Pet story: Owner’s delight, but a visitor’s dilemma

As I sit perched precariously on the edge of the sofa while being treacherously aware of my exposed heels and my nervous smile, the host takes it upon herself to convince me time and again, “Relax. He is totally harmless” and “Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite.”

From the moment I rang the doorbell and heard the sharp greeting from behind the door, my heart began to knock against the ribcage as if ready to burst. This being my first visit to the acquaintance’s house, I had no idea of the canine presence and the low growls were not enough to ascertain the size or breed. To my relief, the dog turned out to be of a small and stubby variety people generally pet for embellishment than for security purposes.

The house reeks of canine odour much to the discomfiture of my olfactory senses. However, the host seems to be oblivious and continues to caress the little thing as it takes refuge behind her shins. A while later, the little dog being totally convinced that I pose no threat to its domain, slowly inches its way towards my heels and begins to sniff and lick them. The host proudly declares that they don’t put a leash on the pet as it despises being restricted.

I’m not averse to pets as, a long time ago I too was the proud owner of two.

Despite my mother’s strict instructions, I pampered them endlessly by smuggling them into my quilt in the middle of the night or treating them to the forbidden snacks. However, now that I don’t own pets, I realise other people must have felt what I was undergoing right now – a sense of dilemma bordering on discomfort. The carpet under my feet is plagued by the dog’s hair and I can see a few strands on the sofa, too.

Tea arrives in fine bone china cups along with a platter of snacks both sweet and savoury. The pet shifts its focus from my feet to the laden plates and starts to sniff around them. The host extends a plate of biscuits towards me and before I can pick one, the desperate one leaps around and lays its paws onto my lap. The sudden jump leads to an equally sudden reaction as I, too, jump in my seat with my arms flailing while dislodging the biscuits from the plate much to the delight of the pet, who laps up the cookies along with the crumble.

I apologise to my host, who is busy chiding the dog as one would chastise one’s children for misbehaving in front of a guest. The little dog oblivious to the master’s words licks its mouth in satiation, flaps its ears and wags its tail before taking refuge in a corner of the room.

The host instantly feels remorse for being harsh to its pet. She utters sweet nothings and entreats it to come and have another cookie, this time directly from the lady’s hand. She affectionately ruffles its fleece and in the same moment picks up another cookie from the plate, this time to stuff it into her own mouth as I look awestruck from the man to the dog!

THE SUDDEN JUMP LEADS TO AN EQUALLY SUDDEN REACTION AS I, TOO, JUMP IN MY SEAT WITH MY ARMS FLAILING WHILE DISLODGING THE BISCUITS FROM THE PLATE MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF THE PET, WHO LAPS UP THE COOKIES ALONG WITH THE CRUMBLE