Turning 30…!

My sketch, my interpretation of turning 30 😛

I am one and a half month away from turning 30 – a big milestone for some who had their to-do-list ready at 25. I have never been a to-do-list kind of a person, simply because my plans start going astray starting with losing my to-do-list sheet. (Yes for some reason I always write it on the paper)

I have a job, I am married, can cook and adopted pets; so according to the nosy people who our parents keep referring to, I should have be taken care of, for the rest of my life. Right? Wrong! What about seeing the world, meeting new people, growing old with the love of your life, living an illness free life?

I have always believed that petty people have petty thoughts. Ask them about their best achievements and probably they will ponder for a while only to retort – I got married at the right age. This will be coming from someone who did not see the world and their idea of vacationing would be to get up from the comfort of their own home and plonk themselves at their relatives’ house.

As I turn 30, I want to promise myself to do everything my heart desires, go visit new places, make new friends and spend time with my family. The dream does seem farfetched, but what the hell! If it was easily achievable, it wouldn’t have been a dream – that would be just another goal! So striving hard to achieve my dreams starts now……….

Happy (soon-to-be-30th) Birthday to me!

5 resolutions that never saw the light of the day!

Well, the resolutions listed below have either failed before it started or got lost in translation one month down the line!

1.       I will lose weight this year – 

Sometimes even the weighing scale sympathizes – Pic Courtesy – http://www.examiner.com

Classic me! I can’t even count the number of times I have decided this during the year and then some more on the 31^st Dec. The proclamation is generally rather profound and thus begins a journey that is doomed to fail at the first sight of burgers and lip smacking cheesy delights. And knowing the ad world, the perfect shot of food plastered all over the papers brutally attacks the cravings and kick starts right after binging on my own words.

 

2.       I will learn a dance form –

Oh I love dancing! I have joined all possible dance classes only to leave it after a month. Bharatnatyam, Salsa, Jive, Waltz, Free style, Belly Dancing – I am truly a jack of all trades and the master of none. The relentless dancer in me has still not given up. Next I think I will try hip hop! 😀

 

3.       I will start using the oven-

My innate ability to blow things out of proportion includes my worry that the oven, that lies idle from the past 3 years, might just blow up. Yes I have tried using an oven and failed miserably. I feel it will blow up even before I start baking or heating stuff. This resolution almost always fails at the site of the beautiful white oven that sits atop my shelf waiting to die of old age than being mis-handled.

 

4.       I will run the marathon this year –

Pic Courstesy – takethestairs.wordpress.com

This is one resolution I love the most! All this while I have been sprinting in my dreams waiting one day I will fill up the form and begin the long gruelling routine to prepare my body for a 21 Km run. How I fail you ask? Well, to begin with, I always miss the last date of filling the form waiting for someone to accompany me in taking part in the run. Lame as it sounds; I have already crossed the 21 km mark in my head.

 

 

5.       I will be thoughtful when I shop –

 

Face palm – Pic Courtesy – http://www.craigboyce.com

Before I start, this is not about watching the expense. That is simply an unacceptable virtue in my world. The ‘thoughtfulness’ mentioned here is w.r.t shopping for a perfect attire and accessories to go with each one of them. It just doesn’t work because when I start shopping, I begin acting like a kid in a candy store and end up buying 20 things I don’t require instead of the 5 things that I need.

 

 

 

 

 

Probably next time I will be less drunk when I make them….! **Thinking!!!!! 😉

 

 

 

“Zoey aa gayi!” – The Kids, my pup and their daily encounters!

Zoey (in black harness) playing with her friend

“Uncle Zoey neeche khelne ayegi?” A kid inquired after ringing the door bell one Sunday evening! Since we don’t have kids, a request like this did amuse my husband and I. Zoey is our Labrador pup. Her idea of playing is clenching her favourite colourful squeezy ball and playing hard to get. The kids simply find it amusing and enjoyed running after her one evening.

With Zoey playfully barking as the kids requested her to be sent with them, we suddenly felt like parents to a growing kid who was grounded and her friends have come to plead her case. Some days later, a kid brought all his friends wanting them to show a dog living just below his apartment. Such incidents remind us how kids treat dogs just like one of their friends.

Our well socialised Zoey stays calm and is accepting of kids and is an absolute fun to watch with other dogs. There is a huge play ground right in the middle of the chaotic suburban traffic, where she can be off leash, chase birds, play fetch and even football every day. The place in the evening is full of kids playing and running around. The moment I reach the place and leave Zoey off leash, I hear a loud ‘Zoey Aa Gayi’ (from one kid to the other). This echoes twice or even thrice and within a matter of seconds, my lab is surrounded by kids happily running behind her and playing fetch.

