My Dog Floss

Dhaval closed his diary with a contented sigh, placed his fountain-pen in its holder and leaned back, his office chair tilting comfortably underneath him. He had just written the last word of his first draft. He felt elated, relieved, and empty all at the same time. But most of all, he felt the overwhelming urge to sleep. His debut novel 'My Dog Floss' had been tiring to write.

Floss herself was curled up in her usual basket, in the nook-in-the-wall he had designed specially for her so that she could be in the study while he worked. She watched as he dozed off. She listened as his breathing grew steadier. When she was sure he was fast asleep, she stood up.

She wasn't the prancing puppy she had once been. She had been born in a basket under this very roof on Christmas day, and had had a new basket every Christmas since. This was her fourteenth basket. She climbed out of it, waddled over to the edge of Dhaval's desk where it joined her little nook, and was soon on the desk and at the diary.

She looked at the cover, which bore a collage comprising photos of her. She smiled at her pictures. She knew she was cute. All white Lhasa Apsos know they are cute. There she was, playing with her first ball, fetching her first stick, swimming in the pool for the fist time ... and there she was, babysitting the twins, Rohan and Shaan, such cute toddlers. They were now in Grade 4 and still cute. They babysat her now, as she had once babysat them.

Floss looked fondly at the diary, then she opened it.

She flipped the pages quickly. What had Dhaval been writing today? AHA -- he had given her new superpowers. In his story, she could now fly! This was the final power, the one she had hoped he would give her. "Floss joined the geese, trying to fit into the 'v-formation ...' As she read, Floss felt herself rising ... she was afloat. She could, indeed, fly! She flew happily round the room once, and wondered ... should she go further? The window was temptingly open.

It didn't take her long to make up her mind. In seconds, she was above the neighbor's roof, then above the children's school. She remembered another of her superpowers, and, waving a paw, scattered 'happy powder' over the school. Now, everyone there would have twenty four hours of pure joy. Dhaval had given her that power as early as chapter #3, the power to give pure joy.

It had been the same with every superpower Dhaval imagined for her. She found, as she read it, that she had the power. The power to help heal those who were ill. The power to spark off ideas for creativity, when writers' bloc or artists' block hit any member of the family. If he wrote about the power, she found she had the power.

And that, humans, is what we can do for our pets. Give them superpowers.