My boy Tango

My boy Tango was, and continues to be my soul dog. he came to me as a foster in November of 2016, and decided to adopt us. Even though he was almost 9 years old then, he lived a full and a happy life until his passing at the age of 14 and half years in August of 2022. I miss him every singe moment, but can always feel his presence around me even today.

He was a case of abandonment and rescue. He was already over eight years old and fit in perfectly in our grumble of pugs. Due to his past, Tango suffered from separation anxiety. He would just not stay at home alone, and howl and cry even if left alone for few minutes. It was worrisome for us. So I started talking to him regularly. In our first few conversations he would simply say he hates staying by himself, since it brings back memories from being locked up in a balcony with very little food and water. And that’s it. He just wouldn’t want to talk beyond that.

As some time passed, he opened up more. I kept reassuring him that we would never let that happen to him again, and that we completely understand his anxiety. He would reply saying that he knows it, and he trusts us. He just finds it difficult to let go of what happened. He wanted to work on it and showed willingness to co-operate.

I used to usually leave him at my parents’ home whenever we would be out. One day I had to just rush to my car to get my wallet back. As I put my footwear on, Tango asked me where I was headed. I looked at him and with a clear strong intention sent him calming energy. I told him I’m just going to pick my wallet and will be back in ten minutes. For the first time Tango said he will be fine.

Tango worried for how long I’ll be gone

It took me hardly three to four minutes to return. I had told him ten to keep a buffer. When I opened the door, Tango was sitting right by it, waiting for me. He did his happy dance and kissed me as usual. But this was the very first time that I could sense him being completely at ease with staying home alone. After almost four to five months of adopting us, Tango had finally started to feel at home. When asked how his experience was, he smiled and said he is relieved!

Since then whenever my husband Ashwin and I left him alone, we always told him the exact time that we would return. This helped him be calm since he knew how long he had to stay alone. We were always punctual and returned on time. There have been a couple of occasions where we were delayed due to unavoidable circumstances. At these times, I made it a point to inform Tango that we’ll be late, and give him another time that would be back by. That helped him be prepared for the delay. Only if it was a matter of a couple of hours, then would leave him home alone. If we knew we will be out longer, he would always stay at his grandparents’ with Tobler-Toofie.

Tango (middle) chilling with Tobler (right) and Toofie (left) at grandmom’s

Another important thing we followed was to never be anxious while telling him we’re going to be away. The more casual we were about it, the more at ease Tango was with it. The more we made a big deal out of it, the more anxious Tango got. We saw consistent and huge positive changes in Tango’s personality and confidence level. From a timid, docile pug, he became to rule our hearts and home confidently. I attribute a lot of it to the power of communication.