The Musing Mastiff

The door did not open like it usually did. There was no hesitation in its movement. The latch opened on the first attempt too. I lived in a house which I could barely call one, let alone call it a home. The roof could fall to the floor at any moment. The landlord disagreed. But he also said the water and the electricity would be available round the clock. 

I fumbled around my pocket, which bore too much weight ever since I had lost my wallet. Its misplacement might have meant I would need to carry around less weight, but the loose change, the two keys - to the apartment and the bicycle's lock - as well as the lighter I would use if someone lent me a cigarette at the teal stall, caused me greater distress. 

The loose change was all I had at the end of the month. I replaced my house keys inside the pocket after locking the door. And just as I turned around, I realised I had almost forgotten about Tommy, who stood beside me. "You're going to trouble me, aren't you boy?" I said with a smile on my face. 

Bending down on my knees, I patted him on the back. The dog sat there, quiet. His behaviour was against the nature of other Mastiffs. He was castrated and had a faint mark left behind a collar he wore. When I found him on the streets, this told me he was owned once, and had been abandoned or lost, if not for long. The look of sorrow on its face helped me make my decision after petting him for a while. He hadn't bathed for days; he wasn't meant to live on the streets. 

If my landlord found out a dog resided with me, no matter how well-behaved it was, he would evict me. Considering the informal nature of our agreement - he had been kind to let me in without a penny to my name in the first place - an eviction would mean I would be left homeless again. I did not deserve such a fate, I told myself - I had an engineering degree. Wasn't that supposed to be the end of my troubles? It hadn’t been. 

I patted the dog once more. "Life isn't fair." After a pause, it was necessary to add - "You would know, wouldn't you?" Once more, Tommy did not say anything, only wagging his tail and sticking out his tongue. Food, I realised. He needs food. 

I had brought him home last evening, after which he was yet to bark even once. I fed him the leftover from my breakfast last night. The dog had eaten it without complaints. But he would need more appropriate food, I knew. The way Tommy looked, he wouldn't survive long without it. 

I walked. Perhaps, I shouldn't have taken him home with me. Now that I had, I could not fathom abandoning him once more. Another sign of my ill-preparedness was that I did not have a leash to carry him with. He could refuse to walk, or run away, at any moment he pleased. Even though I would not like so to happen, if he did, it might be for the best. But the dog kept close to me. I varied my pace a couple of times as I walked down the street to see if he kept up. He persisted with his best efforts to walk alongside me. 

It was a Saturday. I would not be required to go to the office today. The only trouble was that the day I would get my salary fell on a Sunday this time around. No banks would be open tomorrow - I might be penniless when it came to cash in hand if I bought the dog food I intended to. 

It was around eight in the morning. Most shops would be closed. Even the streets would breathe easier compared to usual. As I walked down the main road and towards the park, this was evident. On most days, people would be outdoors with briefcases in their hands, ties around their collars, and thick wallets in their pockets which they needed more money to fill with. They would bump into each other, as it was bound to happen whenever one populated the busy streets of Calcutta. But unlike me, most neither turned around nor apologised. For them, the bumps between two shoulders had become like the bumps of life - they were not worth looking back at. There was no time to. 

I slowed down. My wristwatch showed a time which was too early for the shops to open. Taking Tommy to the park for a walk had been why I ventured out of my house so early on a weekend. As we walked the final steps towards the modest pasture's entrance, I was agitated. I had named him Tommy on a whim. I did not attach importance to names. ‘Tommy’ was what came to my mind because it was the name of the dog which belonged to my favourite actor in a movie from my childhood. The source of the agitation was that I could recollect the name of neither the actor nor the movie, despite having just entered my twenties. I could only recollect the name of the dog. 

"Tommy", I said out loud, and just as I did, he barked for the first time since I had found him on the street. We were at the foot of the entrance. I looked at him. "Was that you, Tommy?" He barked again, wagging his tail once more. I did not know whether he liked his new name or not, but he had realised it was his. 

We entered the park. And as I looked at the farthest corner, I could see the only other person of the few present who had a dog with herself. She was playing fetch with it. I should have brought something along myself to keep him occupied. The trouble was that I had never taken care of an animal before, let alone keep one with myself. The intricacies of such activities were ones I did not know about. 

We walked for a bit. He did not seem to be lethargic, but the spring in his step seemed to be missing. After making a few rounds of the path encircling the greenery, I sat down on the grass. He stood by me for a few moments, maintaining a formal position. He had been trained. Then, he sat down too. I patted him on the head. We looked at the other side of the park, and the cars which drove past the place, on their way to attend to business or family. 

I turned to Tommy. "Why are you so quiet?" I asked him, not for the first time. The dog looked at me, sticking his tongue out. When I did not speak more, he turned around to face the cars again. I continued to observe him. I had given him a bath and applied medicine to a few wounds on his self yesterday. He looked cleaner in the sunshine, and even more magnificent. Every time he took a breath, it was visible. He was a royal breed, and must have been brought from outside. His maintenance would take a lot of money too. Money which I feared I did not have. 

