Dieter- Photos

My big fella is going home tomorrow. :(

Dr.R and I'm going to have a discussion on whether Dieter can stay with me next time when it's needed. Of course he can stay, there need not be any discussion. But I did promise myself to be practical so in the light of which I'm going to ask Dr. R that he send Dieter with food and train me how to walk him on the leash minus all the dashing about. Yip.

Mujh Ko Satao

Just canNOT work. The weather is freaking me out completely. It's make-out weather, complete with this cool brush of air scented with wet vegetation and damp earth. It's insanely beautiful outside, I am literally forcing myself to stay put in my seat and finish my deadline.

But listening to this song; "Tau Phir Aao", I may be slipping into madness... it's eliciting emotions and feelings within, urging me to just stand on the ledge and fly off... and fly off I so desperately long to.

Dieter

Should probably have titled this: Adventures in Dogsitting

Dieter won't eat. He ignored the chicken, he ignored the biscuits, he ignored the eggs and cheese and he ignored the chapatis. I'm befuddled cause I have yet to come across a dog that wont eat with gusto at least one of these. He doesn't seem sick, cause he plays about and wants to be petted and let off on the balcony, on his walks he's the same exuberant sort dashing this way and that. I have concluded that he misses his dada and is upset about being away from him. :(

Dr. Ryder and I have been in constant communication over Dieter, talking on the nearly 3-4 times a day and he's befuddled as well. I have asked him to come take the fellow back home on Friday. I think as a test to see if he can stay here, everything seems fine but I'm worried if he won't eat then that will become a huge issue. I asked him if this is how Dieter was in the boarding houses as well, but Dr. R thinks those fellow lie cause they'd say that the dog ate all his food, he loves milk, he's very happy... but now maybe he really wasn't eating his food there either! Bummer.

I do love having this dog in the house. He's no bother at all in the house, makes no fuss of any kinds and is a very sweet and loving chap. I love the way he cocks his head when I call his name, and his soulful eyes look up at me asking to be let out on the balcony, how he scuffs about on the carpet and the wary way he observes Snowie. I love hugging his neck and he'll sort of lean into me, as if telling me to hug harder and sigh a great big sigh. When I'm home and working on the laptop, he'll come every once in a while to check on me. I don't think he knows hide-n-seek but we sorta played that out last night and I think he gets the hang of it cause after a few times he'll come slowly to my hiding place and just peep in to see if I'm really there. I wish I knew or should learn how to handle him better so that our walks are fun for both us. I have asked Dr. R to teach me to handle Dieter before he teaches me art, I really really want to be able to take him on his walk and not make a spectacle of myself with all the guards and car drivers laughing at me.

And, NO I'm not at all thinking of keeping him. I'm going to be very practical about these things and now set ground rules that I absolutely cannot violate. Yip.

The man, and his Dog

Last week Koo and I went to see this man about his dog. He wants to give it up for adoption and SOMEHOW I got involved in it as well. Honest. It was never MY intention to go anywhere the dog, but there I was, in the car on the way to Noida to see Dieter. Once we reached there, I have to say, the dog and the man were both so interesting that I wanted to adopt them both. :P

Dr. Ryder was just this witty, colorful old chap that you just cannot help but like him, if you are me. If you are you, you would probably have a different opinion. But then that's entirely your problem. Anywhichways, Dr. Ryder wanted to give the dog up cause when he travels about he has to leave the poor fellow in kennels and boarding houses and they both hate it. I then had this brillianto solution *pats back* that I would dogsit Dieter while he's out and about, that way they don't have to leave the dog with strangers in kennels and I get to have a dog.

Weeeeee! He agreed.
Well to test it out right now, cause I have never had a BIG dog before and even though Dieter is rather well behaved, I still need to see if I can really handle him. Not to mention Snowie and how he should not end up a masticated mess in Dieters tummy.

Dr. Ryder and his companion Manisha came over on Saturday with Dieter, and we tested him out with the house, with Bhumi and...... Snowie. Everything went well, so far so good. Sunday once again they trooped back to our house, this time with a pug in tow named Leo. Dr. Ryder showed us the ropes... or the leash in this case, on how to put it on the dog and "handle" him. Easier said than done. It's all swell when you are practicing it on your foot, it's another thing altogether when theres a 80 lbs dog at the end of your leash, showing off his awesome strength, a tug of which would send you tripping over your enthusiasm to "handle" this beast.

