My Pet Story: Dasher and the grandkids

Dasher with his two young owners Nushca (left) and Vivaker. Photo: Datuk Kamalanathan Ratnam

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March 6, 2021, was a memorable and momentous day for my nine-year-old granddaughter Nushca and my 10-year-old grandson Vivaker. Nushca had always pined for a pet dog but her mother, a single parent, was not for it.

My daughter and her two children live in Bangsar, KL, but due to the pandemic, my wife and I invited our daughter and her two children to stay with us so that when my daughter is at work, the grandmother could keep watch over the grandchildren’s online classes.

We live in Seputeh. When we drive up Seputeh Hills, we have to pass a virtual jungle on both sides but now, on one side, the beginning of the construction of luxury apartments has totally obliterated the beautiful sight of glistening lights of the Kuala Lumpur metropolis.

However, on the left of the Seputeh Hills as one drives into Seputeh from the highway is a veritable jungle where a pack of wild dogs live. In the mornings and evenings, one would see good Samaritans leaving food for these wild dogs.

One day, while driving Nushca home, we saw a female dog with seven puppies trailing her across the road.

Nuscha promptly repeated her desire for a puppy and, since only the grandparents were in the car, she bravely ventured that surely we could adopt any one of those puppies.

We got to know that a Filipino aunty married to a local was the person who was allowed by the mother to feed her puppies. We then approached aunty Charlie for her help and, on that eventful day, she brought a little brown-and-black tinged with grey puppy, to our house.

As soon as the gate bell rang, my wife and I met aunty Charlie who promptly deposited the puppy into my wife’s hands and left.

When Nushca saw the puppy, tears of happiness flowed down her cheeks. As she was cradling the puppy, it jumped out of her arms and dashed around the garden. His speed and versatility in stopping and swerving without colliding into the pots and flower beds was sufficient for the two children to name him “Dasher”.

Aunty Charlie had guessed that Dasher was around two months old then.

When I see the love and devotion of a nine-year-old in taking care of a stray dog, I am moved by her generosity and kindness. She would be up before 7 in the morning and, even before brushing her teeth, she would mix milk and serve her puppy.

One evening, carried away by the exuberance of youth and the spirited display of affection shown by Dasher who refused to let go of his towel, Nushca tried to snatch the towel from him. The towel then got entangled between Dasher’s rear legs. When Nuscha pulled the towel, Dasher tried to run and his left rear leg snapped and Dasher let out an ear-splitting yelp of pain.

Nushca ran to her mother and insisted that they take the dog to the nearest vet at Old Klang Road. The vet X-rayed Dasher and diagnosed a dislocation. Nushca was beset with self-recrimination and blamed her sloppiness. Then she virtually lived in the kennel with Dasher, caring for his every need.

Dasher is now back to his raunchy self. Soon he will be a year old and Nushca is already preparing his birthday celebrations. She has a list of invitees – those who own dogs as pets.

When I see the love and affection my granddaughter has shown to a stray pup, I cannot but reflect on the law of karma. While one puppy leads a luxurious life in a fenced compound and enjoys a proper and balanced diet, his siblings forage in the jungle with their mother for their daily sustenance and live off the generosity of people like aunty Charlie.

Surely there is a reason that one pup is picked to enjoy the good things in life while the rest continue to live an uncertain life. Could it be that Dasher in his previous life had done something good so that in this life he reaps the benefit? Or could it be that in her previous life Nushca owed Dasher a debt that she now seeks to repay in this life?

Whatever it may be, this experience has taught my family the true meaning of caring and sharing. Even an 82-year-old grandfather has learnt from a nine-year-old what it is to share the unbridled love for animals.