#AtoZChallenge 2017 D for Dog

M went for the usual word for D. D for dog.

At first, I thought I would write about some experiences with dogs(I don't have a dog) like

• the neighbor's German Shepherd that had bitten my little brother, or 
• the two cute pugs that I see every Friday evening being walked by a lady here, or
• the abandoned friendly dog in my neighborhood, that hated white cars, and would chase them with a terrible ferocity totally different from his usual soft, loving nature.

There have quite a few posts for A,B and C on dogs these past three days. I thought I would brush my memory and meander through my not-from-my-real-life dog memories, as in,  from fiction and on screen.

I have always been a fan of mystery stories. Enid Blyton's Famous Five Series were a childhood favorite. It is about the sleuthing adventures of four children and a dog called Timothy, Timmy for short, who means the world to his owner, the tomboyish Georgina, George for short.

Marley & Me is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. "Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog"  is the caption of the book and it describes the experiences of the author and his family with Marley, an extremely destructive and impulsive labrador. I have seen the movie too, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston but as all book lovers would usually vouch for - The movie was good but the book was definitely better. The episode where Marley swallows a gold necklace, and the steps the couple take for its recovery is hilarious.

I love Harry Potter and all the 7 books in the series. (Well, I liked the first few better than the more violent concluding parts). There is this huge three headed dog Fluffy, that guards the philosopher's stone and falls asleep on listening to the music from a flute. This one, I think the movie makers did a great job bringing it alive on screen.

101 Dalmatians was a movie we thoroughly enjoyed watching as a family - I mean my parents, my brother, and me.Like any other kid who watched the movie, I hated Cruella de Vil played very artistically by Glenn Close. In fact, except for places like the poles, where humans have no choice but to depend on animal hides to keep themselves warm, I detest the concept of killing animals for their fur.

 The mobile company Hutch(now Vodafone) launched a new series of commercials in India a few years ago featuring an adorable pug and a little kid with the tag line "Wherever you go our network follows". They became so popular that people started referring to the breed as "Hutch dog".

I have watched quite a few cartoon episodes of Garfield, the cat, with my son. John's dog Odie, a friendly yellow dog is usually taken for a ride and bossed around by cunning Garfield. There is one episode where the latter gets him to  do some tricks at a dog show, and is desperate to win by hook or crook, as the prize is a huge plate of his favorite lasagna.

I am an ardent fan of Tamil movie superstar Rajinikanth, and the poster for the movie Baasha where he sits next to a great Dane  is too good and shouts out "Power". This part , I mean this fan craze -  its difficult for many to fathom, especially for those who don't speak Tamil or are not his fans. hi hi hi ...

Do share your non-real dog memories from books and movies in the comments section below.