A Bachelor's stint with Motherhood!

Way back in September 2006, I was like any other 25 year old. Life was rocking. Booze, Girls, Rock shows, Heavy Metal, Trance, professional up-gradations, Insurance Examinations and all that. Life was set and good. Besides, Navaratri was on. Dandiya fervor was in full swing, if you may call such dance form swing. That's what I call Dandiya. Swing and Wave and hit and spin and swing and wave and hit and spin and do it again. Fucking Aerobics. Besides its a time you get to hear worst of the singers on the very worst of the sound systems. An earful of cacophony. 

Back to the main story, I kept hearing two little dog pups crying whole night from somewhere near our bungalow and could not concentrate. First thing in the morning I decided to check on it. Sheer inquisitiveness. I saw two 3 week old pups had arrived somehow near our house and were without their mother.They were way too little to be on their own. Both were bitches and one was white with brown spots and one was brown with white spot near its neck and forehead. I decided to bring them home then and there till the time they were cured. 

Brownie had crow bites on her back and rear back and could not see. The sad part was when doctor told us that she would not survive as her eyes were maggot infested too and soon they would penetrate her brains and she would die. For two days she was with us and, lamentably cried away to her death. That was the first time I had seen my mom, dad and me crying together. We buried her in the garden near our house and planted a small plant and a little flower for her. I still think about her sometimes and a tear somehow finds it way down my eyes.

The good thing was whity was all good and she would survive said the Vet. We all were joyous. Her wound had very little maggots in her front left paw and it was cured within a day or two with a good dose of injection :). She is still scared of injections though and hates to eat tablets of any sorts! We named her BILLO.

Billo had barely opened her eyes and and initially I tried giving her milk (diluted with loads water) with dropper but billo would suck on the dropper. Although it was funny, it was a daunting task and thats when my motherly instincts developed and I decided to buy a baby's feeding bottle and widened the nipple hole a little (Engineer, you see) and Billo started sucking milk to her stomach full thereafter. Then she would stop. Her stomach would swell up like a little football and then she would walk around in her box and sleep. Then she would wake up. She would poop and piss and then again started crying for milk. This happened after every two hours. My mom used to take care of her in the mornings due to my work but after 1900 hours, it was my duty till 0700 hours the next day. I first used to cradle her in my arms and then give her the bottle but then decided that dogs have different way and hence made a hole in her box and used to slip part of bottle so that she would easily suckle on the bottle. The best part is she would also try to press the sides of the bottle thinking it was her mother :). Those were 2 hour stints were the most unforgettable situations for me and now are the happiest moments of my life when I ponder on past.

We noticed she shivered a lot too after drinking milk. She would not like blankets and throw them away. I used to change the cloth feed her every night ever two hours for  four to six months and slept on the near her box till she was big enough to be on her own


That's when we found out about Mr. Karve, who trains dogs and breeds them and has a lodge for them in New Panvel area, Navi Mumbai. We contacted him and he gave us some wonderful pointers. We made a huge TV box her home first and gave it little tears near bottom area so that she could see outside and not try and always come out of the box and damage her hind legs. Then we put up a 40W bulb over her box so that she could get the motherly heat that was required at that tender age. A sort of incubator you see.

Billo in her early days would suck on every thing that came her way including my fingers. See the video and you will know what I am talking about.AS she started growing up, she would chew and bite every thing that came her way. Those moments were the trippiest in my life and the happiest too. I could sincerely feel what a mother must be feeling her child growing up actually.

As any child she got her times to play full time and she would weck havoc every where in our garden and in our house. All was forgiven for her as she was our blue eyed pet. :). Like any other kid when she was six months old (6 months old) it was time for her to go to school and we zeroed in on Mr. Karve to train her completely. Thereafter she was a different dog alltogether. Serious and responsible. She would bark at everyone that came on our house's gate and would lovingly give both shake hands and sat and jumped when she was asked to. One of her unique way of saluting other dogs is some thing like this: She is fiery. Mind it. Its her territory and no one can enter it.

And her favorite timepass is catching her own tail.

Billo is now six years old and her watchful ness keeps our entire street safe as she remains awake the whole night doing her own time pass and barks at any suspicious activity and alerts all of us. She is like a kid to our family and my stint of 5 years with her around has seen me acting more like a mother as well as a father to her. Including seeing that she gets her food before me and all that.

Never knew one pet like her would change my life for better forever.This post took me 5 years to write and has been an compilation of entire billo growing up years till date. The best part is as a pariah dog, she recently won the appreciation award in a dog show arranged by Lions club for being the most obidient dog and won goodies worth a thousand Rupees and Rs. 200.00 cash prize. The prize was not important. Amongst all the pedegrees, she won the prize. I am proud of her. Period. One of the happiest days of my life to be honest. We got her sterlized when she was one year old, but honestly, she taught me what it takes to be a mother. The most emotional situaiton of any mammal's life.

Billo Loves chicken.