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Bewitching Fur Ball

After 15 years of resistance, a dog scared husband and two teen age sons, on a Sunday morning walked in with a hand full of warm fur ball with three shiny black spots.

My husband delicately transferred the fur ball on to my hands and looked helplessly at me. I was aghast! Since I was just fathoming the ways and means of coping with two teenagers and had no clue as to cope with a pedigree. Assurance were flowing back and forth from my sons and my darling husband hid behind the newspaper refusing to budge to my murmur "I could have had a third child"

The fur ball yawned which revealed his huge tongue. My thoughts ran wild –at the size of the tongue then struggled to imagine him as adult!! My immediate panic was negated. My sons brought various books on ‘Bringing up dogs' and referring to various dogs lived in our neighbourhood. My better half peeped around the paper with his eyes like a saucer because he never gave it a thought.

Mean while fur ball started to whimper and started sucking my thumb and my sons rushed to get a bowl of milk, but the poor thing did not know how to lick and drink from the bowl and whimpering turned into whining and set panic in the house. There was no time as whining became loud and demanding, my sons ran helter-skelter and presented me with an ink filler of all things. But it did serve the purpose.

Later our vet very apologetically told us that the fur ball, eventually christened as Bruno, was one of the five litters and the mother could not cope with. He knew my sons well so he sold it to us.

The fur ball Bruno rolled all over the house played, entertained us and grew into a huge fellow beating all records and considered himself as human with four legs and hated his own species. He was very handsome and my son decided to take him to dog show- "just to feel the atmosphere".

Our multicolured multi coated Bruno did not like this he dragged my six feet one inch son from the dog show and hopped on to an auto and refused to get down. So both the human and imagined human returned home. One with four legs dashed under the bed and refused to come out and had to be fed by crawling under the bed which he happily accepted. My son gave a human touch to this behaviour- "He is feeling guilty."  In my view Bruno made his point.

Once he was taken for a walk, an angry terrier barked and Bruno forgot his size and dignity dashed back home with leash in his mouth and my red faced son swore that he was an insult to his species and his breed (German Shepard). But we valiantly defended him to outsiders about his protective instinct. Alas! Truth was very different

Bruno lived with us in high and low of our life. His long wait on the doorsteps for the master of the house. His fur was drenched with tears as we knew master will never return but…

Life changed but Bruno was constant. Jobs carried my sons far away and Bruno never understood why everyone was leaving him and going away. I was the only constant factor in his life. When he became sick my sons never gave a second thought about their commitments, were with him.

Age crept on him, the majestic stature slowly and steadily deteriorated. All his organs started failing and gave us no option but to put him to sleep and we buried him with heavy heart. A Neem sapling flourishes where we rested him.

It is a year since he passed away and we continue our life's journey. So many memories associated with him at every walk of life. Even today when I step down from my bed I am very careful not to step on him. Often leave front door open because Bruno never liked the door to be closed. He was great friend to all the children in our apartment, often stop me, ask me whether Bruno is happy in the heaven, my eyes get misted and gulp down and say yes…he must be…for he is with one other missing member of the family.…..

About the Author

My work in education sector for more than two decades gave an opportunity to explore every aspect of the field and helped me to experiment successfully on innovative teaching/ preparing training modules for the teachers to bring in technology into teaching. This experience made me to concur with what Albert Einstein felt about teaching the students "I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."..

How do you deal with elephants living upstairs?

A young couple has moved into the apt directly upstairs from me and they walk like elephants! I've lived here over 4 yrs and never, ever has anyone been so noisy or annoying, even 3 college students who had wild parties up there! The entire place shakes, sometimes my pictures tilt and objects fall from shelves, and it sounds as if they are stomping, jogging and deliberately dropping bowling balls. Their richocheting has even woken me from deep sleep and kept houseguests awake of mine awake whether I put them in the bedroom or in the livingroom!! From what I've heard of them they sound a bit rude and crude in their language and I don't feel they'll be very accomodating. I'm just finding it impossible to enjoy living here or concentrating on work, watching tv, having friends over- it's embarrassing and angering. What do you think? Ask them directly to try to be more graceful or go to the management?

You need to talk to them directly.

If you go straight to management and management approaches them, they'll know it was you. (After all, how many other people live in the apartment below them? It's not like a barking dog complaint where it could have been any of several neighbors.)

Then you will have a real situation on your hands. If you think it's intimidating to talk to them now, wait until they are mad at you for complaining to the landlord without having given them an opportunity to do anything about the noise!

The friendly, direct approach is best. Try to keep it light and don't start out by accusing them of doing anything on purpose. Approach it from the standpoint that you're sure they have no idea how much the noise carries and that you know they'll want to help you out.

People like to be asked for help; they hate being told they're the problem. Try a little diplomacy and see how it goes.

Wild Bowling Ball