My most favorite moment is when Poorvi is in town and my pampering increases exponentially. She has a real calling to be a dog masseuse ! Why do folks think that dogs don’t need to be rubbed down like our equinine friends . Dogs also need constant (or at least once a day if that is inconvenient for our lazy masters ) finger massage. It keeps the blood flowing to our temple and other body parts and keeps our hair/ fur springy and shiny !
Now that I am not as young as before ( pssst keep this to yourselves , we female dogs have the same pretensions as the females of your kind !) I really do have to work harder to keep up appearances of an erstwhile beauty contest runner up in the 50 lb category where I was first in a grand total of three contestants !
Whatever ! A winner is a winner and I am not going to be giving these details to all and sundry , only to you , my dear fans and readers . So again , keep a secret , if you will !
Of course , it’s not easy to get this kind of treatment and pampering since there are no luxury pet grooming centers or , maybe, my pack turns a Nelson’s eye to them even if they exist ; Flintstones, I say !
If you take a gander at the video you will see frequent nosing and holding hands is required by way of encouragement to which she is happily responsive . Yup, Poorvi is one of kind , a dear soul and I love her very, very much !
And I will even suffer her PDA’s ( Public Display of Affection, in case you are not acronym savvy ! ) just as long as she does not stop the champi ( Indian word for head massage from which the English word shampoo originated ! I am well versed in the nuances of the world languages even though my personal preference is the “ Woof “ language – article about it elsewhere on this blog )
Sometimes I wonder if my life has any purpose at all . I mean I know I am a dog and all that but what is a dogs’s purpose ?
I had a chat with some of my friends one day on this subject and this is what they had to say
Toby ( a labradoodle) : A dog’s purpose ? What do you mean ? We have a purpose ? I thought we were just meant to chase balls and then chase more balls and never stop chasing balls . We can even chase flat balls that go spinning in the air when my master throws it . ( Toby doesn’t know the difference between a frisbee and a ball , it’s all the same to him )
Bella ( a good looking female golden retriever ): Master, what is a master ? Those folks who live with us . That is our pack. And we are the leader of the pack . Don’t we always walk in front and allow them to hold our leash so that they don’t get lost. And , when we do our business they have to pick it up and dispose it off . It’s sad but till they invent a better poop scooper they have to do it !
Trumpet : True , but as usual Toby has made us forget what we were talking about !
Archie ( who is English ): Bow wow Bow wow , lets go play !
Roscoe ( who has one blue eye and one brown and is a mutt ) : Archie is very young , he is not going to understand all this high falutin’ talk ! But I agree with Toby, running after balls is our purpose and it’s a pleasure to be sure .
Bella : Mindlessly running after balls may be fun but does it serve any purpose ? And for who ?
Apollo: What about the purpose of a ball? Personally I think it is to get the ball, and keep it until you rip it apart! My master always yells at me for ruining it, isn’t that what the purpose of a ball is.
(This sentence was Ambika’s contribution- she has the makings of a writer! )
Roscoe : Bow wow , here’s another fella going off on a tangent again . Keep to the subject man. We are talking about a dog’s purpose not the ball’s purpose !
Bella : Yes, but he’s got something there ! If our purpose is to rip balls then is the balls purpose to be ripped ? So, if it is our purpose to lord over our masters ( I try to be polite and call them assistants to their face and in polite company ) then isn’t it the masters purpose to continue being slaves ?
Apollo : This is getting very confusing . Who is the master who is the slave !
Toby : That’s why I say let’s not muddle our heads with this master , slave , purpose nonsense and just go on chasing balls !
Archie : Arf, Arf , I agree let’s go play !
Roscoe : What’s this Arf business ? Can’t you bark like normal dogs ?!
Trumpet : He’s English. An English golden retriever , he speaks differently ! That’s why he is more white than golden !
Bella ( looking up ) : That’s interesting . I guess that’s why we are called a melting pot. If you mix white, yellow, brown and black you do get a golden colour !
