Dogs And The Family

Image courtesy : Manik. An old family picture depicting 'Robin' in it with Guddu. All Right Reserved

My family, oh extended family i.e. me, dad, mom, Guddu,Shivani and hundreds of others spread over the whole country have had some special associations with the quadruple species called "dog".

My knowledge about the family tradition of loving dogs tells me that the hobby has roots with my grandpa's brother being fond of this loyalist breed. He is said to have certain flings with at least 2 of the species. They were named 'Kalu' and 'Sheru'. Going by some trustworthy sources 'Sheru' jumped off the roof the day uncle died and later died of hunger, he denied any food not being able to cope with the loss.

After uncle's death the next dog to enter the clan was 'Robin'. This one is the most famous till date as all of us have been associated with him at some point or the other. We all were fond of this brown chap as it will roam around and respond graciously to every call. But like almost all good things, this one met a tragic end with some asshole poisoning him to death on an evening when most members of the family were busy doing different things.

Something called 'Robert' was roped in to fill the space. But it essentially failed to build any rapport and was not popular among the young turks of the house and soon abandoned the house.

'Panther' now joined the family and got reputed as a dog who would bark only on the known family members and strangers were always welcome for him. He got a twin called 'Ceaser' which was gifted to a friend family and later proved to be much more energetic, healthy and agile. 'Panther' later was able to build happy bonds with family, mostly due to longer acquaintance and familiarity. 'Panther' met a natural end.

Cousins in my mom's sister's family had two dogs called 'Tommy' and 'Popo'. Cousin was extremely fond of both the dogs. She didn't eat for three days when 'Tommy' died. It had jumped off first floor parapet. 'Popo' was able to fill in the space very quickly and became part of the family rapidly. But it too met an end which was not natural and caused hurt to many in the family.

Till date I come across stories of various dogs. One such thing lives just across my street and I learn that it was cause of police being called after a fight broke out between 2 families because of him. I am told that this dog lives luxuriously, enjoying blankets, mattresses, and devoted love from his owner...