Simba the Redeemer

by

Eshan Shameem

(The Coronavirus pandemic came as a boon to the school children! They stayed at home and remained enwrapped with the games on their mobiles or the laptops, day in and day out! When all pleadings to disengage and take recourse to actionably healthier activities failed, my grandsons were gifted Simba by their parents. Since then he has kept the children preoccupied. Sharing with you Eshan’s concern and love expressed in words for his Simba! Baqir Shameem) 

My dog’s name is Simba. He is a wonderful dog and loves to play. I have many responsibilities to take care of him. He is a cobberdog, which means he is not a labradoodle, which many people think he is. To be a cobberdog breeder you must be certified. We were very lucky to find a breeder at these times.

One of my responsibilities everyday is that I have to wake up at 6:30 to take him out to do his business. After that I have to soak his food for 10 minutes in water. I can go back to sleep after that. We are very lucky that Simba grew out of his separation anxiety very early. He usually needs to be taken out to pee about four times a day, sometimes it is more. For poop he needs to be taken out three times a day.

His favorite toys are his hedgehog and his donut. Whenever I go out to play with him I always have to fetch his donut. We have been trying to train him to leave our stuff alone, but he does not listen and keeps biting my mom’s and my younger brother’s pants. At some times he can be very lazy, but at other times he can become extremely hyper. Whenever he is very hyper we put him in his playpen to calm himself down.

His bedtime is usually 8:30. He will put himself into his cage and go to sleep. At that time we  put a blanket over his cage so that it is dark. He does not wake up that easily, which is very nice. He needs to be bathed once a month and does not shed his hair at all since he is hypoallergenic.

Overall my experience with having a dog has been great. He is still a puppy and still teething, hopefully he will grow out of his nipping phase soon. He is also very smart and clever. I love Simba very much but much less than my little brother Ayan.

(Eshan Shameem son of Baqar Abbas and Pooja Luitel Shameem, is in the 9th Grade at Hokissen High School, Delaware, USA)