Tommy first ignored him in anger… but when Dad
went near him and patted him he forgot his anger and jumped on Dad……
That’s Tommy, our one
and only Favorite pet.
