Well, this is a very personal article where i am trying to reminisce my association with various canine friends since my childhood :) So, it goes in chronological order (more or less)
1. Blacky - This was a black Pomeranian pet in my owner's house in Central Excise Colony (1986-88) when i was 4/5 i guess. While i hardly remember the dog, the owner himself is still referred to as "Blacky Tatagaru" (Blacky grandpa) in our conversations
2. Bruno - This one was a cute, small Indian Mongreal puppy that my brother found in bushes amidst thorns and garbage. He got the little one along. Our First pet in OU Campus (1989-90), after a brief period of stay with our family, he was attacked by the big bullies of our colony and succumbed to rabies. Towards his end, he barked at everyone else but was full of love for us. Even on the day of his departure, he followed us to the bus stop, dropped me and my brother and returned home with my grandmother only to be carried away by the municipality van.
3. Sivarasan - Yes. You read it right. This was the "jackass" dog of our New B series quarters in OU (1989-91) A black and brown colored Indian Mongreal, he was Arrogant, bully and what not. Wasn't mad, but just an ass! All children of the colony hated him since many of them had been earlier attacked by him. He was never named till the day of Rajiv Gandhi's Assassination. Only when we all heard of the name "Sivarasan", we unanimously decided to name this dog "Sivarasan". I do not remember how he died, but Sivarasan finally died... I think, the municipality van carried him too..
4. Chitti - Chitti was Indian Mongreal, female dog that i had befriended, again in OU campus, when i was in my Inter II year (1999-2000) She was this mid sized, black colored furry dog with a bushy tail. Though my family hated feeding her, they were forced to keeping in mind my EAMCET examination. They knew that if i get upset, it might affect my studies. So, everyday, with an emotional blackmail and big eamcet ranks threats from me, they fed her. But the feeding stopped the night my exam got over. However, she always got a share from my food (secretly). But, this one always had a hanging uterus. It was only towards the end that i realized it was a tumour. Chitti slowly started bleeding profusely and the tumour became larger and larger. It hurt me a lot when i saw her drag her tumour with great pain and discomfort. But, she never expressed her problem when she encountered me. All i got was loving licks and happy tail wags. She cared way too much for my feelings. She knew i was too young to accept separation...So she silently disappeared only to be found dead in the nearby bushes next morning.
5. Tommy - Male Dobberman/Indian Mongreal cross was a family member of my Dance teacher (2000-2014). Brought up in a dancer's family, this one could walk in rythm to "Taka Dimi, Taka Jhannu" and dance to "Tattai Taha, Dittai Taha". He loved walking and would ask anyone and everyone, even the auto driver who dropped us to take him for a walk. Tommy loved car rides, chasing rats. A very amicable dog lost his face when a robbery occurred in their house. But who said, he was a watch dog? After all, he was a member of the Maddali family, his full name being Maddali Tommy Ram,
6. Ramu - An Indian Mongreal, he was the guard dog of our Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osmania University (2000-2004). He got the maximum share from my tiffin box after one senior (the difference between the two of them - senior demanded; Ramu requested). Chapatis with all sorts of curries my mother made went straight into Ramu's stomach. By the end of 2nd semester he started following me into the classroom. He once entered into the Mathematics class and our Professor, Miss Kavitha requested me to get out assuring me full attendance. Her remarks, "I find it difficult teaching to humans, i can't teach dogs too" The last time i saw Ramu was when i visited the department in 2006 i think. He was more sober and silent...
7. Caroline - My neighbor's pet -a female Chihuahua in City Heights -my apartment complex in Los Angeles (2007-08) My encounters with this dog were all like window shopping. I never really picker her up or cuddled her. She was too fragile. The first time i touched her, my roomie Najina pushed me straight into the washroom to have a bath before i touched anything else in house.. The second and the last time i picked her up, she jumped off my hands and fell straight on ground. Knowing the stupid laws in U.S, i was scared to death and prayed for the next few days that the dog doesn't die and my neighbor doesn't sue me.
