Tales of Puppy-dogs,a Kitty - cat,a Guinea-pig and a few Fine Feathered friends

"All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours
He made their tiny wings
He gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty
Who has made all things well"
------- Cecil Frances Alexander

As a family we've all been crazy about four legged creatures however great or small.I have vivid childhood memories of those dear departed souls who were such an integral part of our lives.I've long been an ardent fan of both authors and animal lovers Gerald Durell and James Herriot and own almost all their collection of delightful works.During a particular phase ,as a schooll girl,I did nurse an ambition to become a Vet,but never received any encouragement from the parental front, so gave it up sadly.
The other day we were remniscing about all the animal friends we had in all the different continents we lived in during the span of 30 yers and we realised that there was quite a long list of furry and feathered creatures who had brought so much sunshine and laughter into our lives.
Accompanying my husband as a young bride on his his first posting to Egypt,the first surprise gift I received from hubby was an adorable bundle of black and tan,a month old cuddly German Shepherd puppy.We christened him Omar Sharif.Those were the 70's and the days of 'Dr.Zhivago' and 'Funny girl" when Omar sharif was reigning the tinsel world.
Omar was housed in the empty carton of our brand new TV which was our first proud acquisition.We doted on him and thoroughly spoilt him.Omar Sharif true to his pedigree,grew at an alarming pace and literally filled ouir apartment.I was expecting our first baby and followed a strict routine of evening walks.He was a one master or to be more precise, a one mistress dog and accompanied me on my walks.
Alas all cute and cuddly German Shepherds grow up to be huge ,menacing dogs.Soon we realised that Omar was a stubborn canine who had a mind of his own.
When our little girl arrived,Omar's fate was sealed.He was really a lamb at heart but looked very much like the proverbial Big Bad Wolf.When he knew that his position had been usurped, he couldn't tolerate it.Our friends advised us that in the interest of the baby we should relocate him.If his jealousy got the better of him,we would regret it,they advised.And thus came a parting of ways.We found a new home for him on a huge farm with other dogs and horses.
A few months later we visited our Egyptian friends on their estate ad Omar was ecstatic to see us.A year later we learnt that Omar had become the father of seven pups and we knew that, that was were a big dog like Omar really belonged.
Our dear Egyptian friends wanted to fill the vacuum left by Omar's departure and on our daughter's first birthday presented her with an adorable Siamese kitten.She reminded us of Caramel Custard Pudding
and we christened her Caramel or Carrie for short.Carrie was a delightful little imp who used to spring out from the most unexpected of nooks and corners.We always had to double check our wardrobes and cupboards for fear of locking her in.
Madhavi , our one year old was very fond of her and loved to pull her tail.Carrie always obliged,but one day she lost her temper, perhaps Carrie had had enough of tail pulling and decided enough was enough.She sunk her two front teeth into Madhavi's calf muscle and spat and hissed at her.What followed was sheer pandemonium and we rushed to the pediatrician who handled everything, but told us that Carrie would have to leave or worse may follow.So Carrie went back to our Egyptian friends after a eight month stay with us.We were ourselves due to leave Egypt on our nexr assignment and consoled ourselves that we would have to say goodbye to Carrie anyway.
During our posting in Burms, we were fortunate to have a large garden space at the back of our house. We managed to have a flourishing vegetable garden and thanks to the gardeners green thumb we had a steady supply of bhendis, karelas, baingans and snake gourds too. The yard was very spacious and we decided to get a few feathered friends to amuse the children .Our younger daughter was 10 months old then.It was the gardeners idea and he was the enthusiastic one who organised everything, we were game as we thought the kids would enjoy it and sure they did too.
In all we had two turkeys, a goose and a gander,fourducks, six leghorn chickens, one rooster and two goats. It was a mini replica of Old Mcdonald's Farm with quacking ducks,clucking hens, gobbling turkeys, a crowing rooster and bleating goats.Our three year old duly christened them.The turkeys were called Gobble and Dobble,the goose was Gloria and the Gander was Gus.The white leghorns all looked alke and so went by the name of Jenny while the rooster was called Charlie.Of the four ducks, the three Mandalay ducks with their striking red beaks and colours were named after the Three stooges, Moe, Larry and Curly Joe and the jet black country duck was called Ebony.The fat rotund little goat was called Moti and the little goat was calleed Choti.We were all convinced that this little animal population knew their own names!
