The Begining...

When I went to stay at my grand uncle's place for a week I was planning on having fun and generally lazing around reading his collection of comics. Once I got there I was welcomed with a ferocious bark and then felt something furry going around me in circles. I was trembling from head to toe and I didn't dare open my eyes. My grand Uncle tied Ruff and only after that I stopped shaking and went inside the house. I had my lunch and was reading a book in the hall, when my grand uncle decided that it was time Ruff and I became friends. He went out and freed Ruff who came bounding into the hall and made a bee line at me. I have never been that frightened ever, he came close sniffed me and then jumped straight at me and licked my face with his tail going whush-whush. Very hesitatingly I pet him on the head and he took it as an indication that I liked him and within minutes I was giving him a belly rub and he was chewing my toes and licking my face all over again. That moment on we became inseperable. Wherever I went I took him with me, I watched him eat drink and play I was still slightly scared of the fact that he was such a big dog. When he put his paws on my shoulder he was over a foot taller than me! But by the next day I was sure that he would do me no harm at all. Like all other dogs he also begged, when reprimanded he went to a corner and continued staring at the food till there was a visible pool of drool where he was sitting. He knew he'd gained an accomplice in me, he would sit right under my chair and I’d slyly drop him a few tid bits. When my grand uncle was cutting fruits he took a portion and mashed them and gave it to Ruff who cleaned his bowl in one long slurpy lick. That was the first time I’d seen a dog eating mangoes and bananas. How can a dog tell you what it wants? Obviously it can't so you give it what you eat, and if your dog likes it you know its okay to give them what you eat. It was after meeting ruff, that I began hankering after my parents for a dog.

Dogs are such wonderful creatures and if you treat them with just a wee little bit of affection, you have made a friend for life for sure. There is so much one can learn from them, but the best trait that they possess that we humans fear possessing is unconditionality. You yell at them and they'll come back wagging their tails at you, as if you did no wrong. Some of my non dog lover friends say that unconditionality that dogs show is pathetic. But, if you have a dog at home just try this, yell at him/her and watch them come back to you. Trust me you'll be way too ashamed of yourself to have yelled at them. The second thing I love about dogs is that, they cannot talk, and yet express their feelings so explicitly. They also have their emotional radar on at all times. If ever they notice the slightest change they'll be right next to you, and the sense of relief to know that you have them next to you inexpressible. When you come back home all tired and disgruntled there is this furry bundle waiting just for you and when they come rushing at you, you just forget everything and that in itself is such a joy. They definitely lighten your baggage. They also are extremely good judge of character, and this I have learnt from experience. So having a canine pet in your house is probably the best thing that can happen to you… at least it is so for me.