The dog and the child.

Elsa, my neighbour's pet, like all females, is perennially hungry and greedy for attention.I talk to her a lot and she tolerates the gibberish for exactly the same amount of time, as my female acquaintances do. Her need to be heard is much greater than being spoken to, like....... As Labrador's playfulness goes, she is hugely fond of kids and every evening plays to the gallery, when she is the cynosure of all eyes.


I am privy to all her antics from my bathroom window which allows unilateral interaction from my side. She as yet, has not been able to spot me. Yesterday morning around 9, two sisters, 11 and 5 respectively, who are die hard fans of Elsa, were awaiting the arrival of their school bus.There could not be a livelier mode to chase the blues of school going, away, than a few moments with a dog.


Elsa spotted them from far and craned her neck out through the gaps in the metal bars of the gate.The kids started their routine of telling her sweet nothings and patting her. Elsa, as always, wanted to lick the kids' hands.The elder and more learned sister informed the younger one that dogs sweat through their tongue and stick it out more in summer.All through this explanation there was this quizzical look on Elsa's face.And then it happened. The younger kid, at her charitable best, opened the water bottle and offered water to Elsa to quench her thirst. Elsa pounced on the opportunity, clasped the mouth of the bottle between her fierce jaws and took long swigs.She would not let go of the bottle despite brave attempts by the young kid. Ultimately, the older one succeeded in snatching it away. Lo and behold ! The younger kid, immediately put the bottle to her mouth and had a couple of gulps. The elder one was scandalised.Before she could finish her reprimand, the younger one said," It's already hot. I was only checking whether the water was cold enough. It is !" With that she again offered the bottle to Elsa, who greedily started slurping it all over again. The elder sister just walked away........



I have not informed the kid's parents of this encounter and am in no mood to disrupt the bonhomie and the bond between childhood innocence and the canine greed for attention.