“A friend in need is a friend indeed.” This timeless saying can be interpreted to mean that someone who is your friend in a time of need is indeed your friend. Some friends are only around for the good times, but they are nowhere to be found when you need a favor. I have a few of those friends. The key is to understand what kind of expectations you can have from each friend, that way you will never get upset. Friends indeed  are the first to come to your side and even ask if they can do anything for you and they are true treasures. Recently, one of my friends indeed became a friend in need.
Last week, my friend Joe went on a vacation to the Dominican Republic. He went with his entire family for his father’s 70th birthday. All of the members of his household flew to their beautiful house in Puerto Plata, all except for Caesar- Joe’s dog. My friend has had this dog for about 7 months and I’m truly convinced that he bought this dog just to please me. My favorite type of dogs is pugs and Joe picked out the cutest pug for himself. Perhaps he did this because he really loves the breed also, or because he knows I love them but can’t have a dog in my own house. Either way, I instantly fell in love with his adorable puppy. And since I loved this puppy so much and even joked about being his Godmother, I was the first person Joe asked to take care of Caesar while he was away. I am also his closest friend in the literal sense- I live only 15 minutes away from his house.

First, I should say that I have never taken care of anything. I have never had a pet, unless you count my Tamagotchi that I had in 6th grade (That’s a reference only a ’90s child will understand!).  Even a babysitting job is something that never crossed my path. Basically, I have evaded sole responsibility for another living thing for the past 24.5 years! I was approaching the unknown with great anticipation. I was extremely excited about taking care of Caesar for one week. Each time I visited Joe’s house, Caesar runs up to me and we play for hours,  so I thought this would be a piece of cake. I didn’t know that I would learn so much in one week.

Day 1

I dropped Joe off at the airport at 6 A.M. and returned to his house to feed Caesar and let him into the backyard to go to the bathroom. Easy! The dog ate his breakfast with gusto and enjoyed a hearty “bathroom” experience. I left him to the business of chewing on a rubber bone and walked to my car. Exactly at the time I reached my car, I stopped in horror. I realized that I left Joe’s house keys on his coffee table. Oddly enough, I remembered to lock every window and door and even remembered to turn off the coffee machine, but I forgot the keys. Instant panic! How will I get back in? The dog will starve to death if I don’t get in! Poor Caesar was locked in. Complete and utter panic, I tell you. The first thing I do in any horrible situation, and I’m sure you do this also: call Mom and Dad.

Of course, neither Mom nor Dad is a locksmith. They had no idea how I was going to get into the house. Even if I called a locksmith, which Dad said would probably cost me at least $100, I couldn’t be sure that I would be granted entry. After all, it wasn’t my house and how could I prove to the locksmith that I was the entrusted dogsitter? “A friend in need is a friend indeed” never proved truer than on this day.

I thought of my friend who is extremely crafty and street smart. He knows how to open locks by using a credit card. It was approximately 8 A.M. at this point. Now a good friend will actually answer your frantic call when they are peacefully slumbering, but a true friend will get out of bed and come out to help you! In the freezing cold air, my friend struggled to finesse the backdoor lock. Poor Caesar was barking like mad, probably thinking we were real criminals trying to break in. I was the lookout to make sure no neighbors were watching us and dialing the police. No luck. The door didn’t budge. I had brought a list of locksmiths’ phone numbers, but I somehow knew my friend indeed would not fail me. Our very last resort was to try the front door. Just as I began to formulate the thought that we were in plain sight for the neighbors, the door opened! It was such a relief to get back into the house, yet at the same I felt incredibly stupid to make a mistake like this. I was in charge of the dog and empty house for no more than 2 hours and I already faced a scary situation! Would this determine how the rest of my week would be?

