Leo

Writing this post as almost threatening torrential rains slap against our window pane. The flashes of lightning doesn't help me calm my nerves. I look at the only other breathing life in my study. The newest member of the family - Our little pup Leo. In his warm cozy blanket without a care in this world he opens his eyes dreamily hearing the creak of my chair. Those eyes… Sigh.

On July 25th, our friend's dog Pipa had given birth to a large litter of pups ready to be adopted. The sheer excitement and happiness at that moment cannot be written. The moment had finally come. I would finally have my own dog. Each of those lovely fur balls with tiny paws and wide eyes were looking at me curiously. And then I spotted him. The Alpha male with the most gorgeous eyes ever. He was slighter bigger than the others and wasn't as 'cute' as the females, but I instantly knew he is  mine.

Got him home when he was four weeks old. This month the four-week-old Leo turned 4 months old. 10 lbs old baby dog is now 40 lbs and on his way to a possible 80 lbs!

He is the most amazing being to come back home to. Whether I go away for an hour or back from a long day at work, the little buddy greets me with abundant love and wags. Licky lick lick and woofy woof woofs. I wake up early without complaining to take him for a walk and collect his poop like it was second nature. No disgust, no ewws. It is a new phase. He is the new muse, for my camera, blog and my life.

Here are some dog-related bits of my life:
1) Pets were simply a no-no in my Mumbai home. Mum  said that I would leave all the odd jobs like collecting the poop, bathing etc. on her. (Which I probably would then ;)). Had done so many things to convince her to get me a pup. On my 18th birthday I left a reminder from Feb 1st to Feb 26th in her phone's calendar to gift me a dog. Every morning at 8:30am her phone would buzz away reminding  her to get me one, and my technologically challenged mommy could not figure out a way to turn the damn thing off! If she was convinced my dad would have been too. He is quite a softie in those ways. Although he had his own reasons not to buy my reasons. His opinion was that I would cage the dog and hinder his freedom. And then of course there was Akki who would pet a dog from two miles away.

2) One of my dad's favorite stories to embarrass me in front of my friends also revolves around dogs. Apparently when I was supposed to get my pre-school admission, the principal had put forth a condition that I would get it only if I spoke something. Even one word would do. So my mum showed me pictures from books, asked me all sort of questions. But I didn't utter a single word. Not  even a hmmm. Or errmmm… Nothing. Zilch. How dumb was I? My worried parents and the patient  principal were almost giving up on me. Then I happened to see D for Dog with a picture of a big fluffy dog and said 'Naaaaai' which translates to dog in Tulu. My overjoyed parents finally got the paperwork sorted and I got to attend the same school as my sister. Phew!

3) I had named our MDL colony dog as Buddy after Mintaas dog. This stray dog was everyone's favorite. We would feed her biscuits and worry about her when the pounding guys would come. I still miss her.

4) I have a dog treat jar at work. My colleague Lars calls me the Dog whisperer. Dogs on my floor come to wish me morning (only for the treats I imagine). But still, any excuse to see them would do!