No. I did not trip. I did get dragged a bit, scrambling to stay upright.
No. It was NOT comical.
No. No one was laughing. Really.

What I really wanted to see how Dieter reacts to the pye-dogs and vice-versa. I cannot forget my lil rip with the Bully and yip, there he was... snarling in all his glory. It was amazing, how both Dr. Ryder and Dieter handled the bristling reception by Bully and Bullina (his mate) but then the man sure as hell has a good command over his dog than I would. I was a lil worried, what IF Dieter wouldn't listen to me. And, so we decided that I'll stick to routes that do not generally have Bullies and all Dieter needs to do is susu-potty and walk about a bit and thats all.

Alrighty.
What Dieter really likes to DO is:
- Get all EXCITED about his walk, so he sprints down the stairs like his tail is on fire, yipping happily and all the while I'm hanging on to the Banister desperately trying not to fall and lose all my teeth.
- He then DASHES about, sniffing this and pissing on that, all the while I'm tugged around at the end of his leash, trying again not to trip and break my nose.
- He needs to make potty on "high" ground, which generally means a flower pot, so far we have fertilized 3 pots.
- After he's done with his business, he calms down and bit and behaves. Which is good, cause by that time I'm limp anyways.

Back home, he seriously is a very well behaved dog. No begging for food, no messing up the furniture, no whining or crying for this and that, no scratching up the carpet. He just lays about peacefully by the balcony door and sleeps, or wants to be let out on the balcony to watch the world go by.

I'm hoping this arrangement works out to the benefit of both me and Dr. Ryder.
So far so good. :)

America

Was nice:

1. Ppl are polite, they say thank you and please, excuse themselves when they pass you by in the corridors and smile and wave at you while crossing the street. I actually found that rather strange cause I'm not used to smiling at strange men or women or children.
   (okokokOK I get it. Ppl are NOT polite all over the country, ppl are actually indifferent bordering on rude in some parts... I know, I'm aware of it, I got the memo!)
   -- But what is UP with all the happiness? WHY is everyone so happy to see you? What if I do not want to smile and say Hi? What if I want to be all dour and sour? Huh?
   
2. NO DUST.
3. Payless Shoe Store. YaY!
   
4. I bought nearly 65% of all the organic, cruelty-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, SLS-free personal care products that I have been researching and wanting for over 2 years! Woohoo!
5. Hot water. All the time.
6. Trees. Of every which color, esp. the PURPLE ones.
   
7. Road signs, street signs, traffic signs, signs, signs, signs. How can you possibly miss a turn when they start telling you from Africa where to turn, when to turn, how many degrees the wheel needs to be to turn... :P
8. Everything is automated, from banks to laundromats.
9. Unlimited refills. Not that I got to ever got to finish the original drink.
10. PT Cruiser!

Was not:

1. Large portions of food. I couldn't finish a single meal in one sitting and at the end of my stay there was enough food in the fridge to feed a small village, not to mention the food I had to dump in trash cause seriously WHO eats that much!?
   
2. If you don't have a car, getting around is a killer.
   
3. Air fucking conditioning. I had to wear my cardigan ALL the time, which sucked cause I so wanted to not wear it while it's summer!
4. Small talk that ppl make when you enter a store, stand in line in a restaurant, bump in the corridors... I'm soooo not good with the small talk, apart from "Oh", "Yeah", "Uh-Huh", "Ah", "Hmm", "Ok", "I see"... I tried to look away the minute someone tried to make eye-contact with me. :|

That's about it for the Was Not's. I guess I'll have more if I visit again, or maybe not. It certainly was an expereince, the minute I stepped out of the airport into the cooooool sweetly scented drizzling night, I felt this "awareness", this "realization" that, Babes you are here, finally. After years of watching it in the movies, reading about it in the books, talking to ppl who live here, I was standing on American soil... such a pivotal occurance for a person with my perception of the world and my expectations from it.