LATE NIGHT MUSINGS

Since as far as I can remember I have always had a dog. My childhood was growing up in the 80s, in these beautiful boarding school campuses, where we were always outdoors. Nearly everybody had a dog and I barely remember the need ever to have a dog on a leash. We were children growing up amidst nature and so were our dogs - free and wild.

Elsa was the first German Shepherd I ever had. Before that we had had only Labradors. All cute and cuddly and extremely goofy in spite of their intelligence. Elsa, named after the lioness in “Born Free” was a revelation. She had a strong personality and was supremely independent. A beautiful dog, who was extremely graceful and highly intelligent. I would go to school, to come back to find her roaming free in the 340 acre campus Mayo provided her. Often we had children come running to our home, telling us that Elsa had paid a visit to the tennis court and made away with the tennis ball by jumping over the net like a skilled horse and retrieving the ball before the boy could complete his forehand. Elsa loved basketball too. She played for both the teams and would run up and down with all the players, nearly tripping them and play till the padding in her paws would nearly be scraped off. In one such game she spotted me n my dad and came and sat in front of us and lifted her paw to show us the damage. I told her that maybe it is time to stop and let some other player take her place but as soon as the ball was dribbled, away she went all over again.

Princess was her daughter and was named “Princess” since out of the 7 pups she was the first born and born on the sofa. The other 6 pups had to do with arriving in the bathroom. Elsa pulled my hair in the middle of the night, to take me to this new arrival. Princess was the only double coat German shepherd of the litter. She was the goofiest too. While all the pups ate from this big bowl of Cerelac, Princess decided sitting in this big bowl n then eating would assure her, the kings share. We decided to keep Princess and soon the rest the pups found happy homes. Princess was nothing like her mother. She was an oddball from the very beginning. Everyday with her was a misadventure and she too like her mother had taken a liking to pulling my hair and waking me up in the middle of the night. Elsa passed on her love for basketball to her daughter. The daughter did not even need a team. She alone with the basketball would go round and round in a frenzy and could spend hours, pushing the basketball between her legs with her front two paws and then turn and repeat procedure till she tired herself out.

My brother and I were playing football and we put the dogs on the terrace otherwise a game was not possible. Elsa started barking frantically and when we didn’t pay heed to her, she retraced, taking a run up and viola jumped over the boundary of the terrace with the grace of a ballerina and landing on all four with an air of nonchalance.Ujwal and I were left with our mouths agape. Princess decided to follow suit, she backed up...with ujwal and me screaming “ no Princess no” and she came charging full speed till the boundary only to stop and roll through the open space between the pillars, head first. She broke her leg and her walk was forever tilted there after and so was her point of view. She followed her tradition of falling off different terraces in different cities my parents got posted in and always surviving. Our dogs were our friends in all our adventures. Whether we were climbing hills or swimming in rivers our dogs were by our side. It was a common sight - Ujwal and me cycling and having two German shepherds behind, keeping pace with us...so much so that once they jumped into the swimming pool behind us, much to the chagrin of the attendant incharge.

My family car, our chocolate brown ambassador DEB 6361, nearly always had one dog each hanging out of the two backseat windows with Ujwal and I tucked in between. Ice creams for us also meant ice creams for them. Needless to say our childhood would have been incomplete without them. Anybody who has lived with a dog knows how well they understand us and how each dog has this unique personality and how well they communicate everything to us.Growing up with a dog opens up your heart in a way nothing else can. It is one of the most beautiful relationship you will ever have. For having a dog means forever unconditional love and no judgements whatsoever . You truly have a friend for life, who always believes in you and finds a way to cheer you up. One never has to worry about “fitting in” with our furry friends. They love you for exactly who you are. Even in her demise, Princess stayed true to her oddball nature. Dads last posting was in Lawrence school Lovedale in Ooty. A sprawling 700 acre plus campus in the forest area with a national highway cutting through it. A few slow moving trucks frequented this route. Princess was an expert at crossing roads and it’s still baffling that how on one of her everyday walks with my parents Princess managed to dash right into the very backend of a truck. There was no pain for she was gone even before dad reached her. Losing a dog is like losing a piece of your heart. Luckily they leave you behind with a timeline of priceless memories.Knowing they had happy lives, makes it a little easier to come to terms with their loss.Elsa and Princess were my best friends. They were whom I came home to. They were and will always be family.