Love; A magical feeling which has the power to make, break and transform the living beings.
Yes. I love to love.
But...I have never experienced the so called "love at first sight".
…..Until yesterday.
There are some moments in our lives which make us smile or cry in an intense way whenever we visit those memories. And there are some, which make us wonder...
Well...I went through an experience which made me love, laugh, cry and wonder, all at the same time! At the end of it I was moved beyond I can express.
Yesterday, I was on my way back to Bangalore after a short vacation with my family.
As we stopped our car near a gas station, we saw a man dropping a puppy on the NH (National Highway) road and getting in to a car in a hurried way. Without wasting a second, the car moved on.
To our shock, the puppy ran behind the moving car as fast as and as far as, it could.
Then it stopped. Right on the middle of the road.
As it struggled to cross or come back to the side of the road, many speeding vehicles had to put sudden break to avoid hitting this little scared fellow.
As we couldn’t bear this sight, we decided to go and put him back to a safe place somewhere nearby that road.We went with some biscuits to cajole it to walk towards a safe path.
As I approached it, I noticed its features. With beautiful silky brown haired skin, scared big black eyes, perfect sharp teeth & long nails, small but soft tail, this brown beauty looked so adorable.
It seemed too scared to notice any food we were giving. It just came running behind us as we started moving towards our car.
For a moment, I wondered…what next?
That’s when I heard my 5 year old son’s confident voice “Amma, just pick it up. I think you can do it”
Well...“I was shit scared”; would be an understatement. (underer? underest statement?)
Flashback : I have always been afraid of animals, especially dogs! (Thanks to a childhood memory of a dog chasing me and me running for my life J). Wherever & whenever I see a dog around me, I freeze. My family of origin loathed dogs. My current family has seen dogs on the streets, neighborhood and movies. Period.
Summary - I do not have a clue on how to lift a dog, what to feed it, how to confirm its gender (not joking!), how to escape from a bite and more importantly, how not to freeze when a dog is around.
So, when I heard my son’s voice, I didn’t know what to do. I realized that the more I stand there and think, the more I am going to get scared (as if a scared puppy is not enough in this scene!)
I lifted it, settled down in our car and we continued our journey.
Needless to say, I had severe palpitations every time it moved on my lap or it yawned (Mind you, I was still learning that puppies have the right to show their teeth even when they are not biting)
Meanwhile, I got in touch with Smita, a friend of mine whom I know loves animals unconditionally and cares for them compassionately. She confirmed the availability of the space for this puppy in a shelter home. The only problem was, it was too far for us to drop it on the same day as we were still on our way back to Bangalore. So, we decided to let the puppy stay with us last night.
When we reached home, to say the least, what followed was a circus. A circus with one puppy and 3 ring masters (me, my hubby and our son) who didn't have a clue of what to do with the puppy.
As a mother, I could sense it naturally when Fluffy (name courtesy : our son) was scared or hungry. So, I decided to be with Fluffy and do a "mom-baby" conversation at night to put him to sleep. And it so happened, Fluffy and I had a beautiful night together getting to know each other better (Thanks to all the tips from my friends through whats app on "how to handle a 2 months old puppy?")
Fluffy slept on my lap and refused to get down till morning(ahem...ahem..I refused to put it down). I started admiring its grace every minute move.
To my surprise, by the time we handed over Fluffy to the CARE shelter's staff, I had developed a deep emotional connection with Fluffy...a connection which I can't express, emote or explain.
Fluffy's scared face, Smita's excellent support, CARE shelter centre's compassionate service, family circus, my "mom-baby" bonding time with Fluffy, my son's laughter whenever I jumped on to a chair to avoid getting "frozen", last few minutes with Fluffy before handing it over, my last kiss to Fluffy...
Fluffy's love has transformed me. And it happened in one night.
I still wonder.....
Is Fluffy a girl or a boy?
God bless you for saving fluffy' life!
ReplyDeleteShyam Anantharaman via gmail - Loved your blog on Fluffy. Fantastic Veena...yesterday a very similar incident took place at my neighbourhood. I was on my way to buy vegetables when I noticed a stray dog hit by a vehicle wincing in pain lying on the roadside. People were staring at him not doing anything but just moving him to the side of the road. At first I did not know what to do and decided to google for some animal shelter who will pick it up. Dialled couple of agencies and got to know that one did not have any space and the other said they can send a vehicle only in the late afternoon. Looking at how he was struggling, I thought to myself that I should have the courage to take him in my car and take him to the vet hospital near hebbal. Asked my father to accompany me and took my car to the roadside. We did lots of circus and at last carried him into the back of the car and drove him to the Govt hospital. Scene there is pathetic. No one wants to come and have a look at the dog and asked me to go from one place to another. Until I got fed up and went and stood in front of a doctor not willing to move off until she came and saw him. At last she obliged and gave him a pain killer. She advised me to take him to the animal shelter next door, CUPA, so that they will take care of him as the injury could be fatal. I went and registered him at CUPA and they assured me that they will look after him the best way possible and will decide how to take it forward considering the amount of pain he was in. I returned back home full of contentment thinking about the first step I took in a long long time overcoming the fear of taking an animal to a hospital. I did it because I will feel guilty and ashamed of not doing anything if I wait for a vehicle to come and pick him. What use is humanity and education we had if we dont take care of a living thing which needs our care and attention. The amount of joy and contentment I got by doing such a simple act was amazing. I just thought that I should share with you.
ReplyDeleteWow! I have to say Veena you are such a beautiful soul. God bless
ReplyDeleteWow! You are such a beautiful soul. God bless. Wish every abandoned puppy would be as lucky to meet someone like you!
ReplyDelete