Fur Coat

For anyone who's ever had a lab, you know that while their fur is not very long, it is abundant and labs can shed enough fur to fill 3 pillowcases in your house. And Lyka was no exception. On the flipside you would also imagine that a canine with this thick an outer coat would be rather immune to an Indian winter and would look forward to crisp days. While Lyka would bound about with renewed energy during winter days, as a puppy she would shiver at night in Agartala winters. At first I thought covering her with a sheet would solve the problem and I would religiously tuck her in at night. Come morning, the blanket would have been thrown off in some corner of the house, having had little effect on Lyka. Then I decided I would fashion a sweater for her - I found a t-shirt that I had grown out of and painstakingly put Lyka's legs throught the arm holes and had her walking around in the dog-sized sweater for a while. I don't think she appreciated it much because she found a way to get it off after a few days. Then I decided she would fend for herself since I had run out of ideas.

Lyka was possibly the only dog in the world who would insist on spending hours out in the sun, even on the hottest and most humid of Madras summer days. I think this was her method of cleansing herself. She was also possibly the only fur coat possessing person who would feel cold if you left the a/c in your room on for too long. I know several dog owners give their canines haircuts in summer so the dog won't wilt in the heat, but I have a feeling that Lyka would have missed her coat even when she sat outside basking in the sunlight.