The Animal Kingdom | Chapter 1: The Prince

 

The Animal Kingdom

My childhood memories are infused with various animals—those who were fortunate or unfortunate enough to spend their lives as pets in my home. This blog series is about and for them.

 

Chapter 1: The Prince

Prince has the credit of spending the longest time with us among all pets. I have a whole lot of memories involving him. Prince was a dog of the Pomeranian breed, and he lived a life as royal as his name.

Prince arrived at our home before I was born - when he was less than a year old. He drank Horlicks every day, got bathed every day, and could sleep anywhere inside the house. My mother took good care of him. Until December 5, 1994. Until I was born.

Horlicks became tea. Bath became a luxury offered occasionally. He got a new kennel outside the house to sleep. I happened to become the villain in his life. All the care and love were being rerouted to this little piece of human who appeared out of nowhere. It hurt Prince’s ego very badly.

I grew up to learn that Prince always held his grudge against me. If Prince was lying on the floor and my father happened to step on his leg while walking by, he would whine and move aside. If my mother stepped on him, while passing by, he wouldn’t even respond - not a sound, not a move. If I - someone who probably did not even weigh a fifth of the weight of the other two humans - accidentally stepped on him, he would swiftly jump up, bark in annoyance, and charge at me. He even bit me on a few occasions. Ego. Grudge.

I never considered Prince to be my enemy or competitor. Yet I did trouble him on multiple occasions – not by intent, but through the impact of my actions. Let me narrate one such incident. True to the name of my blog, I was a curious kid. (I still am one.) One day, I got quite curious about how Prince (and other dogs) barks. That elongated mouth of his opening, closing, and producing sounds that conveyed all his needs and emotions. What if his mouth doesn’t open, what if he doesn’t bark?

I decided to find out. I went out of the house and looked for Prince. He was chained to a tree to restrict him from roaming around after his routine bath. I saw my opportunity there. I procured a rubber band from inside the house, went towards Prince, and fastened it around his mouth; I sealed it. Prince couldn’t make sense of my actions initially. He couldn’t react immediately either. He was not barking anymore. But he started making a growly sound. He had visibly and audibly become annoyed.

The annoyance was escalating with each passing second. I realized that I no longer dared to go ahead with this curious experiment of mine. The moment I removed the rubber band, an attack was guaranteed. I panicked. I ran to my mother and sought help. She carried out the rescue mission immediately. I did get a sound beating for my act of curiosity. I’m sure you all think that I deserved it. Hmm…! I ensured that I did not enter Prince’s vicinity for the next few days.

Prince was a member of our family. He ate the same food that the rest of us ate. He loved tea and so did my mother. Together they consumed at least a couple of litres of tea a day. Other animals came into our kingdom over the years, but Prince held the seniority and command. He ensured that the entire campus and all its inhabitants (except me) led a disciplined life. He ensured that no outsider intruded into our peace and happiness. Prince grew old with us. He lived with us for nine years (his eternity) until he died a tragic death due to a vaccine overdose. It took us some time to overcome the loss. My mother missed Prince the most. They had a strong bond between them. Prince was very dear to my mother. For Prince, my mother was the living being he had spent most of his life with and whom he probably loved more than himself.

Prince was given eternal rest in our backyard. My father soon got us another dog. A Doberman pup. If a Pomeranian got a name as royal as ‘Prince’, what could a Doberman expect? Our Doberman had already been named by its previous owner. Frooti!

More about ‘Frooti’ and other members in the next chapter.

[Fun Fact: My parents have told me on multiple occasions that they had considered ‘Prince’ as the name for their first child if it was a boy. Not sure, whether they were being serious about it. If yes, you might have had a ‘Prince Thomas’ in your contacts!]