Rocky Bow Bow - our neighbourhood's adorable dog!

Rocky is our neighbourhood’s little street dog.    With a name like Rocky, you would possibly expect a well-built, sturdy, ferocious dog.  After all, the name does bring up images of Sylvester Stallone as the extremely fit, well-muscled, famous boxer Rocky Balboa.  But in reality, Rocky Bow Bow (as the children call him fondly) is a scrawny little six-month old pup.  He is super friendly, adores children and loves playing with all the kids on the road - jumping up on them and resting his front paws on their shoulders, inviting them to pet him.   He lives off the bits and pieces given to him by the residents, and is thankful – the expression on his face and the ardent tail-wagging beautifully convey his loyalty and gratitude.  

Being a street dog, he has learnt to take care of himself and definitely fits the tag of being ‘street-smart’.  The other day, he accompanied me as I went on my morning walk.  We walked past several blocks and I hoped some other dog would not attack Rocky. Dogs are very protective of their territory and will not brook other dogs (even if they are scrawny little pups) encroaching their space.   Just as I feared, two ferocious dogs chased him to a corner.  But Rocky, true to his name, did not take it lying down. He snared his fangs, plumped himself up to look bigger than his diminutive self by raising the hair on his shoulders and back.  That kind of did the trick and the two dogs backed down.  Rocky knew when to make a quick exit; he spotted the chance and immediately ran away from the menacing dogs thus saving his skin!  

This encounter with the mean bad world did not deter him; he continued to follow me.     At the next block, I saw another street dog - he was standing on the same side as us and watching us.  Hoping to avert a showdown between Rocky and this dog, I crossed over to the other side of the road.  Rocky followed suit and stayed close to me.  The other dog, though a biggish fellow, seemed a little uncertain.  Dogs can certainly read and understand emotions.  Rocky somehow sensed the other dog’s hesitation, realized he (the bigger dog) was probably a little scared of him (Rocky). He turned the situation to his advantage and immediately chased the other dog, who had by then taken to his heels!  It was hilarious to see young little Rocky give chase to a dog that was almost triple his size!

Rocky’s actions can teach us a few valuable lessons - 

• Even though one may be small in size, we can still beat the big, bad fellows if we have courage and have our wits around us.  
• We can get out of any sticky situation – by understanding when to go on the offensive and when to beat a hasty retreat!  
• And most importantly, we can cultivate good relationships when we have a friendly and sunny disposition.  
• And ofcourse, when one wants to express love and gratitude, we just have to 'wag our tails’ furiously, the Rocky way!