This one is for Bouncy, K, S, R and everyone who has ever had or ever hopes to have a dog. There is no love greater than that between you and your puppy...Everyone else has a reason to love you and for everyone there is that one thing that will make them hate you, or leave you. Only your puppy loves you without rhyme or reason, for good or for bad, in sickness and in health, with all his heart and all his soul.
We met Bouncy one rainy afternoon in September, 2011. We had our first glimpse of him as we turned the corner; he was tentatively checking the gate with his nose. This was a steady and relentless pursuit of his. Every now and then he would check to see if anyone was looking, then gently push the gate with his weeny little snout. And by God, every now and then, his optimism would pay; the gate would be unfastened and off he would go. We were witnesses to quite a number of Bouncy's frequent bids for the great big world outside. There was little use running after him and so K would just unlock her car. At this he would prick up his funny, floppy ears and come bouncing back straight into the car.
When we first met him, he came up, gave us a hearty sniff of approval and didn't leave our sides for the rest of the afternoon. Bouncy had had his tail docked even before he came home to K, so as other dogs wag their tails, he would wag his teensy little butt. And when sometimes S would hold his butt still, he would keep wagging the little stump of his tail with continued enthusiasm and vigor...
Bouncy was part of every all-nighter we ever had at K's place. Whenever there were a lot of people, he would run around, trying to sniff everyone, know everyone and play with everyone, and chase some lizards, time permitting. I remember one time when K and I were cooking in the kitchen and he and Shadow were sitting right outside, heads tilted in frank curiosity because obviously, they weren't allowed inside. I saw Bouncy slowly inch his paw across the line that divides the dining room from the kitchen. Unfortunately, K. noticed and whipped around, ladle in hand and said 'Why is there a paw?' He gave a guilty start and then quickly pulled his paw back. Then he gave us such a wounded look that it was all we could do to not pick him up and bring him into the kitchen. So, instead we stopped cooking and spent the rest of the evening sitting on the couch in front of the TV cuddling Bouncy between us.
Bouncy's attempts at adventure were determined and persistent. The perils of these became apparent one night when he ran away from us as we were walking him. Shadow ran after him and he made his appearance a few minutes later, looking disgruntled, straining against the leash that was now securely in Shadow's mouth. K, meanwhile had become infuriated with worry and he got an earful. When we went back inside and sat on the couch, he came over to my side and refused to talk to K for the next few hours. He fell asleep and all seemed forgiven and forgotten the next morning, especially as he took another shot at running away again as soon as we opened the gate to take him out for his morning constitutionals.
Bouncy seemed to especially enjoy sleeping all curled up in a coma on S's lap. S wouldn't move all night, so as to not disturb him and Bouncy would go on sleeping, snoring slightly and creating an ever increasing drool pool. In this respect, he was a lot like me. He would do this on nights when K and S wanted to watch cheesy Bollywood movies; so there we would be, Bouncy on S's lap and me sprawled on the sofa, snoring and drooling in harmony.
K used to put Bouncy on a leash and then take him and Shadow for a walk every morning; Shadow can walk without supervision, he is not easily excited... But after a particularly long night, sometimes K would leash Shadow instead of Bouncy and open the gate. On such occasions, Bouncy wouldn't run away immediately. He would spend a few seconds staring between the gate and K's face with an expression that said, "Really???" As soon as K made the slightest move to grab his collar, he would shoot out the gate. And then the same trick with the car would have to be repeated.
Over the years, Bouncy had quite a number of gastrocolic adventures including the time he ate about 70 balloons. K had just bought the packet for the annual Farewell party decorations and kept it on her table. She stepped out for a minute and when she returned, the packet was nowhere to be found and Bouncy was sitting under her table looking contended, if a little confused with the taste and texture. For the next 10 days, K had to count the balloons as they exited Bouncy, morning and evening.
Another time, he killed a rat, then decided he didn't want to eat it and instead respectfully offered it at K's feet. Imagine his consternation, when instead of a pat and a treat, K. jumped up on her chair and in the general sense of the term, had a fit.
Bouncy also had this thing where he would pick up something to eat, decide he didn't like it after all and plop it back down. He would return in a while, pick it up again, decide he definitely didn't like and plop it down again. He would then leave said slobbery object on the floor for K to dispose off. Sometimes Shadow would come along and oblige by eating Bouncy's reject before any of us could stop him.
One of the funniest things about Bouncy was that he was really scared of this air-gun K had. You just had to pick it up, point it at him and say "hands up!". He would sidle under a table and look like he would give anything to have hands so he could put them up.
Our stories, adventures and memories with Bouncy are many. Whenever we would spend a night at K's, we would know that we would be woken up in the morning with Bouncy staring right into our eyes in spirit of great investigation, wagging his butt so hard, it might just fall off...
