When we asked Rajiv Madidi, human of a beautiful, rescued dog Giggles to share a message for our readers, he said, “I’ve not one but four messages to share. The foremost one will have to be please adopt don’t shop. When my wife and I felt ready to bring a dog home we were specifically looking for a Corgi, thinking it would be perfect for apartment living – not too big nor too small. So, we started looking for Corgis, breeders and almost got scammed.”
“The more we researched about getting dogs, the more realised the situation of dogs in shelters here. We’ve a friend who is a volunteer at an Umm Al Quwain shelter and adopted a dog. He explained to us how dogs end up at the shelters. I still remember my wife looked at me and said ‘do we really want to buy a dog for AED10-15k while there are so many dogs at the shelter? The love they give is going to be the same. Then why buy?’ And that’s when we decided to adopt.”
Read other #RescueTailz here
Rajiv’s second message is an equally important one. “Please pick up after your dog! I can’t stress this enough. Not picking up your dog’s poop is extremely harmful for other dogs. Giggles contracted Giardia twice in a span of six months. Faeces left out for long are infested with harmful bacteria causing dogs to fall ill if in contact.”
“Goes without saying, my third message is love your dog. Give them all the love and attention they need and spend time with them. You are all they have. And the fourth will be one dog isn’t enough two should be good.” 😉
Please adopt don’t shop
Over to your story now, how did you meet Giggles?
Rajiv: When my wife and I decided to adopt a dog, we had approached Animals and Us, Fujairah as they had over 400 dogs looking for forever homes. We were interviewed after which they shared pictures of dogs. My wife and I’d already decided that we’d bring home the first dog we saw as we were adopting and not shopping. Luckily, they had sent photos of only one dog. And that dog happened to be Giggles. We went, met her and the first thing she did was pee. That’s how we met Giggles.
How has your life changed since adopting Giggles?
Rajiv: I’m not a morning person. But we had done a lot of reading and research and found out that routine is extremely important for dogs. So, her routine was to wake up at 5am. When we brought her home, we started waking up or rather she woke us up at 5am. Then we went to the park for a walk for about an hour. One day, there was no one at the park and I removed her lead to have her zoomies. The way she zoomed, happily running around, and frolicking away, I was overwhelmed. That day I made up my mind to wake up early in the morning to take her to the park so she can run. Since then, I’ve been waking up early. We take her for walks three times a day.
What are some of your favourite things to do with Giggles?
Rajiv: Oh, I absolutely love playing hide and seek and tug of war with Giggles. When she starts panting with all the running around, I give her belly rubs. The way she stretches when I rub her belly is incredibly cute. If I stop, she nudges me to not stop. She is very funny.
What are some of her goofiest traits?
Rajiv: Well, Giggles is an amazing watch dog, but a miserable guard dog. Every time someone rings the bell, she stands near the furthest corner of the room and starts barking. And if she doesn’t know the person, she runs to the balcony and barks from there.
On days you feel blah how does Giggles inspire you to still get up?
Rajiv: She knows our routine and occasionally if things get delayed, she is extremely tolerant and doesn’t make a sound. Just to think of her having to go pee/poop only three times a day while we have access to go to the washroom all day, makes me not want to feel blah any day. Even when she’s ill and needs to go down, all she does is sit awkwardly in front of the main door. That’s my cue to hurry up.
One big lesson that Giggles has taught you.
Rajiv: Giggles has taught me not to have any ego and be tolerant. There are days where she gets aggressive with other dogs, and I put her back on the lead and bring her home. She knows it upsets me and I keep asking her ‘why did you fight’. And every time she puts her paws on my hand and looks me in the eye. Perhaps her way of saying sorry. Sometimes when I say it’s not okay if you do this every time, she goes away and comes back to me after some time. Again, places her paws on my hand. And I think – how can I possibly stay angry with her?
While having a dog in life is truly incredible, its a huge responsibility too. Please share some thoughts especially for humans considering fostering/adopting a dog.
Rajiv: It’s a huge responsibility as dogs become part of the family very quickly. We always think about them and their needs. It’s like having a child who doesn’t grow up for the next 10-15 years. All they need is love and attention. They could easily do with no toy or treat. But if they don’t get attention, it makes them sad and depressed. The more time you spend with them, the more they listen to you and that in turn makes them obedient. Also, from our experience we can tell it can take about three-four months for a dog to trust you. The timespan of course varies. But the initial three-four months are very crucial for you getting used to them and them getting used to you.
