The Tiger

 

 

A few months back a family moved in to an empty house opposite my home. The house had been unoccupied for quite a while that we got used to it and got comfortable with the way it was. When there was this sudden unexpected change, I was a little taken aback. In addition, the new residents had a pet dog. It was not a cute-looking Pomeranian or something, rather a normal breed with a light-brown smooth and evenly textured skin.

I had never had neighbor who owned a pet dog until then. Ironically, they had named it Tiger. It was a strange name for a dog though. I couldn't help thinking that. I couldn't understand the thought process in naming the dog so. It was funny and also not funny. For a casual stranger who gets to hear the name they might think it is hilarious to name a dog that. Some may not. Maybe the owners didn't really research on what the name should be. It was done in the spur of the moment, or maybe it was a very bold and aggressive dog.

Anyway...

I was not used to having dogs around. In fact I had a fear of dogs, especially stray dogs. Now I'm familiar with this quote I see often on Instagram, " I'm suspicious of people who don't like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn't like a person". Because I used to hear stories of dog biting people and how dangerous it was to be bitten by a street dog and the numerous treatments they should go through until they're healthy and back to normal, I had developed that fear.

And I had no idea on how to interact with dogs because I haven't had the exposure. Although I did fancy having a dog when I was a child, I felt like I wasn't ready for that kind of a responsibility.

And this dog, Tiger was as good as one. It was more aggressive than a lot of dogs I had seen. And it was a very protective one too. No one could get away from it. It never let anyone come near their house. It was a very vigilant one too.

Initially it barked a lot at us. We were new neighbors to it, but it still felt like we were intruders. Whenever any one of us in the family got out, it would constantly bark until we were either inside our house or out of sight. I found it quite irritable. And the barking was too much, it was way too disturbing. The owners had it tied at the porch and my room was the nearest to that place. I felt very disturbed by the sound most of the time. Because it was in a new place, apparently, it wasn't yet comfortable and would bark at anything it was not used to.

There's a saying in our old literature that a dog that bites won't bark and the one that barks won't bite. I felt like the dog did both. So I made sure I was out of its site, anytime.

My dad came up with this ingenious idea of feeding the dog. Now and then he used to give it bits of cookies or anything that might interest a dog in order to gain its trust and to make it feel safe and that we were just friendly neighbors. Soon Tiger understood. It understood that we meant no harm and just people who lived nearby. It remembered dad thereon and always had a warm feeling towards him. It wagged its tail whenever dad would call its name.

Then I was mildly interested in doing the same. Previously it did bark a lot at me and even more so when I had a face mask on (covid times!), because it couldn't recognize me. I started by giving it pieces of bread, sometimes cakes. Sometimes I would sacrifice my share to Tiger. It devoured all of it with a lot of ecstasy. Unlike other dogs, Tiger enjoyed eating mangoes too! It was probably one of the sweetest things I had ever seen, a dog named Tiger loving mangoes! This is what you'd hear in a lot of fictional tales!

Soon Tiger had developed a good bond with me. I had only fed it for a couple of weeks and it had made the dog happy and in return, it showed its love and gratitude. It always remembered me for that and wagged its tail whenever it saw me. It was quite gratifying and heart-warming to experience that.

And I realized this fact and it hit me hard. A lot of animals, especially dog, show gratitude towards anyone that's helped them through their life. It might be just one good act, it remembers nevertheless and never stops showing its love. Love and gratitude is natural for them, its not taught. I still find it very interesting and surprising.

We, humans might have been the same way too. But now, what was once a very natural and spontaneous thing is being taught to us and yet it requires a lot of hard work to give out those feelings towards each other.

Hopefully, we'll be as good soon.

What is something you love about animals?