A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s, and this is proven in the case of Pixie. She came as my daughter Kiara’s birthday gift but she’s most attached to me,” laughs Babli Guha.
Pixie stays in Shukhobrishti Housing Complex in Action Area III of New Town with Babli and her family. This cute Lhasa Apso is now happy, active and fit as ever, but this was hardly the case when they got her. “When we went to the breeder’s place in Tollygunge, she was around 40-45 days old and looked weak. She settled in our car and took a nap there, so maybe she felt safe with us — safe enough to take a nap. So, we got her home.”
However, they were not ready for what was coming ahead. “After two days of getting Pixie, one night she puked in her sleep. It was a warning for us that maybe she was not well,” said Babli, drawing the canine into a hug.
The next day they took her to a local vet and Pixie was diagnosed with canine parvovirus or CPV. It is a highly contagious viral disease of dogs that commonly causes acute gastrointestinal illness in puppies.
“For the next five or six days, the ambulance became my home. We took her to every vet in New Town. But Pixie's condition was not stable,” recalled Babli.
They finally learnt about a vet in the Dum Dum Cantonment area.
“He gave an injection to treat Pixie, and said either she was going to survive after that or die. But we had to take the risk as she had a slender chance of survival anyway.”
But Pixie not only survived but she also became fit and active within a month. “Now she’s a healthy one-year-old baby,” smiles Babli.
Pixie is now the most pampered member of the Guha family and keeps everyone entertained with her mischievous acts.
One example of such mischief is “the biscuit heist”, says Babli.
“If we give her biscuits she won’t eat them, we have to hide them in a corner of the kitchen and she likes to steal the biscuit when no one’s watching. One day my daughter Kiara (a student of Class VII, St Augustine’s Day School) secretly caught this act on camera,” laughs Babli.
Babli is passionate about participating in beauty pageants and so she also likes to dress up Pixie and do twinned appearances with her. Babli likes to brush Pixie’s coat, dress her up in colourful outfits and put matching hair clips on her head. Pixie also enjoys the process and loves to look all fancy and decked up.
Babli thinks Pixie is lucky for her. “Lhasa Apsos are blessings of God I believe, and how she survived was a miracle.” Her heart sinks whenever she remembers the condition of baby Pixie.