The dilemma of having a dog who insists on sleeping on your pillow and eating from your plate is whether he loves you so much that he wants to do everything with your or just that he thinks he is your master rather you being his. The fact is that no matter how funny I try to make it sound, taking a canine not as a K9, but as a son and as a brother has its own set of pros and cons; pros more than cons I'd say. Quite similar is the case with Smokey; the only difference being that we never got an option of exerting or even trying to exert our masterly influence on him, he became the third son/brother from the time he pooped on the carpet, peed on the table leg and vomited on my bed. Just like any other parent would start "looking around" for a son who comes of age, the search for Smokey started the moment we realized that he started using the pillow for purposes beyond tug and catch.
Considering the 7 point multiplier for how old a dog is, Smokey comes to around 13 human years i.e. puberty has hit and is leaving its signs on legs, elbows and pillows. Unfortunately, the search that started 3 odd months back didn't yield any results. Apparently, being a basset hound in Ahmedabad is quite a rarity. But last week, we come to know that there is a dog show in town. What better place than a woof convention to pimp your dog. So he gets a bath early Sunday morning, a bell on his usual empty collar and a red scarf around his neck, which was kinda gay, but Mom's wish it was and her wishes trump my disgust. We head to the venue; a place that I really really loathe, and we're stopped at the entrance cause our guy isn't registered with the Kennel club (needs an entire different blog post to relay), the one which is hosting the show. Now being an unseen breed in town, our guy is already gathering up a crowd and pulling a lot of attention and so dad insists that I go in and have a look around the show and look up for information on getting Smokey registered, while he'll stay out with him. Fortunately, I didn't have to be registered with the Kennel club to enter.
It was like Diwali all over again. From Optimus Prime like Rottweilers, even taller Great Danes, the chubby Labradors and of course, the Dobermans; they were all there. My stars were in a really good mood I think and I was fortunate enough to get a chance to meet my first Saluki and fall in love at first sight with a Siberian Huskey. The Huskey had a coat smoother than silk and sky blue eyes. His eyes hypnotized me and I couldn't, rather didn't want to let go off the stare I was stuck with. I'm generally very critical of people who get dogs like St. Bernards and Huskeys to a place like Ahmedabad. Being the absolute heat pad that the city is, its almost next to torture for these canines who've been made for temperatures below 0. But for those 4 odd minutes looking at his pearl blue eyes, I lost all sense of critique for the owner; in fact, I think I lost my senses, the few that work in me anyways.
Still a bit disassociated with the then present and completely intoxicated after meeting the Huskey, I had little clue that the fun was yet to begin. I soon run into my Dad who managed to sneak Smokey in. I take over dog-sitting duties and ask Dad to go and have a look around. Sitting there with him, I had 8 people come up to me with their children seeking permission to get their kid clicked with the guy. So as it seemed, many had come their with the cameras just to get their kids in the frame with the many canines around. Though a bit flustered with so many humans, our guy seemed to have enjoyed every bit of the attention he got; oddly though, everyone thought that he was a Cocker Spaniel and for some smarter ones, a Beagle, I enjoyed seeing the huge question mark on their faces when I said that he is a Basset Hound. Mom also tried to buy him a sweater which he refused to wear, an over-friendly German Shepherd smelled his butt for a second too longer leading to a nasty snap back at the Shepherd, a Great Dane refused to acknowledge our guy's presence and all his attempts to befriend the Scooby were futile and something about a St. Bernard seemed to scared the nuts out of our guy, so much so that his tail was stuck between his legs till the time we got back to the car.
Being the only one of your breed definitely helps to grab a lot of eyesights but isn't too good if you're looking for a girlfriend. Though by the end a bleak hope did emerge. We did manage to find a trainer who informed us that there is this female Basset who is looking for a partner as well, but is located at some farmhouse outside the city and we'll have to take our guy there. Before I could even talk about making both of them meet at a neutral venue, Dad had already agreed to take him there. I don't think I've seen Dad so eager. We're still talking with the trainer and I really really hope that Smokey does hit it off with this dame 'on the farmhouse', but the entire incident made me wonder, would Dad be willing to put in the same efforts to get me laid?
P.S. - Sorry for the lack of graphics in the post; I couldn't have picked a worse day to forget my camera.
