‘If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.’- James Herriot
This post introduces another member to the
Midha family – Mowgli, our pet dog.
We, as a family were divided when Shaurya began
insisting on getting a pup. His Da’Ma was dead against the idea and kept
dissuading him. His dad stood a neutral ground and I wasn’t really a dog lover
myself either but as a mother I could see that Shaurya really needed one. He pleaded
and begged for it several times and even if I wasn’t totally comfortable with
the idea, I decided to give in. Shaurya hardly ever demands anything and once he
promised to look after the dog, I gave in my consent, hoping that a pet shall allow
Shaurya an opportunity to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership towards
another being and shall help in his emotional development.
Shaurya took an active interest and scheduled
calls to speak with a dog behaviourist. He looked up videos on the Internet and
his research was instrumental in helping us decide on the breed and zeroing
down on other specifics and accessories. We allowed Shaurya to pick the crate, bedding
and the toys for the dog and gave his solemn word about doing all chores for
the pup when he arrived.
He let me pick a name and I was happy to
finally zero down on ‘Mowgli’ from Kipling’s Jungle Book.
Mowgli arrived on Feb 9, 2019 at 5:30 AM.
I vividly remember that it was a cold winter morning when the bell rang and the breeder walked in and announced “Here is your pup”. We struggled to see where it was before finding this little ball of black fur camouflaged in a black jacket curled up and barely raising its head.
Mowgli came to us when he was 55 days old and could barely walk on the marble floor. The breeder fed him before handing it over and Shaurya sat there awestruck and openmouthed, trying to absorb all relevant details knowing that he was required to take over everything.
Shaurya was unwilling to go to school that day and took Mowgli to the terrace to play and spend some time in the sunlight with his little bundle of joy. Mowgli has since been treated like a baby and it was only a matter of time before he won us all over and we as a family ended up giving all our free time to this naughty, little poodle
As a parent, I could see how vital this decision has been to your personality, Shaurya and I am glad that we gave you this opportunity to entrust another living being to your care. You suddenly were all responsible and channelized all your energies towards him. The subtle ways in which you convinced us all to keep a pet and getting Da’ma to stay in the same house with him, often protecting him from her anger at times sure needed a lot of dedication.
I accepted Mowgli and have become accustomed to his presence in the house because of you and the training you gave to us. I am sure with time we shall have more stories to share about Mowgli. For now, I feel nothing but love for both of you and am proud at how well you have turned out and for all your commitment towards Mowgli.
