Firefly

Falguni Thareja
4 min readAug 24, 2020

I have heard and read so many people talk about parenting. What to do, what not to do, and everything in the middle. Does the same apply for pets? Or is it another ball-game altogether??

We recently got a puppy. He is almost 2 months old, so obviously is extremely tiny and adorable. Since the very day, that we decided we are going to bring a pupper into our home, I feel like I had stepped into the shoes of a parent. Now, I am not saying that this is what happens when you have a baby or anything. This is just what I assume having a baby of your own would feel like.

I spent a number of sleepless nights reading up any random question that popped up into my head about caring for a puppy. Did you know that dogs can only see three colours? Weird, right? So even before we brought the little one home, I had already drowned myself into a sea of anxiety. Will I do a good job? He would not be uncomfortable because of me, right? What about the street dogs barking in the middle of the night? Anything and everything regarding a pet and their care went on in my head in the wee hours of the night.

But once I held him in my arms the first time, weirdly enough the nervous anxiety I had been feeling and had been going through, just vanished. I was not as scared of hurting him as I had been before. For some reason, I knew that we would be okay. That we would care for him just like he should be cared for, and that I did not have anything to worry about in the first place. Is this not exactly what a new parent says? Well, I wouldn’t know for sure.

That confidence lasted all but a few hours though. My whole “I can do it” attitude was dented a little the first night in. Waking up every hour and a half to have him pee and then clean it up was tiring, to say the least. The next morning I felt so drained because not only was I sleepy from not having slept all night but was also exhausted from having to clean up after him and then play with him after his toilet breaks till he tired out and fell back asleep.

Though it has gotten way better over the days that we have had him, I would not deny that I really questioned our decision to get a puppy those first couple of days, rather nights. But the time spent with him in turn made me feel so happy that I knew I would never be able to give him up. We have not had a kid in the house for nearly 18 years now — not since my brother was a toddler, and so having him home is a new feeling for us all.

He is very fascinating. Even my grandparents, who were not entirely on board with the idea of us having a pet, stop by my room every couple hours to check upon him. They find it interesting that he behaves just like a new-born human baby with respect to eating and sleeping his days away while having the rest of the adults do his bidding.

That being said, he has brought in a lot of positivity for us, or at least for me. He is a child. He is innocent. And that is exactly what I love about him. From his tongue sticking out while he sleeps, to him just sprawling anywhere on my bedroom floor. All that he does makes me look at him with heart eyes. He has gotten so much more active and naughtier than when he first arrived, but it is a pure pleasure to see him grow and have fun galloping around the house.

Since he has been introduced in our home and hearts, our days are spent around him for the most part. He keeps us on a schedule and keeps us going through the day. He has brought in a lot of pure happiness in our home and is just as we have named him, a firefly spreading light and joy in our lives. He is our Jugnoo, and I cannot wait to see how we all grow together and what all memories we make along the way.

By: The Lazy Soul

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Falguni Thareja

A 25-year-old girl trying to navigate life between all the lazy spells.!