Kind Lady: I’m afraid she’ll be lethargic up to 36 hours after those shots. So don’t be alarmed if she sleeps a lot.
Me: yessssssssss …I mean I will make sure she gets adequate rest.
Me (speech bubble): hmm can i bring her for a shot every 36 hours.
Vet: Make sure she has access to plenty of fresh water and keep her away from other dogs, and indoors.
Me (speech bubble) doc she is a peeing machine without full access to water. Hell, indoors you say? you want me to unleash this lil fuzzy bulldozer 24/7?
Me: Of course I won’t, don’t want the dear little thing catching any bugs. Thanks Doctor.
Me (speech bubble): believe me, no bug – microscopic or not - has a chance, she will chew it before the poor thing knows what hit it
Ateş – biting my hands raw – time to party!
Update: Needless to say my lil monster was frantic with energy for the whole 36 hours.
“It becomes very obvious, by reading a dog, how stable or unstable his human companion is. Our dogs are our mirrors.”
― Cesar Millan, Be the Pack Leader: Use CESAR'S WAY to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life
Happiness …. gosh I cannot believe I am actually starting out with such a cliché’, lame and so … well unreal (don’t believe me, just ask Jordan Peterson, by the way I think he is super uber duper hot) phrase, but anyway, happiness though monotonous these days is in the eye of the beholder. And to me any form of happiness or joy or whatever needs, must, should include at least one big, hairy, dark, aggressive, and FANG-full creature everyone calls dog. No, I am not going to go on and on about how dogs are better than humans, it’s like comparing apples to light bulbs, there is no basis for comparison whatsoever, what I mean to say is that something deep deep inside my being adores those hairy creatures (I’m using hairy quite a lot ain’t i?) and finds absolute joy in their companionship.
I wish I was Tarazan (only a she Tarz). I don’t know what’s it with me but ever since I was a kid – i was for a few months maybe – I always yearned to live amongst wild creatures, I still do by the way (when people binge on Netflix I binge on wild life documentaries). Dogs are kinda the closest I can get, because no matter how much we try to domesticate and tame, dogs will always retain their wild nature. My last dog Max was a dog/ wolf hybrid (wolves are my favorite animals) and what I loved most about him – and what everyone feared – was that I was never able to really tame him, he was wolf through and through and I was able to experience that with him.
On the scale of what people consider a “good dog”, Max was a nightmare; too aggressive, too stubborn, too independent yet crazy loyal, protective and affectionate (in his own way). He was my best companion for 13 years. I had a connection with him like no other – humans included - and his death (he died peacefully of old age) hit me hard and deep that even 5 months later I still cannot look at his photos.
After Max (Maximus, aka the gladiator) died the decision was no more dogs. The passing away of Sasha, my 11 years long (not nearly enough) companion, who travelled across the globe with me, then Zizi (an old dog I rescued who managed to live a few good years with me) and lately Max were enough to throw me off the dog wagon forever. But I knew that my decision was bollocks, I just didn’t know how full of it I was until 2 months later when I moved to Istanbul, or what I like to call the land of cats and dogs.
It’s always raining cats and dogs in Istanbul – LITERALLY!
Before I got here I knew exactly where I wanted to live, eat, have my coffee, buy my groceries ..etc. Ok most of that changed as I came to know the area but you know what I mean. Just as I fell hopelessly and pathetically in love with this splendid city first time I laid one jetlagged eye on it, I fell in love with Cihangir the day my 38.5 sometimes 39.5 cm (which confuses the hell out of me) foot hit its first cobbled street.
And to those who know, if there was ever a neighborhood on planet humans entirely owned and run by street animals, well it’s Cihangir. I mean dogs – let’s forget cats for now – are EVERYWHERE, free roaming, on-leash, inside café’s, buildings, restaurants …etc and that folks blew “my decision” with the wind.
So now the decision wasn’t whether to or not to, but whether to adopt (I’ve always either adopted or rescued off the streets, there were times I had 4 dogs in my house) or to get one from a reputable breeder (reason was I’ve always wanted a Rottweiler).
Of course, I knew the answer to that, so I started asking around, contacting shelters, posting on animal rescue group, checking Sahibindan …etc. The best reply I would get was to fill a long painstaking form with precise details about my life short of what time of the month my period starts. I got ignored and politely rejected, I’m not sure what was up with that but I suspect it’s the fact that I was a Yabancı[1]. I wouldn’t blame them as foreigners seem to adopt then drop once they leave the country.
“I’m like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught one, you know, I just do…things.”― The Jocker
During that relentless search my whole life was in caos, i just moved to a building/flat that was still under construction (2 months later it still is), outside was the worst snow storm Istanbul has seen in half a decade, inside there was no heating, water was freezing cold, no gas to cook, NOTHING. I set camp in one room … ya know hanging out with my laptop between the mattress and the wall, looking for a PUPP (I have no shame whatsoever). A full-mouthed fur ball that pees everywhere, needs attention, and a whole lot of play and training. I don’t wanna make any parents angry – I know how much you guys suffer - but it’s a bit like having a kid, but lucky for me my “kid” grows in lightning speed.
So, was I ready for that huge responsibility/ life decision/ move? Absolutely NOT!
What about good timing? what about it?
“Kismet”[2] …. that’s what she said:
Working my AO one freezing morning (I had a strict deadline) I received a message from an anonymous account - I assumed woman - who saw my “please please I need a dog” ad. Those were her words.
“If you want a puppy I got one, meet me in an Hour at the door of Trump Tower”
Lady …. where did you go? what’s your name, how may I contact/know you? by the way, if you are gonna kidnap me for ransom, no one will know/care.
Because I am the sort to always think before speaking/acting I gathered my stuff – what deadline- and ran to the metro station. Again, me being, well me, I didn’t google or ask where the hell this tower was, but that seemed of no importance at the moment.
She’s 2 minutes late I mutter impatiently to myself, and why the hell is everyone wearing a mask?
5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes then a plain roundish woman approaches me and says “dog” - I am not making this up - but here’s where things get even more laughable, I answered with the eagerness of a girl asked last to the prom. YES!
She said: follow me. I did.
To be continued …