8. Choco - This cute male puppy was my friend when i resided in Shilpi Homes, DD Colony (2008-10). He was christened "Choco" because the mployees of beauty parlour that was opposite to our flats felt his body had colours of a chocolate. He was very inquisitive in nature and you can see him here
9. Kimbo - This Alpha male (Indian Mongreal) became my friend at University of Hyderabad (2010-2012) This one lives in Gops, the food joint in our University, i believe also attends classes in Sociology/Philisophy, and occasionally visits S.N. School. Aggressive, old, demanding, lazy...the list can go endless but undoubtedly lives life Kingsize. We are all so fond of Kimbo that one of my friends, Hriday named another dog, believed to be Kimbo's brother as Kim-Bro. By the way, another friend TJ calls him Moon.
10. Smootie and Murthy - These are the "Amar-Akbar", "Ram-Lakshman" of our Panchavati Apartments and they came into my life as adults (2008-till date). I am told, someone abandoned them here. Ever since i knew them, they are a pack. They live together, walk together, sleep together and and chase together. They are amazing watch dogs and do not even allow any one, including our security guards to wander around when it is not their regular time. Smootie is cranky at times but Murthy is undoubtedly the "Ajaatasatruvu" of our flats (and ofcourse our Diro's best buddy).
11. Husky - This one is the "Anthony" of our Panchavati Apartments (2009-till date). The third among the trio, for a long time, this one was called, "Chevulu Leni Kukka" (meaning, the dog without ears). So one day, my 7 year old friend Jayesh and I decided to end this identity crisis and christened him Husky. He accepted the name and ever since is called Husky... He's got Balls...(Literally). He is one of those very few male dogs that's not yet castrated. Very friendly, nautanki sala he is. But when aggressive, can turn really fierce against other dogs.
12. Weeny - The cute, little female Dashund is my friend Hari Pavan's sibling (2012-till date)Darling she is. Loves to run away from home only to return when shown an egg. Our canine Daughter Diro's very close friend...In fact, Weeny was the prime motivation for us to bring Diro into our lives too. Pritam and I used to see Weeny's Dad (Papa Rao uncle) walk her down daily and then decided, we got one too.
13. Diro - This one's my Canine Daughter and an adorable, cunning female beagle that came into our lives in September 2012. However, there's a small misunderstanding in her fostering process. She basically thinks we are her pack and she owns all of us...Apart from constantly being hungry for food, she loves flirting and making new friends- human and canine. Documenting Diro's deeds would require another blog though. Till then, here are some of her intro photos
14. Kutti - The female Indian Mongreal came into our lives last year (2013-till date). We found her in the last month of pregnancy with wounds all over her body. The kids and elders in our flats were sweet enough to embrace this one and mobilise food and water. Our efforts paid off. She survived and gave birth to 7 healthy puppies. After a brief period of community petting, the pups were handed over to Bluecross and have hopefully found happy owners and happy homes. Kutti has a dedicated partner Kittu and both of them spend their entire day and night together. She personally is a shy dog and takes time to make friends. She is currently in Bluecross undergoing a treatment for uterus tumor.
16. Lyla - This 5 year old female labrador lives in the 3rd floor of my mother's flats (2013-till date) Diro was her first friend in life, i was told because she never let anyone come near her till then. The first thing that comes to my mind when i think of Lyla is the small lake that forms in front of our maingate every morning when she relieves herself... Her name works the best to bring our Diro back into the house whenever she runs off.
17. Bhairo - Well, another female Indian Mongreal near my new house in Pragatinagar. Her name has a story. I met this dog first time when we went to see the house before buying (2013). I thought she was a "he" and named her Bhairav. The moment i realized that was a female dog, i wanted to name her such that it rhymes with Diro. So, she became "Bhairo"...A very shy dog by nature, she stayed with us for a brief period of 4 months and disappeared one random day. I never expected her sudden disappearance so do not have a photo of her... But, i just hope she is alive somewhere...
18. Tiger/Youtube - This cute little puppy greeted me in the front of our Department of Communication few months ago (2014-till date). He was born here and currently lives here. A very active puppy at the moment is keen on exploring the world and ofcourse guard S.N. School...She has two names - Tiger and Youtube (what more can you expect when she is the "Communication Department" Dog)...
