My Dad brings home some of his friends. I always am enthused to have guests at home. Waiting at the door, I stand scratching at them out of excitement as he is trying out the keys. Instantly when the door cracks open, I waddle my way to him. All of a sudden I feel myself floating up in the air. Someone is hefting me. “Oh no! That’s my dad’s friend, Sherlin. Omg! She stinks. I have an incredible sense of smell. Let me down. I wanna hug my Daddddd…” “He’s damn cute. What’s his name?” asks Ms. Stinky. “He’s Cooper,” says Dad. While she is busy constantly petting and kissing me, I also notice something. One of my dad’s friends froze in terror, giving me a strange look. “Come-on! Look how cute he is” says Ms. Stinky. “Noo.. I’m scared of dogs” she shrugs. This literally broke me into pieces. Why is she scared of me? What am I gonna do to her? Dad never wants me to behave bad. I would never do that to my dad’s friends unless they be nice to me. (Wink) I’m such a handsome guy. And she hesitates to pet me. Such a shame! I am stuck between these boring humans beside me talking shit all day. They even make Dad forget to give me treats. Sherlin, on the other hand, would not take her hands off from me. “Even I have a dog,” says Sherlin to Dad. Woah!! Maybe if that’s a girl, I would ask her for a date someday – I smirk. “Really? Is that a Golden retriever?” Dad questions. “No. It’s a Husky” she replies. Uhhhhh.. I hate huskies. They think they are cuter than us- golden retrievers. While my dad’s other friends are busy watching the football match, I amble to Dad’s side. I don’t know why, but I feel comfortable only when he is beside me. He seems to be tired. He must have had an exhausting day. I want to cheer him up. I sit on his lap and lick him all over his face. He starts scratching my left ear as he continues watching football. I love my Dad so much. He takes care of me. He says that I’m his secret keeper and also his best friend. And he too loves me a lot. Humans are prettier. They have a good heart. Dad often says that humans don’t deserve dogs. But I don’t know why he says that. We dogs are determined to be loyal to our masters. But then, Dad never treats like he’s the master. He takes care of me like his son. Even my friend in the neighborhood Casper says that his master too loves him a lot. Yet, I don’t support all the humans. There are still people who treat animals like a slave. They literally are crazy. In the midst of people like Dad, I still can’t believe there are people who are out of their minds. I feel sorry for the dogs who got stuck in the hands of the mads. I can’t imagine the pain they undergo. I wish I had the superpower to talk to humans. Atleast to my Dad. Whenever he feels low, I badly want him to know that I love him so much and I will always stay with him. But all I could do is to sit beside him and watch him sad all day. Dad takes me to the dog park every weekend, so that I play with my friends. He spends most of his time with me. Every evening, we play fetch in the backyard. And the amazing thing is, I have my own bed. (Hurray). Dad gifted me on my birthday. He said that I am a grown up boy and I must have a separate bed. Yes, I am. Sometimes, Dad takes pictures of me while I pee. Man! I need some privacy. He has his mobile phone with him almost all the time. And he clicks pictures of me every now and then. Yeah.. I can’t blame him. If I’m that much cute, how could anybody not take pictures of me? (Wink, Wink) The football match gets over. Dad raises to his foot and marches towards the kitchen. He makes some snacks to serve his friends. “Have some, Brooklyn” Dad stretches the plate to the one who is scared of me. Well! Her name is Brooklyn.. Hmmm.. Not bad. “Hey Cooper, do you wanna meet my Dog Bruno?” Sherlin asks. I bark noooooo… but to her ears it sounds yesssss.. She instantly takes her mobile phone covered in girly pink cases and dials her sister. She commands the sister to video call her so that me and Bruno can talk. “Uhhhh… Is she mad? I don’t want to talk to him” I bark. She immediately video calls and here is he, Mr. Bruno -the husk husky. “Say hello, say hello” Sherlin pesters me. I’m not her human child to command. Bruno on the other side barks, “Hey!” “Back off” I say and leave the hall. “Woww… Now Bruno and Cooper are friends. Next time I am gonna bring Bruno with me. And they both can have fun together” Sherlin squeals. What in the world is she? Did I sound like I liked him? Uh.. Dad made friends with the wrong person! 2 hours later… It is my bedtime. I wonder why don’t they still leave? People need to sleep. Ignoring everyone, I lay on my bed and closed my eyes. Damn, I can’t stop hearing them braying like a donkey. Minutes later, they hug Dad and bid him goodbye. The house is now as calm as the sea. Dad kisses me goodnight and goes to his room. Hope he sleeps well as I, Mr.Cooper guards him from the evil. Cooperman – a Superman!

-Varsha