The Extended Family - Part 3

PUG- THE CONSTANT LOVER

For nearly two years we could not think of dogs. Then as we came to

terms with our grief, our minds started wandering again. Only Sekar would

not consider another adoption. Vasanta thought of a fully pedigreed family

member. Kamini was keen on having a pet she could bring up as her own. I

was open to the idea.

We had a friend Ferroz who had just got married after a whirlwind

romance. We had invited them over and he told us that he had been offered a

pedigree Boxer by a friend. He was still in the initial dreamy romantic mood

when the very thought of spending even a moment away from his beloved

was unthinkable. So pets were out. He offered us the dog and we accepted.

Next morning Vasanta and Kamini were off to Mrs.Murugesan’s house to

collect the boxer. She was a breeder and very fond of dogs and took care to

see that the pets were settled in proper homes. Vasanta was offered the first

choice and she and Kamini choose the friskiest puppy.. On looking at him

Kamini named him Pug the Pig or Pug for short. Mrs Murugesan became

close friends with us and used to visit us to see Pug.

I saw Pug when I returned from work. My first reaction was could any

one be more ugly. He looked scared and had hid himself behind the bar. He

quickly settled down and realised that with Kamini around he was free to do

what he liked. Even Vasanta made allowance for his pedigree and treated

him with kid gloves. When Pug was first collared he made clear his disgust

at being treated like a caged animal. When Vasanta made him

Ragi porridge he literally put his nose up and refused to eat till it was

replaced by oats porridge. Pug with his wrinkled face of an old man and a

face pushed in as though Mohamed Ali had a go at him looked ugly and

frightening till you got to know the kind heart that beat inside. He was

boisterous and difficult to control. He was a coward very unlike Len. Len

had an aristocratic bearing. Pug had pedigree and won over people with his

friendliness once you got over the shock of his appearance.

Not every thought that Pug was ugly. Kamini and Vasanta thought Pug

was handsome! You might call them interested parties having chosen Pug as

a member of the family. He could be frightening when you first saw him if

you had not seen Boxers. Most strangers thought that if he bit you that was

the end and that he would tear you to bits. Poor pug- he was a very gentle

loving boy. He grew on you and soon you forgot his looks and we actually

had to say that he was handsome in his own way.

The first casualty of Kamini’s laissez-aller upbringing of Pug was my

bar. Pug used to be taken for a walk after dinner to relieve himself. Pug

being Pug disliked the dark garden and no amount of persuading him could

move him. When we returned he made a dash to the bar and did his job. I

was not allowed to discipline Pug as it would harm his psyche. I used to have a

good shout at him when no one was around. But Pug would not give up. The

bar was sprayed with disinfectant and scents every day to get rid of the stink.

In disgust I disposed off the Bar after a few years!

Pug made a mess of his mouth when eating. Solid food he would

swallow. Anything else he could not handle and his mouth and face was a

mess and he had to be cleaned up. Thanks to Kamini he developed a taste for

gourmet food like French cheese and almond cakes.

Sekar was in Delhi when Pug came and was not too happy. When he saw

him first his disgust was obvious. Pug was not put off. He manged to

worm his way into Sekar’s favour by being friendly with him and would

spend all his time with him much to Kamini’s annoyance.  Pug became a

close member of the family just as Len had done.

Then an unexpected event happened which put Pug on a pedestal. No

one could question his credentials after that. Vasanta entered Pug for a dog

show and wonder of wonders he won the prize for his category.

When the judges came to inspect Pug he turned on his charm on them. He

was the unanimous choice. We were all thrilled and proud. Pug got a special

treat which he ate with relish and the usual mess. After the grueling day at

the show Vasanta decided that no more taking Pug to dog shows.

Our halcyon days in Carnatic gardens were coming to an end. Sekar left

for the US in 1979 and we were to see him only after a few years. Two years later

Kamini left for Delhi to work in Oberoi hotels. Pug missed them both

especially Kamini. So he turned all his boisterous affection on us. When ever

Kamini came for a short visit his day was made. When ever a tape of Kamini

singing was turned on he would go wild and run all over searching for her.

We were building a house and in late 1981 shifted to our new house.

We thought that Pug would miss the the vast spaces of our house in the

gardens. To our surprise he took to the new house and seemed to like it

more. In the small house he could bump into every one often and not be left

out. He took some time to get used to the outside area where we went for

walks. In the Carnatic gardens house there were a lot of trees and shrubbery where

Pug used to ration out his urine. The area outside our house was rather

barren and shrubbery few and far between and this did not suit Pug for a

long time. Soon Pug earned a reputation for his fierce looks. He had a habit

of standing behind the garden gate and staring at visitors with an unblinking

look. He would never bark. Our house was called ‘The Boxer dog house’.

There is a saying ‘Barking dogs seldom bite’. People thought that the

opposite held good for Pug and were terrified to enter the house. This

suited us.

My mother in law and mother moved in with us and Pug made it a point to

move into their room whenever we went out. He wanted company always.

Kamini’s visits were the high point of his life. Whenever she left he was in the 

doldrums for a few days. He rcognised Kamini’s singing on the stereo and

used sit in front moving his head from one speaker to the other.

One day a dog trainer convinced us that we should mate Pug. A few days

later he brought a female boxer and we left Pug and her in the garden. The

lady started chasing Pug who kept running away much to the trainer’s

disgust. Finally Pug collapsed and had to be revived with milk and biscuits.

