I have a dog

I have a dog.

I have named him Suno (pronounced "soono"). "Suno" is the command for "listen" in Hindi. I have named him so, because he is such a good listener, and also because others listen to him. He is the beach police. The friendly cop on the block. He sees all and hears all. He is a delightful chestnut brown with a white neck. Skinny as a pole but in good shape.

I wasn't sure he was a "he" in the beginning as he lacked the required testicles to call him such. Yet the other "equipment" was intact, so I was a bit confused at first. Because in India, dogs are not neutered or spade, they are allowed to run free and wild and no one owns them or is responsible for their well being.
So his condition confused me at first and so consequently I was calling him "her" for the first few days of our acquaintance.

There is no mistake. He chose me. Hanging around my yoga "space" in the morning, napping on the corner of my blanket. Soon he found out where I lived and started visiting me in the morning, inviting me out for my morning yoga time. Just like a domestic dog in Canada summons its owner for her morning walk.

Suno was instantly charming and had something special about him from the get go. He had this all-pervading calm and sweet demeanour, unparalleled on the beaches of Arambol (canine or homeo sapien). All the other dogs are fighting and rough and territorial. Scarred up and beaten up and living a hard life on the streets. Somehow, Suno, maintains some semblance of dignity and grace, although as his ribs can attest, living conditions are not easy. He makes it look like easy.

I was instantly won over the first time he approached me, so calmly, confidently and just sat, nearby, without being pushy, without forcing his acquaintance on me. How could i not be won over. Yes, his charm was immediate. With those soft brown eyes and knowing smile, he just stayed nearby until i couldn't resist a pat. Starting first at his head, i patted tentatively. Soon i moved down to his neck and throat and discovered his soft and surprisingly clean fur. How he manages to look so good under the circumstances, is beyond me. Actually, scratch that... I think I have it figured out.

Somehow, because he is neutered, obviously his demeanour and behavour as a male dog is unnaturally altered. So he is unlike any other dog on the beach. He is not like the female dogs, and he is not like the male dogs. He is a eunich, like he can move between both worlds.
On the beach everyday it is dog politics. The constant organizing and working out of who is friends with whom, whose is allied with whom and whose territory belongs to whom. In a world of constant fighting and vying for territory, Suno is taking a pacificist approach. I have seen him diffuse many tense situations between several dogs simultaneously.

His technique is unique. He somehow manages to assert his dominance, without violence, and then coerces the other dogs into a playful romp, thus allying them as friends, and distracting them all from their violent tendencies. Before you know it, Suno has taken an aggressive and potentially dangerous situation into a situation where all the dogs just kind of lay down and take a nap not a short distance away from their previous enemy of five minutes ago. And then Suno just sits there with a warm knowing glow in his eye, observing the whole scene and approving of his peacemaking work. It is uncanny.

i am impressed.

So I have a dog. or he has me, i'm not sure which one.