The goose and gander were the smartest of them all.They really earned their keep and kept all the snakes at bay.The gardener often reported to us about the dead snakes he found thanks to the heroic exploits of Gus And Gloria.They were good watch dogs too and the moment they heard the front gate opening would warn us with their loud cackling.If a car drove in, they would flap their wings and run by the side escorting it like vigilant out riders.As soon as the car entered the porch they would leave without disturbing.It was truly amazing this welcoming ceremony they performed each time a car entered our drive way.
One day, Gloria laid two eggs and we waited in eager anticipation for the little goslings.That joyous occasion was not destined to be as tragedy struck.Gus wandered out to the main road, the gardener brought him back, a bundle of white feathers streaked with blood.The poor gander had got involved in a hit and run accident and met his horrendous fate. The children were in consolable and we were all terribly upset, but it was Gloria who was the worst hit.From then onwards, she pined away refusing all food in spite of our best efforts. That was the sad tale of Gus and Gloria.
Soon after, we left Burma and it was a sad parting for all of us.The gardener ofcourse inherited our little animal farm and we never discussed their fate thereafter!
During our posting in 1984 in West Berlin ( we were there before the Unification of Germany before the famous Berlin Wall came down),
our children attended the British School.The school had plenty of pet animals that students were allowed to take home on weekends by turns.Thus we had rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs galore as our weekend guests.Very soon, we had to give in to their demands of owning a guinea -pig and one fine day saw the advent of a little black and white member of the rodent species setting up home in our basement in her shiny cage.
She was named "Chiquitita" or "Chiqui" for short.The Swedish musical group "ABBA" was the rage of the 80's and their song "Chiquitita" was a great hit. Chiqui was the easiest pet we ever had for all she ever needed was a constant supply of salads, fresh green lettuce, cucumber slices, cabbage leaves and shredded carrots.No walks, no baths, or visit to the Vet or the demands of caninies or felines. She had her steel cage with a little ladder on which she climbed and performed little acrobatics all her waking hours. She was not as dumb as we thought. She would squeak loudly every time the refrigerator door was opened by anyone for she knew that was the larder were her food stocks were stored.Three years later when we moved to Mozambique in Africa, Chiqui came along too and travelled in style thanks to Air India.She lived to the ripe old age of four(sadly, their lifespan is very short) and one day without any warning she lay still in her cage.Tearfully we buried her under the lemon tree in the gatrden.We still have her cage and feeding saucer as keepsakes.
A couple of months later saw the arrival of a 45 day old German Shepherd pup who reminded us of Omar Sharif. The children named him Bruno. As he grew , a strange thing happened to his ears. Instead of growing symmetrically, they slanted inwards towards each other and formed a neat little trangle over his head. It was a hilarious sight and Armando our Mozambican cook who spoke fluent Hindi and Gujerati, used to call him 'Topi Wallah Kutta'! Bruno suffered this embarrasment
for a couple of months and miraculously as the Vet had predicted, they straightened out and the freakish look vanished and he was soon transformed into a majestic looking watch dog true to his pedigree.He was with us for three fun filled years. Our next posting was to Jamaica in the Carribean where quarantine rules were very strict, so we had to take him to India and settle him there.
