When I was growing up, we had 10 dogs in my mother's house. She has always enjoyed gardening and equally loved animals too. In fact, there were birds, goats, cows, dogs, turkeys and rabbits at home.
Maybe it was by watching her that I grew fond of animals too. So my husband and I, on his birthday, went to Banaswadi and bought Gucci, a Golden Retriever, who was just three months old then.
He was the cutest puppy. Usually, people get scared when a dog comes to them, but Gucci was so charming that he'll make sure that the person becomes friends with him by the time they leave. So the next time they visit, they'll come to meet Gucci and not us.
When it comes to food, he loves yelakki bananas. He wouldn't have any other variety of it.
Whenever Gucci is sick, my husband, Mohan, will stay awake the whole night and take care of him. Gucci's daily routine involves walks. When he comes back, Mohan will wash his paws and brush his fur.
He makes us happy every minute of the day. He has his mood swings and we go along with it. He decides what he wants to do and when he wants to do them. We pretty much don't have a say in it.
There's a lot one can learn from this breed. They are extremely loving and affectionate.
When we first brought him home, I wanted to train and discipline him. but over time, I realised that they have certain characteristics that we can learn from. Thanks to him, we are learning to give unconditional love, be large-hearted and being choosy with our food!
Here's an interesting fact about Gucci: He was born on November 2, in Karnataka and understands only Kannada and a bit of English. He's definitely the best thing that's happened to us.