I am Ziki… Ziki Ghatak… a Pekingese

I was born on 10th December 2004 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. I flew down from Tashkent by an importer to Delhi and moved to a kennel. On 15th January 2005, while I was playing with my pup mates in the kennel, I saw my dad (Ajit) for the first time. He talked to the kennel keeper and wanted to take me to his home in Kolkata. Next day I flew with my dad to Kolkata on an Indian Airlines flight.
The airline uncles and aunties initially did not allow me to accompany my dad in the flight cabin. They wanted me to be in a cage put along with luggage. My dad convinced them to let me travel along with him in the cabin as I was very small. I remember my dad telling the authorities that if I am not allowed along with him in the cabin in a basket, he will not take the flight and travel by train. My dad was protective about me, I felt very happy and secure as I knew that I was heading to my real home…
On reaching my home in Kolkata from the airport, I was handed over in a basket to my sister (Riji) saying it was a basket of fruits… surprise! When she opened the lid, she saw me and jumped with joy and disbelief as if it were the best moment in her life. Hearing her scream my mom (Babi) rushed out from the kitchen and it was love at first sight. From that day till today I have a complete family.
More about me? I am five kg in weight. They call me a toy dog, but now I am a senior dog. My doctor’s name is Dr Gautam Mukherjee, I love him for everything except for my annual injections. He almost saved my life when I was badly ill as an infant. My groomer uncle’s name is Arup. He comes home to give me a bath, along with my dad. My best friend is my driver uncle Manik. I go mad seeing him every morning. He loves me like his own child. I love my toys… especially the squeaky ones, which I have around 50 of them in three different open trays for me to pick and choose whatever I want.
I love going for a drive which I do almost everyday. I look at my friends in the streets and hope they also get adopted by some loving family someday. I love travelling and I am allowed only in 1st class AC compartments. I have been to Mumbai, Delhi, Puri, Darjeeling, Sunderbans, Shantiniketan on holidays. I can’t stay without AC as I am from a cold country. I can understand Bengali fully and little English. Thank god, humans speak a lot. My dad’s one liner wish to the Genie is—“Wish my dog could speak.”
Yes, I am a fussy eater! I like chicken, fish and mutton liver, eggs and ice-cream, but I don’t like milk. I have a large house to live in… plays around in the garden… even on my grandma’s terrace… I love running around with the pigeons. I don’t know how to bite somebody. I love being with the guests when they come to our house. I’m sad that all hotels and restaurants don’t allow me in. My dad and mom never leave me alone, even for a minute. We go only to hotels/restaurants, wherever I am allowed. I love sleeping on the floor in summer and have a four choice beds in the winter. I love sleep with my mom and dad.
A typical day in my life? Well, I start my day getting up late, having Jagannathji’s prasad, I do my stretching and then going for a walk in the morning with my dad. When I come home, I spend time playing around with my mom. I have lunch around 1pm when I am not hungry and most of the afternoon I tag along with my mom to my grandmother’s place where I have my own bed and toys. I come back home from there in the evening and wait for my dad to come back from office and take me for a walk.
After a walk, I relax on a table outside in the open near our garden. I have dinner around 7pm when I am really hungry. Then most of the days my dad takes the whole family out for a drive, which I love the most. Coming back home, it is playtime with my sister and around 9:30pm, my dad does the daily brushing on me for 20-30 min which I love as I feel very light after that. I doze off around 10pm after kissing my dad.