Roscoe ( who has one blue eye and one brown ) : (chuckling ) Some call it khakhi ! Ha ha ha
Nitro arrives and hears the last bit .
Nitro : Yup ! Not white and pure as driven snow any longer ..,
Trumpet : Hey, hey fella , where have you come from , trying to make trouble ?
Apollo : He is fresh off the boat . Anyway Roscoe, you are a fine one to talk , you one eyed Jack !
Roscoe : Hey, hey why are you taking off on me dude. I am not the one making trouble , it’s the fella with a name who is as incendiary as his name .
Archie : Let’s go play ball , please, please , pretty please !
Bella : Nitro, you are in our zone . We are not going to let an outsider make trouble .
Nitro : ( sarcastically) Yeah, sure. You don’t NEED an outsider . You are capable of doing it yourselves !
Archie : Please let’s not fight . Let’s go play !
Roscoe : Keep quiet, you foolish little English mutt . Can’t you see we are discussing grown up stuff . Go and play by yourself .
Archie : All right then toodle doo to you . I am going to go .
Nitro : Yes exit . Since you are British do it the British way . Just Brexit.
Archie runs off his tail wagging playfully . He shouts over his shoulder
Archie : It’s better to be alone and play than to be with many and fight . Cheerio , pip pip and all that .
Nitro : Little does he know what’s waiting for him around the corner.
Bella : I think you are a trouble maker Nitro . What is waiting for him around the corner . How do you get this information ?
Roscoe : I hope he is not the source of it . Or his friends .
Nitro : Well, you mutts , it’s time for us pure ones to rule and we are going to take care of it .
Trumpet : And how are you going to do that , O pure one ?
Nitro : It’s a super secret plan. I am not so stupid as to reveal it . But, it’s going to take care of all of you mutts and put you in your place . Ha ha ha . Wait and watch
Trumpet to Roscoe : Doggone it, I have to get my K-9 unit in place then cause this fella sure looks like he is going to stir the pot a bit !
Bella: ( sighs ) Why can’t we stick to the subject ? As usual our discussion is hijacked by unwanted elements . No wonder we can never get anywhere , just round and round , chasing our own tails ! Oh well , one day we will find out what is a dog’s purpose ? !
MY BFF – An expert in head massage , can give one even whilst she looks away !
Today I am going to write about a very special person in my life and tell you what makes her special or for that matter what makes anyone special to me.
It’s not good looks ( though she is very good looking ); after all dogs can only like dog looking people which people don’t like. In fact, they don’t think it’s nice to look like a dog and when they want to insult someone they say, “ She looks like a dog. “! Shouldn’t that be a compliment? Go figure.
Anyways coming back to this human , she is good looking and smart and well turned out, though what do we care about what you wear. After all we only wear our fur coat proudly and look like what Mother Nature intended us to look like.
But, I guess humans have their own peccadilloes ( which means a small infraction , ooops , another big word to explain a big word ; looks like Professor Ollie is with me in spirit ! ) . Anyways, it means to do something which others may consider an offense but it’s not something one should make a big song and dance about . Ah ! but I digress ( which means I am going away from the subject )
So she is very fancy shmancy and what not. People tell me she is educated but then what do we dogs care about whether you went to Harvard, Yale or Princeton. In fact, we don’t even care if you went to dog school to learn obedience and how to do your personal business out of the home. These things are not important to us. But they are important to humans then so be it.
So what makes this human special to me . For that matter what makes any human special to us dogs . Well, here comes the big SECRET of what quality makes us tick ! No, not those pesky creatures that cling to us and drive us insane . But what makes us dogs go ape with happiness . Oops 🙊, another critter reference ! All right what makes us 😀!
