Mutt and me – friendly meeting with a stray dog.

And there are moments where in the heart flutters through the otherwise prosaic backdrop called life. Sometimes looking deep into the eyes of a dog can steer you to a soul searching journey.

Our dog-loving friend Jisha Joseph who I am sure has a secret identity as a super heroine (look out for the alliterative as in Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Matt Murdock and Clark Kent) shares this endearing incident.

Mutt and me

The other day I had gone to drop off a friend at the airport and I had a wait time of almost 45 minutes before I could get an Aeroexpress bus, Now Aeroexpress bus is this amazing service that I have come to love during my stay at Hyderabad. This nice air conditioned Volvo bus to and fro from the airport is completely economic, comfortable and super fast.

Now 45 minutes for a restless me was a little too much time and I thought since it was close to my lunch time I could do with a grub. I chose this teeny veg burger from the counter and sat down thinking I’ll enjoy my burger while I wait for the bus.

Followed me to my seat was this Indian dog close to two years, lean, a little dirty and a lot hungry. He just sat there like the most trained being adoring me and my teeny burger. I promised myself, ‘no spoiling the dog’, this is how people help them develop a habit of sneering and drooling at people’s food and cajoling them into sharing their food with the mutt. I continued with my burger trying to ignore the cutie. Alas! I could not do that for long, I expected him to a be a little less polished than the Vanilla Muffin I have at home ( Muffin is my 2-year-old Labrador, see the image above) who apparently a family of four trained from the time he was 5 weeks old.

I expected this one to maybe stir a little, get impatient or even try snatching it from me. But he kept still with only his eyes looking sadder by the second watching me hog the yummy burger all by myself. Where did my manners go and where went the kind heart that loves animals and feeds them. I broke a nice piece of the bun and offered it to him. That was such a proud moment, he took it just by the corner and slowly ate it with content. He ensured he did not touch my hand; Muffin would have grabbed and gobbled it down in a fraction.

Of course, I had to share the rest of my burger equally with him. He was my new friend and a lovely one at that. We finished our meal and dropped the plate into the dustbin; he came back and sat with me for some more time, looked right into my eyes and thanked me for sharing. Then he bid me goodbye and hopped on to find another kind burger eater.

Indian pariah dogs are amazingly friendly and smart if given a chance. Reminds you of an anecdote? Share it on our facebook wall.