The uncanny canine

 

The day was very early in December and the hour was very late at night, I heard a soft whimpering that didn’t sound like any member of our household. When I got out to check, he was already making himself comfortable in the cupboard on the porch. I thought he got separated from his mom and as soon as she comes searching he will be gone. I woke up in the morning to some elated whimpering and some indignant meowing. I got up cursing, everyone knows that the morning snoozes are heavenly. There they were, the puppy rather jubilant at the sight of so many friends and the cats rather offended by the unknown gatecrasher.

I was pretty sure that his owner or his mother will soon come looking for him and he will leave. But soon it became obvious that none will come looking for him. Though it was a pretty longshot, we hoped one of our family or friends would love to adopt him. And though the love for him was unequivocal and universal, none came forward. The puppy took all these snubs will utter and absolute nonchalance. Why wouldn’t he; a big yard to run around, a bunch of cats to run at, three square meals every day, a cozy box to snuggle into, life couldn’t be any better than this.

The cats found him to be a menace; not only did he gobble up the lion’s share of the meals, but his playful bites and wrestles were also too strong for them. He found the cats as spoilsports; not only would they sit just beyond his reach on the wall and trees, he found their hissing and scratching rather unnerving. However, when there wasn’t any food to fight for or any energy to play with, they didn’t mind snuggling together. Then there were those mutual grooming, though the cats would be left a bit worse for wear by his slobbery affection. Mealtimes soon became a challenge and we had to put the cat’s bowl beyond his reach, on the roof.

Just when exactly he learned to climb the stairs and go to the roof, I don’t know. But it was the cats’ bowl that provided all the encouragement. One night I heard a suspicious noise on the roof and I thought it was a burglar. As I went to investigate, I found the puppy running amok. Our roof is enclosed by a low wall. But there are some stores/warehouses which have tin-roof outside that enclosed roof. One day I heard noises on the tin-roof and thought the cats are having their usual rowdy games. The sheer annoyance (imagine intermittent thumping noises in the dead of the night), rather than any curiosity made me go to the roof one night. Imagine my shock when I found the doggy jogging on the tin-roof.

How did he go there? Did he jump over the wall? Nope, it's too high for him. He climbed on the sunshade/ledge adjacent to the stairs and walked on it to the point where it meets the tin roof. I can't imagine the reaction if someone saw a dog on the roof in the dead of the night. A black dog at that too. They would have got a proper heart attack. Then came the fateful day he decided to jump down from the roof to the street below. Luckily the night watchman was around and he was kind enough to bring him to our house. Oh, you should have seen the disappointment when we blocked his access to the roof.