My daughter 's holidays had just begun.She was excited as there was a stray bitch who was pregnant.My daughter was sure that somehow,I will be cajoled into adopting a puppy.
A week later,she came home with the good news .''Amma, five puppies were born .They are so cuute."I told her," Please stay away from the puppies as the mother will be very protective."But my warning was all just swept aside.
It then became a daily routine.Every morning & evening,she would get up & go & have a look & come back to tell how the puppies were faring.It was also to keep me updated that they had no proper home.They had found a shelter in the shopping centre next door.
I had read about a family being so so obseessed with pets that when their pet passed away ,the family was inconsolable.Whenever I see pets & their masters,I am thinking ,what will happen when the pet passes away.That is why ,I have never tried to keep a pet.I am sure,it is so lovely a relationship that when the pet is no longer there,life gets miserable.This fear of loss keeps me away & I wanted my kid to stay away from pets.I knew that I would never be able to console her when tragedy strikes.
Since,all this failed to evince any affection from my side,she decided to demand food for the puppies.She would ask for milk.I told her that I buy milk for our use & not for charity.So,my daughter decided that she will forgo her share of milk.She would then give it to the puppies as their need was greater than hers.I also added that milk would be too difficult to digest for the puppies .So,my daughter devised a solution.She would pour the milk into a bottle .Then she would dilute it with an equal amount of water.This ,she opined was good enough for the puppies to digest.
Next,her friends also joined her in this job, of feeding the bitch & her puppies.Sometimes,they would collect biscuits & feed the bitch while the puppies were fed milk.My repeated warnings about the bitch attacking were never heeded.My daughter clarified that they were trying to care for the bitch as well so that she would be friendly .It was clear that the said tactics were working as there were no untoward incidents .
My kid & her friends named the puppies -Custard,Brownie,Snowflake,etal. My daughter's pet was Snowflake,as it was totally white without any brown spots.My daughter is someone who has full faith in being discriminatory about colour.She represents the Indian mindset about fairness in colour.
Then the caretakers decided to phone a vet to enquire about vaccination-of the puppies.I put my foot down.I said that I will not pay even a paise towards all this.My daughter stated that since they were not vaccinated , I was constantly apprehensive about her safety.So,this was her attempt to allay my fears.Since,I was non-committal , my nightmares about kids getting bitten by the bitch continued.
My neighbours & other acquittance had started complaining to me that my daughter was taking too much interest in the puppies.Moreover,they opined that other kids were following in her footsteps.I was elated that she was exhibiting leadership skills at such a tender age .Actually,they did not mind, nah, were quite indifferent to my kid's forays into anything but since this was interfering in their domain ,they were objecting.I tried to reason with my kid but it was useless.
I then decided to join her .No,I did not adopt the puppies. I readily started giving milk & biscuits. One day,I took the photographs of the family .As I took the snaps,I knew why my kid had fallen for the puppies ! I too fell for them -hook,line & sinker. The puppies looked so innocent.They were all so vulnerable.They started following me & my kid as we snapped their pictures. I posted the snaps on the net.I asked my daughter's friends to look at the snaps I had taken .I Though the kids wanted to have a look,the parents refused to part with their email ids.They were sure, that I had also gone bonkers like my kid.
Anyways,the care shown by my kid & her friends proved inadequate.Very soon,two puppies passed away.The last straw was when my daughter heard the news that her favorite Snowflake had expired.She felt miserable as she heard about it on her birthday.She has overcome it ...that'w hat I think.And yet any day,she is ready to adopt a dog ! And I am the same....unsure.
A week later,she came home with the good news .''Amma, five puppies were born .They are so cuute."I told her," Please stay away from the puppies as the mother will be very protective."But my warning was all just swept aside.
It then became a daily routine.Every morning & evening,she would get up & go & have a look & come back to tell how the puppies were faring.It was also to keep me updated that they had no proper home.They had found a shelter in the shopping centre next door.
I had read about a family being so so obseessed with pets that when their pet passed away ,the family was inconsolable.Whenever I see pets & their masters,I am thinking ,what will happen when the pet passes away.That is why ,I have never tried to keep a pet.I am sure,it is so lovely a relationship that when the pet is no longer there,life gets miserable.This fear of loss keeps me away & I wanted my kid to stay away from pets.I knew that I would never be able to console her when tragedy strikes.
Since,all this failed to evince any affection from my side,she decided to demand food for the puppies.She would ask for milk.I told her that I buy milk for our use & not for charity.So,my daughter decided that she will forgo her share of milk.She would then give it to the puppies as their need was greater than hers.I also added that milk would be too difficult to digest for the puppies .So,my daughter devised a solution.She would pour the milk into a bottle .Then she would dilute it with an equal amount of water.This ,she opined was good enough for the puppies to digest.
Next,her friends also joined her in this job, of feeding the bitch & her puppies.Sometimes,they would collect biscuits & feed the bitch while the puppies were fed milk.My repeated warnings about the bitch attacking were never heeded.My daughter clarified that they were trying to care for the bitch as well so that she would be friendly .It was clear that the said tactics were working as there were no untoward incidents .
My kid & her friends named the puppies -Custard,Brownie,Snowflake,etal. My daughter's pet was Snowflake,as it was totally white without any brown spots.My daughter is someone who has full faith in being discriminatory about colour.She represents the Indian mindset about fairness in colour.
Then the caretakers decided to phone a vet to enquire about vaccination-of the puppies.I put my foot down.I said that I will not pay even a paise towards all this.My daughter stated that since they were not vaccinated , I was constantly apprehensive about her safety.So,this was her attempt to allay my fears.Since,I was non-committal , my nightmares about kids getting bitten by the bitch continued.
My neighbours & other acquittance had started complaining to me that my daughter was taking too much interest in the puppies.Moreover,they opined that other kids were following in her footsteps.I was elated that she was exhibiting leadership skills at such a tender age .Actually,they did not mind, nah, were quite indifferent to my kid's forays into anything but since this was interfering in their domain ,they were objecting.I tried to reason with my kid but it was useless.
I then decided to join her .No,I did not adopt the puppies. I readily started giving milk & biscuits. One day,I took the photographs of the family .As I took the snaps,I knew why my kid had fallen for the puppies ! I too fell for them -hook,line & sinker. The puppies looked so innocent.They were all so vulnerable.They started following me & my kid as we snapped their pictures. I posted the snaps on the net.I asked my daughter's friends to look at the snaps I had taken .I Though the kids wanted to have a look,the parents refused to part with their email ids.They were sure, that I had also gone bonkers like my kid.
Anyways,the care shown by my kid & her friends proved inadequate.Very soon,two puppies passed away.The last straw was when my daughter heard the news that her favorite Snowflake had expired.She felt miserable as she heard about it on her birthday.She has overcome it ...that'w hat I think.And yet any day,she is ready to adopt a dog ! And I am the same....unsure.
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