Woof, woof - it’s a bright and beautiful day. Every morning, when the house is quiet after my pet parents head out to work and only baby whimpers punctuate it under the nanny’s hawkish eyes, I play lazily with Whimsical Whaley - yes, my marine bestie - well, we have the best of times together in both worlds known to us - land and ocean!
Our world is set against the backdrop of our pet parents, an adorable family with Da-da, Mama and ‘baby’, whom everyone keeps calling by different names - they are still debating over which name to go with, which sounds like a long-drawn process from the way things work in the human world.
My routine is centred around making humans feel loved, cared for and happy - you see, when they come back home after a day of chaos and stress, they love to be greeted with my ‘woof, woof’ and cuddles. Their eyes light up when they recognise you are waiting to greet them with love and no expectations from them at all. A wagging tail relaxes them instantly!
Living with my human family taught me that humans love to feel appreciated and not every human appreciates each other even when they live under the same roof - that’s where furry babies make a difference. When I am around, I make every moment feel special in little ways. And they bring me tiny treats, precious gifts and above everything else, they give me attention and love which, way too often, they don’t even find time to give themselves.
I dote on Whimsical Whaley because it reminds me of being close to humans and nature - that’s what the furry and aqua life is all about, besides nurturing human scents that confirm whether a particular human can be trusted. You get the drift, right?
People think dogs catch smells and that’s all there is.
Well, in our world, the work ethic goes beyond the superficial level of understanding and analysis. We are thoroughly scientific and intuitive, and smell is Nature’s deep secret. Consider how different the scent of a ripe mango is from a raw one - the list of scent secrets is endless. Even the earth smells different a few minutes before it rains and afterwards.
You see, there’s an unspoken law in our world when it comes to scents - we deep-dive and catch scents of the invisible and not just what’s right there in front of us. In fact, our brains work faster than our scent superpower - we receive ‘pictures’ from our eyes and categorise them sequentially, as humans do when they watch movies - a sequence of still pictures in high speed.
The ability to smell is every dog’s superpower - only we have it in such amazing ways beyond human comprehension. We can react instantly to movements in less than a fraction of a second - which is why we are trusted and loved. In fact, we know how one human feels about another - yes, we can smell stress, anxiety and hostility a mile away.
And when we ‘see’ a rose, of course, we can smell it - but that’s the obvious thing, right?
What humans don’t know about our ability to smell is that we can see beyond the details of a rose’s scent - we even know its past, not just its present.
We can even track who touched the rose days ago and who touched the rose a few minutes ago - the past and the present are the scents we pick up on, most of which include the finest nuances - even the simplest things that humans may miss, such as the gentle veil of a dew drop on a plant or the natural decaying of a leaf.
Now that you know about the furry superpower about which I could go on and on, here’s the marine adventure I want to talk about - my fun time! We furry babies love our playtime - nothing makes us happier than playing freely.
The happiest day of my life is when they brought me Whimsical Whaley, my first bestie toy, so soft I can’t stop nosing around with it. The first time they began unpacking it and I knew it was for me, I sniffed around it, pawing impatiently, thinking it could be something totally exciting to eat because it smelled delicious, too! And then when they opened it, I grabbed it with my mouth and couldn’t stop chewing it around, to find that it had the softest fabric.
My paws sank easily into the plush fabric, even as a thrilling squeaker surprised me - and nothing spilled out even as I kept chewing on the cutest, most adorable whale-shaped toy!
It doesn’t hurt my paws at all, with its soft-as-butter texture - who would guess it is made from recycled denim and serves the purpose of circling back to sustainable living and Nature?
“Ahh, see, you like it, don’t you? Good, good! I know this is perfect for you! Made from recycled jeans,” my pet mom explained to me gently. “We wanted to make sure it is safe and sustainable, just as Nature would want us to take care of you.”
You see - we don’t miss anything in the natural world - dogs are natural scientists, they don’t miss accuracy of details - be it the limping man on the street or the fallen leaves on the pavement. We understand everything by utilising our eyes, ears and noses to their fullest potential. From experience, we’ve figured out that when humans love, they put their heart and soul into us - it’s like our nose, you know - the human heart. You can see that in the little things - especially when they make food for us with loving attention and more so, when they take time out to play with us and treat us to the softest, plush toys that are safe.
Sometimes I want to wrap my paws around the good humans who make these beautiful toys with their hands - do they know how soft my paws are, and why do they work so hard to keep them soft? That thought never leaves my mind, even while I am at play.
Only my Whaley knows how much fun we have together and yes, it’s a pawsome bond forever!
When I drift off to sleep in my comfy lounge bed, Whaley accompanies me, as though we are swimming together in a big, blue ocean.
Soft blue waves put me to sleep instantly, and my eyes, ears and nose are fully at rest, knowing I am in good and safe company.
