A Gypsy Came Home

It all happened that cold, winter evening long time ago. I was walking down the street and as I reached home I realized that someone had followed me. I looked back and saw myself looking into a pair of big eyes, the color of melted gold, twinkling with mischief. She was tan colored all over with tiny white feet; just a couple of months old. From the look of her, she was a mutt.

Now mind you folks, India, where I come from, stray dogs, cats and even cows are dime a dozen! They live on the streets.

“Shoo, go away,” I said. But she just wagged her tail.

“Papa and Mummy are not going to like you being in the house,” I tried explaining, but she just wagged her tail even harder in response.

I don’t know if it was the physical contact of her licking my feet or if it was her crazy antics of jumping up to catch the hem of my dress, that made me fall in love with her.

"Shoo, go away" Sketched by Parmeet Kaur

Okay, now at 16, I too had the right to make some decisions around the house, I argued to myself. I decided to bring the pup in and keep her in the garage for the night. I would introduce her to my parents the next day.

My younger brother sensed something mysterious was going on when he caught me smuggling bread and milk into the garage.

“What’s up?” he asked.

I debated whether to let him onto the secret or not. Many a times in the past he had told on me and got me into trouble. However, he too had always wanted a pet.

“Come see who I have in the garage,” I said.

The pup jumped excitedly on him.

“You’re so adorable,” said my brother as he bent to pet the pup. “ So you‘ve been wandering the streets like a gypsy.”

The pup wagged her tail in agreement. We played ball with her till she went and curled up in a corner and fell fast asleep.

“I hope we’re allowed to keep her,” I told my brother.

“So do I,” he replied.

It was midnight when a dog’s barking woke me up. In a sleep induced daze I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.

Oh My God, It’s the PUP! I ran to the garage but the whole house was awake by then. I knew I was in big trouble!

My mother went to check the garage and to her greatest astonishment a small puppy came running out. The puppy was terrified and she went running from one room to the other, with my mother, brother and I chasing her. To my horror she finally ran into my parent’s room.

“What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?” asked my father from his bed.

He got his reply when the pup jumped on the bed; right into his lap and in the excitement of the events let herself go.

As you can imagine, it took a lot of explaining, convincing and pleading to let my parents agree to keep the pup. Personally I feel my father agreed in the end because he felt good that the pup in her terror had found solace in his lap than with any of us.

That’s how Gypsy, as we named her, came into our lives. Today, she is the most important member of our family.

The Gypsy found a home.