Zoey’s presence often intrigues new kids who come to me with their innocently put questions like “Why are you cleaning after Zoey? Will she bite? Why doesn’t she play with me? Why is she so attached to her squeezy ball? Can I snatch the ball from her mouth?” With their endless curiosity come their tiring questions.

On day one, I found it rather annoying to answer all questions but as days passed, I found myself answering questions about handling a dog and the things you have to do when you get a dog home. In the coming days, the questions increased and moved on to random topics from  washing hands after playing with dogs, to avoid snatching anything the dog is playing with, to asking for permission before petting someone’s dog, just to name a few.

Months have passed and now kids and my pup are well acquainted with each other. I hope I have helped the kids be less frightened of dogs and more understanding of how to treat them. Hope this helps these future adults to treat animals with compassion.

As I pen down this article my pup is already nudging me with her leash in her mouth asking to be taken to the playground where I will again hear the loud yet unmistakably excited and familiar scream, “Zoey aa gayi, Zoey aa gayi”!

A female pup and the unwanted stress….!

Not literally! Don’t get defensive reading the title. The stress was not because of my beautiful female pup. It was because all the male dog owners knew I had a female pup. The endless probe – about her health, her liking, her well being, which felt so overwhelming at first, became increasingly suspicious. Our walks were interrupted by strangers with male Labradors. They would stop to give their mobile numbers and every conversation ended with – ‘do give us a call when you want to mate her’. Interesting!

As she neared her heat, we became increasingly sure that we will want to neuter her. This was less of a sudden decision as we had read extensively about the same, had thought over hundreds of times, consulted experts and other female-pup parents and then made up our minds. We did face some reluctance but what shocked us was our vets’ behaviour. Vets get a cut from the sale of pups through them – I had always known this fact. Our vet simply went a step ahead and refused to neuter her, saying that he will ensure all pups are sold. But when I asked what if there is a birth defect with a pup and no one wants to buy it, he replied nonchalantly, “aisa kuch nahi hoga”. He refused to accept anything bad will happen.

Sensing the obvious apathy, we knew what we had to do next – change the vet! The answer was simple and so was the reasons a) I am the pet parent – I will think about my baby first b) if you wanted a female so bad you shouldn’t have bought a male dog. We met up another doctor who was recommended by some close acquaintances and he shared the same views as us. The date was set and the surgery was a success! Her recovery was quick and my baby was raring to go (and play). She is healthy and braved the surgery.We are happy parents now as we ensured that we commit to what we can handle.

On the contrary to all the mild threats about how neutering alters their behaviour I would only say – if anything, it made my naughty puppy, naughtier! 🙂

PS:- Neutering is solely the responsibility and decision of a well informed pet parent. This article is about my experience. I don’t support or oppose the procedure; it is completely the pet parents’ prerogative.

 

 

Responsibility or Something Like It…!

Dog Lost Snout – Pic Courtesy WTF pic

‘A dog loses his snout while trying to save kids’, read a news paper article. My heart broke as I scurried through the article feeling choked. As if the state of the homeless animals were not enough I heard another lady who bought a female lab absolutely unaware of the dedication that will be needed to take care of the new addition.

On probing the lady a little more I realised her complete lack of understanding on how to take care of the pup. The pup lacking direction and someone to help, has become a complete brat and bites everyone on whim. Her distress call woke me up in the middle of one night as she desperately wanted to know why her pup is biting everyone so much on that day. My ‘I don’t knows’ were unacceptable to her. She insisted I help and after trying to make her understand the possible problem I reluctantly pushed her away suggesting she consults a pet behaviourist, a doc or a trainer for the right advice.

Zoey time – Ritesh and Our baby Zoey

Such instances question my understanding of being a responsible pet parent. Even after reading so much about bringing up a pet and talking to so many people about the right behaviour that should be encouraged and what should not be, I am still learning new things about my 14month old Lab. It is such people, who buy a dog because they like to play with them but are completely unaware of the responsibility that comes with it, rattle my concern for the pet.

Pic Courtesy – http://www.petfinder.com/

When they lack the understanding and the pet goes astray, they are ready to abandon the animal and run at the first sight of problem. Ask them if they will abandon their own child if the child becomes unruly and they will find your idea preposterous and unacceptable to even listen.  It is responsibility that bridges the gap between a “can buy” and a “should buy”. My only advice to such people – Just coz you can buy a pet doesn’t mean you should! Think twice and be well read before you take such responsibility!

Pic Courtesy – https://www.facebook.com/thewoofilicious

Dogs have time and again proved how caring and comforting they can be in the time of our need. Sacrificing a little bit of our time to read up, learn about how to take care of them and following it can be the least we can do for them in return.