It must have been way past 3am on Sunday when I heard that low whining sound for the first time. Hoping it was just a stray noise from the outside, I covered my head and ears with the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. After all Sunday nights are precious what with the weekends being even busier than the weekdays. Believe me, being a single mom to two growing children – one on the brink of teenage years and the other trying her best to become one, Sundays are the most tiring days.
However, I soon realised that my heartfelt wish was not to be met and the whining sound kept increasing...worried it would wake up the children, I had no choice but to get out of bed. I first checked on my lazy Labrador, though nothing but a bombshell would probably disturb our beloved dog! He was fast asleep and showed no signs of having made any noise which meant it was coming from the outside. Donning my nightgown, I want downstairs and opened the front door to the pitch darkness outside. Calling out to the sleeping guard (so much for security!), I asked him if he too had heard a whining sound. Reassuring me that he had been awake and no such sound had come, the guard waited impatiently for me to go. Just as I was turning back, the whining sound came again and this time even the guard heard it. Taking out his torch, he started exploring the ground with me following at his heels. Whimper....there, we heard it again, “I think it is coming from the right side,” muttered the guard. Moving in that direction, we turned the torchlight in all possible places but found no source of the sound.
On the verge of turning away, I almost stumbled over something that felt like a rock and quickly asked the guard to shine the light on it. A very disturbing sight greeted us...a small, bloodied puppy on the verge of losing consciousness, lay on the ground. A part of me wanted to just ignore and pretend that I never saw this and go back to my beauty sleep, but the other, more conscientious side, couldn’t just walk away. Just at that moment, the hurt puppy let out another low whimpering, whining sound and my heart turned over. Bundling the little guy in my shawl, I instructed the guard to fetch the emergency first aid kit I kept at the garage. Soon, we had the puppy cleaned with an antiseptic and some cooling ointment. The puppy was surprisingly patient and unmoving through my ministrations thought it must have been painful. Clean, the puppy looked none the worse for wear and seemed actually quite healthy and tended to. Satisfied that the puppy was fine and could find his way, I let him down gently on the lawn and started walking back to the house. A short bark stopped me short and I turned around to see him almost at my heels. “No, boy, you can’t come in; we already have a big dog who may not really welcome you. Now go, before you wake up the neighbourhood”, I said sternly. The little fellow just sat back on his hind legs, his little tail wagging furiously and looking up at me with melting brown eyes. The guard shook his head and said sagely, “Madam, he has chosen this house now as his home, he is here to stay”. Oh well, somewhere I knew this would happen and I really wanted to back to my cosy bed. Resigning to the situation, I took the puppy in and we both settled down on the big, comfy bed for what was left of the Sunday night.
I woke up with a start to furious barking and screaming children...rushing out of the bedroom, I saw the puppy valiantly trying to stand up to the towering, loud Labrador protecting his turf. The kids were trying their best to hold on the big dog’s leash and shouting at him to keep quiet. “Quiet Tommy!” I thundered and reached out to pick up the little puppy. “Kids, I found ‘Brownie’ here, on our lawns last night, hurt and cold. He followed me home so we have no choice but to keep him. Let’s hope Tommy gets used to him and maybe even becomes friendly with time”, I continued. My son, in his teenage wisdom, advised, “Mom, I wouldn’t worry about Tommy, he is just jealous. Let’s make sure, we keep giving Tommy more attention and love and things will be fine”. I handed over Brownie (default name given his melting brown eyes) to the kids and cuddled up my Labrador trying to calm him down and reassure him with loving attention. After a while, the great hulk went near the puppy and started sniffing around and gave him a cautious lick. Brownie responded eagerly with fast circles around Tommy and a wagging tail almost as if he was begging the big dog to play. Tommy gave a disdainful last sniff, went to his favourite spot near the fireplace and promptly went back to sleep!
Two months later, I am happy to say that Tommy and Brownie are fast friends, mostly due to the latter’s efforts, and the kids are overjoyed with another dog in the house. After all due vaccinations and a declaration of good health, I am now resigned to look after a family of four ‘siblings’. Wish me Luck!
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