Yes, what dogs want is PURE LOVE . Love us and we are yours forever. And that’s what makes this human special to me. Her pure, unadulterated, unconditional love for me and for all other animals as well ; unfortunately, even cats. Though I do the draw line here. How can she like cats ? Oh well, there is no accounting for tastes. But there you are.
The secret is out . What makes a human special to dogs . That they love us. Then we don’t care if they wrap their arms around us, squeeze us, kiss us , cuddle us ( see pics ) we will bear with it and even grin as we bear it ( see pic ) because we know it’s coming out of love. Moreover, we can’t expect humans to love the doggy way by sniffing the unmentionable, licking or nipping ( gently ! ) Humans will be humans so it’s all good .
So here’s to the most special person in my life , POORVI SHUKLA . Thank you for all the cuddling , massages, hugs and more.
Happy Birthday .
XOXO BELLA
p.s BOW WOW ( which means I BOW to the WOW in you )
p.p.s. Ambika, don’t get angry because on your birthday you will become the MOST special too. Ditto Aryan and Anu ( my human mom )
Hello , it’s my birthday today and I just turned 7 which in human year’s would be 49 ! Phew ! But I am a canine so why would I count my years in human years , pray ! And what’s this obsession with age anyway ! I look and feel a spritely 7 ; though my bones may creak a bit and I do feel a bit lethargic and tend to sleep a lot , more than before and, maybe, I am not as agile as before particularly when treats are flung in the air ( note from Bella’s writer : Bella is getting on in years but is in denial like many of us ! ) but I feel 7 at heart and that’s what I am going to be !
I hope there is going to be a party planned for moi like before and Toby and Apollo will be over to share my treats and play with me ( I am generous that way ) and we will have a merry time and forget that my golden hair is not as gold as before , my face is turning white ( note from ghost writer : happens with golden retrievers as they get on in years ) and , well , all the things that happen to humans at 49 !
But what the beeswax , life is good and I hope to enjoy it to the fullest while the going is good . Here are some photos from my previous shindigs .
BFFS IF THERE IS NO CAKE A COOKIE WILL DO TOO ! SEEMS TO ME HUMANS LIKE TO KEEP THE BEST FOR THEMSELVES ; I GUESS THEY THINK THEY ARE ON THE HIGH TABLE AND FOOD CHAIN 😮🙄HOPE IT’S NOT ‘BACK TO THE BOWL’ !
YAAY SPECIAL COOKIES BAKED FOR MOI ! LIFE’s GOOD !
Translation by Professor Ollie who is a language specialist by virtue of the fact that he can never stop himself from asking the question ‘To wit, who ?’
I hope you have been practicing the Woof language in your spare time , it is a simple language really, you can’t ever make grammatical errors or spelling mistakes when you speak or write this language; of course , written only by those with opposable thumbs though I often wonder why monkeys don’t write ! They, too have opposable thumbs.
Perhaps , you can ask your teacher and figure that out after you have found out the meaning of opposable thumbs which all humans and monkeys have . Then you may understand the reason why we dogs can only speak / bark and not write ! Or peel a banana . Our paws are just not cut out for it.
Actually monkeys can do a lot because of their opposable thumbs. Take a look at the video ! Woof woof woof ( translated – ha ha ha ) . The problem is they can never do anything creative just make mischief ! Take a look . From the grandfather to the little baby !!! Check them out.
It’s not easy for a dog with long , golden hair to be ignored. Regular brushing is a must and it behoves the well mannered owner to be suitably invested in our grooming . After all every dog is just a reflection of his masters personality. In fact , look carefully . Every dog owner not only resembles his dog but his personality is also akin to his dog . If the dog is amiable, calm and laidback , the owner is likely to be similarly tempered. And if a dog looks calm but will suddenly nip your ankles watch out if the owner is your friend . Tee hee . If you don’t believe me take a look at some dogs and their owners ! By owner I mean the person who got the dog , looks after it and the dog responds to him.
If this material is copyrighted I apologize but I did take permission from the dogs featured in the photos .
