Dogyears @ Godyears

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
15
'Was an article online recently on how dogs were being brutally slain on the roads in some particular nagar ofIndia ( it's always in India ). Their crime - An MLA spotted a dog pissing outside his house in front of his gate. For the crime of one, a 100 paid. The catch ? Well, you see, it wasn't strays that were killed. The law-enforcers went into people's houses in that area and killed their pets. Oh ya, case has been registered,police is looking into it blah blah blah.

I've often wondered what it must be like to hate dogs. I hope I never know. Since I was 5 years old, I've always had a minimum of one pet dog running around the house.. ranging from sheep dogs to pomeranians to dobermen to some weird fox hybrids and cocker spaniel derivatives, there's always been someone wagging their tail at me in the morning whenever I'm home.They've brought so much joy and happiness to my family over the years and been so affectionate and loved in return. It's probably after seeing the dogs at my house that the phrase "it's a dog's life" was derived.. Because there have never been so pampered a set of brats as these. So what are the traits peculiar to the canines at my house? Well, I guess I can use Ruby, the pooch in the pics as my example.


1. CONSISTENCY - Till date, 20 years since the 1st dog arrived, not a single one of them has learned "Sit/stand/fetch." Not one. "Shake hand" naturally is a command my parents reserve for me. No point teaching the dogs.
2. PUNCTUALITY - Ruby, the present queen of the house ( in pics ) has perfected time so well, she literally goes and seeks out my mother when it's 1:00pm daily to fill the bowl. My God!! The looks of contempt you get when you're late.
3. COMPROMISING - She's not picky. She'll eat ANYTHING with meat in it. Nowadays, she's even willing to try out corn, bananas,peanuts ( her favourite ).
4. COURAGE - Not scared to chase huge buffaloes...as long as they're on the other side of the gate!! With her mom, she used to make a nice team catching birds, wild cats, rats , mongooses etc.
5. ANGER - Whenever we've scolded her, invariably she seeks revenge by finding that particluar individual's clothes from the ironed clothes hamper and dragging it out into the mud. Nowadays, she does it to my clothes the day after I leave home for Mangalore too as a sign of protest. Now there's a novel way of protesting..should we try it against reservations. Drag old Health Minister's clothes through gunk.
6. RELIGIOUS - She's sits with my mom outside the puja room during all prayers - morning & evening. That's more than the rest of us do.
7. DIGNIFIED - She's refuses to be cuddled "just for the heck of it". She usually places herself in the room such that she can see all of us, but we can't keep stroking her.. usually bissecting the seats where me and my parents sit. Earlier dogs used to use the chairs for sitting/ lying down. Luckily, after 20 years, we've convinced the present bunch that IT'S WRONG.!!
8. CARING - Simple. Be sick. You'll see her by your side / under the bed all day. It's annoying though when she disturbs your sleep by poking her snout in your face to ensure you're still breathing.. eeew!! dog breath.9. FUNNY - Picture this. A pomeranian stares at you while you're sitting. you start "cooing" and she takes the hint and jumps on your lap and sits like a cat.. Now add a fully grown doberman who has seen this scene from the side. Picture the doberman doing the same..right down to jumping onto your lap and sitting there as though it were a "perfect fit". One thing our dogs never realised - that they were dogs.
10. TIDY - No sleeping outside the house / on the bare floor at night. Ruby makes it a point that she gets her blanket and sleeps in the same room as my parents no matter what.
11. LOYALTY - Man's best friend for a reason...duh!!! Just check out most of DEAN KOONTZ novels..no matter what the premise of the story,be it aliens or government secrets or witchcrafts, there's always ALWAYS a golden retriever who makes a big impact in the story sometimes saving the day eventually.

Most true dog lovers tend to be caring and affectionate - part of the becoming-like-your-pet syndrome i figure. Which explains why cat people tend to be more royal and high maintenance and turtle lovers tend to be boring ( you're looking after a turtle..dude! get a life!! ) Either way, I just wish people would be more compassionate and that I dont have to come across such stories of cruelty to animals again any time soon.Sure,they cant mix you a martini or give you a massage when you wanna but by God, they won't bitch about you or stab you behind your back either , right!! Which would you prefer anyway ?
IN A NUTSHELL : To a dog, you're God..what more reason do you need to love 'em!!

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  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2006

    same here. not once ever has my home been dogless. and the FUNNY thing u mentioned is not just funny but painful when they step on all the wrong places. and what are u doing writing all these wonderfully long posts and not studying? shoo.. scat.. back to ur books. ur mom never taught u to obey that? :)

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  2. easy to say, hard to do...the thought of rereading these books again and again.....aaaah!!!

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  3. AnonymousJune 22, 2006

    superb description... ruby is surely very lucky.. i love dogs too.. correction there.. i like most animals.. i have a dog at home too.. and if i had to describe it .. it wud be the same!!

    cheers!!

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  4. AnonymousJune 23, 2006

    love your blog...
    n i adore ur dog....

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  5. AnonymousJune 25, 2006

    Heartwarming stuff.
    keep them coming.

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  6. AnonymousJune 27, 2006

    Hey Roshan .....

    changed the way your blog looked my god ..looks classy along with that pic of yours though can't really read the end lines of your sentences.

    so ...i love dogs too...now at home though we have parrots and real brats that they are, i can assign each of these traits to them as well, miss them so much ..

    cya
    nice piece
    i do hope people are more compassionate.

    oops too much of ur comment space ..nah! lazy mood to erase them .
    cya
    Ash

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  7. AnonymousJune 29, 2006

    cool one...dogs are soo damn cute na..nice blog!!

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  8. AnonymousJuly 22, 2006

    Super color scheme, I like it! Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing this wonderful site with us.
    »

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  9. hey loved all that u said.my thoughts ur words. but didnt like ur last statement-- to a dog ur god. somehow i dont think i love my dog becoz of that. he is my kid. just that.and i need him whether he needs me or not. i sometimes feel im his pet.

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  10. Thanks for your comment.

    when i saw your Dog Ruby, it borught back to mind the fond memories of my Dog Rex. in fact He looked a lot like Ruby, but with a sheer golden coat, with a large mane..making him look essentialy like a Lion, which suited his Name too.

    Do visit www.dailypuppy.com, it brings joy to your heart. (No, i dont own the site, but i recommend it to all)

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  11. Always a dog lover...but a full family of people not interested in any pets...i couldnt have one in my house....but my love for these cute creatures have increased every bit after reading this....Especially point no 8 and I went awwwww....

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  12. Yeh so true.. I'm missing mine so much :( think I should get one soon. Only prob is my landlord is not so much a dog lover and he has said either me or the dog. :( So will have to find a house first ;)

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  13. Anju.. thats sad. whenever life does give u an opportunity, do get one.. you'll be rewarded with a pal forvere.. u can tick these points off as they occur in ur life too.. or come back and beat me up demanding a refund :)

    Dhanya, hehe.. shoot the landord !!!

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  14. What a great tribute....I dont have a pet but would love to have one some day.

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