Ginger, Eva spread cheer

Pet life

All through my childhood, I have heard my mother narrate umpteen stories about how she grew up having dogs, cats, parrots, rabbits, hens, guinea pigs, probably a mini zoo. Her stories always fascinated me and left me longing to have a pet of my own.

Bringing home my first puppy (Eva - a Dachshund) was one of the most dramatic events of my life. It was an aleatory decision that we made one May evening, three years ago. Exuberant with the idea, our friends had decided to join us in bringing her home.

Eva

Unassuming that the journey ahead of may turn into an escapade, we set out, six of us on three bikes. Five hours and an accident later we returned home, some with bruised arms, swollen eyes, bandaged limbs and one little fur ball wrapped in my arms.

During this time that Eva first came home, I had been battling depression. The excitement of having a new puppy fast depleting, I found myself slipping into a relapse. But, Eva remained my unwavering support through it all. Mental illness usually confines you indoors and I stayed cooped up in my room through the day and this was never an option for me after Eva came into my life. I would wake up to her paws pinning me down, her mawkish slobbery tongue licking my face, a cheeky grin and an ever oscillating tail as if she were trying to tell me to come to have a look at how beautiful the day was and how wonderful life could be. That morning gush of fresh air and that boost of energy would instantly lift my spirits and buoy up my day. In retrospect, she was my medication that never came prescribed.

A couple of months later, we brought home our second baby. A ginger-haired Cocker Spaniel that we named ‘Ginger’. She is the epitome of love and happiness with a nose for trouble(it doesn’t surprise us anymore to walk into the house with our upholstery in tatters)

Though I must say I’d never known until I got her, that an animal could have such unconditional love and care. There is not a night that passes without her having ensured that everyone is tucked into bed. When one stays up, she stays up all night too.

Having two dogs has changed how we perceive and understand animals. Initially, we thought we had to get the dogs toilet trained and then we were good to go. Little did we realise that we had the Herculean task of having to raise two dogs with conflicting traits.

But despite having the differences they now share a strong bond where one will not eat, sleep or go for a walk without the other.

I owe it to my dogs that today we are a lot more compassionate about the lives of other animals. My mum feeds about 12 stray dogs and we hope to devout more of our time in helping and volunteering to make the lives of animals better.

I couldn’t envisage a life without them. Through fleeting moments of frustration, moving furniture every morning, running around the house with a swab; we have emerged on the other side as one loving unit. Two happy tails wagging and our smiles broader than ever.