Panther & I

Just watched Marley & Me and for the record, I only cried for half and hour but that was before I called Panther upstairs. Once he was up and in my arms, confused why his Neha was suddenly all sticky and wet on the face with tears, sitting on the dirty floor calling out his name while making strange cootchicoo faces, I ended up shedding stupid tears for another half an hour. The movie has that effect. We dog-persons can translate such cinema to our personal losses and gains and well, impending inevitable doom. (Sighs but then takes a deep breaths and gets on with writing.)

He takes my breath away, Panther does. He may do nothing but just be there laughing, frolicking about, looking at me with one ear dangling and the other slightly cocked up. His face stooping towards one side in a cute little 'hunnh?'. He actually totally melts me every time his big black hopeful eyes look at me with unabashed innocent greed and craving for yet another choostick or crunchy doggie biscuits that I keep stacked on my wall-unit table. I feel worst when he bids this silent goodbye near the main-gate every morning when I leave for college. His chin resting on a paw, instead of the usual space between his two paws, as if upset and deranged, as if asking me to return soon, or take him with me, or better still, not go at all. I sometimes turn back and kiss him goodbye, but I sometimes forget to do that in my haste to reach college on time. He waits for me anyway.

When I am home it's a joyride. He'd make funny sounds that a dog makes just before he is about to woof the hell out of my unsuspecting ears, it goes like the most impatient desperate 'unnnhhh unhhhnnn' groan. Earlier I used to mistake it for an urge to go pee but now I know better. ;) I'm well acquainted his myriad ways of barking. But when even I can't figure out, I trust my instincts about what he might be asking for, whether it's a walk-bark or water-bark, or a tasty-snack-bark or whether it's his irritate-neha-bark, the whole purpose of which is to make me take notice, even if that means waking me in the dead of the night.

Watching this movie made me recall the mad days when Panther was young. To him the world was a chewdom- a chewing kingdom; where he is the ultimate ruler- the Chewmaster. The Sovereign. And us? We figured no where! Except when he wanted us to run after him. He'd pick a shoe or a sock and would run about the house as if a railway engine has been let lose in the drawing room and kitchen. Round and round and round- with the speed of lighting. Running after him was NO option! Are you kidding me? The dog could give professional racers a run for their money. So, I used to take the other option which included a chant of: 'sit down'- 'relax' – 'try to forget the shoe ever existed'. Or if I could interest him in a treat, well that could solve the problem in a jiffy.

You know what's the cutest thing about him? It's his utter, unembarrassed, undiluted and firm belief that my (Neha's) world should revolve around his whims and fancies! And man, how I love it to make him feel that he is RIGHT. His belief keeps us going. I understand him when he is possessive and mean. When I hug my mom or sister I love to see him wag his tail impatiently, cz he's in line for the next hug. He can't see me snuggle with my mom, or my mom hugging me for that matter. In that he is so much like me. I am never quite at peace myself when my sister visits and my mom gives her a hug or compliments her more! I would squeeze myself in between them .. how bad of me.. but I do that .. and there I would wanna sit, in the middle of the two most important women in my life.. acting oblivious to the fact that either of them is breathless for want of some elbowroom..i mean literally.To see panther do the same is all the more hilarious. Cz he sometimes can't figure out why oh why he is not the centre of attraction. "What on earth have I done that you humans are cuddling each other! Why's not me instead!", he seems to think.

Panther likes bathing. Ever the water-friendly dog, he enjoys getting wet in the rain too. Just like me. So in a bid to make sure his coat is extra soft and so he gets a complimentary car ride, I have been taking my little angel to doggie parlour where they give him a medicated bath and then dry him off with something that looks like a vacuum-cleaner-in-reverse, in that it blows out warm air instead of sucking it in. He's shampooed, his coat is conditioned and then dry cleaned. Nice and smooth. I can see him enjoying the luxury, as long as I'm in sight. The second he can't figure out where i am, there he would go yelping, barking, all restless. I come back in sight instantly, and reassure my little baby.

But I know Panther is growing old. The black shiny coat that I'm so proud of, now shows streaks of white near the chin and roughly around his wobbly ears. He doesn't have that spring in his feet when I take him for walks and sometimes he gets tired when I go for the second run and wants me to halt. I see all that but then I forget it. I adjust as he wants me too. He wants to walk slow, so that's the way it is going to be.

All this banter about Panther, so well.. Maxie deserves a mention too. A reliable yet catty companion Maxie is as much fun as she always was! In love with Panther like a worshipper. And its amusing cz i have seen her getting real cheeky with other dogs.

And as I type this piece, sitting on a chair with my feet resting on the bed and the laptop on my lap, he's right here on my left-hand-side ..looking up and barking. For what? Beats me. :)