“Theo, please leave me alone, I don't have time to play with you right now. I have to finish writing this article so that I can hopefully get a job as a writer at Times magazine”, said Nate to his soft and cuddly golden retriever. Theo just sat there, beside his desk, looking up at Nate with his adorable puppy eyes and kept pulling at his trousers till he got his attention. Nate, a young struggling author, had been trying to get a job for the past few years. Failure to get a steady job had turned him into a harsh and bitter person. Life had not been the kindest to him.
His parents had died in a car accident when he was just fifteen years old. He was forced to live an independent life ever since. Stressed out with pending bills, loan repayments and Credit Card debt, he no longer enjoyed the smaller beauties of life nor was he grateful towards what he had been blessed with, especially Theo. Theo has been a gift to Nate from his mother on his fifteenth birthday. That had been the last birthday that he had spent with his parents. Sadly, Nate never really appreciated the importance this little dog had in his life.
It was a Monday morning. Nate had been eagerly waiting for this day since he had finally succeeded in getting an interview call with the chief editor of the Times magazine. Getting a permanent job at The Times has been something he had been dreaming of for long. His heart burst out with joy at the thought of getting this job. His loud, blaring alarm went off at six a.m.
He could feel something wet and slimy all over his face. It was Theo who had woken him up with all the licking and jumping. “Theo get out. I don’t want to be late for my interview. I have to get ready.” said Nate. He rushed out of his bed feeling sleep deprived and exhausted. He took a quick shower and changed into his blazer. He noticed that the blazer had a huge hole in the middle of the back. “Theo you ripped off the blazer right in the middle. What is wrong with you?” Frustrated with this, he changed into another blazer which was in no better shape. This one had a huge stain of dog food right at the front. He was so angry with Theo that he shut him out of the house as a punishment. He gave up on the blazers and rushed out of his house for the interview. He ran as fast as he could so that he did not miss his 7:30 a.m. train. He suddenly slipped and fell into an open manhole. Theo had come running after him and started barking loudly. Nate’s last thoughts before he fainted was that he hated Theo since he had ruined everything for him.
When he woke up, he saw that he was lying on the side of the street. It was dark all around him. He saw something very strange. There was a dog walking on the street with a briefcase all dressed up in a suit. There was another dog across the street sitting at the bakery counter. The salon had a poster of a large dog getting himself groomed. The billboard showed an advertisement of an upcoming dog show. His neck suddenly felt very itchy. When he checked around his neck, he saw that he was wearing a belt that seemed like a dog collar!! What was happening? Had the dogs suddenly taken over the entire world! His head was spinning, and he was very confused. Could dogs and humans have switched places? He then realized that there was a dog standing right next to him holding on to his collar. It was Theo holding the collar. Nate was now his pet and Theo was his owner.
The world seemed to have turned upside down. Humans now had to endure the same treatment that they used to give to their dogs. It was a dog’s life … literally! Theo was rushing for his job interview and shouted at Nate “You have made me so late. Just leave and never show me your face again.” Nate felt very sad when he heard Theo treat him so rudely. He was wandering down his street. A puppy kept staring and suddenly threw a rock at him for fun. He ran towards the next street away from the puppy. He was surrounded by a few men who screamed at him for entering their territory and they beat him up. An injured Nate returned home and waited outside the door for Theo to let him in.
When Theo returned, he opened the door to himself. He did not allow Nate to enter. “This is
what you deserve for being such a horrible pet today. I am not giving you any dinner. You will spend the night on the streets.” Nate remembered all the times he had treated Theo this way. He was miserable. He was chased down an alley by other humans. He ran as fast as he could and hid behind a bush to escape from them. He spent the rest of the night crying on the streets and was hungry for food.
Nate said to himself, “Isn’t this how we humans treat dogs? We subject them to this kind of atrocious, unkind and rude behaviour every day. They are always there for us and have our back. They try to make us happy when we feel sad and low. Poor Theo. I have been so impolite and harsh to him. He has always supported me throughout the toughest phase of my life. Dogs are truly a man's best friend.”
Suddenly he found himself being pulled out of the gutter by a few people and heard Theo barking. His head was a bit swollen and it took him some time to realize that he had been unconscious and it had been a very strange dream. Theo’s barking had caught the attention of other people who helped him out of the gutter. He gave Theo a huge hearty hug. “Thank you, thank you for everything Theo. I will never disrespect you again. I love you very much. You will always be my best friend.” He had learnt a very valuable lesson. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
In case you were wondering what happened to the job interview, it was rescheduled, and he got the job since the editor was happy with the sample articles Nate had shared with them. Kindness always pays. When you have a positive outlook on life, good things start happening to you. Always treat others the way you want to be treated. Always!
Man's best friend
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