A day in the life of Bunty - The dog extraordinaire

My first real attempt at fiction, short or long. Let me know how it is.

"Bunty! Here boy!, BUNNNNNNNNNNNNNTYYYY", I woke up to this yelling, shaking the sleep from my eyes, stretching my body slowly as I looked around, holy crap it was still dark! I peeked into the living room and i saw Shiv tying his shoelaces, I groaned, the boy was on his fitness regime again. He gets this urge once or twice a year, he wakes up early in the morning, goes for a walk or run by the beach all in the name of fitness. Of course the extended breakfast our man has after that is all in the name of fatness, buuut I can't complain coz that’s the part I love, he is generous with his food, i love that kid!

As usual, I'm getting ahead of myself; I'm Bunty and as you may have gathered by now, I’m a dog. Not an average dog mind you, I'm the heart and soul of the Saran family, I'm someone who they look up to, their darling , i keep them safe and they never let me forget how important I am. "Bunnttyyy you lazy bum!! Come here!!" Was the cry from Shiv, oh well; don't mind him that boy is such a kidder. Anyways, to quickly complete my introduction, I’m a Labrador by birth, I'm a thinker and a liberal by choice but don't let that fool you coz I’m a killer too GRRRRRRRRRRR, hehehe just kidding! I'm fun around kids and a devil with them hawt doggie mamas! Well thats enough about me, though I’m sure you would love to hear more, I hauled ass to check what Shiv wanted. He looked at me with his blood shot eyes and said "There you are you lazy mutt", I grinned at him and retorted "Oh I’m fine thank you and how are you today?". He silently snapped a leash on me, a big problem with him; he just likes to keep up with me with wherever i go, so he insists on tying himself to me. That boy sure needs a life! Sigh.

Shiv parked the car by the beach and then grabbed on to me as we start walking. I yawned , too early I thought, its too darn early! Just the thought of dragging this lump of human flesh around was irritating, hey, he ain't heavy; he's my brother, right? I roll my eyes. Then I saw the sunrise over the sea, what a sight, I looked around at all these people walking around, not enjoying this beauty, then that moment I just felt like running! You always know that exact moment when you feel like running or using a lamp post, it just comes to you. I broke into a run, poor Shiv wasn't holding on to the leash tightly and consequently let it slip. As I ran, I said to myself that I would have to get that boy later; the thought of him wandering around on his own was scary. At that moment though I just focused on my run, the wind in my hair, the sun's rays caressing me, a child crying, a dog growling. Wait a minute, a child crying? a dog growling? I looked around and see this little girl, crying as this mean little mangy mongrel was growling at her. I did what i had to do, I stepped right in, looked that dog in the eye and took care of the situation. One look at me and that mongrel was history. I looked at this little girl in her summer dress, some parent's idea of a morning walk i presumed. "Hey, pretty girl, don't worry, where are your folks? wanna sniff the sand with me? D'ya like flowers and bugs?" I asked, as I was making these pleasant enquiries, I could hear my name being called "BUNNNNTYYYYYYY come here this minute!", I looked around to see Shiv wheezing and panting after me and I yelled out "Hey bro, good you got here, but I’ve got the situation covered", he yanked my leash and yelled "BUNTY! Bad dog!! trying to scare that little girl!", I looked at the fat genius and sighed, when is this kid ever going to learn, I thought. The girl's parents who were apparently in search of her arrived at the scene that very moment and scooped that little thing in their arms. Shiv and I retreated apologising for each other. I know, I know, different people, different points of view, its a free country and all that stuff, right? Sigh.

We reached back home, I had worked up an appetite by this time, maybe the beach wasn't such a bad idea, good exercise and I saved a damsel in distress so what more could a dog want in morning, eh?. There it was waiting for me, a bowl of milk, mama was always thoughtful, God bless her. After slurping down the milk I meandered around, checking if everyone was ok, then I woke up little Priya, Shiv's little sister, she does sleeps in way too late. There’s nothing like a lick on the face to wake up to, huh? That lucky girl! I got a pillow projectile aimed at my head at a brisk pace for my effort, that girl sure loves to play! Anyways, the day looked like it was going to be a good one, people started leaving home, so I went around helping them on their way, they love me when I do that. "Bunty you idiot! Get out of the way! I’m going to drive over you if you don't! Shanta..hold this dog!!" that’s Dad, I help him get his car out everyday, but he has his off days, see. The dude was grumpy in the morning; the man's got a heart of gold though. I smiled cheerfully as dad and then Shiv and Priya left. Don't ask me where they go, I think they go out to eat food outside, no accounting for taste, I tell you! Hey, I can't complain coz I’ve got mom all to myself! Good food! a back rub...ahhh....this is the life!

I walked back in to check on mom, well, to be honest I wanted to be sure she had my food on the stove, yes she did, great, now I needed a nap. I settle down in the living room, thankfully they had left the AC running, ahhhh, I rolled on my back, my feet up..ahhhh nice...this heat is a killer isn't it? hmmm, yaaaaaaaawn.

