Along Came A Dog

I love dogs. My family loves them too. My parents love the idea of a dog, but when it comes to having a dog visit our house or the idea of raising one, they were never really that keen on having one. Maybe it was having a dog when they were kids and losing them, or just not having a pet for so long since they moved from their homes in Sri Lanka, my parents probably just didn't want to invest a lot of time into a dog or any pet in that manner. But that all changed when we met Bowser. Bowser came into our lives through my sister's husband (who was her fiancé at the time when he first brought over Bowser). Usually, he would come over to either pick up or drop off my sister. But this time, he curiously was taking a while to get out of his car. Usually, we would hear the sound of his car pulling into the driveway, and within a minute there would be the ring of a doorbell. But he was taking a little more time than usual, with the back door of his car open, and him hunching down to get something. I got curious and walked out the door to greet him. And then came one of the nicest surprises.

This little puppy, with his fur almost coloured in a tuxedo like fashion, jumped out of the back seat. As a dog lover, I just get super happy seeing a dog. Even if its a YouTube ad featuring a dog, I would watch the ad, rather than skip it. That's how much I like them. So when this puppy hopped out, it obviously was super curious. Considering that this was the tail end of the first Covid-19 lockdowns, even the puppy wasn't getting to see that many new locations due to restrictions and all. But with things easing up, I guess even the puppy was super happy to be able to see a new surrounding. My brother in law told me that the puppies name was Bowser, and that they had just got the dog recently. As soon as he said the name, the puppy hilariously went into play mode, jumping at the first thing that caught his attention. I just so happened to be in his line of sight, and Bowser just ran up and tried to get me to pet him by jumping on me. While I was getting acquainted with the puppy, my parents came to the front porch and saw Bowser. My dad, who usually has a serious face most of the time, lit up when he saw the puppy. I booked it, because the second he knew I saw him, he changed his face back to a serious way. My mom, on the other hand, wasn't budging from the door. She had a little bit of a fear of dogs. But poor Bowser didn't know, he just wanted to make new friends. As my brother in law talked to my parents, I noticed how Bowser was keen on getting attention from my parents, who didn't notice this. I will never forget, but when they continued to talk with my brother in law and not pet him, Bowser scrunched himself under the porch chair and looked sad. Its amazing how something that can't speak words can make you feel its emotions 10x more. That image still sticks with me, even though there are plenty of happy moments that have happened since.

Over the course of that summer, Bowser would come over and visit, and slowly but surely, my parents caved. I mean, come on, how can anyone not succumb to charms and whimsical nature of a dog? My parents went from saying "keep the dog on the front porch or front lawn," to saying, "its okay, bring him inside." Bowser's love and affection helped get him from being stuck on the steps whenever he visited, to entering the entrance area, to finally being able to stay in the living room whenever he came to visit. And it was astonishing and lovely to see. Bowser, like many dogs do, grew substantially in such a short amount of time. He went from being a little puppy to becoming a full grown dog within the span of that summer. And as he grew, my parents began to love him more and more. Even though he wasn't our families dog necessarily, I could tell that the 15 min to an hour that Bowser would usually spend at our house were probably some of the highlights of their day. And Bowser is a very smart dog. Outside of being well trained and all, he also respected the fact that my parents were a little hesitant around him in the initial stages. My dad was the first to crack, as one day he finally decided that he should pet Bowser. It was a little hilarious to see as it looked like Bowser had unlocked some happy level, as he started becoming super happy, wagging and smacking his tail on my dad. It took my mom forever to finally pet him, and when she did even Bowser hilariously seemed shocked that she pet him.

My parents began to ask about Bowser more. Sometimes my brother in law would come over without him, and I could tell my parents would be anticipating hearing the tippy taps of him entering our house. It became a little comedic for me, seeing them go from being hesitant to being super adamant that Bowser should come over. Bowser became an unofficial favourite guest, so much so that he even had his own basket of toys that he could play with, and my parents buying things specifically for him (Bowser loves bananas and ice, so my dad would purposely buy a bunch just for him). I know that this is more than one moment, but I wanted to encapsulate the affect that this one happy dog had on my parents. For them, they were more appreciative of the idea of a dog than the reality of interacting or having one until Bowser came into the picture.

But ever since Bowser entered their lives, I could tell a drastic change in them. My dad talks about the antics and hilarious moments he has with Bowser every time he's on the phone with people. My mom, the same lady who refused to pet Bowser, now wants to feed him and make sure he is doing okay. As a dog lover, it warms my heart and also helps me with my eventual ulterior motive: getting a dog of our own. They might say that Bowser is technically our dog, but I know that if I were to bring home a dog of my own, they will love it and take care of it the same way they gradually did with Bowser. And I have the perfect name for the dog if I get it: Buster Barkster. Till then, myself and my family love spending time with Bowser, even if its in short visits and doses. Cause the best thing in the world, in my opinion, is spending any sort of time with a dog. And I got to know that from a little friend by the name of Bowser.