The World without Sweepea

Once there was a little black puppy that was taken from his mommy by some kids and dropped at another unknown place. The little puppy was a happy guy so instead of finding the new place a scary big world he decided to make it his new playground.

His enthusiasm towards life and love towards other dogs and humans made him a famous little guy in this new area. Most humans loved him to bits. One such human named him Sweepea. He was also known my many other names like Oreo, Blacky, Chotoo, Raja and so on.

He was not a fussy eater, ate whatever was given to him like pedigree, chicken, mutton, dal rice, milk rice. Although, he did prefer a particular Pedigree food over the others. He would not touch the chicken n vegetable variety and his favorite flavor was meat and rice.

Every morning when the humans would walk their furry buddies, this tiny bundle of joy would run along in the big field and play with those dogs and their humans alike. There was never a day when Sweepea would not greet them with a big woofs, ear-to-ear smile and super fast swooshes of the tail. So it was rather out of the ordinary when yesterday the humans did not see this ever smiling big baby greeting them in the morning.

By evening they figured out that the boy was ill and needed immediate medical care. Some of these good humans took Sweepea to the clinic and after fighting with death the entire night young Sweepea took his last breath early morning today.

As one of Sweepea’s humans I have this gut wrenching feeling that I cannot get rid of. I am devastated.  I realized that the most painful and helpless feeling in the world is to see someone breathe his last in your arms but you cannot do jack shit to keep him alive.

I understand the basic concept of life that whosoever is born shall perish eventually. Though it will still hurt incredibly I can come to terms about someone who has lived their entire life and have died of natural causes. However this is the case of a 7 to 8 months old healthy puppy who dies consuming something poisonous. 

He was loved by many and everyone stood teary eyed at his burial and we bid him goodbye with a heavy heart.

Rest in Peace Dear Sweepea!!! You shall be missed.... 

Photo courtesy - Radhika Borkar

Prepping for Diwali!

Yes, you read it right… I’ve started my Diwali preparation from now only. And NO, I don’t mean by cleaning house and shopping for Diyas & Kandils.

My Diwali preparation begins with making the festival as comfortable as possible for my bachlings. Loud noises scare the heebie-jeebies out of them. They do not eat, they shiver, they find places to hide like under the table or bed. They have elevated heart rates and poor guys look mortified for those few days.

“The few days” range between one-week to one-month as people have enough money to burn on firecrackers for a whole f@#$ing month. Though I love the festival of lights, I absolutely detest the smog, and the noise created by the firecrackers! Oh and I also hate the drunken people on the roads who consider being a jerk as being somewhat of an item.

My only aim during the festival is making lives a little less scary for my babies. Things I am doing to make life a little simpler for these guys are;

Ordered Anxocare from Himalaya

It is an ayurvedic medicine which I will start from after Dussehra and will continue till November.

Ear Muffs

My cousin is creating crocheted ear muffs for the guys with Styrofoam and what not. I understand that the noises will not be drowned out completely but it would be less. So I am very hopeful for that.

Changing their walkie time

Normally they’d go at 9:30 AM and 9:30 PM and once in the afternoon if they are dying to go. But during this month we try to change it to early evening and early morning as the crackers noises are less and the smog is at this lowest as well.

Keeping windows closed

Since people in our area are so work-less that they start with the crackers from a week before the actual day, so the windows will be closed and thick curtains will be drawn from evening till late at night until the noise stops.

Preparing their favorite meals

I have created a plan for their meals. Usually they eat kibbles for lunch and home cooked meal for dinner. For these days, they get yummy home cooked meal during the day so that they can peacefully and happily eat their nom noms and pedigree will remain un-spoilt for a longer duration at night in case if they wish to eat after the noises have stopped.

Staying with them during those days

Like every year, I’ve made plans to be with my babies for that 1 week. Since 2010 (when I got Ole home), all my Diwalis are spent with Ole and since 2 years with Thimpoo as well. I strongly believe that the babies should not be without their trusted humans on those scary days. This, in no way means I will be stuck to them. Nope! Nada! Nien! I don’t molly coddle them when they are scared, else they’d know it is good to be scared.

