EVERY child wants to have a pet for that unconditional lovely bond that develops between two selfless souls. My siblings and I were no exception. We discussed this among our notorious, mischievous DNA gang and decided to apprise our parents of our demand. As expected, it was a ‘no.’ Our mother simply said, when you all are there who needs a dog? But that day, we were a little stubborn and planned to convince them by hook or crook. Then finally, they said ‘yes,’ which was actually a coated ‘no.’ We all literally jumped with joy. We had our family friend Pawan who bought and gifted a female Doberman of around 4 months of age. It had a shiny brown majestic fur and round, deep, transparent innocent eyes. It had a long neck, very well shaped ears but it wasn’t barking. We became anxious, why isn’t our dog barking? Is it a dumb dog? We contacted the best veterinary doctor; he bluntly replied did you all speak the day you were born. We got the answer in a different form of a question. We could see the fear and shock of the puppy in its movements and expressions. We gave kept it in a safe corner to let it become comfortable.

In the mean time, another round of discussion went on to what shall be its name. Then, I suggested, let’s call it ‘Zeenat.’ Really, its beauty and smartness complimented this name. Gradually, our love and care for Zeenat started growing and also the anxiety of all the additional responsibilities which were unseen till we got it. We never realised that these too have a vaccination schedule; the food to be served to an omnivore in the family of herbivore was another issue. If all of us have to go out for some movie or a programme then, how to keep, where to keep our pet was a big question. By God, so many adjustments and changes took place. It was like a new family member with a different background and need. Anyway, we were very flexible and adaptive with every passing day. It was like choosing the life partner.

Zeenat grew up as a attractive member of our family. Children in our neighbourhood would play cricket every evening in front of our house. The sound of the plastic ball would be very irritating. We the smarty trained Zeenat to catch the ball. Not a single child had courage to take the ball from its mouth, and we would feel very proud after spoiling their game. Once the lineman came to repair our malfunctioning landline, Zeenat ran to him and kept both its forelimbs on his shoulders, for a few second that lineman looked like a vertical dead body. I still remember his face. Zeenat was very loving, caring, affectionate being, but also chewed so many footwear, belts, straps of the bags. If you forget to keep any of these away from its reach, Zeenat would leave no stone unturned to make it non usable henceforth.

Zeenat also got much scolding and some slaps for all these activities. It would show its sorry gesture and then the next moment, it would again have the same love. No grudges at all. It was a stress buster for all of us; the evenings when we will play together was like making one feel to live or showing how beautiful life is with our loved ones. When after pooja, my father would blow shankh, it would also try to make a similar sound and match the frequency. We didn’t teach it as many things as Zeenat taught us. It became an inseparable part of our life. How could Zeenat alone know! And the security of our house.... The lessons taught by Zeenat were immense love and care. Keep no grudges, shun the negative, forget and forgive. Tolerate no nonsense, reciprocate true and honest gestures. Have a scary or stern outlook, but inner fabric must be soft and empathetic. Stay agile, alert and adventurous. If you commit a mistake admit it, give a fresh chance to yourself. Love you, miss you Zeenat wherever you are.....