Dumpy was Tito’s best friend. The playfighting with Dumpy was a lot of fun. Tito would start the game by irritating Dumpy by licking his ears and neck or climbing on him. Dumpy would respond by wrestling with him and pinning him down on the ground. Tito would then struggle, twist, and turn to free himself from Dumpy’s grip. Both immensely enjoyed wrestling with each other.
In addition to wrestling with Dumpy, Tito enjoyed playing tug-of-war with us, either with the toy I bought from a pet store in Delhi’s Khan market or with a rubber bathroom slipper! The toy was a thick rope mesh (approximately two feet long) with loops or hand grips at each end of the mesh. The game was set up by letting the dog hold one of the grips in his mouth and then pulling the mesh by holding the other grip with the dog pulling in the opposite direction. Tito quickly learned to play the game. Tito was a tough competitor who would not back down. The game provided wonderful exercise to Tito – equivalent to the fitness equipment for isometric exercises. Whenever Tito wanted to play the game, he would place the toy on Dumpy’s or my lap and wag his tail slowly from side to side, inviting us to a game of tug-of-war.
Tito’s strength was incredible by the time he turned one. When Tito was younger, I could easily pull him towards me with his firmly planted paws sliding on the floor. But after he grew up, I found Tito a worthy opponent with an unshakeable drive to win. I would frequently let Tito win just to make him happy. I would initially make a show of trying hard to pull him in, and then I would slacken the pull and release the handhold with appropriate encouragement to convey to Tito that he had won. Tito would do a couple of victory laps with triumphant eyes and tail wagging, then dump the toy on my lap for another round of the game. Dumpy, on the other hand, refused to be as generous. He would make sure that he won every game. Despite being trounced every time, Tito would come back for countless rounds of the game with Dumpy.
Tennis balls, green coconut shells, frisbees, and wooden sticks were among the outdoor toys. We would take Tito to the campus grounds every morning and evening to play throw and retrieve with him. Tito got plenty of workout from the game. The running around in the open was healthy for his lungs. Even humans find it challenging to catch a frisbee disc because it glides along a looping curved path. Tito never grasped the science of judging the flight of the frisbee disc. He would keep course correcting as he chased after the flying frisbee disc that kept avoiding him while it proceeded along a curving, descending path. He would pick up the disc only after it dropped on the ground.
Tito’s favorite toy was a hollow red rubber fish with bristles and huge blue eyes. There was a metal button with a hole, placed in the belly of the fish. When the fish was squeezed, the air driven through the buttonhole made a loud squeaking sound. Tito enjoyed chewing the fish and generating a stream of squeaks while sitting or lying down inside the house or in the garden. The chewing provided workout to Tito’s jaws and facial muscles. I had bought the fish from a pet shop in Delhi’s Khan Market when Tito was about two years old. The rubber fish proved indestructible because it was still intact when Tito died at the age of ten.
We buried Tito along with all his toys, including the rubber fish. I am certain that when relaxing, Tito still chews the fish to make the squeaks that startle the companions in his heavenly abode!
