BUDDY

How far would a dog go to get extra attention ? By Buddy standards – a lot – even to the extent of deceiving her master. Last week, Buddy came to me, limping piteously. She showed me her left paw. I was concerned and asked the maid if she had let the dog out while I was away. No. Anyway, I bent and petted her – “Must get a vet to see to it,” I thought. As I walked into the house, she walked away to the back. I noticed that she was walking normally, no limp. “Buddy?” I called. She quickly turned towards me, limping again, this time she showed me her right paw! Ah! I remembered she had tried this trick on Serene before!! Get lost, you tricky dog ! And she ran off sheepishly.
Do dogs know shame? Buddy seems to do. Buddy had this habit of sneaking out of the garden each time the gate is opened. We had to chase after her to get her in again – after subjecting her to much scolding, she learned her lesson, or so we thought. Then we noticed that there were a couple of times when we came home, she was waiting outside the gate. So we decided to observe her movements. As we reversed out car out, she would sit demurely at the front porch and see us off. The minute our car moved off, she would dash out as the gate was closing in. Impeccable timing! The sneaky dog tricked us again. So we laid a trap. This time we pretended to move off and parked our car a distance away. Sure enough, there came Buddy bouncing out as the gate closed in – Dad scolded her and she went home guiltily.
I remember once she was locked out for many hours. The day was extremely hot. As I got down from the car, I was extremely annoyed with her – “Serves you right. I bet you are dying of thirst.” I told her. She walked in proudly, ignoring me. The minute my back was turned, she dashed to the water bowl and lapped greedily. I stared at her, she pretended not to see me and slinked under the car…..
That’s Buddy. Snowball would not have behaved in such a manner though. She was far too elegant.