What I do is, I stay with them in the same room, but they have their hide outs and spaces to chill wherein I keep their toys (for Thimpoo, Ole does not care for toys), pillows, blankets etc… anything that helps them keep calm. I keep on talking to them in a normal tone and continue with my work.

Each year I request people everywhere (in person & on social media) to say NO to crackers and sincerely hope that someday they will listen!

Image Courtesy - www.pharmacy4u.gr www.tumblr.com www.thepequodblog.blogspot.com

Note: Images used are strictly for representation purposes only!

Signs that you've become a Crazy Dog Person!!!

There are dog lovers & dog owners and there are these crazy people who would rather spend their entire waking hours with dogs instead of human beings. 

Here are 5 signs that would confirm if you've transitioned from a dog lover to a crazy dog person. Once you've become a Crazy Dog person, there is no point of return!!! You are one of us now!!!! Hee Hee Haa Haa (evil laugh)!!!!!!!!!

You congratulate your dogs by saying that he/she is a good boy/girl and you are proud of him/her when they complete their poop mission everyday; even though he is 6 and she is 2 1/2 and have been house broken for around 5 1/2 and 2 years now.

When you wear something fancy, you ask your dogs for an opinion on how you are looking. Their opinions matter the most.

When your dogs are in a barking competition with the neighborhood dog from the window, you politely ask them to use their 'inside voice' and they do!!!

When your important and unavoidable weekend plan is giving your dogs a full body massage and you  get mighty upset if that has to be canceled due to something else happening in the house. 

When you are staying in a hotel or at a friend's house, you cannot sleep well at night, because you are not hugging your dogs. 

All Hail The Crazy Dog People!!!!

Photo Courtesy: www.canstockphoto.com www.thegraphicsfairy.com  www.cliparts.co www.germanshepherdadventures.wordpress.com 

Rest In Peace Dear Dog!

Just read on social media that one of my FB & Twitter friends lost his best furry buddy of 14 years to death. I am so stunned that I am rendered speechless. Not that I knew the furry baby at all, I just followed her on fb & twitter, but hearing about the loss broke my heart. 

Grief fills my heart as unwanted thoughts crawl in my head and I sink in sorrow. I know everyone dies eventually, still the thoughts haunt me and I almost lose sanity thinking how would I carry on when the time comes for my babies.  

After shedding some silent tears for the fallen one, I look at my playing babies and try to push the inevitable at the back of my head and join them in the tug of war. 

Here is only hoping that crossing the rainbow bridge gives them peace and happiness that they deserve! 

Life is messed up for Crazy dog people

Life is not a cake walk for most people; however, it is specially messed up for dog lovers. From a personal stand point, I face these issues on a regular basis

Neighborhood roadies cry at night, and I lose my sleep thinking are they hurt? What if they need medical attention? What if they are hungry? What if they are feeling cold (There goes my peace of mind straight outa window)…

Every time I see a hurt dog on the street, first thing I do automatically is curse the person who did this. If I were a witch with powers, I dunno how many people would have been cursed by me; but nothing happens (so I know I am not a witch with powers).

I am always broke at the end of the month as I spend more than half of my salary trying to feed my neighborhood and office building dogs. (No regrets there, only wishing that there was more money to spend on these cutie pies).

When any of my dog friend dies (of natural causes or otherwise), a piece of me dies as well. The actual feeling is that of someone trying to scoop my heart out with a spoon or something… (Bidding them farewell is the most difficult task… EVER!)

Anyone can die in a movie or a TV show and I don’t care; but if you abandon, hurt or kill the dog, I want to ‘Avada Kedavra’ my TV for letting that happen! Since it is established before that I am not a witch with powers, nothing happens to the TV, so the water works starts (like a dam breaking).

I am almost running outa names to give my roadside friends now. Names like Patchy Pacharelli, Lady Lola, Serious Sam, Bholi Rani, Lazy Bum, Kaloo Baba, Tubbs Babu, Granny, Dadu, Romeo, Brown Paper Package, Buddha Baba, Kali Baby, Spotty Kumari, Inspector Chulbul Pandey, Lado, Gangsta, Kalia, Chintoo, Lali and Tarzan… have all been given. 