His passage to India was unforgettable. He was transported in a huge wooden cage and travelled in the hold, adequately sedated by the Vet we thought. Our first stopover was Swaziland, for a duration of three hours.On landing we got the fright of our lives and the sight made our blood freeze.The tranquilizer had little effect and Bruno had broken the cage. He jumped out of the hold, much to the amazement of the Swazi porters who went to unload the luggage We heard them ranting and raving in their native language as they ran after him to ctach him. Bruno had other plans and ofcourse that was to locate us. He came racing after us on the tarmac and joyfully greeted us with gleeful barks.Fortunately our younger daughter Lakshmi had his leash in her bag and got him under control fast.Thank God for Diplomatic immunity! The rest of the passengers were aghast and eyed us with apprehension. A few of them were amused.As for us the less said the better.The friends who came to receive us, soon got things under control and secured the cage with metal wires and we continued our journey after dosing him with tranquilisers.The rest of the journey was uneventful and we landed in one piece. Unfortunately the transplantation could not be handled by Bruno and he could not adjust to his new surroundings though our family took good care.He did not last very long and soon after our departure he left for his final abode. It was a deeply saddening experience for us.
Three months after we settled in the Carribean paradise of Jamaica, we met a wonderful Vet called Dr.Jon from Kerala. He was an avid wild life photographer and helped us build a small animal farm like we had in Burma.He brought us a pea-cock and a pea -hen, four mallard ducks and two mixed breed pups. The dogs were representative of true Jamaican mixture for it was the proud proclamation of every Jamaican that they were "Out of Many Races One".
The older dog was called Bruno 2 and the younger one was Otto.
Bruno 2 could not make up his mind what breed to take after as he was a curious mixture of Doberman, Rottweiler and German Shepherd. He looked different from different angles and had an extremely long tail which often got in his way.Otto on the other hand turned out to be a mini Alsatian with lot of thick fur which made him bear like and huggable. Otto's favourite pastime was lying down in front of the full length mirror in the hallway and gazing at his reflection !!
The huge sprawling garden in Jamaica had three massive mango trees that gave us a bountiful harvest in season. We used to send regular supplies to all our friends and a major consignment used to be sent to Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity who had established a home in Kingston the Jamaican capital.
A large number of mangoes used to fall down and Otto would bite into them and leave them half bitten and eating a little of it too. Franklin the old gardener who had been in service for nearly 18 years, used to shout in exasperation in Creole, " Me ne'er saw no dog dat ait dem mangoes!"
He would hoard them for his grandkids and it was always a race as to who could get those mangoe first, Franklin or Otto.
The birds had a huge enclosure and the peacock often treated us to a colourful and spectacular display of his plumage, especially heralding the rains. One day, they both took off and landed in the expansive estate of the Governor General of Jamaica which was next door to the Indian Embassy official residence. It was due to Franklins carlessness and he tried to befriend the guards to get them back , but it was their final goodbye. Perhaps they had a sixth sense that we were going to leave in a matter of two months and they decided to shift to more permanent
territory and live in royal style with the first citizens of the country.
At the farewell dinner party we hosted exclusively for the Governor General and Her Ladyship who loved Indian cuisine, the Governor General made an astounding announcement. addressing my husband he said, " High Commissioner, we have two Indian nationals who have come seeking asylum and we've no choice but to grant them Jamaican nationality". We had no clue that the matter being refered to was none other than our peacock pea hen pair who flew to their garden next door.
They burst out laughing and told us "Your national birds have defected to us !"
When we left Jamaica Bruno2 and Otto found a new home with our dear Jamaican friends.
During our sojourn in Kuwait, we got a lively pair of Spitz and Pomeranian mixed breed dogs and named them Romeo and Juliet. They travelled with us to make their home in Chennai when we finally moved here.
Juliet is 12 years old and is an adorable little bundle of fur. She is snow white and has classic good looks. As she scampers around with her upright ears and tail it gives the impression that she is wearing stilettos. She has a regal bearing and "a face that could launch a thousand ships".
The tale of Romeo with his floppy ears and bushy tail that curled to one side like a question mark has an unhappy ending as he left us quite suddenly a year and a half ago.We miss him terribly and to fill this void the very next day we got a fawn coloured Labrador puppy whom we call Romeo too and he has brought a lot of happiness into our household.
Life would be so dull and drab without a doggy's wagging tail, without a nudge from a doggy's cold nose, without stroking a doggy's velvety fur or without gazing into a doggy's shining bright eyes which are limpid pools of devotion and loyalty.


