Dog Leash

Hello everyone, I’d like you all to meet my dog Maximus. He is a two year old Golden-White Labrador with an enormous appetite for mischief and chaos. I know he doesn’t look too big in the photograph, that’s because the photograph is very old. It is actually one of the very few decent photographs we have of the guy because he is so difficult to photograph. He is always constantly on the move running, jumping, sniffing, digging, rolling, hiding, pouncing and playing. So basically I am stuck with this photograph of him from when he was just a couple of months old.

Things have changed a lot since then. He isn’t as small as he is in the photograph. He’s well over 90 pounds and he’s got enough power to dash straight through a wooden wall. In fact I had to renovate my garage and install metallic sheets to make it stronger after one particularly mischievous day when he decided to vent his hyperactivity on the garage. Luckily my car wasn’t in the garage. Otherwise I would have had a tough time explaining things to my insurance company!

Things at home weren’t always in danger of being destroyed. I remember the time I first met him. He was a cute little puppy with big black eyes staring back at me. He was the biggest, fastest and most energetic puppy at the puppy home. He didn’t give me a choice. He ran straight into me and jumped right up at my face. Somehow, I knew he was the pup for me. I brought him home and I immediately went and picked out a dog collar and a dog leash for the little guy. He chewed up and destroyed the leash that very night. He would have gone for the collar too if only he could reach it. I should have learnt about the guy’s appetite for destruction that night. Overnight, cushions would mysteriously disappear and I would find them a few days later in the backyard all torn up. Somehow all my socks had holes in them now. Most of my shoes were missing all the time. In general, the house always had a tornado-hit look to it.

As he grew older, he did manage to grow a little mature. He stopped destroying interiors and focused his hyperactivity towards external elements. The mailman still has to face his wrath every alternate day. Although Max is never aggressive, his hyperactivity can scare people. My mom keeps yelling at the guy all day but she actually really loves the fella. She always puts his dog food in his bowl on time and she loves and cares for him like he was my little brother. The truth is, even though Max is so hyper and destructive (all the time!) we love him so much. He is part of our family and he loves us the same. He loves us all more than we will ever know and he always cares for us. He always waits and makes sure that we are eating our food before starting on his dog food. He always fetches the newspaper to us even though we never trained him to do it (of course the newspaper might be torn up) and I have always found him to be an excellent listener when I have to talk about something.

It is easy to forgive and forget every crazy thing he does because at the end of the day, it is the love and affection that we share that forms a bond stronger than anything else. A bond formed between a man and his dog is a bond that will last forever no matter how much time or life has changed. If you have a canine friend, you know what I am talking about. If you have a dog, open your life to him. You will be surprised to see how much he will share with you! I would like to quote a line from a very nice movie. “A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor. You give him your heart and he’ll give you his”. If you have never made friends with a dog, trust me… You are really missing something!

Guest blogger: Anirudh Annam