But as we sat there, a calm quiet between the two of us, he subverted all expectations. He was the kind of dog people would walk two steps away from. I had read about his type in books and seen his likes in the movies. He behaved nothing like they usually do. He continued to sit beside me, silent, expectant, and sad. 

"Do you miss your previous home?" I asked Tommy. He looked at me, but did not say anything. After a second or two, he bowed down, his tail placid. Of course, he seemed to tell me, he missed his home. 

The Sun had risen to a significant extent by this time of the morning. It fell right into our eyes when we tried to look at the street now. The buildings barricaded its rays somewhat, even though it peeked over the roof. 

"I do not know what to do with you, Tommy," I said. "I cannot keep you. Or I'll be thrown out of my house. I have nowhere else to go." 

The dog did not respond, but continued to look afar despite the light coming towards him. I did not know if he could understand me or not. I had found him on the street which we looked at, where the cars passed along in their own gentle hurry. He was as silent then as he was now. The pain of separation affected all, be it humans or animals. 

"The world is weird, Tommy. The likes of you make it better for the likes of us." I pet him on his head, just beside one of his wounds - a slight cut from his time being on the streets he was unaccustomed to. 

I peeked into my watch. It was almost nine. The local shop would open in a few minutes. I got up, brushing off the grass from my trousers. Tommy looked up at me and got up too. "Let's go", I said to him. "You deserve some proper food." I put my hand into my pocket as soon as I said so. The few notes left with me might have begged to differ. But he needed to eat, so that was that. 

We took another round of the park to make sure the dial ticked over nine on my watch. Then, we left through the gate on the other side, onto the street which we had been looking over for the past half hour. Tommy matched my pace once more. I walked with leisure, which was reflected in his steps. 

The shop was at the other end of the road. When I reached there, I put my hand into my pocket to fish out the required money. I did not know how much would be required, but I knew what I had should be enough. But just as I was about to pull out a two hundred rupee note, Tommy barked. He stuck his tongue out, wagged his tail, and ran towards the steps outside the shop. A little girl sat there, with her hands on her knees and her head bowed down. It was only when Tommy barked once more that she looked up. 

"Jennie?" she said. The dog barked once more, and ran up to her, licking her on the face. She held him by the neck. She did not stop him, but only petted him. She looked at me. "Where did you find him?" 

I pointed towards the spot near the park. "He was there yesterday evening. I thought he was lost." 

"His latch broke," the little girl said. She could be no more than ten years of age. "He ran off. I tried to run after him but he was lost when he turned around the corner. I did think he would wander back here, I stayed here for the entire week. But I could not see him. He returned yesterday after I went home, I guess. Thank you, sir, I was missing him so much." 

I nodded. Now, Tommy was where he was meant to be. "Why did you name him Jennie though, isn't that a female name?" I asked out of curiosity. 

"It was the name of my grandmother. She loved dogs." 

I smiled at the little girl. "Ah, I see." 

Bending down, I petted the dog once more. Just then, a woman who was in her forties came out of the shop. "Is that Jennie?" she asked, with a surprise on her face which appeared when you found what you thought had been lost. When the dog looked at her and wagged his tail once more, she bent down and pet him too. She looked back at the shopkeeper, who had been standing there with a smile on his face all this while. "Add a packet of dog food too, please." The man nodded and left to get it from the back of his shop. 

The woman turned to me with a smile on her face. "Thank you, kind sir," she said. Looking at the dog once more, she continued - "I don't think she would have survived with your assistance." 

"It's no big deal," I said with a smile. "He's lovely." The magnificence of his structure was now complemented by his demeanour. He was where he was supposed to be. I was glad. 

"Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking?" I said. 

She replied that her house was nearby - a ten-minute walk. I knew the locality. 

After receiving more affection from the girl, the dog returned to me. I petted it. We stayed like that for a while, even as the waves of traffic continued to drive past us. 

"I do not want to come off as rude, young man," the woman said, then stopped. 

"No please, go on." 

"The dog seems to have grown an obvious affection for you. I am quite busy with work. My daughter has her own tuitions, so we can't take him for a walk every day. He doesn't exactly like it at home all the time. One look at him, and you would realise he's an energetic one." 

Now that he was as he had been, I nodded. "He indeed is." 

"So, could you please take him on walks during the evenings on the weekdays? If it would be possible, that is." 

I was silent. When she noticed I had no answer, she felt flustered. "You seem to like him too. Do not worry, I am willing to pay you the required sum for taking charge of a robust dog like him. Would you be willing to do so?" 

I looked at the dog once more. I quite liked him. And the extra money could help out with personal matters too. 

"I am sorry,” she said. “I did not mean to come off as rude. Forgive me if you’re not interested." 

"No, it's quite alright", I said, nodding at her. Looking at the dog, I asked him - "You wouldn't mind that, would you Tommy?" The dog barked, and stuck out his tongue. He recognised the name as well as the prospect. Then, I thought I saw the slightest of nods from him. 

I looked at the young girl, then her mother. "It would be alright for the both of us, then."