The decision to get a pup was triggered by factors unknown as of yet. All I know is that on 11th May, 2009, I knew I wanted a dog in the house. I was scouting around for golden retrievers before this day, but on 11th May, me and my brother Anoop did a comparison of both GSDs and Golden Retrievers and we unanimously decided on the majestic GSD.
This is one dog you do not want to mess with. As a pup, they are unbelievably cute (almost painfully so, but that I'll describe later), and once they've grown a bit they are, for want of a better word, simply majestic. Anyone could have told you that my excitement at the prospect of getting a dog was uncontrollable. I was scheduled to pick him up on Saturday, and I just couldn't wait for the damn weekend. I don't know if I've ever looked forward to the weekend as much as I did that week. The days dragged on mercilessly and I was supported admirably by Apes and Srikanth. I did tons of research on puppy care and somehow managed to hold on until Saturday.
On 16th May, 2009 (Saturday) at 11.00 am Appu, Apes, Srikanth and me ended up in Kamanahalli with Mani (Mani was the agent for the breeder). First off, he took us to see Axel's Dad, Xambo. We saw Xambo and all four of us froze in our tracks!!! He was massive!!! The breeder had brought him up pretty well, as he was quite accepting of strangers, well-behaved and regal as hell. Did I mention how big he was?
Satisfied with the dad, I told Mani to take us to the pups. This involved a 40 minute ride to some farmhouse beyond Kamanahalli (primarily because Mani rides his scooter at 40 Kmph max). When we reached the farmhouse, I took a moment to take in the area. This is what I imagined as a good environment for a puppy. Clean air, wide open spaces, trees all around...all in all, perfect.
Now as we were entering the enclosure in which the puppies were kept, I remember discussing with the others about how we'll see this litter and then go check out two other litters and blah, blah.
I stepped into the enclosure, I saw Axel and I fell in love. Simple as that...there was nothing more to say or see. He was this fat, fluffy, playful, gorgeous thing. Slightly worried about all the strangers in the room, but not scared. He was easily the pick of the litter...much bigger than the other puppies. I just stood there for 15 minutes watching him play. He was confident and dominant but not aggressive. Then he was reunited with his mommy for a brief feeding session. At this point, I was a bit sad about taking the baby away from its mommy. But he didn't flinch while I was taking him back to the car. I felt that perhaps he was a bit sad about leaving, as he kept looking towards the enclosure.
The next two days went by in a daze. I suddenly had a baby on my hands. I took him to the vet, where the vet told me that he's a huge puppy. We think he'll grow up to be HUGE. He weighed in at 3.6 Kgs for a 40 day old pup. Then came the acclimatization phase.
This phase gave me some of the happiest days of my life. Axel is incredibly cute. As a result, he gets away with almost anything. He loves to chew fingers, feet and clothes (in that order). This is one unstoppable ball of fur and energy. Having said that, I do realize how important it is for Axel to learn that a human being is not a chew-toy. Axel seems to disagree for now, so I'll write more about this later. Other than that, Axel is very brave for his age. I took him around the town in my car and he loved that. He didn't even flinch at the lightning-thunder combo that was doing the rounds.
I'm taking him on daily walks where all the people who see Axel beg to pet him, and he's such a sweetheart with everyone. Of course, sometimes he looks at me and starts to yelp softly, at which point I need to extricate him from the army of hands that want to pet him. He's such a good pup...I'm finding it difficult to explain how much I love the little guy. I believe that he's bonding quite well with me. Just the other day, Axel was playing with my dad. When I turned tose leave, I banged my foot on the cupboard and it hurt like hell. I cried out a little bit and started hopping about on my other foot. Axel stopped playing and came running to me and gave me a lick. Needless to say, I melted like an ice-cream cone in hell.
I would wholeheartedly recommend a puppy being part of your life. The joy of coming home to someone who looks forward to seeing you as much as a dog does is indescribable. The simple moments spent together playing with him bring sunch peace and contentment to me. I could spend a whole day at home just watching Axel, and I would consider the day well spent. There is of course the mixed feeling of fear/concern/pride/jealousy/joy whenever he does anything. But Axel has made my life so much richer.
Apeksha told me once that every puppy has one master. I completely agree with her, for I doubt I could be this happy with any other puppy. I would however edit her statement to read, every person has one dog. For Axel is my friend, and his love is unconditional. I'm not his master, and he's certainly so much more than just a dog to me.
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