Goofy-The pet

Goofy came to our lives 6years back. He was then a two month old cute little stout puppy. From the very beggining he became the cynosure of all eyes at home. As time passed by, he fully grew up in a year's time. He was just so loving but had become a little aggressive also. Once my mother was walking him, he suddenly pulled on the leash and ran off at the sight of a rodent in the bushes near by. My mother fell down and it fractured her arm. After this incident we got him castrated. It dramatically calmed him down and his unfair behaviour improved greatly. But yes, he was as playful and funny as ever! We all knew, he had unknowingly hurt my mother and this incident never ever changed our love for him. One day Goofy was out walking and roaming. He happened to see our former maid and recognised her. She was going back to her house which is miles up the mountain. Goofy started following her. She asked him to get back but in vain. He kept walking. By the time they reached her home it had been dark. She decided to keep him in her place till morning. She could also not inform us as she did not have a phone facility. That night it snowed also. Back home everyone started searching from Goofy and we looked around almost 20 miles from our house. We beleived we had lost him. I thought of what could have happened and was he alive or not, with all kind of negative thoughts flashing my mind. No one slept that night. In the morning Goofy was back home with the maid. He had that sheepish look as if he was apologising for his act of elopement. As he had walked down a good distance in the snow his nose was runny and he also had mild fever. I gave him medicines and he kept sleeping the entire day. Next morning, he was again active and energetic. Recently he again went out to the main bus stop with my mom and got into the bus creating a ruckus there. He only got down when my mom came down with him. He is certainly living upto his name. But we love this wacky silly pet.....Oh my Dog!!!!!!

Blacky's Tale

After Kalu, our dear pet who was snatched from us by a leopard; I got home a small black stray pup and named him Blacky. He was a lovable, watchful and hardy fellow. He never got unwell in his short life of eight years. After all, he was an Indian Breed. Come what may.......scorching summers, chilling winters or even torrential rains...in early morning or in the middle of the night, he was always agile and active. His abode was a terrace facing a jungle where wild hares and foxes frequently strolled in the night. Entire night would witness Blacky on the move barking and running. He would thoroughly enjoy his night marathon and we could hear the thumping downstairs all night. As we were accustomed, it was never a disturbance. Blacky, like Kalu, too had a stint with a leopard but was fortunately with a cub. My aunt saw him jumping in the bushes one evening. Lo and Behold! He was playing with a small leopard. She instantly called him back. This incident really left us horrified. Had the mother leopard been in the vicinity, she would have surely gotten him. We thanked god.Blacky grew up to be a real stud. He used to hang around in the area with other dogs and would elope for days in the breeding season. We had never thought of getting him sterilized. Consequently every breeding season was a run away time for Blacky. He used to come back home after the season ended . We were aware of his seasonal absconding. No one had ever anticipated anything untoward happening to him. Nevertheless this apathy on our part cost us his life. When he was eight, he was badly injured by other dogs in a scuffle. As he came home, his ear was torn with tracts of maggots around. There were infective injuries on his head and the abdomen. He collapsed in no time. A great pet had become a victim of our negligence.

A SAD OLD DAY

Ours is a family of which pets are an integral part. My granny is especially fond of them and she was the one to look after our pets when I was young. We had a majestic mongrel breed pet called Kalu. He was a faithful and adorable member of our family. He was fond of moving around and chasing hares and farm animals but never used to hurt them. His tales of bravery were famous in the area. He had valiantly fought the leopard twice and had managed to escape. The wounds would heal after treatment and Kalu would be active and back to chasing and playing. However lucky he was not in his life’s last encounter with the cat. The signs of aging had started to show on him. He was 12+ and used to spend most of his time sleeping and resting. Our house has a forest in the neighborhood and leopards often sneak on in farms to get goats and dogs. They mostly come during dawn and dusk or in the night. Hence we had our concern for aging kalu as we feared a leopard attack on him. At times when kalu needed a walk in the night or early morning, we were particularly careful that someone went out with him. Once our entire family had to go out for a wedding, and kalu was left at home with a servant. On that fateful day kalu urgently needed to go out in early morning and our servant let him loose. He just raced out to do his stuff but never came back. Our servant had heard his last whimper fading in seconds. A leopard had gotten him. Our beloved kalu was gone. We really miss him. Twenty years after his death he is still alive in my memories and I look forward to meeting him in heaven.