Hush, I & that which went between us those days - Part 1

 

This is the first part of a three part story. The link to second part is given at the end of the story.

 

CHAPTER 1: The Prelude

So, the shocking news spread like current around the entire apartment complex - one of the residents had been tested positive for COVID. Mumbai was in its 6^th day of lockdown, sporadic cases were just about mushrooming and while everyone knew eventually the cases will come closer home, such soonness was something that we weren't prepared for. Only 450 cases in a city of over 200 million and one of the them was now in our complex! The shock was even greater in my building as the gentleman lived here, mere one floor below mine. The knowledge that the disease was largely not fatal to the youth made no dent on the creeping fear that the virus which plagued 140 nations, killing thousands, was now at my doorstep.  I could feel the tell tale signs of the news crawling through my body – a dis-ease in the stomach, tightness of breath and a mild discomfort all across.

The phone started buzzing incessantly with WhatsApp notifications as everyone in the complex messaged on the “Residents Group” – each one requesting everyone to stay calm, stay indoors and not pass any rumours at this sensitive moment. Till a day before, the greatest battle was to keep people from gathering in the garden below for their evening walks, suddenly that was no longer an issue. No more did kids need their daily evening playtime, adults their walks or gym freaks their outdoor workout routine .

Hush could read the worry on my face but probably not the fact that my greatest worry was for him. Since the lockdown, it had been an uphill task for me keep his walks going in the face of immense resistance from other members of the society. After all the Prime Minister had advised “ghar ki lakshmanrekha paar naa karein” (“don’t cross the threshold of your house”). A couple of days ago, we had almost come to blows, when in the middle of a disagreement one of the society members informed the guards to not let people out except to receive their groceries. When the guard tried to stop me from taking Hush down, I was mutinous – eventually I got my way, like always.

This new development was bound to mean tighter regulations on movement – and clearly pets were the bottom of anyone’s priorities. The discussion on the whatsapp group was already live and kicking with people offering all sorts of suggestions on strict containment. Eventually the society chairperson stemmed all creativity, “We have the police and the BMC at the site now. They will set the rules of the quarantine and we shall abide by them. So please refrain from any further conversation on this topic”

I decided to take Hush down for his mid day walk an hour earlier than usual. Situation was evolving so fast, it made sense to act right away - it could mean one extra walk. As I got out of the elevator, the same lobby felt different somehow. The gloom hung in the air and there felt an ominous silence that I immediately wanted to escape. Out in the mild afternoon sun, however, Hush's golden coat shone replacing the gloom with happy joyful brightness - his usual bouncy playful golden retriever nature added to the charm. He scampered around the pavement, his ears bobbing up and down in sync with his jaunty walk, his hair and tail swaying in the pleasant afternoon breeze – a little pee here, a little poop there, a sniff of the plants and a short chase of a squirrel that was quick to climb up a nearby tree. A short walk later, I ferried him back to the lobby where the guard informed me that the lobby doors would be sealed and no one would be allowed out of the building. We were being put under strict quarantine as the entire building was a potential health hazard according to the BMC. It wasn’t wholly unexpected and my query “But what do we do about our dogs?” was met with a clueless expression. I dropped in a message to our society president as I stepped into the elevator – no sooner did I step out on to my floor that her response dinged in, “Sorry Ankush there is nothing we can do. We have been strictly informed that no one can step out of the building for the next 14 days”.

“But surely people will come down and get their groceries, medicines and other essential items? Walking a dog is an essential activity too”.

“You will have to figure something inside your house. We cannot make any exceptions. Maybe ask other dog owners how they are managing, you are not alone”, came the response as swiftly as before.

For her, the conversation was over. For me, I was struggling to figure ways to get across the urgency and ridiculousness of the matter. Who would understand that walking a dog is not merely a source of entertainment or exercise for a dog, its fundamental to them relieving themselves. Being a pet parent, this was not my first confrontation with an unreasonable rule. In a country where strays are a common sight, the concept of pet parenting and empathy towards pet needs is abysmally low. So far I had gotten away by simply not abiding with any rules I felt were unreasonable, but this time around I knew I may not be able to do so. If the police were to seal the doors of the building, exit would be impossible. As I sat contemplating the next course of action, my phone pinged with a message from an unknown number “Ankush, Devi raised your issue in the committee meeting, just give us some time. We will figure something about pet walks. I have a dog myself and she wont pee inside the house either. We have a meeting with the police later tonight. I will discuss with them and try and find a resolution.” I heaved a sigh of relief. This was Javed - another committee member, and thankfully a pet parent himself. I thanked him and waited patiently to hear back from him - Hush and I had time, the next walk was not for another 6 hours.

As hours slipped by, Hush and I waited patiently to hear back from him. At ten, Hush ambled across the living room towards the main door of the house, pressed his body against it and sat down – the sign was clear, it was time for his walk.

An hour passed by, Hush had dozed off but I was beginning to lose patience, just when the screen flashed with a notification, a message on the residents whatsapp group – “an agreement with the police has been arrived – residents may step out of the building to the main gate to receive groceries and other essential items that they order for. No one steps out of the building for any other reason – exercise, walk or anything.”

There was no reference to pets, I freaked out.

Ping comes another notification, a personal message from Javed “hey I spoke to one of the police officers and its ok for residents to step down for walking their dogs so long as they do it one at a time and nowhere beyond the parking lot”. I virtually hugged the phone, got the harness and took a very groggy golden down for his walk.

