Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Oreo

This blog is not about the cookie. Its about a dog. I've never made a secret of my contempt for animals, and intense dislike for all licking, biting, barking and growling. Infact, it was not long ago when I ranted on this very blog about how I've always been scared of most animals, and have spent half my teen years chasing dogs or being chased by dogs. So how was it that someone like me came to own a dog and learn to love him (yes, its a "him" now, not an "it"). How did the unthinkable happen?

Its no secret that my wife has been pestering me to get her a dog, and I'd been successfully postponing this citing our impending Europe trip. To my intense dismay, she then graduated to looking up 'Dog for adoption' postings on Craigs list. Everyday, she would make me sit next to her and show me innumerable photos of canines of various sizes, shapes, colors and dispositions. Some of them don't even look like dogs (I hate poodles more than any other living being!). Eventually, I had to promise her that I'd let her get a dog after I move to Evanston and start my Kellogg MBA. It made good sense. The dog would keep her company and would hopefully bark if there were any intruders. My wife would also give me a break and stop guilt-tripping me about moving away so soon after the marriage. Also, I'll never have to play any part in raising the dog. After my MBA, I thought, I'd hopefully get a consulting job which will keep me out of town on most days. Although I would certainly miss my wife, I wouldn't have to be as involved in the daily upkeeping of the dog.

Ah! how the best kept plans of men self-implode. About 2 months ago, I was off at a conference in Kellogg when I got an urgent call from my wife. She'd seen a cute shih-tzu puppy up for adoption very close to our home. And hear this - she "knew" he was the ONE. This was news to me. I'd never looked upon dogs as matches made in heaven. And I certainly had not considered for a second that there was a dog somewhere on this planet that had been created specially for my wife. But what did I know! Apparently, there it was. In goddamned Hanover Park. Just to appease her, I promised to come with her and take a look. when I got back home that evening, my wife was all dressed and ready to get going. She'd already seen the pup and had - I realized with a sinking feeling - fallen in love with him. So we both drove over. The pup was playing with the kids in the backyard. He was the smallest thing and pretty cute. For a dog. He came to us instantly and started licking our hands and feet. I saw the joy on my wife's face as she played with the dog and something inside me melted. Despite my severe misgivings and ignoring the flash alerts in my brain, I told her "let's take him home". She couldn't believe her good fortune. Later, she told me that she didn't expect me to give in so easily and that my confidence had given her the courage to adopt the dog.

We brought him home. And ofcourse, he wasn't completely potty trained. He would pee and poop all over our carpets. I could see the value of our house deteriorating right in front of my eyes. Add to this, the chewing. He constantly chewed, and still chews, everything he can lay his eyes on. Door edges, cable wires and even my cell phone charger (yes, its gone!). We spent many a sleepless night, trying to pacify him while he missed his previous abode. I was rudely woken up by my wife in the middle of the night and asked to take him outside for a pee. Suffice to say, I repented my decision. How could I have been so stupid? I never realized the responsibilities that came with raising a pup. Even my wife was tired. We were both at our wit's end, and even considered putting him up for adoption.

And then, after a few weeks, something changed. The pup got completely potty trained, and consistently signalled to us when he needed to "go". He became a lot more playful and social. He started displaying his personality, and cute funny mannerisms. For example, when he was tired, he would walk slowly and then just flop on his side, as if he were shot. He slept upside down most times, and looked more like a bunny than a dog. There were other curious things we realized. One moment, he would be curling up at our feet and sleeping. But if my wife or I moved to another place/room in the house, he would rouse himself, sleepwalk and flop exactly halfway between us. I mean, if you were to draw a straight line from me to my wife, our dog would be the midpoint.

The previous owners had named him "Oreo", after the cookie, since he was black and white. The wife and I tried to think of a better name. My suggestions of "subramani" or "mani" for short were met with severe looks of disapproval. Finally, we decided to stick with "Oreo" because it had grown on us, and because he had started responding to the name. In the US, the pet owners are called the mom and dad of the pet. If you are new to this pet world, this can be quite unnerving. But you soon get used to this.

To our close friends - a raggety group of sworn bachelors - Oreo was a shock. Most of them had never owned dogs, and a few - like me - were sworn enemies. But it was fun to watch them slowly warm up to Oreo. I read this about shih-tzus somewhere - "your shih-tzu will probably bark when there is an intruder or a thief in the house. But once the intruder breaks in, your dog will proceed to give him a full tour of the house". So very true. Oreo is very social, and quite hard to resist. Whenever any of our friends walk into the house, Oreo is right there on top of the stairs, waving his tail, and restless for them to come and acknowledge him. He has charmed them so much that even the worst anti-dogger is seen these days posing for photos with Oreo in his arms. In our neighborhood, he's already a mini celebrity, atleast with all the kids. My wife and I take him walking every evening in the park across the road, and very soon he's surrounded by kids wanting to pet him and play with him. He's already made more friends on my street in 4 weeks than I've made in the 3 years I've lived here.

Oreo is a very quiet dog. He never barks, nor whines. Even when he has to go very urgently, he just sits quietly by the stairs hoping we would throw a glance in his direction and make the connection. But the only time he barks is when he sees other dogs. He's completely transformed.There's a heavenly glow on his face. He sits down and keep staring at the other dog. Then he starts whining, and very soon, he's trying make the dog's acquaintance. All this is not limited to just female dogs. He reacts exactly the same way to male dogs as well. My wife and I are still not very sure about his sexual orientation. And I've told my my wife that she has to steel herself for the possibility of never having a grandchild (Oreo being the son as mentioned before)...

There are downsides to having a dog. Our social life has been severely affected. No more late night parties, clubs, pubs and coming back at unearthly hours. Even eating out has been drastically reduced. Our friends think twice before calling us or stopping by. Whenever we plan any kind of outing, we have to think of Oreo first. We already feel guilty about leaving him alone at home for 8 hrs a day when we are at work. When he looks at you with those big sad doleful eyes, you won't think straight or be practical. He has guilt-tripped us into believing that any more lone time would be a severe injustice to him.

Yes, you can say I've warmed up to Oreo. Its probably because of the way he stretches himself in the morning and tries to snuggle between me and the wife while licking our faces clean. Or maybe its the way he rolls onto his back when he wants to be tickled. Or maybe its the way he looks up to us, leaving us in no doubt that we are the center of his universe. Whatever it is, its tough for me to hate dogs anymore. There, I said it.

2 Comments:

Blogger Bharath said...

irandu..uyirai..inaithu..velayadum...
uyirai..inaithu..vilayadum.. :)

7/3/07, 2:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice to know about your son and the way things have changed for you post marriage :). It seems like rachna has lot of effect on you. :)

7/6/07, 1:01 PM  

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