For the Love of Dog

This Valentine's Day, find love right under your nose

- Smt. Simone Preuss

"Owoooooo", "owoooooo". The dog howling was persistent. Ironically, I was in the downward dog position myself when it started. There was a beige colored stray dog just outside the fence behind which I was doing my morning asana practice. The reason for his distress? Just a few minutes earlier, I had petted his soft head, scratched his neck and talked gently to him. Now, he wanted more of my attention.

But mornings go by quickly and can't be spent petting random stray dogs, even if they are very cute and persistent. So reluctantly, I had torn myself away from his gentle brown eyes and wagging tail and stepped on the mat. That's when the howling started. Commencing my second round of Surya Namaskar, I decided

to ignore him. That seemed to work as after a few more howls and an exasperated grunt, he decided to settle on the ground right in front of the fence. Soon enough, he went to sleep.

I finished my practice and just as I rolled up my mat, he opened his eyes, jumped to his feet and started wagging his tail vigorously again. This was too much, now I just had to meet him again persistence paid off. I stepped towards the fence, put my hand through and was greeted with a lick and one beige, furry head trying to squeeze itself through the posts of the fence.