Life with pets

People who have kept pets would certainly agree with me that life gets fuller after having pets at home. There are people who fancy animals in the zoo and recoil at the sight of pets , especially dogs. I witness so many neighbours in my society, who stick against the wall of the elevator on sighting my dog Valley in the lift. Yet there are some who long to meet and greet Valley.We had a 4 and a half yr old labrador who passed away in October 2007, leaving a void in our life.I did not know till then that she had such a large fan following in my society and friends.For days after her death we had visitors at home who came for condolence and paying homage to her.For days together my intercom and phone would ring and there would be some neighbour showing their regret at Valley's demise. My maids mourned her death for so many days, and as we found out that we were not alone in our grief. Small children refused their meals, remained subdued for days together on hearing about Valley. All his made me wonder what had Valley done to gain this reputation. In a city like Delhi, where nobody has the time to mourn the death of relatives, where people do not find time to condole the death of neighbours, Valley had so many admirers.All this is no fabrication of my imagination, this is a pure ansd simple narration of my heart touching experience.

Answer is not that simple, yet quite easy . She had touched other people's lives in various ways ever since she was a puppy. Very well behaved, she never jumped on others like normal dogs, neither did she bark and disturb the neighbours. She wouldn't mind climbing five floors in case the elevator was full or its occupants were scared of her. She had a definite dignified gait. She wasn't greedy in the least,always waited for food to be put in her bowl. She had such beautiful expressive eyes, that befriended even those who did not like pets.Her brown eyes in her heavyset face would speak volumes about her persona.

And when she fell ill, must say, she fought bravely with her illness. Not refusing once to visit the Vet, getting injected twice a day, getting intravenous treatment for half an hour twice a day ,she bore it all too bravely.Even now my eyes well up with tears, when I remember her face.It is too sad that she had to leave us like this. But soon after we got ourselves a new pet, junior Valley, who resembles Valley only in looks and is every bit a naughty brat.Now she has made my life busier than before.

The reason why I am writing this blog is that we brought our old Valley home on 14th feb,2003, we got it as a Valentine Day's gift from my husband Rakesh( hence the name Valentine, Valley for short). Tomorrow is Valentine's day and we remember her with our hearts, full of her memories. It is for sure that she has become a star in the heaven and has attained more popularity there. Afterall God also needs stress busters like Valley.