A forever bond of friendship
Vaishnavi Srivastava shares how she & her four-pawed bro Tyson have faced life’s many challenges together …
When I was 15, Tyson was one Labrador with eyes as intoxicating as one could imagine. I used to spend my time with him by bottle feeding him the milk, followed by him sleeping and me caring. As Tyson grew, and reached the age of three, he became more and more notorious with each passing day. One day as I was feeding him, the young lad bit me. As this was an unusual experience, out of anger he received a beating from me which not only hurt him but also left me depressed and sad. As Tyson grew older, our priorities changed for good, but our affection for each other never changed. Tyson was petrified of crackers and always found his ears covered by his oldest friend-me. Often, during Diwali times, you could find him hidden into my room- his head dug under the covers. It was literally a sight to behold.
Lara, a street cat who we named so, was his greatest rival. You could see him at his fiercest around him. With Tyson around, Lara didn’t dare to roam about in the house. But even Lara became notorious with each passing day and would come to tease him when he was tied. They were especially at loggerheads when it came to licking off the food from the bowl. Alas! There came a day when Lara got injured by crackers some kids threw at her so we rescued her and took care of her till she became well again. Surprisingly, Tyson’s attitude towards Lara changed after that. I swear I even saw them share some milk one day. Tyson wouldn’t bark at her like he used to do. Unfortunately, this friendship couldn’t last longer as Lara passed away in an accident as she was run over by a vehicle. Tyson became irritable after that. Yearning for his friend was visible on his face. What was more heart breaking to see that he wouldn’t touch his milk bowl.
It was then we decided that Tyson was in need of a new company. The new lad was named Tera, a golden retriever, mostly taken care by the other family members as I preferred to spend time with Tyson. The new entrant could have made him feel lonely and insecure and I didn’t want that to happen—not even by a slightest thought! So, I devoted extra care and time to him. Slowly and gradually, Tyson adjusted with Tera as well and now their friendship is evident to anyone with a keen eye. But dare I say that Tera has not taken the place of Lara for he doesn’t share his milk bowl with her! Now Tyson is 8 and I am 23 and our bond grows stronger and better with each passing moment...
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