Leo won our hearts as soon as he arrived. He was a darling of all at home except the cats in the beginning. But even their relationship evolved over a period of time .They were not sure about Leo and so were wary of him .They used to spend the day outside and return in the evening. They entered through the main gate and it was high drama every evening when one person held Leo and the other let the cats in. He wanted to be friends with them but did not do the right things and tried to nip at them. Slowly they started accepting him and towards the end, they would be seen sitting next to each other without a problem.
Leo was loved by all the members of the household starting with the oldest members –my mother and mother-in-law. My MIL called him “silk rose” in Tamil and our help called him Babu. Each one had a name for him and a time slot to talk and play with him. He would go crazy when some family and friends arrived and had separate equations with all of them. He would greet all family members affectionately at the gate. He rarely ever barked at humans except when he would want us to know that there was someone at the gate that he doesn’t know or if we were not paying attention to him. He had some doggy friends when they walked past the gate, he would greet them with a bark.
Leo was a creature of routine which included sunbathing and meditation in the morning and looking at all the dogs and humans taking a walk in the evening. He would only play in the time slots fixed for it. There would be a door-closing ceremony every night when he would do all his tricks, get rewarded and then we would close the door. In winter months he had a kennel-like housing which I would personally ensure that it was warm enough for him. He loved to bite into every cloth he was given. He hated the winter coats we tried to put on him until we gave up believing that he did not need one as he did not feel cold. It became his personal mission to rip apart the doggy coat as soon as we put it on him.
He was not demanding on personal comforts at all. He gave so much love asking for nothing in return –unconditional love only a few of us can give and a precious few of us can receive. He taught us to prize very moment given to us and fill it with love and positivity.
He taught us how to lead a full life…
