P is for Precious Cotton

October 2007, Singapore

We had moved to Singapore in 2007 after one adventurous stint at Manila. You’ll know what I mean if you read : Bohol-Mighty Cerulean Ocean & Intimidating yes, Imaginary no

Singapore, as you know is a stunning island country. A paradise for families. It’s curated, refreshing columns of green, pristine roads and alleys, simple-soft spoken, down-to-earth population, the lip smacking cuisine; all adds up to a residents delight. Life is so much more easy paced. Much like it is by a countryside, I would say. It has everything that a city has to offer yet it has an old world, simple charm. So it wasn’t surprising that we fell in love instantly with Clark Quay, East Coast Park, Orchard etc and of course Simei where we lived.

The three of us were settling in pretty well. The pet lovers that we are, we started keeping pet fish, and bred a bunch of gorgeous guppies in our big fish bowl. Guppies are these little fish and they come in countless colours. One prettier than the other. But the dog people that we are, we missed having one. We would see all these beautiful breeds padding around town and we got more and more inclined towards getting one for ourselves. In Singapore, there are various legalities involved. You need to get a license to get a dog, then the microchip and so on so forth. So we had our apprehensions. We didn’t know how long we were going to stay there. That’s when we saw this advertisement by ASD (Action for Singapore Dogs) in the newspapers, and we decided to give fostering a chance.

Fostering as you may know meant keeping a dog for for a while till it got adopted. So off we went on a weekend, across the island, to a far-flung place in search of our canine wonder. It was exciting to say the least. There were dogs of various shapes and sizes, some more active than the other,  some traumatised because of their past, some that were man handled by their owners. There was one which was thrown out of a moving car, probably because the owners didn’t need it any more and it had a broken shoulder. It was a heart breaking sight, yet it was reassuring to see that ASD was doing such a noble job of taking care of so many of them. Amidst all these dogs they took us to the kennel that housed a pure white dog, with large, beautiful yet very sad eyes. She was trembling in fear. Yovenne the ASD incharge, felt that this furry girl would be perfect for our home, as she was kid friendly and a well behaved girl.

We were still deliberating on our decision, and before we knew it, on the 10th October, 2007, Yovenne brought Cotton over. I think I had already shown interest and she assumed I had wanted her.

Cotton (she was named by Yovenne) came into our home bringing us much happiness and a  good news. She arrived like a stork. Yes, the very same evening we found out that we were expecting our second one. We hadn’t anticipated this at all, so our joy knew no bounds.

The next few months were some of our happiest. It’s simply amazing what a dog can do to your home. Or a pet for that matter. It can multiply your happiness by manifold. Cotton with her sweet, loving temperament was a boon in our lives and she won our heart instantly. She was 2 years-old, toilet trained, and so well-behaved. She only had the fear of rain and thunder-storm, or any loud noises, something which she still continues to. It kind of mortifies her so much that she crawls into the cupboard and sometimes even digs into the bed tearing our bedsheets. She continues to still destroy many of those, but believe you me she is like the Lady of the house, very proper, very well-mannered and always clingy and delirious for love.

When the younger one was born, Cotton used to be so over protective of the baby that she bit a few people, including the mid-wife who came in proximity to the child. She was just guarding her, like her own child. This is something she normally doesn’t do. I believe they had a connect of sorts. The timing of Cotton and the little one’s arrival was not coincidental. In life there are no coincidences, everything is synchronous.

Note to my Readers: Cotton moved back with us to India when we returned 7 years ago. Her transition was smooth and she adjusted to the Indian culture (did she have a choice:p), away from the country of her origin. Cotton is one of the most precious gifts I have. She is now 11, but looks sure are deceptive, as she passes off as a young, gorgeous canine wonder.

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My theme for this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge is Travel Epiphanies that are my very own tales of adventure and revelation. I will be writing 26 posts throughout the month of April. You can read my theme here.