Recently at the JFK airport security check in New York, two ladies zipped ahead of me with their pet dogs. They had placed the airline-approved carrier of their dogs on the tray as they chatted and laughed waiting to get through. There was not an iota of tension on their faces. In contrast, having gone through a tough interrogation at the immigration counter (even though I’ve been visiting my family in the US for the last 15 years), my little carry-on bag did not find a smooth landing out of the security X-ray machine as compared to the carry-on pets and their containers.
I’ve always wondered how much people love their pet dogs. They cannot live without them and are ready to pay extra for their flights and don’t mind any inconvenience lugging them along. For them, a pet is a family member, a friend, child or even more.
Let me confess, I have never been a dog lover. For that matter, an animal lover at all. When I was young, we had an Alsatian dog, Tommy, who was brought in to protect our home from potential thieves and not really to play around as a pet. He was never unleashed and his loud barking could scare away even a ghost. Even our postman and newspaper vendor had to master long-distance throws that could qualify them for the Olympics. The beggars were happy to avoid our street. Tommy turned violent and started chasing away passers by, throwing off people biking in the vicinity and snapping their calf muscles. The victims started raising slogans at our gate. My parents had to finally dispatch Tommy away to a village farm.
In stark contrast to me and my dad, every family member loved dogs. My dad gifted a rare breed of Terrier to the first baby girl in the family, my little daughter. She was named Cherry, a sweet little pet who did not trouble much except that whenever I was alone at home and just ready to leave for the office, she would manage to run out and ensure that I get late for work in my new job. After some years, the late Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s son (who was our immediate neighbour in Dehradun) gifted their dearest white Pomeranian, Micky to my little daughter before relocating to New Delhi. On my transfer to Baroda, we quietly sneaked in and hid Micky under the first class compartment seat. Luckily he behaved and did not make any noise when the Ticket Checker came.
Both the pets had been loyal to me though my fondness for them never turned into liking. The closest I got to liking a dog was my co-brother’s pet, Ira, who passed away a couple of years ago Thereafter, my transfer to Mumbai and smaller company apartments prevented us from keeping a dog.
Then something happened. Like one person who comes into our life and changes our perceptions and mindset. It was Desoto, a pure breed Poodle. Initially I avoided getting too close to him but soon realised he was such an adorable cutie. He was adopted when he was just about a year old. He is now about 5 years old and damn handsome. He has been trained so admirably well by the new owner. He must be super smart to learn things quickly. I lived in their house for about a week and observed Desoto from close quarters. I found him to be an amazingly disciplined and well-mannered pet, a virtue I like to see in pampered kids of today. Surprisingly, Desoto is not demanding at all. He can communicate exceptionally well with everyone. He gives signals whenever he wants something. Like once, he wanted to jump and sit next to me on the sofa. He looks at you whenever he needs attention and waits to be pampered. Most importantly for me, he does not shed any hair, something that drives me away from affectionate dogs who unknowingly spoil my black trousers. I’ve also seen many dogs who start getting cranky when they need to be taken out to be relieved. But he has tremendous patience and self-control. Pet dogs in my community often jump out of the elevator and urinate on my parking walls. They cannot be blamed since they cannot speak. But Desoto normally waits to do all his stuff after reaching the dog park. He seems to love human beings more than his fellow dogs. Sometimes when he stares at me, I want to know what is it that he is thinking. Probably he also wants to know what goes on in my mind when we are together.
Alok Joshi is former Director(HR & Marketing), PetroChina(CNPC), ex-ONGC, public speaker, freelance writer and author of three books and over a hundred articles.
