Bidding Adieu to a House Guest

For a little over 3 weeks now we have had a rather handsome, black haired 64 pound heavy male with patches of tan staying with us as our house guest. Its been a while since my wife, Nalini and I had any living organism stay with us for so long, and as can be expected it affected our lives, schedules and even pillow talk. Compared to our age (which I have no intention to divulge), he was almost a toddler, but man did he engage us. He knew what he wanted, when he wanted it and as we found out within the first day a critter of habit and routine...though he was willing to break it for the sheer promise of some extra food be it cookies, carrots or ice cubes.

He wanted us both to be in the same room in animated conversation or playing with him, or cuddling him when he fancied it. He loved his walks where he was eternally curious, persistently naughty, and engagingly friendly with every moving leaf, smiling child, or tentative adult. We woke up each morning waiting to see him and went to sleep talking about him. And he returned the attention multifold with an enthusiasm and pure joy that is only best experienced, not described. If you are wondering who this gift to humanity is, he is Simba, the 7 month old German Shepherd pet of our goddaughter Ria. We took on the task of dog-sitting him while the family vacationed in India, little knowing the enormity of the undertaking but surprised at the returns.

Ria's father is back today and Simba (I wonder if a lion's name gives him an identity crisis or an inflated ego!) will be returning home tomorrow. Its time to bid adieu to a loving specimen of nature. Over the next few days, though our lives will totally be back in our control, I suspect that our walks (if we get of our butts at all) will be lonely, the house ghostly, but our lives are now richer because of him.
Goodbye Simba...you are welcome anytime for a sleepover.

PS: Everytime I took him for a walk, I remembered Seinfeld's joke. Imagine the Martians studying us from above, and they observe this rather tall man being pulled by a four legged creature and picking up after it has done his business...the conclusion of their study would be that the Earth is ruled by four legged hairy creatures with two legged critters as their slaves!!

Till my next rambling....