Our Lives Changed with his arrival

Our Lives Changed with his arrival !

Whenever someone told me that something has dramatically changed their lives overnight, I used to wonder how it would be possible for things to change so suddenly. Sometimes, I secretly wished to stumble on something that would change my life so radically. Little was I aware that it would happen when Siri and I finally chose to give-in to our temptation and brought home Snoopy- our 9 week old Dachshund.
We thought we were ready to adopt him, and against my wish to pay for it, I shelled out a price. I was of the opinion that it is unfair to fix a price for a life form. But, someone meant only business and I was apprehensively cheerful when I relented; Apprehensive that I am paying against my belief, Cheerful as we are finally getting the pup. We drove after a long tiring day at work and by the time we reached the busy central business district of our city, the traffic was at its worse. We somehow made to the landmark and waited. I was hungry and tired. I guess, my usually morbid facial expression changed from barely acceptable to worse to unbearable during the wait, when Siri offered to step out and get something for me to eat. I quickly agreed, any deviation from the status-quo of the wait was fine with me. She went out and I was about to call her back and tell her that we should do it some other time as the day was getting too much for me. I just wished to get back home and hit the sack. The pet shop owner had just then showed up. She returned with a roll (apparently the last one on offer) and popcorn. We drove around to his shop, waited in the parking to gobble the roll and stepped into his shop. He showed us two black and tan Dachshunds. We had earlier zeroed in on this breed, as it was ideal for our apartment and a bigger dog would be finding our place too small to grow in. Siri was more inclined to a lab, I was pushing for a Boxer. We settled for a dashund. I guess, for Siri, anything other than a boxer was fine. They looked cute and small. Siri was excited and said “Yes” – but with a slight hesitation. She preferred a non-black one. With hunger subsiding slightly, I could focus on the pups at hand. The black ones looked fair to me. The shop guy then brought in the full tan one; slightly older than the other two, but definitely looking more alert. She was scared for sure, but there was a certain air of confidence in his gait and demeanor. Siri’s eyes said she found what she wanted. I needn’t have to say anything. We paid up, picked him and started back. Through the drive back home, Siri was constantly saying soothing things to the pup, reassuring and comforting. We reached home after picking up the advised baby food packs and Siri embarked to prepare a quick dinner. I fed the pup and he was slowly moving around, still slightly tentative. We tried to put him to sleep in a crate-converted into a kennel. New place, absence of his siblings and mom and both us strangers looking at everything he does with a curious eye, might have put him in slight discomfort. May be he was curious too, to see what we both are up to. He refused to sleep immediately and kept sounding his disapproval of the kennel; the bed made of newspapers and may be the light we kept on, to prevent us from stepping on him in the dark. He slept sporadically through the night, keeping me awake throughout. He relieved himself few times and I was grumbling to clean up his acts. Come morning, he has started to explore. This expedition to look around our home is instrumental in us calling him by his current name. He is pretty short, shorter than one would assume a Dachshund to be; and with an elongated body he started flowing around to all corners of the home. He would wait at a stop, snoop around and then presume moving again. He spent more time registering new scents and the environment. He ‘marked’ a lot of places and Siri & I had to do a lot of cleaning, but it was fun. He got bolder and ventured into other corners of the home and surely into all corners of our hearts.
Days were passing quickly. We continued with our hectic lives and all our actions at home have a singular purpose now- Snoopy’s induction and home breaking. He is smart, quick learner and uses all forms of facial / vocal expressions to get his way. He is charming, sulking, obedient and naughty as he chooses to be. In almost all, well, in all cases he gets his way. Siri tries to teach him some manners and he tries to teach us some games. Not sure who is more successful. We both are speaking in hushed voices when he is asleep, fearing disturbing him. We are more careful with what’s lying on floor lest he bites into it. We are awake earlier than before and hitting bed late so that he gets his night sleep, non-stop. No more TV, no more Radio. Our whole life in the last week revolved around him. I am sure, we haven’t finished yet as this would continue for some time, till such time we three get used to each other. In a strange way, he brought Siri and I closer.
I was eager to tell my colleagues on the day-after his arrival, that we owned a pup. I stopped myself, thinking “Not just yet. Let me give it a week before announcing to all”. I was right in not announcing to all that we owned a pup, Snoopy. In fact, it is the other way round. A pup, Snoopy owned both of us. Our lives literally changed overnight.
Yes, life can change overnight. It did for us.