Because whoever said it's just a dog, obviously never petted one!

Yes I know i come back to this picture a lot, but this is among my all-time favourites! Tozz and me, having our 'What am I' moment at Triund Peak.

And her eyes are wide open again. She searches for her cell phone in the dim light floating around in her room from the night lamp rock at the corner. The night lamp was one of the many birthday gifts from Diplomatic Witch, and according to her excited story and the shopkeeper’s fancy tale, the rock was a piece originally brought from Antarctica which apart from melting/corroding in rains, spread positive vibes and ate up nightmares of those using it. Every time the Wench thinks of the story, she can’t help but get amused. “Eating up the nightmares, what a fancy superpower!” “What if another night lamp could eat up bad memories too!”

“3.55 A.M”, flashes the cell phone, forcing her to twitch her eyes as the light from cell phone hits her hard. Why would you get up at 3.55 A.M when you slept at 2.10 A.M after finishing FRIENDS-season 6 for the nth time! But that’s her, liking something too much or not at all.

Her flat mate can still be occasionally heard giggling every now and then in the background. It’s her weekly boyfriend night after all when he comes over. He’s also the one who eyes Wench suspiciously as some psycho-lesbian chick for some unknown reason!

She looks around to get familiarize with the setting. It’s been 2 months and she’s still getting used to the fact that she stays all by herself now in the same city, all away from her jungle and her parents despite being the super protective child.

The lovely room has all stuff of basic necessities along with a chain of twinkie-lights hung on one wall highlighting the weird looking chart she’s pasted on it. (Now that’s a nice ‘My Bar’ Paharganj touch, I would say!) A bottle of water, a make-fold ash tray and dear, old Snoopy lies right under her bed on the side towards the door, making it perfect winters for her!

The photogenic cool dog who posed on a high wall for us at Mcleodganj!

Eyes wide open again! Only this time, she can feel something warm, wet and rough on her right hand. Okay no, now it’s fuzzy and warm. And now, there is this strange sound. Forcing just one of her eyes to open, she finds Snoopy up as the morning sun, trying to wake her up with her tongue-n-rub routine! She can easily tell it’s well past 7 with the sunshine and Snoopy’s restlessness.

“Go away, Snoopy. Play with your mistress.” she pleads while digging her face deeper into her pillow turning onto her stomach. To which, Snoopy gives a ‘i-don’t-care’ look with a small moan and gets to it again. She knows it too well by now what gets Wench up. To and fro, fro and fro, a little jiggle game and she’s all up!

Snoopy has always loved back rubbing sessions. That’s the third thing anyone has ever seen her react to (after mangoes and Wench’s entrance every evening i.e) Every morning however, with her wet, warm nose she’ll pick on Wench’s hand hanging out of the bed. Once she maintains the balance, she’ll throw the hand up in the air with the proficiency of the famous circus clown who juggles bottles. By the time the hand comes down, keeping her timing perrrfect, she’ll glide three steps ahead so that the hand falls just upon her lower back. Her perfect hot-dog like shape and size helps in making the strategy only perfect.

Once the hand is set on the back, she starts moving one step forward, one step backward. Forward, backward. Backward, forward. Like she’s making you rub her back, reminding you the need to be petted, loved and assured. And coming out with that need of hers so courageously, so demandingly, like she isn’t afraid of putting her vulnerable side in front of you. Like she trusts you enough to put it out like that. Just like it should be, with everyone. Fretting, Wench would give in, get up, and give her a heavy back-rubbing session while showering abuses and pecks together combined.

The furry, werewolf-like mountain dog I met up in the hills. It took me 15 minutes and some intense communication to get his approval to touch him. Some experience!

Wench doesn’t really remember how and when Snoopy left her real mistress and adopted Wench as her part-time mistress and companion. Only few weeks back, she used to be this hesitant, aloof dog out of the three ridiculous looking dogs Wench’s flatmate owned- Coochie, Naughty and Snoopy (No offence, but what ridiculous names, I swear!)

While one was a cocker spaniel who was an impulse buy by the flatmate, the other one was a ‘loving’ gift by her (then) boyfriend. (p.s: The new one doesn’t like dogs, at all! And since he doesn’t know exactly which one was gifted by the then boyfriend, he hates them all as a rule.)

Amidst all this, Snoopy was an adopted case and the only female in that weird pack of dogs. She was new, she was scared and she was hesitant. The flatmate was a self-confessed animal lover and stayed home full-time with them, but Snoopy just had hard time trusting people.

Caramel coloured cocker Spaniard with an enviable flair when she walks, she picked Wench instantly after showing indifference for a week. Now every evening, after Wench finished her dinner with the flatmate and her occasionally frequent guests and moved to her room, Snoopy picked up her pace and followed her as a ritual to her room.

She would never shower affection like other two dogs on Wench, but just be there. Wench goes to the living room, she follows. She tip-toes to kitchen for a mid-night snack, she will alarmingly get an idea, wake up and follow her for her share. Wench can’t sleep and decides to sit in the front yard at 2 A.M, she’ll make a face, yawn, get up and sit next to her leaving the cozy room. 

If another animal or a guest took a fancy to Wench’s room, she makes it her job to keep them out and if not possible, show her displeasure at it!

But of course, she always made it clear that despite all the affection, mangoes came before the Wench for her.