A rustling noise woke me up....my ears picked the noise from the dining room, I walked in there stealthily, not wanting to leave anything to chance. I looked around and see a rat running on the shelves. I bark! Yeah I forgot to mention that I’ve got a mean bark, some say it has a nice royal ring to it, I can vary the tone too, you'd love it! I’m digressing. Getting back to the story at hand, I had the rat covered in my radar, I waited for the right moment to pounce. I got my window of opportunity and took it. I leapt gracefully; the rat had seconds to live. CRASSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH..Uh huh. I couldn't find it. I saw mom coming in through the door, i told her "Mom, cover the door, im gonna get this guy for sure!", she replied "BUNTY RASCAL, look at what you've done! i leave this place for two minutes and you've upset everything". I looked at her incredulously, "what? Me? Upset?", then I look around, "well a little upset maybe but i had a window of opportunity with that darn rat mom!" I said. She prodded me out of the room with a broom, Ouch that hurt! As I walked out, I looked back inside the room with anger, that is one dead rat walking I thought, I tell you, a dead rat.

Things were quiet afterwards, nice food, good rest etc. I woke up to the sound of distant barking. I walked out to the front it was a false alarm. My thoughts went back to the incident earlier; I can only shake my head and how that rat escaped. Well it’s a rat that’s got my name written on its wrinkly forehead! Sigh. I saw that someone had left the compound gate open; I think it must have been mom. I looked around for her, an open gate was too much to resist, a walk down the road would cheer me up for sure, Mom likes me when I do my cheerful puppy routine! (I know all the tricks in the book baby! And a few that aren’t there!) I sauntered out thinking maybe I could catch the eye of Ella, that cute retriever down the road, she is such a hottie! I set out, greeting people I remembered on the road. “WOOOORFF WOOORF” I looked around, that was mad Maxie, a nice enough fellow mind you, just a little crazy in the head. “Hey Maxie! Hows is going dood?” I shouted, waiting for Maxie’s obvious response of “WOORF WOORF”, I wasn’t disappointed, coz that’s the only thing Maxie uttered. I walked on pleasantly smiling at the world at large. I oozed over to Ella’s house and hung around. Boy she’s got a big garden, I thought. After a brief wait, I could see her looking at me from the door near the garden. She has eyes that make me melt! What a cutie!!! I grinned “Hey Ella bella, what’s up? Wanna rub noses Eskimo style?” I asked. “Drop dead you stinky mutt!” she said candidly as she walked around, swishing that fluffy tail (This routine of ours goes back more than a year now). I swear I could see a glint of attraction in her eyes this time. That very moment, I saw something moving in the shadows of her garden. It was a snake!! It was a big one too, slithering towards her from the swampy area behind her house! “ELLA RUN!!!!” I cried, I was caught on the other side of the gate, I dearly wished I could get in and save her. Ella saw the snake and barked. I barked my guts out too, then I spied a break in the compound wall, I squeezed through and got between my quivering cutie pie and that vile snake. “GERROOOFFF" I yelled, but I wasn’t feeling very brave now. I kicked dirt around, as I barked, don't ask me why, it just looked like the best thing to do at that moment. All this time I was wondering which would be the appropriate time to pick up and run. If that snake thought id die for any Golden haired hottie, it could kiss my furry brown (that’s tan to the purists) tail, this was the fear talking, I realised.

Then something miraculous happened, the kicking of mud was working! The snake started slithering off, it was leaving, and that got my spirits up! I barked for all glory! So did Ella, I looked around to those soft eyes, which had a look of glazed hero worship in them. It could have been abject fear too, but hey, I think it was hero worship. People came running, Ella’s dad among them, I pointed in the direction of that slithering snake! It was gone though. “Oh its that stupid dog again!” shouted Ella’s dad, as he picked up a stone and came running at me. I bade quick and loving farewell to my dazed doggie doll and made my way through the hole and rushed my way home. I hear that there were complaints later; I was too busy in the terrace (I wasn’t hiding! No way! Take that thought out of your head!). Oh well, I guess, this the prize of being a hero, I shake my head.


Evening came and my family returned home. I usually love this time of the day, Dad looked at me and mom and asked “So what happened all day?” I was full of news, but before I could start mom said “ Bunty has been a pest all day! Upset a shelf in the dining room, split half the stuff there, created havoc at our neighbor’s house, everyone in the street is complaining about him”. Dad looked at me sternly, hey what can I say, indignation swelled in my heart. Mom goes in to the kitchen to get coffee for Dad as he settled down in his sofa and opened his paper. I walked by tentatively; sit next to him, sadness choking me as I put my head with weariness on the arm of his sofa. Sudden, something happened Hey, whats that? I wondered, It was Dad’s hand and it was caressing my head, hmmmmm felt very niceee… “Bunty, you bloody rascal! When are you going to be a responsible dog!” my Dad admonished, but I could see the smile on his face. I sighed all was well after all! I grinned happily, enjoying the attention.