Dogyears @ Godyears

'Was an article online recently on how dogs were being brutally slain on the roads in some particular nagar ofIndia ( it's always in India ). Their crime - An MLA spotted a dog pissing outside his house in front of his gate. For the crime of one, a 100 paid. The catch ? Well, you see, it wasn't strays that were killed. The law-enforcers went into people's houses in that area and killed their pets. Oh ya, case has been registered,police is looking into it blah blah blah.

I've often wondered what it must be like to hate dogs. I hope I never know. Since I was 5 years old, I've always had a minimum of one pet dog running around the house.. ranging from sheep dogs to pomeranians to dobermen to some weird fox hybrids and cocker spaniel derivatives, there's always been someone wagging their tail at me in the morning whenever I'm home.They've brought so much joy and happiness to my family over the years and been so affectionate and loved in return. It's probably after seeing the dogs at my house that the phrase "it's a dog's life" was derived.. Because there have never been so pampered a set of brats as these. So what are the traits peculiar to the canines at my house? Well, I guess I can use Ruby, the pooch in the pics as my example.


1. CONSISTENCY - Till date, 20 years since the 1st dog arrived, not a single one of them has learned "Sit/stand/fetch." Not one. "Shake hand" naturally is a command my parents reserve for me. No point teaching the dogs.
2. PUNCTUALITY - Ruby, the present queen of the house ( in pics ) has perfected time so well, she literally goes and seeks out my mother when it's 1:00pm daily to fill the bowl. My God!! The looks of contempt you get when you're late.
3. COMPROMISING - She's not picky. She'll eat ANYTHING with meat in it. Nowadays, she's even willing to try out corn, bananas,peanuts ( her favourite ).
4. COURAGE - Not scared to chase huge buffaloes...as long as they're on the other side of the gate!! With her mom, she used to make a nice team catching birds, wild cats, rats , mongooses etc.
5. ANGER - Whenever we've scolded her, invariably she seeks revenge by finding that particluar individual's clothes from the ironed clothes hamper and dragging it out into the mud. Nowadays, she does it to my clothes the day after I leave home for Mangalore too as a sign of protest. Now there's a novel way of protesting..should we try it against reservations. Drag old Health Minister's clothes through gunk.
6. RELIGIOUS - She's sits with my mom outside the puja room during all prayers - morning & evening. That's more than the rest of us do.
7. DIGNIFIED - She's refuses to be cuddled "just for the heck of it". She usually places herself in the room such that she can see all of us, but we can't keep stroking her.. usually bissecting the seats where me and my parents sit. Earlier dogs used to use the chairs for sitting/ lying down. Luckily, after 20 years, we've convinced the present bunch that IT'S WRONG.!!
8. CARING - Simple. Be sick. You'll see her by your side / under the bed all day. It's annoying though when she disturbs your sleep by poking her snout in your face to ensure you're still breathing.. eeew!! dog breath.9. FUNNY - Picture this. A pomeranian stares at you while you're sitting. you start "cooing" and she takes the hint and jumps on your lap and sits like a cat.. Now add a fully grown doberman who has seen this scene from the side. Picture the doberman doing the same..right down to jumping onto your lap and sitting there as though it were a "perfect fit". One thing our dogs never realised - that they were dogs.
10. TIDY - No sleeping outside the house / on the bare floor at night. Ruby makes it a point that she gets her blanket and sleeps in the same room as my parents no matter what.
11. LOYALTY - Man's best friend for a reason...duh!!! Just check out most of DEAN KOONTZ novels..no matter what the premise of the story,be it aliens or government secrets or witchcrafts, there's always ALWAYS a golden retriever who makes a big impact in the story sometimes saving the day eventually.

Most true dog lovers tend to be caring and affectionate - part of the becoming-like-your-pet syndrome i figure. Which explains why cat people tend to be more royal and high maintenance and turtle lovers tend to be boring ( you're looking after a turtle..dude! get a life!! ) Either way, I just wish people would be more compassionate and that I dont have to come across such stories of cruelty to animals again any time soon.Sure,they cant mix you a martini or give you a massage when you wanna but by God, they won't bitch about you or stab you behind your back either , right!! Which would you prefer anyway ?
IN A NUTSHELL : To a dog, you're God..what more reason do you need to love 'em!!