The pet problem

Every year, on my Christmas list, I ask Santa for two things. First, Wings so I could become a fairy. And second, a puppy. But neither the wings nor the puppy ever came.

Every few months, I would ask the same old question. “Mummmmmyyyyyy, can we pleeeeeeaaaaaasseeeeeee get a puppy?”

“Absolutely not,” my mother would reply. “I have already raised three children and I don’t want another one. That’s the end of story.” My sisters and I would spend the rest of the day groaning about how unfair life was, then forget about it the next day.

Honestly, though I was quite terrified of dogs  I found them extremely scary, and after a few bad incidents, which included being chased by dogs when I was on my way to school, I felt quite relieved that my mother had never listened to my pleas. You see, unlike my sisters, who genuinely loved dogs, I preferred the idea of dogs — those loyal, faithful creatures present in almost all Enid Blyton books — to the actual licking, scratching, biting reality of them.

Then came the hamster stage. When my sisters realised that asking my mother for a dog was futile and I got more scared of dogs by the day, we moved on to slightly smaller animals — hamsters and guinea pigs. Guinea pigs were promptly discarded as they have a tendency to bite and scratch and none of us wanted that.

So we focused on hamsters. For about a week my sisters and I spearheaded a campaign for a hamster, which mainly involved showing our parents pictures of very cute fluff-balls, following hamster accounts on Instagram and reading articles on How To Convince Your Parents To Allow You To Get A Pet (which were extremely unhelpful).

Soon, after our parents showed no sign of budging and vaguely said, “When you’re in college maybe”, we gave up. Humphhh.

Anyway, the campaign for a hamster, too, had fizzled out when we went to Woofs and Hoofs.

Now let me explain. Every year, the Turf Club holds this event called Woofs and Hoofs, which is basically to create awareness about animals. I play the violin, and a few students of our music school were asked to play a small concert at Woofs and Hoofs. So, on a bright and sunny Saturday we marched to the Turf Club and got ready to play.

Now, in Woofs and Hoofs, there is an adoption centre for homeless animals, where one can go to adopt a dog or cat, or just to play with the animals. The first time I went in, I was too terrified to do anything. However, my sisters forced me to go in a second time and I asked if I could hold a puppy. A lady put a tiny cuddly puppy called Zoey in my hand, and in one second, all that old love for puppies came crashing back!

Again, I asked my mother the question. Again she firmly said no. That whole day I dreamed about owning a puppy. And the next day. And the next day. And the next. I would come home wishing there was a small puppy waiting for me, then start sobbing when I saw that there was not.

I still hope that I can get a puppy one day, and I’ve even stopped being scared of dogs. By and large. The fact remains that ‘The Pet Problem’ is one that most of my friends face. And thanks to our parents (AHEM), we have resigned ourselves to the fact that the closest we’ll come to getting a pet is a goldfish. If at all.

(The writer is a teen drama queen who plays the violin, sings, dances, and acts, in real life and onstage)

SPEAK UP

Have something to say? Write to dnaofteens@gmail.com, rama.ramanan@dnaindia.net