Radhika MundraA new member had recently joined our family. Contrary to the supposed excitement, we the housemates were terrified of this member’s presence in our house. The cries of joy were replaced by the silence of fear.
The new member was my darling dog MOTI!
My uncle saw him running for his life on the roadside and brought him home. He was too small to bite anybody, but the idea of a stray dog in our house was not entertained very easily.
My tuning with our previous dogs had been very successful and I simply adored this little pup too but I had to wait for the day till we were ready to become friends.
A trainer was called and his training sessions started. Even though he was the cutest living being in the house, nobody dared to touch him except for chacha (Uncle).
So skipping to the day we became friends-
Since he was new, we had to keep him chained until he was trained properly. He was pinned to the railing of the stairs of the outward patio of our house. I along with my siblings and cousins was playing Hide and Seek. I was the seeker and hence I was supposed to be running around and about the house spotting the other kids whilst keeping my back safe.
When I stepped outside, Moti sat there waiting to be freed and barking relentlessly due to the excitement of children running here and there.
I thought I’ll just quietly tiptoe down the stairs and that’ll be it. But hell no!
My legs stuck to the ground when suddenly he stopped barking and sat up straight acknowledging my presence. That’s when I noticed that the chain had loosened due to the incessant pressure on its lid because of his escaping movements. I started backing away, but he growled when I put my step back. I can’t explain how scared I was at that time. If it helps, my voice was no more than a whisper.
I tried sweet talking to him by speaking very lovingly and pleading, ‘Please let me go, I’ll give you a dairy milk’ and what not. Didn’t work. He just growled again as I tried to move towards the stairs.
I spoke, ‘Sit’. Didn’t work.
I commanded ‘Sit’. Worked.
My face was shining with the pride of having told Moti to sit down! 😀
Gloating over my victory, I walked over to the stairs but even before I could step down the first one, he was standing right in front of me, growling lightly. My heart almost stopped beating.
I don’t know why I just bent down and slowly took my hand closer to his head. This time, he backed away a little and kept looking at me, growling lightly. I didn’t retract my hand and once again took it closer to his head. When only an inch’s distance must have left, he stepped ahead and the next thing I know, I was rubbing my hand over his head, patting him and he was sitting beside me. I thought this was my chance to leave and I stood up slowly.
He took a step back to give me space and suddenly, he raised his paw to shake hands with me. I was unable to believe what he had done! I gently held his paw and we shook hands for the first time. That was the start of our friendship, our journey #together.
| Sketched by me- Moti and I sitting on the stairs being talked about here. |
I dare say, ‘A dog’s love is only second to that of a mother’s.’
What was your most memorable day, when you spent time with the ones you love – your family, your closest friends, or even your pet – and it gave you the strength and motivation you needed to go on with optimism and look up? Share your story with #together in the comment box!
Add comment