I was my grandfather's favourite, which meant all my demands and wishes bypassed my parents and were directly taken care of by him. It was during one of our conversations where he was helping unfold my world with his stories, he randomly spoke about dogs! That's where like any other 7 year old, I got excited and asked if we could have one.
Being
blessed with a house where space was in abundance, he willingly agreed. The
next day we had a Doberman pup, actually I knew nothing about its gender or
breed (so how do I know the breed? As I grew up, I remember what it looked
like - so tried relating its resemblance). I can still relive that moment
when I first saw him and held him. He was so tiny, with a smooth black blanket
all over him and a shrunken, twisted
tail adding to the cuteness. I named him Puppy (Brownie points to all
those who could guess)
My life changed completely after that! He was with me from morning greetings to the good night cuddle! He was everywhere! I took the charge to make the new member feel comfortable and welcomed in my huge joint family because of which I had no time for food, homework and studies.
With time, my parents got and was threatened that Puppy will be sent away, but with the authority (a.k.a -Grandpa) on my team- I was rest assured Puppy was here to stay with me. Though my mother was not willing to let me off the hook so easily, she locked Puppy in a room with food to buy me time to do my homework and studies. It’s said-" Every action has an equal and opposite reaction", I renounced my homework and sat in front of the door where Puppy was locked and cried and cried endlessly.
This
retaliation made my mother open the door and allow us be together again! But
later that night everybody tried talking
to me about my craziness, but I was too busy making up for the lost hours of
play with Puppy. Looking at my ignorance and prioritization, my family conspired
against us. The next day after school, I came rushing home where I was told
that Puppy was taken to the hospital for vaccination with my father- that gave
me some relief (because if it was for my mother she would have not brought him
back from the hospital itself).
Hours
passed by, neither Puppy nor my Dad turned up, I was starting to link the whole incident with the story of Hansel and Gretel. At night finally when my
father returned he came back all alone! Puppy was gone! Before I could say
something he looked at my teary eyed puppy face and explained to me that
doctors said he needed some special care. He added that he is too young to be
taken away and needs to be with his mother, just like how I am.
With
a heavy heart and countless nights spent crying I could sleep with a thought
that he was sleeping with his mother and siblings (though secretly I wanted him
to be here, but being selfish was a bad thing- that's what my parents
kept reminding me)
Now my conversations with my Grandpa were filled with his stories and my dog stories. These dog stories did unfold the unconditional love we both shared for dogs!
