Make the time

I don't consider myself an overly sentimental person, or sentimental at all really. There are a few things that do manage to wheedle through what I'm sure most people consider a stone like exterior and pets are one of them. I was never one of those people who cried through movies or books growing up. It's such a girly thing to do. But I wept on reading Call of the Wild and when that dog fell into the river in Far from Home, I went to go find Lyka to give her a hug.

So when I read this today, I got depressed as I usually do when I read about pets being abandoned. When I find out about people who commit what I consider a crime against animal kind, I'm very tempted to find them out and beat them to a pulp. It's unforgivable to get a pet and then not spend time with it, giving it the affection and attention it needs. Pets are not stuffed toys or decorations for the house. They're family. And people who think less than that should be barred from being let near animals. A lot of my friends have commented about how they're surprised that I haven't gotten a puppy yet, even though I'd love to have someone joyously waiting for me to come home. The answer is simply that I'm barely home, except for weekends. And the the guilt of not being able to spend time with my pet would eat me alive. Getting a pet is like having a child. It needs the same amount of commitment. If people aren't willing to put in that time and effort, it's not something they should even contemplate.

Marley & Me

Mom and I watched the movie a week back, fully expecting to be all tearful at the end. We liked the movie well enough. I think Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston have done a good job of bringing the characters to life in their understated performances but I think the movie didn't fully capture how completely mad Marley really was if the book is anything to go by. I mentally steeled myself for the ending, knowing what was in store. I thought mom would be more affected having actuually gone through the process but we found ourselves saddened but nothing more than that. I guess that is nothing more than conclusive proof that we have achieved closure on this one too. Look at us. We're growing up.

Nostalgia

Today I watched the trailer of Marley & Me for the first time. And all at once I had nostalgia hit me like a brick wall. I adored the book and though I know the movie will probably have some creative differences, I already love the look of it, particularly the bit that has Marley leap out the front window of the car and trot along side. Is it something that all dogs have programmed into their genetic coding? I hope the movie doesn't take a lifetime to release here!

Cold water

Lyka was a girl. So while she didn't feel the need to mark her territory everywhere, when heat season came around we had to watch her like a hawk and Dad would arm himself with a stick to ward off all potential suitors when taking her for walks. It usually never got very bad and we would make it through without any mishap. But we experienced a new and annoying phenomenon when we moved into our old house.

I was in class 10 at the time and it was exam season. My room on the first floor faced the road and I was in the habit of waking up at insane hours to study. So one night, soon after I'd gone to sleep, I heard loud barking right outside my window. When I woke up to find out what was causing the din, there was a line up of the male dogs of the colony outside our front door, yowling away. After some yelling at them, they went away only to return after a couple of hours. Clearly my method wasn't working. So I decided to throw cold water on their plans. Literally.

I got a mug full of water and poured it out the window on their heads. They didn't know what hit them and ran away. But they weren't to be deterred. Back for attempt three, I again gave them a free bath. And like this it continued for the rest of the night. Lyka had of course slept through the whole thing, blissfully unaware that I was muttering curses the next morning being bleary eyed and irritated at the lack of sleep.

The next night I was prepared. I placed a whole bucket of water next to my window and this time, drenched the canines right through. That seemed to teach them a lesson and they didn't return the next few days. But this little routine was to be repeated every time and by the time I left for college, I had perfected it down to an art.

Time heals?

It's been a year. And when I go home I still expect Lyka to stand outside the elevator door, looking expectantly at the new arrival to the house. And call me crazy, but there have been several instances when I've just felt her presence, particularly near our dining table :) We still talk about her and tell stories, which I'm sure people are sick of hearing about. But she was our resident entertainer. So I guess that's a hazard outsiders just have to live with. I was recently cleaning out my camera memory card and came across a whole bunch of pictures I'd forgotten I had from my last week at home before I moved to Bombay. And they mostly revolve around Lyka. I've stored them away to look at them another time. I'm sure wherever she is now, she's chasing chickens and wondering what on earth is taking us so long to come to her.

Memory Lane

It's been several months since I wrote on this blog. I've been caught up with the mundanities of my life and found more expression for my daily trials. But today I was flipping through some old pictures of home and family and Lyka features in so many of them. And I just stopped and realized that it's been nearly 9 months since she passed. A mini-lifetime has passed in between with many changes, but thinking about her at least once a day hasn't changed.

Strangely enough, the time I remember her everyday is on the way to work, when I pass some huts on the road that have goats tied up in front. I saw a man giving an animal a good scrub down and the goat was very patiently standing there waiting for the ordeal to be completed, probably thinking that the indignity of being bathed rivalled the ultimate fate that lays in wait for it. It only reminded me of Lyka and the fuss she would create everytime we gave her a bath which usually resulted in more water drenching us than soaking through her coat.

My parents and I have not had the courage still to visit her. I don't think we'll ever be able to. It's still too difficult. We prefer remeniscing over drinks and laughing over her antics. A lot of family is visiting this summer and I think it will be the first time they're coming over without Lyka in the house. A lot of new chapters have begun this past year but I don't think this is one is closed.

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.