'woof-woof, meow- meow, squeak- squeak, cluck- cluck ,quack - quack,
cock- a -doodle -doo.gobble-gobble,'
warm regards from the animal kingdom
PAULINA

Wow Rani Paulina Amma
Beautifully written..............Wow 1st honeymoon gift Omar Sharif
I loved the way you have written about Omar. Pets are always a gem.
Wow Paulina I enjoyed all the pets with you, and the lovely places you visited.
eagerly waiting for the gosling. You had Romeo and Juliet too.........
It was a lovely post about your experiences with the pets.
Thanks Paulina Amma for another wonderful piece...........
Keep writting I really enjoyed it.

Dear Paulina Madam,
Thanks for the post.
Through your narration, I can feel the love, you and your family have for the animals. Hats off to you! Enjoyed reading about Omar, Otto, Bruno I & II, Gus, Gander, Carrie, Ebony, Gobble, Romeo I &II, Juliet and other pets. I have a pup named Taffy. She is a mutt. Will post her picture in the new sub-forum.

best regards,

Dear Paulina,


You have written so beautifully .Our canine kingdom would be happy to read if they could.

Well I truly feel animals are a mans best friend. Debeers and the rest come later.

I was raised by an Australian lady , whose cottage was surrounded by lawns that housed cows, rabbits, dogs, tortoises and parrots .. a tiny animal kingdom. I spent my early child hood there under her guidance and her love for animals rubbed off on me.

Wow you've mentioned some very interesting names here and your post speaks volumes about your love for these pets. I'm glad your a member of the forum for pets.
I have a Lhasa Apso ..Muffin .. and I would say the most understanding member in the family. And yes she has all the traits of a female ... loves to deck up , loves her long tresses to be clipped with different clips and beads everyday and her favourite is a blue bow clip .
Infact the best thing about her is her love for my family. Even if my Mom or my immediate family visit me after a gap , she keeps howering all over them as if asking an explanation for the absence..

Its wonderful and therapeutic to have pets.

I feel Paulina if you had taken up vet science, you would have done wonderfully well for yourself and for these lovely animals.

Love,
Devika

Dear Chechi,'
Wow,Wow,Wow... that was a Amazing write up dear... .
The very first poem brought back the memories of my 6 th STD.. This poem was in my Syllabus... :)


I think you have been in all parts of the world Chechi.. you Lucky Girl.... :)
And the names of the pets you have mentioned here are something strange I feel.... Omar,Chotti, bruno Otta.. Very Intresting Names...Better you write another Blog about the secret behind the naming of your Sweet pets ....

You are an Excellant writer Chechi...

Dear Brindha,

Thank you dear for reading this write up about all our pet animals we had all through the years we spent in the different continents.They have brought such a lot of happiness for all our family .We miss a number of them of course but thats the way it is.
Glad you liked all the names we christened them with. They are regarded as our own kids .Actually those names were all chosen by our kids then during those years.

warm regards
PAULINA

Dear Paulina,

Wonderful write up indeed abt the canine kingdom.

Just like brindhak, the poem made me nostalgic as well since it too was a part of my school syllabus.

Thanks for bringing back those school memories.

Dear Paulina

A wonderful write up... Guess you are one of those lucky ones.... having the pleasure of having so many pets .. sigh

please do post more write ups...

Cheers

Bhooma

Dear Chechi,

What a wonderful write-up!! i could relate all the emotions, both happy and sad, you went through. Gus and Gloria parading across the garden. Otto rushing to pick mangoes. Bruno's transportation to India...all explained so well.
liked the names Caramel, Chiquitita and Ebony...
on the whole a beautiful work. and wow you have visited places!!

thankyou.

love,
Anu

Originally Posted by daffodil

Dear Paulina,

Wonderful write up indeed abt the canine kingdom.

Just like brindhak, the poem made me nostalgic as well since it too was a part of my school syllabus.

Thanks for bringing back those school memories.

Dear Daffodil,

Thank you for your message appreciating the write up.Our family has always been close to the animal kingdom and we had all kinds around ,though now it is just our two dogs Romeo And Juliet and an aquarium with fish !
Glad you could reminiscence about your school days for a few moments.

warm regards
PAULINA