Pugloos and Other Pets!

There is this adorable creature at my mother's place who has managed to wind itself around all our hearts, a tiny pug with bow legs and marble eyes. All these years, Mom has almost always had big dogs - Labradors and Dobermen (is that the plural of Doberman?); she also had a cocker spaniel, and a number of dogs who would not have won any prizes for their pedigree, but were very lovable, despite that!

                                                                            Pugloos striving to look cute! 

So we had a galaxy of canines strutting through our lives, with gallant names such as Coffee, Tea, Pepsi and Sandwich ( obviously we were hungry at the time of their christening!), followed by Tansi (inspired by Tamil Nadu Small Industries), Don and Thambi. 

                              

                                                                                     Our gentle lanky Don

The most exotic name came from Mom's love of the Ramayana - Sitamma! (Thank God we didn't come across any rabid rabble rousers at the time!) It was funny to hear Mom yell out, "Naughty Sitamma! I am annoyed with you! Bad Sitamma!" while people looked around, expecting a forty year old woman to be standing by sheepishly, chastened by the scolding.

Coffee was a black Labrador who was a fantastic rat catcher. Tea had long gangly legs much like a ballet dancer's. Pepsi was a beautiful chocolate Lab who, sadly, did not live too long. Tansi was a cocker spaniel who had long ears and matted locks that made her look like a sanyasi (godman)!

When we were in the Army, our first pet was Bozo, supposedly a pure bred Labrador, or so his owner vouched. Unfortunately, in a few months, everything about Bozo seemed to be pure, except for his ears, which shot up and stayed there. Any dog lover would know that a pure Lab has ears that stay flat over his head. Our chappie's ears stayed upright all the time, which is when we realized that we had been bamboozled. But we loved him all the same.

I remember carrying Bozo on my lap on a trip from Bhuj to Deolali. He was a pup and hence, I was allowed to keep him with me. From the word go, he was petrified, and he kept peeing on me all the way. When I finally got off at Deolali station, I handed him over to my husband. As I walked along the station, I had a number of people giving me very strange looks! :)

Leo and Sterling were our other two beauties. Leo was massive, with teeth that were too large for his mouth. He would sit in the dark, and we would only be able to see his large shiny fangs, grinning through the dimness. The effect was curiously eerie, and gave people nightmares. Leo was the size of a small calf, and often behaved like one as well, as he loved bananas, sour apples and corn cobs.
Unfortunately, when we were posted in Srinagar, it began to snow one day. Leo wandered away. never to return. He must have lost his way, because otherwise, he would never have left us and gone away!

                                                                            Baby Leo and little Priyanka

                                                             And when they were older, and hopefully wiser! :)

Sterling came into our lives after I had just returned from a visit to England, Scotland and Wales. And he was worth his weight in sterling pounds! He had the most beautiful eyes and was almost human in his behaviour. When he was young, we would sit on lawn chairs outside. Sterling would wait his turn, and the moment one of us vacated a chair, he would jump on to it and make himself comfortable. He was so much part of the family that we quite forget that he had four legs and not two. When he passed away, he took a large part of our hearts with him.

                                                            Our beautiful Sterling

After all these impressive predecessors, comes Mom's tiny pug, who is called Pugloos, which is a blend of Pug and Ugloos, (the reason is self-explanatory!) He is the cutest little creature one can think of, the operative word here being 'cute' which, according to the dictionary means 'pleasantly ugly'.

Pugloos was once so tiny that one had to be wary of stepping on him. He would forever be underfoot. He has now grown slightly, and looks beautiful, through our besotted eyes, though we would not dream of forcing our opinion on any one else. As Mom says, he is a great stress buster and when one gets home after a long day, it is wonderful to have a little creature licking your feet and wanting to be carried.

  

        

                                                                     Pugloos still striving to be cute! 

When we were in the Army, my husband used to echo Mom's words. Each time he would come home past midnight after an exercise or a recce, the whole household would be asleep. Only Leo, and later, Sterling would be up, waiting patiently at the door to welcome him home.

And that alone makes having pets worthwhile!