We unanimously hailed him as Mowgli, being rather impressed by the small screen depiction of the boy in Rudyard Kipling famous novel Jungle Book. But if Mowgli was a man child at ease in the world of animals, our Mowgli is a small puppy, an animal at ease amidst the world of men. From the very first moment he responded with alarcrity to the name and it stuck to him as surely as a second skin.

Mowgli belongs to the pampered breed of Dachshunds. Dark as the midnight in his smooth coat.His long tail flailing and his snout delicately sniffing the cold air.He arrived one winter evening to disrupt our peaceful existence and to establish his princely rights in our domain. He just walked through the front door and we gazed with horror at his mole like appearance debating whether it belongs to some mysterious sort of species of the underworld rodent clan or really a puppy.As is in answer to our mental queries he wined and waged his tail, but his looks seemed to drip with contempt,"I am more human than any of you", was the telepathic message that came through to us, and from that very moment we stayed in some awe of him.

But not so the cats and there were plenty of them around. Black cats, tom cats, white cats, she cats, he cats, small cats and big cats,continually pried through windows, mewed loudly from rooftop, shuffled suspiciously under beds, eager to pounce on him tooth and claw and make off with him as a possible dessert.Perhaps they had not recieved the message, we recieved loud and clear.They still think of him as a rat, albeit an overgrown one.

Mowgli behaves as a human being in disguise and this we can well call his comic flaw.There is never a "Beware of the Dog" signboard hung on our gatepost. His territory is open to all tresspassers. His happiness knows no bounds when he hears footsteps at the door. Wearing his doggy heart on his four paws, he wants to be the first one to greet the guests in a traditional manner touching thier feets with his ice-cold nose.

Gone are the days when dogs were supposed to be faithful to their masters.Unlike other dogs who love to trot beside their loved ones, he tears ahead straining at his leash, dragging us to all nooks and corners of his happy hunting grounds. Where human beings are concerned, his love knows no discrimination, for he gets too friendly with strangers thinking all men are alike and therefore to be trusted . Unlike other dogs, Mowgli loves soap and water. Right from the moment the buckets are filled with warm water, till he is brushed and scrubbed clean, he squeals with delight, a glad doggy song.

He loves being fondled and paying him no attention can be injurious to his health and to our happiness. The only thing he dreads is the loss of love of human beings he calls his own. We dare not turn a deaf ear to his demands.When Mowgli is in pain or ill, it is always to mother he goes for comfort, just like the rest of us. He loves his early morning cuppa with biscuits together with family members, insisting on a second serve by thumping his tail hard on the floor till he gets it. Mowgli's favourite place on earth is the drawing room. He demands a sofa especially reserved for him where he sits and watches the TV like we do.

All said and done Mowgli is not all sugar and spice and all that's nice. His sharp barks in an otherwise peaceful night are like poisons to our ears. Sleep vanishes and blood pressure goes racing up. But he has his way. If he has to spend a sleepless night he makes sure that we too stay up with him.

Walt Whitman has said"I think I could turn and live as the animals, they are so placid and self contained".
We have to take his remark with a pinch of salt. No doubt he did not have to live with a dog like Mowgli. "Dont give your heart to a dog to tear", but those of us who love dogs have long ago tossed this well meant advice to the winds along with the chewed up slippers.