Who’s your macho man?

Who’s your macho man?

Now if you are thinking big and strapping, I want you to stop right there. You know as well as I do there’s not enough of that to go around! So while my guy is dark and handsome in his own way, he’s certainly not one any Bangalorean would look at twice – he’s the stray mutt who seems to have taken his place as a quiet sentinel at our apartment gates.

With the city ‘expanding its boundaries,’ we live in a quiet stretch of road that was once notorious for ‘silent crimes.’ With this piece of background, you probably understand why our voluntary hero is much appreciated. But for those of you who could never understand the fuss over dogs and for those to whom Bangalore strays have always been bullying barbarians, what can I say? You don’t know him like I do? 

And I’m kind of right. If our first meeting was anything to go by, he should have never bothered with me either. But he gave me a second chance, and I owe him as much too. Seven am is not my favourite time of the day. However, since my daughter’s school and transport facility haven’t really paid attention to that, her bus pulls into a spot opposite to our gates around then and my daughter and I trudge shivering and sleepy across the road.

Again, given the early hour, I didn't appreciate the exuberant tail wagging and colliding into my heels the morning we first met. So after a couple of angry ‘shoos’, I got across the road with my daughter safely tucked into my arms. After I waved her off, I turned to find him a few yards away from me. He had decided that my angry rebuff wasn't reason enough for him to not escort me across the road! And he kept his distance too: he had a very ‘I’m going about my responsibilities immaterial of your attitude’ look as he walked me back to our apartment gates, still a safe distance away. For the first time I noticed that he had a pronounced limp as well, but that made him look more jaunty than anything else!

I waited to see if he felt the same way about us over the next few days. And he really has been a gentleman, getting up stretching himself out and escorting us across the road every time my daughter and I step outside our gates.

So, yes, we've come to love our macho man and I’m glad he didn't give up on me because he makes me feel better on a cold morning than a hot cup of anything!