One Incredible Creature

If a Dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience

I cannot believe it's already more than an year since I wrote this blog. I guess I had an excuse; I was busy :-)

Alice turned 6 years old on Oct 25^th 2013 and I feel so proud to be a Mom of a lovely Dog and a beautiful Girl who turned 4 on April 6^th 2014. Surprisingly Alice is so gentle with Eesha that it feels insulting to call her a Dog sometimes. 

Being such a high energy Dog I don't understand from where she gets that maturity to be so calm when she is around kids. Alice and Eesha are so friendly now, almost inseparable. It's so amazing how that transition happened suddenly. There were days when she was scared of Alice and won’t go to the basement without us but one day to our surprise, my Dad gave her a Magic spell and it worked and she became comfortable overnight and the funny part is we still don't know what it is :-)

Whatever I say to appreciate Alice would be less. I chose this day to write this blog because it’s a special day for me and she is a special person in our lives.

We recently relocated to New Jersey from Atlanta. Yes, you heard it right. People give me all kinds of looks when they hear this. But circumstances made us take the decision and we are pretty happy and settled as far as our work/home life is concerned. There is a little more work with Alice as she just arrived from Atlanta on April 20^thand may take some more time to settle but she is almost there. It’s been 3 weeks now for us.

I am writing this blog to appreciate that saintly creature that drove with us in a Car for almost 17 hours, all the way from Atlanta to New Jersey without a single trouble. It wouldn’t be fair to not mention that she behaved even better than Eesha, not that Eesha is troublesome in long drives but behaving better than a kid on a long drive is something to be appreciated.

Our move started sometime around 1^st week of April and she being a dog, there was no way we could have made her understand as what is going on. She seemed very anxious with all the stuff being moved around and people visiting too often, taking away furniture, we being away from home once in a while overnight and then for 2 weeks and so many such small things. But every time I got a minute, I will go console her and tell her “There is nothing to worry. We are just moving to a different city. We won’t have this home anymore for some time. We will take you with us but you have to wait until we come back to get you in 2-3 weeks.”  The day I came back from New York, she was so excited and it looked like she was confident that we are not going to leave her and go this time. The next night she slept in the Garage because we had the home cleaned up and didn't want it messed up again by her hair.

Next morning, she was ready to leave with us at 5:00AM. We made a bed for her in the car. Even though it looked very cozy and comfortable, the one who was supposed to use it was not someone who can express that comfort in words so I was closely watching her throughout the trip to ensure she is relaxed and not stressed. So, not sure how actually it was but she adjusted very well. Initially she was standing for the first 20 minutes of the drive, and then she sat down and relaxed like this.

After a couple of breaks we made in between, she kind of understood the pattern so as soon as we slowed down the car, she will get up. Raj and I took turns and stayed with her while the other freshens up or eats lunch etc. However, how much ever thirsty or hungry she is she will not drink or eat anything in that break until the other person refreshes and comes back to car. We figured out, it was a kind of insecurity she has that one of us is going away. She will constantly keep looking in the direction until we are back. Once we are back she will be relieved.

Around Virginia, we faced terrible traffic conditions and started getting frustrated and I bet she was the most well behaved and calmest creature ever seen in traffic. She was lying on her bed in the car and didn't make a single noise until we reached the apartment.

Now comes the funny part, she has never ever seen herself in the mirror, the first time she got into the elevator, she was shit scared. One, she was seeing a dog in front of her, which was doing the exact same things that she was doing, another she was seeing someone who was looking just like Amma but she could not reach her. It was so funny to see her reaction. So restless as if saying “Where the hell did you bring me?” Soon we were out and she was less stressed.

Now she lives with us in a smaller home with no backyard, people around her all the time and I can see she likes it. She loves to be around us. She goes plays in the park with other Dogs. She plays with Eesha at home. She feels more comfortable, happier and less stressed.

Eesha  is very sensitive about us dealing with Alice more than ever. If we scold Alice or talk to her rudely, Eesha would start crying and be very upset. She will clearly say "Amma, Alice se jor se baat mat karo...", "Amma, Appa Alice ko scold kiye...", "Amma, Alice sad ho gayi...", "Amma Alice se rudely baat karungi to Chikki sad ho jaegi...". It's hilarious but it's extremely serious for her. And Vice versa when we scold Eesha and she starts crying, Alice will follow her until Eesha stops crying or Eesha goes and pats her after the crying drama ends.

We have come to realize that if you stay in a smaller home, tons of situations and conversations can happen due to smaller space hence creating more interactions, which clearly everyone likes.

So far we all seem to be having fun...