The milk did the trick and finally Pug knew what to do. The problem was he

would not stop and collapsed again. The lady was taken away and we waited

for results. The trainer wanted to bring another girl boxer and we saw

through his game and sent him away.

Fortunately matters did not end here. Pug had a sizzling romance with

Pandy a few months later on. We met Pandy’s owners through a common

friend and they lived just a five minutes drive from our house. They were also

keen to get the two boxers together. One morning after a nice breakfast we

took Pug to Pandy’s house by car. There was instant romance on seeing each

other and they started dancing round each other. We left them alone for the

romance to blossom. We went back after a couple of hours to see Pug and

Pandy sitting next to each other and panting away. Pug refused to come with

us and had to be dragged to the car. Every morning Pug was ready and

waiting near the car to be taken to Pandy.

After about a fortnight we decided to give the romantic couple a break

and waited to see the result. Pug was annoyed that his trips to Pandy's house were

stopped. Pandy was also upset. We were all delighted when Pandy conceived

and later gave birth to a litter. We choose one for ourself but none survived.

We heard that the puppies were sickly and  the mother ate up some of them.

For a long time Pug remembered Pandy and used to drag me to her house

whenever I took him for a walk that side.

The only thing Pug missed in our home, Darpana, was Kamini and whenever she

came for a short break he was delighted. He knew when she was returning

when she started to pack her bags and started to sulk. Sekar’s visit were very

rare and far between but the first time he came Pug went wild. Pug

gracefully slipped into middle age but never lost his boisterous habits. He

liked to be taken on long walks but being a timid fellow he always covered

his back in case a quick retreat was necessary. His favourite walk was on the

Adyar River in summer when there very little water. His highest sign of

affection was giving a good lick of  your face. Once you got used to this it

was not bad.

Pug quickly worked out the relationship between Kamini and Vijay. I suppose

 his own romance with Pandy helped him to 

appreciate that romance was in the air. He became very close to Vijay. Pug

was upset when he was tied up during Kamini’s wedding. He was not used

to being tied up and felt insulted that he was ignored. In 1985 we visited

U.S.A to see Sekar. This was the first time that both Vasanta and I were away

from the house at the same time for a long time. Pug was lost and spent all

his time in the downstairs bedroom with my mother and mother in law. We

were told that he would sit for long times near the gate looking out for us.

When we returned with Kamini he went wild with joy.

Soon Pug realised that that something was amiss. He was no longer the

center of things and was ignored often. Kamini was expecting Aditi and

everyone’s attention was focused on the coming event. Then Kamini

disappeared for a few days and came back carrying a small bundle. Again

Pug was held back from her. He was very dejected and annoyed. He was not

allowed to go into Kamini’s room and he sat outside all the time. Pug

worked out that the bundle Kamini was carrying was a live baby. One day

when Kamini was busy talking Pug managed to lick Aditi all over her face. Pug

would normally have been in the dog house for a few days but the look of

happiness on the child Aditi’s face saved him. Aditi’s face was cleaned and

she was all right. All good things must come to an end and a few months

later Kamini with Aditi left for U.S.A to join Vijay. Kamini did not see Pug

again. When Kamini got into the car to go to the airport Pug made a dash for

her and had to be held back. He let out a sorrowful growl as though he

sensed that it was goodbye.

We made the same mistake and forgot that Pug’s life span is much less

than ours. He was so active that we thought he would in good health for few

more years. Alas this was not to be. With Kamini away and Sekar’s visits

infrequent Pug became very close to us. His health deteriorated and he lost

free use of his hind legs. Vitamin injections restored his movement partly.

He became incontinent at night. Vasanta went to baby sit Aditi for four

months in 86-87. I had retired from work and looked after Pug. Every night I

put him in a chair with plastic sheets in my bedroom and early morning had

to carry him till he recovered the use oh his legs. After Vasanta returned we

took him to the hospital often. In our anxiety to prolong his life we allowed

the doctors to conduct experiments on him till a senior doctor friend told us

that we should stop it and allow Pug to die in peace. We took him back home

made him comfortable and stayed with him till he passed away in his sleep.

We were shattered.

Comments

[Ambika]

Lovely post! I thoroughly enjoyed it appa.

[Sekar]

Brought back so many memories, including the encounter between Pug and the (real) pig and the time when Kamini continued her march down the road unaware that Pug had slipped his leash.
Very well written.

[Gowri]

What a loving and moving tribute to Pug. Good old Pug. Lovely memories of the house in Carnatic Gardens and the happy times we spent there with all of you come back on reading this - thank you!

[Sankar]

Beautiful. I now feel so much shame for having you restrain Pug when I visited.

[Kamini]

Just too good! Although I disagree with a lot of what you have said. He was extremely handsome, for one, and far too unique to be brought up in the traditional manner which would have crushed his psyche! In fact, to paraphrase another member of the family, Pug looked like a dog, sounded like a dog, but was actually human!
It was such fun reviving all those memories. Remember the time he listened to Balamurali on the radio, and kept turning his head from side to side during the tani avartanam?
Maybe Johnny, Len, Pug and Lucky are all together in the Great Kennel in the Sky, exchanging notes on the crazy human family they all were a part of!

[John saÿre Hazard]

I dont know what 2 say...................... Im silenced even though doesnt sound the ticket!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D Nice writing keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D