Man's Best Friend!

Till 3 years ago, I used to be mortally petrified of dogs. And with good reason too. Sure the puppies looked cute and adorable and stuff. But then they grew up. And that’s when they scared the shit out of me. I have had my share of being chased by the canines for absolutely no reason at all. The prospect of a late night drive returning home from a movie or something would give me goose bumps. 

I guess this fear was instilled in me thanks to my brother’s friend’s German Shepherd who had the time of his life scaring the daylight out of me when I was 7 years old. More than once this devilish hound chased me around my brother’s friend’s house; once again, for absolutely no reason at all. Perhaps he thought that it was good sport. Perhaps he despised irritating 7 year old kids like myself. Come to think of it, it wasn’t really that difficult to understand. The dog with its ferocious fangs, was huge, almost like a wolf. And to him, I was perhaps, a tiny little rabbit.  

Anyway, the fear grew with me. And I was too proud to accept it. So when a good friend of mine brought a dog home, I stopped visiting his house altogether. Before that I used to frequent his home quite a lot. That afternoon I decided to give my friend a visit.

“I’ve got a surprise for you” he said with a smile.

Before I could ask him anything, a furry black figure came running towards me. It was a black lab. And before I knew it he had placed his paws on my shoulders. He was as tall as me. Perhaps even taller. And he was strong. I wanted to scream. I really did. In the words of Michael Jackson,

‘You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,
You're paralyzed’

“Get it off me” I finally managed to say with whimper.

“Relax, he is just a baby. He wants to play with you” he said.

His words fell on deaf ears. I was sure that the dog had smelt fresh meat. And then without warning, he got down on all fours and started smelling my crotch. What the hell was he doing?

“He must really like you” smiled my friend again.

I thought he had lost his mind. His cute baby was sniffing my thing like a tasty treat.

“He’s just getting to know you” defended my friend.

“That’s the weirdest thing I have ever heard” I said with relief as the dog stopped sniffing me and sat down near my feet.

I never visited my friend’s home again. And the following years made no difference to my fear. It all changed one day.

***

4 years ago, I got a call from my brother.

“Come home soon. Got a surprise for you.”

I reached home excitedly wondering what surprise lay in store for me. As I rang the door bell I heard a yelp.

“Oh dear God! Please let me be wrong” I prayed as I realized what the surprise probably was.

The door opened and I was greeted by my mother who had a very prominent frown on her face. Behind her, stood my father grinning from ear to ear. He pointed to something on the floor, looking at my inquisitive gaze. On the floor sat one of the cutest Labrador puppies I had ever seen in my life. He was so tiny. Its brown fur glistened as it looked up at me. Those eyes! I fell in love with him that very moment.

He was my brother’s gift to my father, who unlike me, was very fond of dogs.

The first few days were very trying, not only for us but for him too. He was hardly a month old. He would cry every now and then. Perhaps he was missing his mother. And it would break my heart as he would sit in a corner, looking at all of us one by one, perhaps wondering what fate awaited him. Although mom agreed that the dog was indeed cute, she however, refused to attend to him. And worse was his habit of defecating anywhere he pleased in the house.

“I am not going to look after him. Trust me on that.” She said with finality in her tone.

Apparently she was bitten by a dog when she was young. So that’s where my fear for dogs came from. Suddenly, bringing the pet home seemed like the worst idea. We were clearly not ready for a pet.

And then one day, something beautiful happened. I returned home that evening to see my mom with the dog on her lap. And I saw in her eyes, love only a mother could show. She told me what happened that afternoon.

“I was sitting on the floor watching TV. And all of a sudden, he came up to me, put his head on my lap and dozed off. And I could no longer stay mad at him” she said with a smile. 

We decided to name this four legged bundle of cuteness – BRUNO. And that’s him.

Bruno got over his initial discomfort quite quickly. And pretty soon he became our darling. Even our neighbours grew fond of him. Every day kids from our society would come to our home and play with Bruno. And he too had a blast. He loved all the attention. And he was naughty to the hilt. And he had a gala time chewing up all our slippers and shoes. Here he is with his favorite slipper. 

His favorite pastimes however, were eating and sleeping; his tiny stomach always hungry for more. Bruno grew up quickly. Today he is 3.5 years old. And he hasn’t changed one bit. He is as naughty as ever. And he has grown up into a strong and handsome boy. The stray bitches lust over him while he conveniently ignores them. Even the other strays don’t mess with him and stay out of his path as he walks with authority during his walks. Although the sight of a cow every now and then does scare him quite a bit. 

And at times I feel that he is more human than the actual ones. I know he dreams. So many times I have watched him yelp and make running motions in his sleep. I wonder what he sees. Perhaps he sees himself chasing a squirrel up a tree. Or perhaps flirting around with some female friend of his.    

For us, he is still the baby he was 3 years ago. And while he has gotten over chewing the slippers, his new mode of mischief is to sleep on the couch when none of us is watching. Now whenever he wants to sleep on it in our presence, all he needs to do is give us his long droopy faced expression. And that does it. All our strictness goes out of the window. The couch is unofficially his property now. If one of us tries to sit on the couch whilst he sleeps on it, he will push and nudge us till we get up and sit someplace else. 

He hates bathing in winters and will slide under the farthest corner of the bed, hoping that we won’t be able to reach him. His face is a look of meek surrender when he realizes that we, in fact can reach him. His fur hair is all over the place and on every one of us. Its on my shirt, its on my trousers, its on my office bag. And at times its on my hair too; something which makes people ask “did you and your dog wrestle or something?”

Scolding him is pointless as the very next moment he does this.

He shares a special bond with my mom and dad. He is immensely possessive about mom. Every time I hug her, Bruno jumps up and pushes me away with his paws. 

Dad spoils him rotten. He gives in to Bruno’s every demand and tantrum. And at times I fear that Bruno would end up getting a higher share in my dad’s will. Dad speaks to him as he would with a kid. And Bruno too listens to him attentively, almost as if he understands him. Dad is the one looking after his daily routines. He wakes up at crack of dawn to take Bruno for his walks. He also takes him out for a ride in the car every morning. That’s Bruno’s favorite activity. The way he looks out of the window with his tongue hanging out…sometimes makes me wonder if he too loses himself in thoughts the way we do.

There are many things I would like to write about Bruno. But perhaps none would convey my feelings for him. A dog is perhaps the closest thing to perfection that God made. Bruno is perhaps the most wonderful and the most honest being I have ever had the good fortune of coming across. Every day he teaches me how to live life. Every day he gives me a reason to smile. Every day he greets me with the same enthusiasm every time I enter my home. Every morning he sits outside my bedroom, patiently waiting for me to wake up and give him a biscuit. And each day he teaches me the value of trust, understanding and innocence. He knows that he can bolt away to freedom every time the leash is off. But he chooses to stay. He knows that he can snap by bones in two with those powerful jaws, and yet he lets me irritate him when he sleeps. He knows his barks can scare the toughest of men, and yet he lets me scold him. All the life’s problems seem trivial when I come home. Because I know that no matter what, my buddy will be anxiously awaiting my arrival. The one who doesn’t judge me, or despise me, or hurt me. The one who smiles with his tail. My friend, my buddy, my Bruno!