Chapter 1

September 1994. That's where this story begins. An 11 year old curly haired only child (me, in case you hadn't already figured that out) had been standing on one foot about getting a puppy and had finally succeeded in convincing her parents that it may be an idea worth considering (I was told later it wasn't my brilliant persuasive skills that tipped the balance in my favor but my paralyzing fear of dogs, courtesy a dog bite at the age of 8). And off we went in a rickety old office ambassador to look at 'Bartala' Labrador pups. I remember being told that this was a pure window shopping exercise and that if we did pick out a puppy, it would have to wait till after my term exams were over for it to be brought home. Fate of course decided dogs were not to be brought into a family this way.

Upon arriving at the 'kennel' (being a large house with dogs and pups of all ages and sizes all over the place), we were asked to sit down and wait till the eligible pups were brought out for inspection. Ideally a puppy has to be 45 days old before it can really even be put up for adoption, because it hasn't yet been weaned from its mother. Anyone who's ever met a lab knows that asking it to curb its enthusiasm for strangers is like hoping for snow in Madras. The mother dog in question shot out into the sitting area and greeted with affection that only dogs are capable of. I have to admit I was a little take aback. Mothers are supposed to be dignified things, not wriggly dogs who slobber all over you. Then eligible pup number one shot into the room - Sunny, he was named. A yellow lab with a mad glint in his eye and cowlicks over his floppy ears, reminiscent of Dennis (of the Menace fame). I didn't immediately warm up to him - he had scratched me with his sharp puppy claws and I didn't imagine any dog of mine would be so boisterous (I was fairly painfully shy thing when I was young).

Then out came puppy two - Tina (creativity with names was obviously not the kennel's strong point). This little girl sauntered in quietly, taking her time to sniff everyone and categorizing them as friend or foe, wagging her tail a little uncertainly. After all who wants loads of strangers staring at you, determining whether you're fit to be in their family? And then she looked up at my mother and me. With her big melty brown eyes, it was love at first sight for us. My father still wasn't sure about bringing her home right away because I was 11 after all and getting me to study for exams after this momentous occasion would require some serious will power. But my mother and I prevailed!

We loaded 'Tina' into the car and I kept a tight grip on her. She was trembling from the strange noises and the strange sensation of being moved without actually walking on all fours. Once we got home, we had decided that first order of business was changing her name to something more respectable. I had gotten off an 'Aladdin' phase and wanted to name her Jasmine (ugh!). Thankfully we tossed around some more.

Enter Lyka.