Dennis

Dennis turns 10 this week. It’s a time to celebrate. But I’m a little worried too. At the back of my mind, there is this voice which keeps saying a dog lives for around ten years. Which is not a nice thing. Around ten?! Is that more than ten or less? I know people whose dogs died before reaching the age of ten...

What a morbid thing to talk about on someone’s b’day though! Lemme tell you about Dennis! Funnily, I’ve never written about him before. Not even passing mention. Strange! Considering the fact that he’s a part of everything I do.

So this dude, Dennis, he’s a fine brown Labrador. The prettiest and nicest and the cutest and the smartest, in my fair opinion. I got him as a present when I was 12. Actually, I have been accused of emotionally blackmailing Girish kaka into getting him. But that’s so not true! ;) I’ve always wanted a dog. And I’d thought up all sortsa names for when I actually got one. And Dennis wasn’t one of them (Mad would remember…hehe). But when we got him home n someone suggested this name, it totally fit. Now I don’t even remember who gave him his name. [Btw, I get bugged when people go like ‘Dennis as in Dennis-the-menace?’. Ugghh no! No relation! But now I’m bored of explaining.]

Dennis. He’s all that I ever wanted my dog to be. And much more. Over the years, he’s ceased to be ‘my dog’. He’s family. He’s not a friend, he’s my baby. I love him more than anyone else. There is so much about Dennis. His eccentricities, his wild days as a pup (okay wild years…he was a pup till a couple of yrs ago..hehe), his nautanki, his adorable eyes…the way he seeks attention, the way he makes me feel loved…I don’t know what to write that’d fit a blog post!

He’s been with me for ten long years now. For me, he is unconditional love personified. Or dogified if you please : ) He is my Hachiko. Whenever I get back home, he’s always as happy to see me. We should learn a thing or two from him about expressing ourselves. He makes me feel wanted. It’s always great to come back home to Dennis. Right now, everyone at home is asleep in their rooms. Dennis is sleeping too, but in the hall, next to me. He won’t go inside till I do. These days I study in the hall, and no matter how late I stay up, he accompanies me till I’m done. He just won't leave. Not even if I try to get him to go in! He would come right back and sit with me till I switch off all lights and declare that I’m gonna sleep and that he should too. It’s really nice to have someone dote on you like that. Maybe he doesn’t really dote on me. Maybe I’m just projecting stuff that I want on him. It’s still as sweet of him. More about him later. I hate to wake him up in the middle of the night! God bless all dogs of the world.