Bouncy was loved by everyone he ever met. And we all are the luckiest for having been friends with him.
We met Bouncy one rainy afternoon in September, 2011. We had our first glimpse of him as we turned the corner; he was tentatively checking the gate with his nose. This was a steady and relentless pursuit of his. Every now and then he would check to see if anyone was looking, then gently push the gate with his weeny little snout. And by God, every now and then, his optimism would pay; the gate would be unfastened and off he would go. We were witnesses to quite a number of Bouncy's frequent bids for the great big world outside. There was little use running after him and so K would just unlock her car. At this he would prick up his funny, floppy ears and come bouncing back straight into the car.
When we first met him, he came up, gave us a hearty sniff of approval and didn't leave our sides for the rest of the afternoon. Bouncy had had his tail docked even before he came home to K, so as other dogs wag their tails, he would wag his teensy little butt. And when sometimes S would hold his butt still, he would keep wagging the little stump of his tail with continued enthusiasm and vigor...
Bouncy was part of every all-nighter we ever had at K's place. Whenever there were a lot of people, he would run around, trying to sniff everyone, know everyone and play with everyone, and chase some lizards, time permitting. I remember one time when K and I were cooking in the kitchen and he and Shadow were sitting right outside, heads tilted in frank curiosity because obviously, they weren't allowed inside. I saw Bouncy slowly inch his paw across the line that divides the dining room from the kitchen. Unfortunately, K. noticed and whipped around, ladle in hand and said 'Why is there a paw?' He gave a guilty start and then quickly pulled his paw back. Then he gave us such a wounded look that it was all we could do to not pick him up and bring him into the kitchen. So, instead we stopped cooking and spent the rest of the evening sitting on the couch in front of the TV cuddling Bouncy between us.
Bouncy's attempts at adventure were determined and persistent. The perils of these became apparent one night when he ran away from us as we were walking him. Shadow ran after him and he made his appearance a few minutes later, looking disgruntled, straining against the leash that was now securely in Shadow's mouth. K, meanwhile had become infuriated with worry and he got an earful. When we went back inside and sat on the couch, he came over to my side and refused to talk to K for the next few hours. He fell asleep and all seemed forgiven and forgotten the next morning, especially as he took another shot at running away again as soon as we opened the gate to take him out for his morning constitutionals.
Bouncy seemed to especially enjoy sleeping all curled up in a coma on S's lap. S wouldn't move all night, so as to not disturb him and Bouncy would go on sleeping, snoring slightly and creating an ever increasing drool pool. In this respect, he was a lot like me. He would do this on nights when K and S wanted to watch cheesy Bollywood movies; so there we would be, Bouncy on S's lap and me sprawled on the sofa, snoring and drooling in harmony.
K used to put Bouncy on a leash and then take him and Shadow for a walk every morning; Shadow can walk without supervision, he is not easily excited... But after a particularly long night, sometimes K would leash Shadow instead of Bouncy and open the gate. On such occasions, Bouncy wouldn't run away immediately. He would spend a few seconds staring between the gate and K's face with an expression that said, "Really???" As soon as K made the slightest move to grab his collar, he would shoot out the gate. And then the same trick with the car would have to be repeated.
Over the years, Bouncy had quite a number of gastrocolic adventures including the time he ate about 70 balloons. K had just bought the packet for the annual Farewell party decorations and kept it on her table. She stepped out for a minute and when she returned, the packet was nowhere to be found and Bouncy was sitting under her table looking contended, if a little confused with the taste and texture. For the next 10 days, K had to count the balloons as they exited Bouncy, morning and evening.
Another time, he killed a rat, then decided he didn't want to eat it and instead respectfully offered it at K's feet. Imagine his consternation, when instead of a pat and a treat, K. jumped up on her chair and in the general sense of the term, had a fit.
Bouncy also had this thing where he would pick up something to eat, decide he didn't like it after all and plop it back down. He would return in a while, pick it up again, decide he definitely didn't like and plop it down again. He would then leave said slobbery object on the floor for K to dispose off. Sometimes Shadow would come along and oblige by eating Bouncy's reject before any of us could stop him.
One of the funniest things about Bouncy was that he was really scared of this air-gun K had. You just had to pick it up, point it at him and say "hands up!". He would sidle under a table and look like he would give anything to have hands so he could put them up.
Our stories, adventures and memories with Bouncy are many. Whenever we would spend a night at K's, we would know that we would be woken up in the morning with Bouncy staring right into our eyes in spirit of great investigation, wagging his butt so hard, it might just fall off...
Bouncy was loved by everyone he ever met. And we all are the luckiest for having been friends with him.
This is lovely. Thank you <3
ReplyDeleteWe're going to miss him so much...But he will remain like this in our hearts and souls forever... <3
ReplyDelete