Meet our Karmic cousin… Flip! Flop! Floppy!

Some relationships are so special that no words can express their importance in our lives. I am lucky to have one… I still remember the fortunate day, when I first met Floppy…a lively, just a few weeks old stray pup. He was the most adventurous among his littermates and the one who would venture the furthest away from his mother to explore new sights, smells and humans. He won my heart at the very first sight.
And our bonding grew stronger with times…soon as he would see me, he would come bouncing towards me, his ears flopping in a funnily cute way and I named him Floppy. Over the months, as I saw Floppy grow from a pup into an adolescent dog, I grew more and more fascinated at his survival skills. He faced all the hardships and turned out to be a great survivor…he’s a true fighter. In no time he learnt the skills of judging people, he knew whether he would get a kick or caress. His never-say-die attitude helped him in facing all odds with courage.
As he grew up…most of his littermates either died or went away and his mom also disappeared, Floppy was on his own. And soon, the ditch where he used to hide at nights to protect himself was filled up. I was worried about him, but putting an end to all my apprehensions he turned out to be a great survivor.
But there is more to Floppy’s skills than the play of the old Darwinian theory ‘Survival of the fittest’. Our Mr Congenial has got wonderful social skills as well, who are generally suspicious of other dogs…with which he won the hearts of my three big Irish Setters as well. They would greet each other like long lost friends. This strange bonding has developed to such a stage that every time I take out my Setters for a walk, a bounding Floppy appears almost magically by my side. He is our self-appointed bodyguard, ready to go at the slightest challenges.
I really admire Floppy for his unconditional love and affection that he always showers on us. All he wants is just a little stroke on his head, little pat and loads of encouragement… and not-to-miss ‘Chew sticks’ at times. After our walk, with a little flourish of his tail, he is off, ears flopping, disappearing to his own little home, wherever that might be, only to return for our next walk together. Floppy has adopted us as his family on his own terms – not on our human’s terms. Which makes me wonder, could there be Doggy Karma as well? Maybe at some level, our bonding with Floppy has something to do with each living being’s karmic links. Who knows? But, whatever it is, we are happy together.