Little was I to know what the coming days were going to unfold for the two of us…

CHAPTER 2 : The Build Up

The next morning overcome by gratitude for Javed, I messaged him offering some freshly baked brownies. The day started off well as I walked Hush in an eerily quiet parking lot – the whole place bore a deserted look, as did the entire city. The usual blaring of horns and chatter of people and cars replaced with crawing of crows or an isolated mynaah somewhere. It is amazing how a sight can both spook as well as charm you – the quietness & the vacancy of the surroundings was both, haunting and lovely.

As I got back to my flat, prepared my morning cup of coffee and logged in for my first work call, the intercom rang. The ringing sound startled me more than it had ever before. Since the lockdown, we had stopped allowing any visitors into the complex, the intercom had not rung for over a week now, I had almost forgotten it even existed.

“Hello”

“Saab, I am the guard calling from the lobby. Do you have Malini’s number?”

“Ya sure. But why?”

“Saab, she used to work at Mr Srinivas’ house and had been working at their house even after they came back from Spain. Now that Mr Srinivas is sick the BMC guys want to have her tested too, in case she is positive like him. We don't have her number, but I know Malini comes to your place for household work too"
 

As I got off the intercom, I was relieved to calculate that it had been 12 days since Malini had last come to my apartment. I had had no symptoms so hopefully there was nothing to worry about. I tried reaching out to her but her number came busy so I put the whole thing behind me. A thought however gnawed at me, the gentleman who had been tested positive had claimed to be in self isolation, then how come he let his maid in? I guess that's the irony of a nation full of people like us,  so used to receiving every convenient service at our homes that we are now completely unwilling to take charge of our own household responsibilities even at the peril of the lives of maids and others around us. Only a week ago, I had written in my blog " COVID - Our Crucible Moment" that this crisis will truly bring us face to face with who we are and what really matters to us. My hunch is that the only thing about this crisis that many of us would remember is the lack of household help.

It was 2 PM and I was whipping up a quick lunch for myself when the intercom went off again.

“Hi Ankush. This is Devi from the society committee. The BMC has just completed contact tracing from Mr Srinivas. It appears that after they returned from Spain, their maids continued to come to work for a few days. One of those maids works at your place too so unfortunately now you will have to stay in strict quarantine. You can not step out of your home for the next 14 days.”

I was totally taken aback. “Devi, I understand that I need to isolate myself. But why for 14 days? My maid has not been coming to work for over 12 days now. You know that no maids have been allowed inside the building since the junta curfew. Also I must step out to walk Hush!”

“I am sorry Ankush. This is not for me to decide or discuss. The decision is BMC’s. I cannot help. But please do not violate these norms – this is really serious.” While the tone was tense I could sense that it was meant for my own good, my usual belligerence could cause my own fall in this situation. “You are lucky that you are being placed in home quarantine. They could even be recommending putting you in a quarantine facility. Please don’t give them a reason to reconsider their decision”, she added in good measure.
A "house arrest", as miserable as it sounds, is not too tough to manage when you have a well stocked up kitchen, however what do you do when you have a dog in the house? As recommended by Devi, I thought of seeking advise from other residents. The most common advise that I received on our resident group, was to not worry – a dog will eventually relieve himself inside the house, when he is absolutely not able to hold in. This advise was beyond bewildering for me, as I am sure it would be to any caring pet parent. A dog would go through many stages of grief and self torture before betraying the training he has received as a pup - to never relieve himself inside his house. Such is the nature of a dog. As a pet parent, to just watch the plight of a trusting, loyal, devoted, playful dog whose happiness centres around yours, as he goes through this phase was beyond impossible for me to comprehend. 

I ate my lunch in silence and started putting together a plan of action – a busy mind worries less. I started by reminding myself, that as a pup, Hush did relieve himself inside the house. If I could teach him to relieve himself outside the house, surely there would be a way to teach him to relieve inside the house?! Apparently the age old adage “you cannot teach old dog new tricks” is not all that true. according to Cesar Millan, dogs are very adept at learning at any age. This gave me confidence. However the amount of content on this subject did not. There was absolutely no content on the internet, on “how to train your dog to poop inside the house”. Even the google autocomplete would offer all kinds of suggestions but not the one I was looking for.

How to train your dog to poop?

How to train your dog to poop in a toilet?

How to train your dog to poop outside the house?

How to train your dog to poop at a fixed spot?

How to train your dog to poop in the backyard?

….

Finally I stumbled on one article “Dogs in quarantine” – and that became my starting point. It offered me two practical suggestions –

1. To mimic the process of a dog walk inside the house – basically put your dog in his harness, carry your phone and keys etc – and then walk the dog around in the house just like a walk outdoors,  eventually taking him to the spot where you wish for him to relieve himself. Keep repeating this drill, until your dog figures out and relieves himself.

2. Stay calm - Dogs tend to pick up their master’s anxiety and that makes them anxious too and an anxious dog is even less likely to relieve himself.

I will cut to the chase and tell you that only one of these two advises worked in my case. Any guesses which one it was?

As I continued to mimic Hush’s walks, twice, thrice, ten…and over the next few days, countless times, it was to no avail. The poor boy diligently walked with me but every time we would pass the main door, he would pause and tug towards it, expecting to be taken out. Not once did he relieve himself at the designated or any other place in the house. Eighteen hours flew by....but no relief came across. By this time, Hush looked distinctly uncomfortable, and I, felt vividly so too. The story continues on the link below : https://cosmicliaison.blogspot.com/2020/04/hush-i-that-which-went-between-us-those_63.html