Carlos is a Basset Hound and he belongs to my friend. Why his owner named him Carlos I do not know but I should testify for he should have been named Don Carlos. The First Time I met Carlos was at my friend’s house. I don’t usually do house calls nor was I comfortable staying over someone else’s home. As I marveled in the splendor over my friends home and his pet cats(He has 7 of them), I heard a sound of muffled footsteps like a wet slippers over a tile coming down the stairs. And Lo behold , a grand entrance it was , for he would have been Casted in any broad way show which required the actors to walk down the stair, twirling their hats and canes.

I could sense his amusement at meeting me. For I’m sure, given a voice he would have been asking the question ‘Yo dude,whatsup ,who are you and can I smell your butt’. I’m sorry , I always imagine him to be a hip teenager in Dog form. I’ve never seen a basset hound in person before. Marvelous creature they are. Not too tall or too short. He had these eyes that would have melted any girls heart. I especially loved his long ears which were soft to the touch. He had a gleaming coat of fur but he was shedding so basically I had his body hair all over me. For a Dog, he’s awfully quiet when meeting strangers. Maybe he sensed a kindred soul when he met me or he may have smelled the meat from the burger I had from Mc Donald.

I’m more of a cat lover and as I was paying attention to my friend’s cat (The others were out, don’t know where and I assume they come back home for dinner) Carlos came up behind me , nudged the cat way with his nose and expected me to give him a rub down. As I watched, the cat and Carlos got into a shoving match to see who gets a massage. Well Carlos won cause of his girth but the cat did fight back and though they were not vicious like Tom and Jerry . It was hard fought contest with the cat getting more physical , though Carlos handled it like a Kung fu grandmaster who didn’t require excessive force to defeat his foe. Well I had two hands and so I somehow managed to give both of the rubdown before the cat took off.

Carlos doesn’t seem to be quick on account of his short legs and he walks with a leisurely pace but my friend disagrees. Once my Friend took him to a restaurant where they let Carlos in as an exception. Of course my friend as per etiquette ,had Carlos on a leash. So When his master went to mingle among the masses, Carlos was left in good care of his master’s friend. The Night was young but alas there was a scream and my friend first thought were ‘Okay, what did Carlos get himself Into now’. Well Its not completely Carlos fault, his master’s friend was flirting with the hostess and he dropped the leash. Someone had ordered finely cooked steak and the smell wafted all over the restaurant. Carlos did what his instincts told him to do “Food, yummy tasty food ,food for my tummy which is yummy”. Before the poor lady could take the first bite of her steak, Carlos had managed to jump on to the table, snatch the steak and head for the nearest hiding place he could find. When my friend did manage to find him, Carlos was chewing down the steak in vigor expecting it to be taken away from him. When he was done with the steak , he gave his “I’m sorry” eyes. Well he didn’t get my friend into trouble and somehow he touched the poor victims heart enough to be forgiven.

So my first night at my friend place was uneventful. Well I found a room which was not too cold with a sizable airbed in the corner with the cat sleeping on it. If it was good enough for the cat ,then it was good enough for me. I nudged the cat in the right spots so he wouldn’t scratch me, Something I learnt from Carlos and I managed to share the bed with him. Around 11 am ,I Felt someone kissing me and I remembered I was in my friend’s home. There was only three guys at home and One of them was me. I hoped my friend wasn’t trying to take advantage of me so early in the morning and when I slight my eyes open, I was staring into the big nostril of Carlos while he slobbered all over me with his tongue.I’m not a morning person and yes 11 am was too early on a Saturday . As I pushed Carlos away ,I heard him moaning and whining . I swear he is too friendly but later realized he was just trying to wake me up so I would feed him. He went way as soon as he heard the jingle of keys at the door. They maid had come for the day and he rushed downstairs to her.

Over the days , I started to observe how happy Carlos is with is life. He kept his life Simple.He had good food though he is always hungry.I think we should always be hungry but we should never let that hungry take over us. We should enjoy the times we can nurture ourselves but happiness should be self sustaining from within. Carlos wasn’t always consumed by food ,he somehow had a balanced outlook on life.He went for regular walks, got into fights with the cats, gets all the attention of his master’s female friends and he even went for a joy ride for a couple of days in a strangers car. As we searched High and low for him , he returned back after a couple of days and we never knew what great adventures he was on. I assume he had been chasing more steaks but he somehow found his way back to what he considered really important, His master and Friend.