Dog Pound

There are a lot of dogs in my University campus. The strangest thing about these canines, and mind you, they ARE a very strange lot, is that they hardly bark.

They're just so used to people petting them, feeding them (from chicken leftovers to curd-rice) and cuddling them, they just don't feel the need to bark at anyone. They know very well that no one's ever going to hurt them. It also probably never occurs to them that some people are actually rather afraid of them. If they recognize you, they will quietly trot up to you and graze their noses against your feet or shins. Sometimes I almost expect them to actually say, "Hello! How are you today?"

Of course like humans, some of the doggies are more popular than others, like Lelu and Tommy. Lelu is your mutt-next-door. He will not mind if you pull his ears or make him wear a paper hat. He will still come wagging after you next day. Tommy, on the other hand, is a regal one. He is definitely well aware of his prowess over the other dogs and is proud of his bushy tail. But you should see him when he stares at your food while you are eating. He can make the saddest puppy-dog eyes you can imagine.

There's another one, we call him Lelo. That one's totally bonkers. He runs aimlessly, then stops  randomly, sleeps on his back with his limbs in the air, lolls his tongue out all the time. Sometimes he will come to you for a cuddle and just refuse to leave. At others, he will not even see you, even though he's looking your way.

Them you will find all over the campus. And when I say all over, I mean ALL over. I've seen Lelu in the corner of my washroom. I've seen Tommy on the first floor of the Men's hostel. They are the cafeteria too. The strangest encounter yet was the time when, in my Twentieth Century American Fiction class, in strolled a dog. No one was much bothered to chase it out. It sat quietly in a corner and listened to the rest of the lecture. And then it came out with us, wearing the expression "what're you looking at?" on it's face.

It's not a dog-eat-dog world out here. We all are living peacefully. Besides, they are really good entertainment.