The Father's Tale

Let me start the tale from where it must be started......Almost three years ago, there was one very pretty girl who was nice enough to respond to a cheesy line from me. Forward 18 months on, and she was nice and at this point, I must add, foolish enough to agree to marriage. Fast forward another 12 months on, and I finally started enjoying her version of "chai", learning to stay calm, relax and enjoy the quiet moments of pleasure in life. She has indeed been my better half.

And, that's when I decided to believe in what she called the ultimate relaxation technique- dog therapy (second only to dance therapy- nice try getting me to dance though!!!). A little more background...I have been diagnosed with cynophobia all my life (by myself). I have run away from dogs, been scared shitless of them and have generally distanced myself by a friendly mile or two from the nearest dog whenever possible.

So, even considering such an option was a great step forward for me. Fast forward another month or so, and we went on a glorious vacation to Puerto Rico, and that's when I actually played and petted my first dog - Tiko, a big lab mix. "That wasn't too bad, was it", said my present, calm self to my fearful past. No, it wasn't at all, to be truthful. And, I realized, it was very calming.

And, so started a new phase in life!! I decided to take on my fear front-on. I started volunteering for a dog shelter- being walked by big dogs (with a few misadventures), walking little dogs and occasionally dominating the extremely little ones. I did feel extremely light-hearted at the end of these walks. So, when the missus said, "Oy Mister, what say you about a dog?", I said, very unconsciously that too, "Sure, muffin". And, that was that.

It was a rather hard path to Yuki. I shall tell that tale at a later time. But, we finally got her, and life was never the same again. Our li'l cocker has kept us awake aplenty, caused our parental hearts to miss many a beat with a few health issues and troubled us to no end with her obstinate behavior. But, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else in this world.

Here's to thirteen + years of fun, enjoyment and love with our Yuki!!!