Day 2
Caesar was very happy to see me return in the morning. He once again ate his breakfast and I applied a lube to his eyes to keep them from getting irritated. We played for a bit and walked around the house. Caesar followed my every step. There was however, one moment when I was standing in a room that he disappeared for a moment. I heard the jingling of his collar in the hallway and when I stepped out of the room, I saw the little something behind Caesar. Caesar was moving quickly towards the stairs. And a few feet behind him, a fresh bit of…bodily excretion, shall we say? Bad Caesar, very bad! A time out for you in your cage! A time out for the pup while I was compelled to clean up the mess. I realized this wouldn’t be as easy as I thought.

Having a dog is very much like having a child, as I would soon find out. They, like babies, must be “trained” on where/how to go to the bathroom. In this case, I know that Caesar was trained, but I think he was either uncomfortable with me or he was testing me. Both of these emotions are also ones that small children experience!

Day 3
Caesar gave me a bit of trouble about eating his food. The dry kibble is of course foul-smelling and not the least bit appetizing to me, but for dogs it is supposedly first-class dining. I tried talking to Caesar. “Come on Caesar, eat your breakfast. Ooh! Yummy yummy! MMMmm, breakfast is yummy!” He tilted his head and looked at me with what I interpreted as curiosity. “Please Caesar, eat something!” I was so worried that he would starve to death if I didn’t get him to eat. It wasn’t until I personally took some of the kibble out of the bowl and hand-fed the dog that Caesar began to chow down. This was a moment quite reminiscent of my childhood when my parents had to cajole me to eat. “Just one more bite, Farrah. Be a good girl, finish your food.” Unfortunately, they have to try to convince me to do the opposite now!

Day 4
I have the potty training under control. But, now the problem is with me! I left Caesar alone in the house all day and forgot to turn on some lights. By the time I return, it will be dark and the poor dog will be all alone in the dark. This thought gnawed at me all day. The guilt of not remembering to leave a light on for the dog bothered me throughout every activity I did. This must be what parents go through, I thought. Not only do they have to worry about their kids being afraid of the dark, but if you have a problem with a child, it will not stop bothering you! You will be thinking about it nonstop. And how do single parents get along? I have had no help with taking care of this dog and it would be so helpful if I had another person watching him when I wasn’t around. Then Caesar would always be fed and there would be someone to let him out into the backyard and to play with him. Kudos to all the single parents that take care of their puppies on their own.

Day 5
Caesar has not once said thank you for anything I’ve done for him. I have given him treats, taken him outside to play, fed him out of my own hands, cleaned up his messes, worried over his health and well-being, and not once as he shown me any gratitude! Hmm…another parental sentiment.

Day 6
Everything went very well today, except for bedtime. Caesar sleeps in his cage and must be put to bed at 11 P.M. Tonight there was a bit of a fight about his bedtime, but I stood firm and did not let him stay up any later. When he saw me walking towards his cage, he decided to make a game called “It’ll Be Bedtime If You Manage to Catch Me.” He ran all over the kitchen and under the tables and for the life of me, I could not catch him. He squirmed out of my grasp if I got even close. Finally, HA HA, I outsmarted him! I took out a treat and led him towards the cage. I put the treat on the floor and when he bent down to pick it up, I grabbed him! Farrah-1, Caesar- 0.

Day 7
Today is my last day with Caesar. I will be picking Joe up from the airport in a few hours. It is a bittersweet day. I still love my little pup, but I must say it was not as easy as I thought it would be. It certainly confirmed that although I love dogs, but I don’t think I will have one of my own someday. No, I think I can appreciate them from afar. When I told my parents about my adventures with Caesar, they laughed at me, mostly because they faced the same problems when raising my brother and me. If ever there were an experience to teach me responsibility, this was it. I don’t think that I would have learned as much if I was given a dog when I was a child. I think it was a perfect time to understand what it means to have complete responsibility for something living and to feel what it’s like to be relied upon because I am able to reflect and make sense of what I learn. It was challenging, yet fulfilling to take care of a pet. I can only imagine that taking care of a child is like this, multiplied by 100.

All I have to say is- Joe, you owe me one, or perhaps three!

Author: Farah Mohsin ,Questions? Comments? E-mail farrahmohsin@gmail.com