I was around 10 years old when I was bitten by a stray dog. I have a hazy memory of visits to the Pasteur Institute, injections and scoldings from elders for having 'teased a stray-dog'.....As a result...my fear for that four-legged creature called 'dog' increased so much that I used to shiver at the very mention of a dog!!
The passing years did nothing to help. In the year 2006, when I was staying in Hyderabad ( my hubby has a transferable job)...my husband brought home a month-old black Labrador puppy.. so cute, such lovely eyes..everything about the puppy was so adorable. I said to myself-"Ok, it's only a puppy...it won't bite...I'll look after it"...We named the Labra "Bobo".....
Bobo stayed with us for only fifteen days...yes, you read right; only fifteen days and I was the reason for Bobo's exit from our house!!! I was unable to look after the puppy. Staying up till late into the night, giving it food at regular intervals----I just couldn't bring myself to "work so hard"....we returned Bobo to the owners and I avoided looking at the sad faces of my children...
Gurgaon--where I am residing presently..January 13th, year 2012...I got a call from my husband..he just said--"Get ready, someone's coming to your home!" "What are you talking about?" "Who is coming?"...I got no further explanations....Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and in walked a huge black labrador!!! My husband grinned and said-"He's yours!! He was abandoned...I brought him home. I am sorry I didn't ask you first but this poor doggy has no place to go, no home...will you let him stay?"
What could I SAY??? I was staring at the big labra, speechless. He looked back at me...for sometime we just kept looking at one another....and I heared myself saying-"All right!! He stays.."
Do you know the shape of your own shadow??? All of you will answer-"Oh yes!! It looks like our form"....And I say-"My shadow has four legs, a tail and a big round head!".... my shadow has changed form....and my shadow has a name too---BARON!! Yes, that's my Labra's name...Baron--who walked into my home on 13th January,2012 and walked right into my heart!! It's been three months now and I just can't stop loving him....Am I the same person who used to scream whenever she saw a dog?
Baron--who cannot speak a single word but speaks a thousand words every day with his eyes, his paws, his tail, his whole self. Baron, who taught me the language of silence...Baron, who looks at me with a twinkle in his eye when I speak gibberish with him--Baron, who comes up to me and puts his big head on my lap. Baron, who waits patiently in the kitchen while I cook his meals. Even when he is half-asleep he makes it a point to follow me around--as if it's his moral responsibility not to leave me by myself...When I kiss him goodnight, he touches my cheek with his nose...when I get up in the morning and greet him--out comes his tongue for a big lick--HIS way of saying "Good Morning"...
Baron--who slows down willingly if I am unable to keep up with his brisk trot when we are out for a walk....he turns his head and looks at me with a twinkle in his brown eyes...Baron; who instinctively knows whether I am tired or upset---comes and puts his paw on my lap and looks up at me with those eyes asking me what is wrong---and I end up actually telling him!!! And he listens....I have been told that dogs cannot understand human languages...they understand the vibrations of the human voice...I do not know what is correct but Baron after hearing me out licks my hand, my face and if not that;puts his big head on my lap and looks up at me......then how is it they say that dogs do not understand our words?
The passing years did nothing to help. In the year 2006, when I was staying in Hyderabad ( my hubby has a transferable job)...my husband brought home a month-old black Labrador puppy.. so cute, such lovely eyes..everything about the puppy was so adorable. I said to myself-"Ok, it's only a puppy...it won't bite...I'll look after it"...We named the Labra "Bobo".....
Bobo stayed with us for only fifteen days...yes, you read right; only fifteen days and I was the reason for Bobo's exit from our house!!! I was unable to look after the puppy. Staying up till late into the night, giving it food at regular intervals----I just couldn't bring myself to "work so hard"....we returned Bobo to the owners and I avoided looking at the sad faces of my children...
Gurgaon--where I am residing presently..January 13th, year 2012...I got a call from my husband..he just said--"Get ready, someone's coming to your home!" "What are you talking about?" "Who is coming?"...I got no further explanations....Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and in walked a huge black labrador!!! My husband grinned and said-"He's yours!! He was abandoned...I brought him home. I am sorry I didn't ask you first but this poor doggy has no place to go, no home...will you let him stay?"
What could I SAY??? I was staring at the big labra, speechless. He looked back at me...for sometime we just kept looking at one another....and I heared myself saying-"All right!! He stays.."
Do you know the shape of your own shadow??? All of you will answer-"Oh yes!! It looks like our form"....And I say-"My shadow has four legs, a tail and a big round head!".... my shadow has changed form....and my shadow has a name too---BARON!! Yes, that's my Labra's name...Baron--who walked into my home on 13th January,2012 and walked right into my heart!! It's been three months now and I just can't stop loving him....Am I the same person who used to scream whenever she saw a dog?
Baron--who cannot speak a single word but speaks a thousand words every day with his eyes, his paws, his tail, his whole self. Baron, who taught me the language of silence...Baron, who looks at me with a twinkle in his eye when I speak gibberish with him--Baron, who comes up to me and puts his big head on my lap. Baron, who waits patiently in the kitchen while I cook his meals. Even when he is half-asleep he makes it a point to follow me around--as if it's his moral responsibility not to leave me by myself...When I kiss him goodnight, he touches my cheek with his nose...when I get up in the morning and greet him--out comes his tongue for a big lick--HIS way of saying "Good Morning"...
Baron--who slows down willingly if I am unable to keep up with his brisk trot when we are out for a walk....he turns his head and looks at me with a twinkle in his brown eyes...Baron; who instinctively knows whether I am tired or upset---comes and puts his paw on my lap and looks up at me with those eyes asking me what is wrong---and I end up actually telling him!!! And he listens....I have been told that dogs cannot understand human languages...they understand the vibrations of the human voice...I do not know what is correct but Baron after hearing me out licks my hand, my face and if not that;puts his big head on my lap and looks up at me......then how is it they say that dogs do not understand our words?
Roger Caras has quoted-"Dogs are not our whole life,but they make our lives whole". He couldn't be more accurate in his observation. Baron has wiped out my dog-phobia completely. My children are over the moon with delight. The day Baron came to us, my son threw his arms around me and said-"Thank you so much, Mumma. You are the best!" And believe me, the guilt of having sent Bobo away evaporated completely...it was as if I got a pardon from my children. Baron and my kids play as if all three have gone completely loony...He sits with them when they have their meals and waits very patiently to get the last bit of ice-cream from them!! He has made MY life very fulfilling. Sometimes,early morning; the lazy and selfish human inside me longs to sleep 'just a bit more'...then another voice tells me-"Someone is waiting for you to give him something to eat. If he COULD, he would take it himself!"...and I am up and about!!!
Human relationships are all about wants, needs, expectations, love, hate...the list is endless...and with Baron, I am looking at relationships with a new eye...Baron only knows how to LOVE; and love completely! Baron does not expect anything...he is ready to give his all and THAT makes me question myself-"If HE can, why can't I?" Baron has taught me to look at motherhood in a new way...I have borrowed his attitude and temparament of 'no expectations' where my kids are concerned....I have stopped being the 'Hitler Mom' with my children. I will not deny that I am a strict mother but Baron has taught me 'to take a step back'...if Baron can tolerate tiny mistakes of mine-then why cannot I do the same....a valuable lesson this four-legged angel has taught me..
With Baron I am learning new lessons in life, in love everyday. I have become a student again...and what a teacher-pupil equation this is...the teacher cannot speak and the pupil KEEPS talking....but when the teacher teaches with his eyes, his paws and his tail...the pupil falls silent, listens,observes and learns.....
