Changes

Obviously our lives have changed a lot in the last three months. Things were difficult at first, but then we started getting used to the new pattern, got out of old routines, got into new ones.

That's what dogs do, the most adaptable of creatures. It's one of the many valuable things we can learn from them.

A big change is that Brownie, our Nagaon best friend and part-time family member, has stopped visiting us.



This was a disappointment we really could have done without; however it really is our fault. We didn't go to Nagaon all of June, and he must have decided we were not coming back. He always got a meal at our place, but that wasn't why he came; he got good food at his own home too. He came to us for Kimaya. Brownie is extremely sociable and has many special friends, and Kimaya was perhaps the most special.
When we returned to Nagaon after a month, our caretaker told us Brownie's visits had become infrequent, and had then stopped altogether. He had moved in to a bungalow down our lane, owned by a Mumbai family like us; but unlike us they keep two or three dogs in their Nagaon house. The dogs were already Brownie's friends, and I know he used to spend some time there off and on, so the natural next step was to "adopt" the family.

He spends most of his time there now. I don't know whether he goes to his real home at all (a tourist cottage owned by a villager called Mr Athavale). We met him one drizzly evening on the beach, but though he was very pleased to see us he didn't spend much time with us and went off with his new friends. The family are obviously overfeeding him because he's put on weight.







We've met him once more after that, but this last weekend he didn't come to the beach at all.

Kimaya missed him a lot at first, and would keep going to our back gate to check whether he'd come. On the beach she'd keep looking at the place from which he normally entered. But when he finally came he was accompanied by his new dog family, and Kimpy was petrified of them and refused to make friends. The next time he met us he was alone, but he's fat now and disinclined to run, so after some fruitless attempts to make him play, Kimpy ran off by herself.

She still sometimes looks for him at our gate, where he was once a familiar sight; but there is no longer any Brownie there, whining to be let in. Now she looks for him less and less and has got used to running solo.
She played with another dog recently, one she's known since he was a tiny pup last year. He and his family live next door, but they are never allowed into our garden because his mother is a cat-killer. He was a skinny leggy pup but he's grown into a really handsome dog.









Because of the rain he hasn't been coming to the beach much, but we hope to meet him more often after the monsoon.



Above: Tired after a good run. It's quite cool on these rainy evenings, specially if you've got drenched on the beach. Just the right weather for a light blanket.



One of the cute things Kimpy does is carry her toys to her favourite places. She often keeps the current favourite next to her when she sleeps, using it as a pillow. This racoon was one of her birthday presents (she turned three on 1 July).





Above: Favourite corner in the messy study



Tabbyrani and MiniPini have been brought to Mumbai for blood tests and check-ups a couple of times in the past two months. Tabby used to like Kimpy, but she doesn't like her boisterous style of playing. Here she is on her last trip to Mumbai.

One of the many good things about keeping cats is that dogs appear angelic in comparison. Even really naughty dogs. Cats begin where dogs leave off.

Coping with Tabbyrani's repeated attempts to type and MiniPini's determination to stand on the remote control and change all the channels, we almost began to believe that Kimpy was a very good dog.

Almost.


"I didn't do it. Must have been the cats."

Life goes on; we've started another month of training because we all love it; and we've signed up to attend a dog party on Sunday! I don't think Kimaya will enjoy it at all but she needs to get less nervous around other dogs, and this might help.

(Incidentally there are three cafes in Mumbai that allow people to bring their dogs. The problem is they are rather far from our place.)

That's all from us for now. If the party goes well I might post about it!

Mumbai, Nagaon