Dog Tales

We adopted our two dogs when they were really small pups, probably just a couple of weeks ago. They were spotted by S when our house was being built in Uthandi. They were adorable. S insisted (in fact announced) that we are keeping them!

I am neither a dog-lover nor really got anything against them but my condition was that they not be allowed in the house. There was enough garden space, shelter and shade for them to remain outdoors. I was also happy they were not a fancy breed we’d have to fuss about, and secondly by adopting them we were going to lessen the stray dog population which was quite rampant on our road.

When we moved into our new house the dogs were already in place … so we got a house with dogs. The two pups began to grow, soon chewing up almost every thing that came their way. Chappals they never spared whether they belonged to any of us in the house or to anyone else visiting. On her visits to Chennai my mother would put out her wash to dry (including her underwear), no marks for guessing what happened next!

The two pups did everything together, so I guess out of sheer convenience we ended up giving the two of them one name, ‘Tippi’, though our original plan had been to name them ‘Cleo’ and ‘Babes’. Though they shared the same name they were quiet different .The all-black Tippi was quiet, gentle and had these dreamy eyes, while the black with grey paws and forehead was the jealous type, high-strung and with buck teeth!

As the Tippis grew, both being female we began to worry about them getting pregnant and adding to their numbers. One obvious way of birth control was to not allow them out of the gate and were corralled within our compound. Specially when on ‘heat’ they‘d attract the male dogs of the neighbourhood, of who the main contenders would hang around just outside our gate. Many-a-time one or both of the Tippis would manage to scoot out of the gate when opened for the car. A few times it was easy to bring them back but mostly they’d give us a tough time, eventually returning after 2-3 hours probably when hungry , with hugely sheepish looks, tails between their legs knowing they were in for a good shouting.

Despite all our efforts,the black Tippi got pregnant when she was around 2 years old. And this we suspected (though were not sure) only when her behaviour changed and she would not leave S’s side. She would want to be cajoled and comforted all the time. One rainy night she delivered a single pup in the earth-pit she had been digging and preparing for some days in the garden. Normally dogs have more than a couple of pups but even to the Vet’s surprise this one gave birth to only one.

There was much excitement. The other Tippi of course showed major interest. In fact her reaction was so over-whelming that it took us by complete surprise. She just took possession of the pup (again a female). She’d sit with it the whole day, and only allow mother Tippi to approach to feed it. She became so possessive that she’d growl and snap at anybody else coming close.

'Rosy' as a puppy and full grown

Rosy, as she came to be called, became round and chubby, Puppy fat, enjoying all the attention she got. She became a special favourite of our cook (who was also in-charge of feeding the dogs), so at meals times she was given bigger helpings than the older dogs! In fact, he’d feed her at his meal-times also. So God knows how many meals Rosy would get every day, she developed a voracious appetite. We lost control of her size, and by the time she was about a year old she’d outgrown her mother and aunt.

The three dogs became part of our house-hold. People asked us if they were a special breed, but though of no high pedigree they were special to us all the same. Having these dogs kept strangers at bay because they’d bark their heads off. Another advantage having them out-doors was that they became good hunters and kept the field-rat population down, killed lizards and snakes, and sometimes any poor squirrel that got cornered at ground level was not spared either. They were constant companions to the watchman and our cook who many-a-times were spied having full conversations with them.

One day we found a litter of 5 or six pups abandoned outside our gate …. maybe someone thought we were an adoption center! We decided to call the Blue Cross for their rescue … I was not willing to take on more responsibility. After Rosy’s birth we also drove the Tippis to Blue Cross to get them spayed. This was a real tough job, but after that a big relief as no tension if they’d go out of the compound.