Most events in life have a serendipitous beginning and before you know it, your life is transformed into something you never imagined. Who would’ve thought that by the end of July I’d become a dog sitting granny like many of my friends ?

My mother had just passed away in early June and I was still coming to grips with her loss when Hubby Dear announced the commencement of our long overdue house repairs.

Granted they were much needed but I do wish the contractor had found a slightly more propitious time . But life never happens the way you want it to so when Sauji ( the only contractor we could both agree on) said he was free to take on our job, we really had no option but to agree.

But even before we could start the work, another wheel began turning in my life – or more precisely in Anna Shetty’s life. Little did she know the plot that the Universe was setting up for her .

Adoption

It is normally humans who go to a kennel or shelter and bring home a dog or puppy. The trend these days is to adopt a Rescue or an Indie. Whatever you call them, I’m my vocabulary they remain Pie dogs or Pariahs. And I was quite reluctant to have any stray in my house. If ever I did keep a dog , it would have to be a pedigree of immaculate lineage

From mid-May a young straggly puppy showed up in the lane where Anna Shetty’s in-laws live. During the week, she would hang around in the gulleys but come Sunday afternoon when Little Po and Wow Dinga went to their grandparents’ for their weekly lunch, she would sit on their front steps, looking wistful. She didn’t beg for food , she didn’t sniff around . She just sat there curled up looking at the boys with her gorgeous light brown eyes. After three Sundays the family capitulated and little Ithie officially adopted Anna Shetty’s family as her own .

She was a fine specimen and was surprisingly humanised for being a stray. From the first day she showed signs of being house broken and indicated her desire to pee by going to the front door when she had to go. She never begged at the table, nor did she bark or snap and was a quiet well behaved dog and she gave her paw when she wanted an extra cuddle.

It was hard not to be drawn to her gentle, aristocratic demeanour. She was elegant and held her slim body tall as she delicately walked around the house . And she turned out to be not so Indie after all but a pie with a generous amount of Rajapalyam Hound thrown in .

After she got accustomed to her new home , Anna Shetty decided to introduce her to the world and it was only last Saturday that she made her debut visit to our house. Perhaps it was the general mess and chaos of our house that put her at ease but within minutes of sniffing around she found a nice cozy corner to claim for herself .

She sat quietly till lunch time and had her meal without a fuss. We hardly knew we had a dog in the house.

Sunday greens

Little Po and Wow Dinga were asked to perform at the Soldierthon , this Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of our victory at Kargil. 5000 runners were participating in this marathon held at the most beautiful and idyllic part of Mumbai. Here in the Cantonment of Mumbai you can still see traces of the British Raj with huge barracks and some odd bungalows and lots and lots of tree. . This of course is changing fast as accommodation for our servicemen is quite inadequate. It won’t be long before the skyscrapers outnumber the trees .

But today it is still greener than the rest of the city and those living there are privileged . And it is indeed an honour to play at a function that pays tribute to our brave soldiers. So I readily agreed to doggie sit despite making fun of my friends who have fur grand babies they are called upon to dog sit. I had promised myself that it was one thing I wouldn’t do.