Walking with Mani

Cesar Milan is a genius. Sure, Matt and I knew our dog needed more exercise but we used lack of sidewalks, open sewers, and congested traffic as an excuse to skip Prithvi's evening walk. About two months ago our little street dog's territorial instincts became a bit too much to handle. She claimed the couch the seat of her imperial control, growling if ever I deigned to glance in her direction. We knew we needed to make a change.

I turned to the "dog whisperer" for ideas to help us reclaim our couch. After searching through many reviews of his books, I chose Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems. I learned that we were treating Prithvi like a human when she really needed to be treated like a dog. And our dog needed more walks with her "pack", aka Matt and me. Little did we know that our pack was missing one of its most important members.

Mani is small for a Chennai street dog but boy is he scrappy! He has sturdy legs, an athletic body, and an alert but kind face. Yes, he is smelly, greasy, and probably home to a colony of fleas but he is a sweetie. We met him when we first moved in a year and a half ago when he started following us any time we came home from the grocery with our bags full of tasty treats. We thought this was pretty funny and dubbed him "Bags". Six months later we learned he had a real name and was something of a celebrity in our neighborhood. Apparently the old guy has been supervising construction sites for the past five years, stamping his approval with paw prints in wet cement.

Mani did not take to Prithvi immediately; it was far from love at first sight. At most he would lift his head as she sauntered past and would silently bare his teeth if her curiosity brought her too close. However, once he got used to sharing his territory with her he had a change of heart. One day Mani began to escort Prithvi on her w-a-l-k's.

With a pat on the head from us, Mani allowed our little Indian dog to sniff his rear to seal the pact. From that point on we have gone walking with Mani. We are quite a sight, our pack of two chatty Americans and two Chennai street dogs. We get more stares than we used to now that we walk with Mani. I can't blame them; it is not every day one sees a clearly kept dog playing with a street veteran like Mani. I also acknowledge that Matt and I are part of the spectacle. I imagine the witnesses of our pack outings thinking "there go those crazy Americans with their dogs. I bet they keep that one in the house! Gross!".

At first people tried to scare him away from us; they thought we didn't want him so close. Eventually our neighbors realized that we liked our stray escort. To tell the truth, Prithvi's behavior changed dramatically with her increased exercise and I suspect due in part to her friendship with Mani. While we treated her like a human, he treats her like a dog. Thank you, Mani!

The dogs patiently wait for each other when they stop to reinforce their territorial rights or say hello to their friends along the way. When we get back to our building Prithvi trots inside while Mani stays at the gate. He knows his home is on the street and that his fans of the neighborhood will continue to feed him and give him scratches behind the ear.

While she might be Princess of Sharanalaya Apartments, Prithvi has accepted her rightful place below Mani, King of RA Puram.