LOST & FOUND : a generous Love Story

on a day last year, we decided we needed a pooch to add warmth to our new home, and adopted Tookie, a canine with a feline soul

When we first arrived at the Auroville Shelter, to volleys of barks that drowned out our senses, we did wonder a little, whether at this stage in our life we needed a pooch- whether our all would be enough?

Our previous canine loves- Zorro, Shiva 1 & 2, Mowgli ~ had all received love and affection from a family of four, but now our kids were grown and flown; it was just us, the couple in their evening of life looking to give and receive affection minus the arguments that are part and parcel of raising kids, whose needs were constant, and to top it they had minds of their own! A pooch was a bundle of joy, minus the relentless need to assert herself. So we imagined.

I was as ready as I ever would be.

The barks at the Shelter receded once the hundred odd dogs found us to be amicable and not hostile. We roamed freely, searching for The One that would be ours.

There she was, a tilak on her forehead, beady eyes, a small body ready to jump into our arms, with a tail to match- held in a cage with other little ones. Because she was young, they wished to safeguard her zealous and energetic body along with other young ones. I wanted her instantly. They said we could have her after a few weeks as she would be spayed. We didn’t need pups, we just wanted her. Her gaze met ours and we knew. The spouse needed time to prep, and there, he got it.

We had chosen each other; now the wait.

Yes, it’s me : your Tookie!

Slide ahead to a month later and this crazy pup, christened Tookie (peek-a-boo in Bengali, my mother tongue) arrived home, and thus began our Lost & Found Love Story!

She who, as it turns out, isn’t quite a dog- she’s half-cat, much to our delight and consternation. And a character to match!

HOMING Tookie

This little girl had our hearts from Day One, with a distinct character, that of a creature who did not want to be pet too often; she would decide when she wanted to lean against our bodies and seek physical comfort; this was a display of feline characteristics, among the first we discovered; then, we gradually came to grasp, she would want to slide into the darkest nooks to sleep (behind our bed, under shelves; wherever her slim figure could slide and rest) again, typical feline tendencies. She absolutely needed a low roof over her head at all times, when in resting mode. No power on earth would make her emerge from those inaccessible places if there was a storm raging in the skies. I was afraid for her, and would want to snuggle and hold her in our bed, between us- but nope, she was best left in a little corner of her choosing, to work her way through it. My instincts were to keep calling out to her with a mother’s love- but I have learnt to let her be, over the year that she has been with us. Tookie has her own way of navigating through anxieties. I know when she’s not totally comfortable, and have learnt to let her be, to allow her the space and time to emerge. My maternal instincts did not make the process any easier. Losing her, on some days, drove me into panic mode, when she hid under the kitchen shelves, and refuse to be found. I even ran out into the road, lest she had run. The love story has had its shares of twists.

Meditative stance

Tookie starts and startles at the slightest sound, and the loud noises that flow in from the road near our home, have her running for cover. We have been unsuccessful in coaxing her out with the choicest treats for at least forty-five minutes. She chooses the moment when she feels safe to show herself again. WE SIMPLY WAIT it out!

Tookie’s food habits are also what might be considered undog-like. We, as a family, being primarily vegetarian, wanted to maintain her as a veggie dog (as we always have with our previous pets). She was okay with the rice/dal/paneer/veggie mixes, but never ever did she gobble up her food at one go. She went to her dish every few hours, and ate like a real lady, a few spoons at a time, astonishing us. Our earlier pooches have always licked clean their bowls if they approved. She approved, that was only obvious after a few hours of having served her. It was odd for starters and took some getting used to. She does not have a massive appetite, and sensibly sticks to small portions at a time. Who were we to mess with her bodily needs!

Her tail, always upright, wags whenever our eyes meet, and easily too. The delight on seeing her wagging tail when I call out to her, sends happy tremors down my spine.

A wagging tail was the sign I would look out for after a spell of bad weather.

After Tookie relieved herself, she would get the zoomies, as our daughter called her circular dance - round and round the house, a whirling dervish, never once hitting anything. There is furniture strewn all over, but she manages a speedy zoomie ritual without once hurting herself. Pretty adept at self-preservation!

Tookie welcomes everyone with wags and jumps, and yelps of unconcealed delight. We realise she is all love and cannot discern between friends and visitors of a large variety: food delivery folk, parcel-carriers, helpers, carpenters, electricians etc. EVERYONE is to be greeted with loads of affectionate licks and paws- it was disappointing at first that she is not the guard dog we might have wished to cultivate, but soon enough realized that there is not much to guard against, is there!

Our mindset must match hers, not the other way round. There is harmony in love that is unparalleled. Tookie teaches us to follow an undisputed Law : everyone arrives at our door with good intentions, unless proven otherwise. Okay then!

First Journey together (Kotagiri)

Soon after her arrival, followed by training and all that jazz, we put her through, and ourselves, a car journey of nine hours, uphill. We drove to Kotagiri, a haven in the southern Nilgiris, quite adamant about not leaving her in a dog’s home with other dogs, or at home with a new person; we decided it would be best to give her some fresh air, grant her the time within the confines of a moving vehicle to allow for a natural attachment to develop ; early days and all that. She settled down pretty fast in the car, provided with her own little bed. But surprise of surprises, throughout the nine hours she did not relieve herself even once, although we stopped every hour almost, to ensure that she wouldn’t suffer.

We increasingly worried when she was walked on a leash, with energy, but no signs of needing release.

in various moods, car rider, watching the world go by, straining at the leash and guilty of something, and embracing dad in a moment of affection

On arrival, Tookie seemed delighted to be in the grass, with so many smells and perfumes coming at her, but even on the evening of our arrival, after we had settled in our guest house, she would not relieve herself. We walked her for twenty minutes at a time, repeatedly, on a strained leash. She did not relent. Our hearts sank. She wouldn’t eat or drink either.

The following morning, we were shown a terrace where we could free her from the leash, in a well-protected area. That worked! Off the leash, she was able to relieve herself. It astounded us. She was a creature who needed complete freedom; a dog who would not be tied, and needed space and time. After that she also ate with gusto. We were getting to know our little one, and one day at a time, she came into her own. Understanding, coupled with respect, found its roots in our hearts.

The trip thereafter was imbued with fun and joy, since Tookie’s anxiety had found succour.

We did not know Tookie’s antecedents; we had no clue of her parentage; she was fresh off the boat as it were- we learnt to know and love her raw, as she acquainted herself with her human parents in the ensuing months. The story took shape, gently.

Today, almost a year later- every time we leave home, we return to a bouncing loving baby- who welcomes us with the same fervour, be it half an hour apart or days. She is relentless in her glee and overt display of affection. One cannot be lonely with a pooch like her around. She is a giver, and seems to be generously endowed with infinite and limitless love. Tookie has been the most beautiful gift of nature and has flooded our life with joy. Every day I learn from her, that it is in giving alone that you receive abundance.