Pokey little friends

Now, you must be wondering what this bantering is all about, especially in regard to the ‘Indian dog’?! After all, what is the Indian Dog? Well, given the number of cross-breeding pursuits all around the world, no one really knows how the Indian dog came to be. All we know is that it bears the closest resemblance to a well-documented breed entitled the ‘Basenji’, formerly marketed or cross-pollinated from America, I believe. They share the familiar brown coat and those perky triangular ears atop a chiselled forehead. How gallant. But why our Indian dog beats the Basenji is for the obvious reasons and some of them are:

1) BEAT THE HEAT– They can beat the heat, and literally beat it. They can crawl into the most forlorn areas, into the most dangerous zones to beat the afternoon spell. Under the truck wheels, inside generator shafts, you name it. They also have this habit of creating what I call, ‘Cool Craters’, a small pit in the sand which keeps their body temperature cool, like a mini refrigerator.

2) YODELLERS– They have this uncanny habit of yodelling. So when you wake up in the middle of the night owing to the sounds of loud choir of yodeling pooches, be sure to pay attention to every azan at the Mosque.

3) PUPPY TRAILERS– Ever seen a mama doggy bounce along the road with a trail of tiny tots following her udders? The dedication and the commitment seen on the faces of those puppies is hair-raising not letting them udders go out of sight even for a minute.

4) CRIBS– Indian dogs have the coolest cribs in the world. You have to see them lounging on one of khatias or those animal-drawn carts. Given the look of austerity on the faces, you’d feel like owning one of those instead of the big floppy mattress on your bed.

5) THE GANDHIAN PRINCIPLE– Indian dogs couldn’t hurt a fly. Any pedigree dog in sight, the maverick would exhibit a particular behavior termed as ‘frozen in time’. Let the pedigrees barks their muzzles off, this dog would silently continue doing what he does best. Unless there’s food around of course.

6) THE VAGABOND– Given his vagabond lifestyle, an Indian dog is an opportunist who tries to own everything he likes. For him, it’s like having to browse an entire catalogue of items that he sees every day and order his favorite. So don’t be surprised if you catch him urinating on your leg or your neighborhood scooter. He just wants you to know that he likes you.