(Now I think I will name them as Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Diana Prince, J’on Jones, Kara Danvers and so on)

What I am trying to say is even though it sucks sometimes on an epic level to be an ardent fan of dogs, I would not have it any other way; if I had to redo my entire life again, I’d still love these fur balls the same way (or more if possible)…

Note: The image is for representational purpose only;

Image courtesy - www.kolkatastreetdogs.in

A Hero at Heart

This is my building dog Yeda AKA Inspector Chulbul Pande… He is a sweet kid just like any other roadie and a big Hero at heart. He is a chilled lazy dude who likes finer things of life like food, sleep, play and heavy petting.  Chubby looking kid with big brown eyes is a sight for sore eyes when I return from work every evening. I always loved him but from today he is my all-time favorite action hero… Let me tell you WHY…

Just like any other morning, I take Ole Kumar out for his walkie session and as usual Inspector Pande also walks alongside. In our area we have a very aggressive dog that lives in the apartment opposite to ours. Everything happened so fast that it took me few seconds to realize and get a grip…. One moment Ole Kumar was pooping happily and Yeda baba was chilling and peeing in the nearby bush when this other dog came charging at me and Ole to bite us…. Out of nowhere, Yeda ran interference and tackled this huge canine... twice…  (He had broken his leash and had run away from his walker)…

Chester (aggressive dog’s name) still wanted to bite Ole but he could not as I was standing between them and brave Yeda was behind him, warning him not to charge…  After a struggle of few minutes, Chester’s walker managed to leash him again, and he was taken off the grounds.

It was a turbulent morning, as my Ole is a quiet and a submissive dog who does not like confrontation; but he was brave too. Between Yeda and Ole, poor Chester must have been three times…

 

Chester happens to be a very aggressive dog because of his not-so-nice owners and lack of exercise and human touch… Hopefully knocking some sense into the owner’s head (which we did today) would bring about a change in Chester’s lookout.

However, at the end of the day, I am very proud of Ole and of course Yeda (the coolest dude I know in the canine world…)

Before getting a puppy....

We love puppies... their tiny paws, the tiny faces and shiny eyes… small prickly mushy... everyone who has had a puppy knows how awesome those initial days are.. .everything your puppy does makes you say ‘Awwwwwwww….”

That being one side of the story, before you get your bundle of joy home, you must ask these questions. Only and if only you have positive answers to these questions should you get the most lovable creature into your life.

 Are You Ready for a Puppy???

The responsibility of having a puppy is quite similar to having a human child. You have to put in extra effort in making the puppy comfortable in your home. Your place may be extremely cozy & convenient for you, but understand that the puppy is in a new place, away from his/her mother and other siblings plus a strange human is cuddling him/her.  It can be quite stressful.  You cannot leave the puppy alone in the initial days. The puppy will get depressed and lonely, which will lead to aggression. Though that aggression might look cute when she/he is tiny, it will not be so pleasant once the kid grows up.

Whatever turns your life takes, your puppy will be a part of it…

Imagine your parents abandoning you because they had a 2^nd child or they planned to move to a different city /country and you did not fit in their plan. Sounds absurd isn't it!!!!! You may get married, move to a different city, get a job, have a boyfriend/girlfriend, and have a baby…. Remember your puppy came into your life before any of these new advancements. You absolutely are ready and will not abandon your pet just because you have new events in your life and your pet is a burden. He/she is never a burden; they are your family. Only if you are ready to get into that kind of commitment for your dog’s lifetime, you are ready…

Can you afford a puppy?

Your heart may be filled with love and respect for your pup, but can you afford her/him. Get a clear idea how much it would cost you monthly basis for the upkeep of your puppy when he/she is full grown.  Puppy must be vaccinated, well fed, well exercised and well loved….

Lastly, is everyone in the family alright with having a puppy?

Everyone in the family should be on the same page about getting the puppy home; it should not be the case that someone in the family does not like dogs so the puppy gets ill-treated there.

Once your introspection is done and you have positive answers to these questions, (plus more if you have any) by all means bring home a puppy… he/she will be a source of ultimate joy, peace and happiness in your life… 

NOTE: Adoption before Purchase....