Love is a four-legged word!

   When does a family of four have five members?  When does one pair of eyes drown all the shouting and shrieking tantrums of kids? When do you love to take a walk even if it is two at night?  It happens only when there is a dog as a pet in the house. Life changes and how!  So it happened when Simba entered our lives as a lively two month old. He walked into our house all hairy coat and tail, white with black spots, huge for a pup with eyes that could melt the Arctic ice and paws that took him straight in our laps and onward to our hearts. He resides there ever since.

  Simba is our majestic St Bernard, now of course the elder of the family at his dog year age of nine and a half years. Sadly the years show. We reminisce of the time when he would climb over us after having had his meal or when he was feeling particularly affectionate. He is huge and so his expression of love would be a knock down 55 kg hug with his paws on our shoulders and nose nuzzling our necks. We had to firmly plant our feet on the ground to steady ourselves. Simba is a part of our family and has a different relationship with everyone. He is friends with Akanksha, after all both are children. He fights with her, plays with her but is a little scared of her too like all younger siblings. Harsh is not a keen dog lover so Simba keeps a distance from him, a very working relationship with the son whom he meets very infrequently. Harsh comes home only on vacation so Simba goes to him for a bit of scratching under his chin or a little petting and that’s that. With me he knows who rules the kitchen and where he should go when he is hungry. But his best is reserved for Amit, the man of the House and the Master of Simba’s heart. He is the one Simba idolises. There is no one else for him when Amit is around. Amit back from office is the highpoint of Simba’s day. “First pet me” says his bark and frisky impatient body language, “then do anything else”. When Amit comes back from TD one should see Simba’s tail. It wags violently in happiness on seeing anyone of us after a few days absence but with the master it goes round and round in joy and bliss. It is a moment of unalloyed happiness to see Simba like this. His favourite place is laps either Amit’s or Akanksha’s and sometimes mine too. He thinks he is small enough to fit in there! There is a lot of difference in the young Simba and the old. Earlier he would be all too eager to sit in the lap, now he just puts his head there and is at peace. Simba’s affection is overwhelming and over powering. But he is protective too. He is wary of strangers and will continue to bark and make life miserable for a person who is scared of him or whom he does not trust.
  But if you were to ask me about what Simba likes best then I’d say it is travelling. We go on long trips in our Qualis with Simba at the back. He simply adores it. He has enough space at the back to move around or sit on one of the seats and look out of the window. If he gets bored with the window view he will stand up and look out of the rear door or just face the front with his head resting on someone’s shoulders. I remember a time when we had driven up to Kasauli. Simba refused to come out of the car wanting to go further! We were dog-tired but our dog was fresh as a daisy! If he finds any car door open, he will swiftly get into the car ready to go.
  I could go on and on about him. He is a gentle giant, big body ,bigger heart!And in his heart resides boundless love for us, our extended family members, our friends,puppies and would you believe it , for corncobs and Shrewsbury biscuits. He can smell if we are having hot ‘bhuttas’ or Shrewsbury biscuits a mile away and will come running, drooling and tongue ‘a lapping’. He will stand there waiting for his share and a short sharp bark if we ignore him.
  As I write this he is sleeping near my feet, stretched out on the floor. Occasionally I feel a paw urging me to scratch him, or a head coming stealthily nearer to rest on my foot. I move my leg and he will raise his head cocked to one side as if to say “Hey,Can’t you sit still” and then he is off to sleep again or if I scratch him he turns over and lies on his back all his four feet in the air, his most ecstatic position. Difficult to judge from his face but I can imagine he is grinning. As am I. Smiling fondly and thinking,
“A dog doesn’t care whether you are rich or poor,

Smart or dumb

Give him your heart and he will give you his!”