Sunday, December 16, 2007

The awesome twosome

The two of them were a part of my family until a few years ago. They both were German Shepherds. One was Jackie, the tan and black father, with a majestic walk and a sharp look that most humans and dogs would give more than just a second thought before interfering with him. The other was Tony, the ebullient gray furred son, full of life and a darling to every one who had managed to come near him irrespective of his inherited outer shell. It was difficult for anyone to believe that the two were related because they never got along well. They probably would have been, had the mother lived with them.

When Jackie was a year old, his owners left the town and news spread in the locality that the dog was for sale. So it was destined that he spent the rest of his life with us. I was at a boarding school then and Jackie had been in my house for a year before I returned. So when I came back, I was a stranger to him. It took me another year to be at ease with him. He was closest to dad; German Shepherds are known to be a little possessive but till the end, whenever dad was at home, he would never let anyone come near him or dad. Other times, he was a very good friend to mom and me. He was a real person(You got to believe me, he really was!), a mature one in that; sometimes when I used to be sad, he would recognize that and look at me with consoling eyes which had made me feel I was much smaller than he was. Other times, whenever a guest came home, he was at his best, barking his throat out (he was tied during day. So all he could do was to bark) to protect his family from potential invaders.

So when Tony arrived at our house 4 years later as a 10-day old infant, it was a matter of not just Jackie’s loss of privacy but also a possessiveness that his place in our hearts was going to be shared. The fact that this toddler was just as smart as he was (He hadn’t made out his bloodline obviously) only more charming and innocent, gave him a revulsion whenever he saw Tony. We had imagined that the two would be good friends (after all, we thought, dogs of the same genes would flock together) if not any extended sentiments. Now everything had to be done twice and separate for the two, accommodation, feeding, bathing, taking them for a walk (morning and eveningL) etc.

Tony indeed drew our attention most of the time and required our attention other times. For the first two nights after arriving at our home, he never slept. Neither did he let us to. He was weeping, obviously searching for his mother’s warmth. I kept him in a bed sheet in a corner of my bedroom tending to him. Moreover that would keep him away from Jackie, who we feared, if left free would devour Tony.

Tony grew into a pampered pup, doing everything and anything he wanted around the house. He used to sneak into Jackie’s room prudently, and then walk in with style as if on a ramp, wagging his tail exuberantly at him. When the latter saw him and barked, he would tantalize him by going nearer (of course ensuring he was in the safe zone out of Jackie’s reach) apparently grinning, turn back, and rush out; the same would continue after some time. His father would be frenzied but finally he gave up and reminded quiet. After all he was a dog with dignity. But Tony’s feats did not end there. He spent his time chasing his tail going round and round about himself upsetting things that were on his way. I had to buy a second set of higher secondary books that year because they had been nibbled by my beloved pup. The same was the case with my footwear. There have been days when I used to wake up in terror only to realize that it was my canine kid that had woken me by licking my face putting his forelimbs on the bed (he was too small to climb) My mom then started to use this as a strategy to wake me by placing him right on my bed. Whenever I call him as I enter the house, he used to come dashing and unable to stop, he would fall, get up with the same speed and put his forelimbs around to welcome me.

Tony lacked the aggression which Jackie had and that made the two complementary. One thing that bound me to them was that they always let their eyes do the talking. They would listen to me and respond too. I used to talk to them, play with them or just stroke their fur starring else where lost in my thoughts, while the two would just lie by my side (of course one at a time!) starring at the same direction as me. They left this world in successive years in 2002 and 2003. I remember them often especially whenever I hear a movie song which translates into something like “When we understand nature and let the hearts speak, there is no need for any language created by man”. For those folks to whom the previous line doesn’t make any sense, you really got to own a dog. It was a very special friendship to me. In fact it still is.

3 Comments:

At Tuesday, January 01, 2008, Blogger lavanya said...

hey sugan,

Very beautiful narration about ur friends.. well, towards the end of the post, i cud vividly sense the pain u must have felt when they departed u....
i guess this post is dedicated to the two awesome buddies of urs...
cute one
hmmm, on reading ur post i liked tony very much....

keep bloggin sugan !!!

 
At Thursday, March 13, 2008, Blogger JayaChithra Subramanian said...

hi suganya
back with a bang on blogspot or gonna laze off again?
nice post..i love dogs :-)
but y no mention of lavs??lol..
keep writing..
cheers
Jc

 
At Thursday, August 07, 2008, Blogger PreethZzZ said...

very nice post... i knw many others who share the same sort of raport with their pets...

coming here after such a long time!!!

 

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Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

casual person with deep passion about things/people i like....






I was Hermione Granger at the Harry Potter character quiz @ Crazylicious.com
My Birthdate: October 6
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