A quick chat with Louie, our pet dog, on this quarantine life

In an exclusive, Louie, my aunt’s five year old pet dog, spoke up on behalf of all pets on having to spend extra time with their human families during this quarantine life. They don’t seem too pleased.  

(As told to Nishanth S Coontoor)

The humans I stay with have a routine. There are four of them. Two smaller humans can keep up with me on my runs chasing the brown little things with large hairy tails (squirrels) that move fast. The other two only want to take short walks to see other black things with long necks floating on water (ducks) that make weird noises when I try to talk to them.

Every day, we wake up when I hear sounds from outside and see colorful things flying (birds) around. We then go for a short walk to the green land (garden). When we get back, I have observed the humans go up and down the house, from one room to the other and finally go away for a long time. Initially, I found this odd. We always go outside through the same hole in the wall (main door), but it was always different when I was not going out with them. They did not immediately come back to talk to Louie.

At this point, my home gets very quiet. I go from one bed to the other and ask if someone is around. When no one talks back to me, I know my home is safe. I go to the bright room and take a nap. I have lunch at noon. I take a nap again till my evening walk. Don’t get me wrong, I am always also alert and guarding!

But something has changed. Even after waking up three consecutive times (weekend), they did not leave Louie alone. Initially, I was thrilled, to be honest. I could not stop wagging my tail all day long. I got extra treats every morning and now in the afternoon as well. Hurlikayi, (Green beans) the tastiest of all treats! We also went for extra walks which were more chances for me to be friends with the brown little things with large hairy tails that move fast.

I am slowly beginning to lose it though. I don’t want to constantly wag my tail anymore. I miss my alone time and naps. I miss saying hello to my friends who walk by my house to visit during the day with their humans. I need a haircut. I have so much hair that I am beginning to look fat. What will my girlfriend think when meet up in the park? She is always so proper and smells nice. I really need a wash and professional shampooing please! I won’t agree to take a bath at home or outside in the open for everyone to see!

The humans don’t want to play anymore with Louie but they want to keep going on walks every time I want to sleep. The moment I try to get some peace and quiet, they say ‘Louie!’ and want to go out in the hot.  

I also noticed they look at other humans who magically show up on flat, black things (laptops) and make sounds at them all day long. Sometimes they are smiling but other times they are tensed. When they start to get sad, I must go and sit next to them so they will relax. They don’t seem to know how to handle the situation. It is again up to me to keep them sane and happy. They are work. Sigh. But I still love them.  

I’ll try to keep this going for as long as possible or until the treats run out – whichever is earlier.

“Louie!”

There we go again.