1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

A Day Of Extreme Anxiety

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by gopalan1937, Oct 18, 2018.

  1. gopalan1937

    gopalan1937 Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    149
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Gender:
    Male
    It is 8 AM. My son, daughter in law and my granddaughter had left for their offices and school. They would be back only after 5PM. Till such time we would have the company of the loving puppy Coco. Most of the times she would be lying quietly in her couch. In between she would demand food or petting and cuddling. She had never caused us any concern.

    Yesterday I felt she was not her usual self since morning. She was not getting down from the couch and preferred to sit or lie in my wife’s lap. My wife didn’t notice anything and felt that probably she was lazy and needed some extra petting.

    When my wife left for the kitchen, unusually Coco followed her and was circling her legs and obstructing her work. She is an intelligent puppy and very easy to communicate with. However much, my wife cajoled her to leave her alone, she wouldn’t. I went to her rescue, picked Coco up and sat on the couch along with her.

    A little later, it being a cold day, I decided to do my walking exercise within the house. Surprisingly the moment I got up and started walking, coco was following me wherever I went and would not leave me alone. It was not possible for me to continue my walking with Coco getting in between my legs at times. She is very small and short. I gave up walking for the day, and returned to the couch with Coco pleading to pick her up and sit on my lap. This time I felt everything with her was not alright and started observing her closely. She seemed to be shivering at times and her breathing was rapid. Her eyes were pleading, but I could not make out their meaning. Is she sick?

    I voiced my concern to my wife and we decided to inform our daughter in law before thing s could go beyond our control. As luck would have it, she was able to come freeing herself from work. Incidentally I should mention that the bond between Coco and my daughter in law is like a mother and daughter. Even as her car approaches the house, Coco would race towards the door wagging her tail and wait near the door to be picked up. But today even as the doorbell rang, she would not leave the couch. My daughter in law called her out; Coco would not budge. She came in, picked her up, walked towards the backyard when she noticed the increased shivering and unusual noises coco made. She came back, left Coco on the couch, took us out to backyard and asked us to listen quietly for unusual sounds. I did not because I am hard of hearing; my wife intently listened and agreed she could hear at far distance soft wailing sounds . My daughter in law explained that they are sounds made by coyotes in the woods near the backyard and that was the reason for the altered behavior of Coco. We were astounded by the sense of hearing of Coco and her defensive reaction. While we are amazed at her responses to our commands, at times we feel we are not able to appreciate her pleadings.
     
    Loading...

  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Good one, Gopalan. A soothing narration of the bond between man and dog, and their communications.

    "Interesting Shares" is more for sharing interesting information or anecdotes (or forward's) we come across on the internet. This one could go under "Snippets of Life" which is "for Non-fiction writings - personal anecdotes, private reflections or touching experiences in your life!" You can tag Cheeniya and request the move/upgrade, if you like. : )
     
  3. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,626
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2018
    Rihana likes this.
  4. GeetaKashyap

    GeetaKashyap IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,921
    Likes Received:
    9,220
    Trophy Points:
    460
    Gender:
    Female
    @gopalan1937

    A lovely narration with an anticlimax.

    All along, I was waiting for Coco to be rushed to the vet. The sensitivity displayed by your family felt so good. Thanks for this nice snippet.
     
  5. ILoveTulips

    ILoveTulips IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,610
    Likes Received:
    5,354
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female
    Sir, I am so scared of dogs and the stories of dogs never had my interest - I only see them as an animal who would stare at you, bark at you revealing its sharp teeth, angrily chase you. But I read this snippet till the end hoping Coco should be alright. Beautiful narration, and so touching to read about the affection your family have on Coco and the assurance of safety Coco feels from you. Lovely writeup.
     
  6. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,489
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Trophy Points:
    435
    Gender:
    Female
    @gopalan1937 Sir,
    Beautiful narration and I love pet dogs. Enjoy with Coco.:)
     
  7. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,370
    Likes Received:
    24,115
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Sri Gopalan:

    A very nice bond you have narrated between your family members. I always consider the dogs/puppies as a family member. I was so happy when you narrated your daughter-in-law's relationship with Coco as mother/daughter relationship. We have a little grandson at home and his name is Orion and our life revolves around him. Like your family, we are very affectionate to him and sometimes, I get an order from my wife to take him out like a child for him to relieve himself if he was too sleepy.

    Coyotes exist in the conservation area close by to our residence as well and many in our subdivision always cautioned us not to leave Orion alone outside. We always accompany him. Many of our neighbors lost their cats to the Coyotes.

    Someone mentioned an interview with a Veterinarian asking him what is his heart-breaking experience in treating the pet and he replied, "Euthanizing the pets when their terminal illness reach the stage where they couldn't withstand pain anymore and the pet raisers making the hard decision. They all decide to be away from the pet as they could not bear the pain but unfortunately, the pets long to be in the company of their closest friends when they face the end of life situation. It made perfect sense to me. Their love for the humans is unconditional.

    Viswa
     
    Sinant, HazelPup, Amica and 2 others like this.
  8. Rakhii

    Rakhii Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    7,299
    Likes Received:
    6,339
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    thats a beautiful narration; I was half expecting coco to be sick but glad to hear that all is well.
     
  9. Amica

    Amica IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,037
    Likes Received:
    8,379
    Trophy Points:
    460
    Gender:
    Female
    Aww I can imagine Coco shivering with fear at the sound of coyotes. Thanks for sharing this interesting experience, Gopalan.

    I had a cat whom I loved dearly. I would sit reading peacefully with him fast asleep at my feet. Suddenly, he would sit up, very alert, his ears and whiskers twitching. With his back arched, hair standing on end, his tail would flick from side to side. After a minute, he would curl up and fall asleep again, completely relaxed. And I would spend the rest of the night terrified, wondering if there was an intruder downstairs.

    Being in the company of pets is always an adventure. :)
     
    HazelPup and Viswamitra like this.
  10. star90new

    star90new Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    182
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female


    Same with me..
    I am not a dog fan either.
    Nice write up Mr Gopalan.
     
    ILoveTulips likes this.

Share This Page