Once upon a time , like all great stories start , there were two dogs living in a tall building in the densely populated city of Mumbai.

Luckily, the building had a lush green lawn and plenty of space so the dogs had a lot of place to play around in .

One was white Shih Tzu called Biscuit and a veritable fluff ball of sheer cuteness. Everyone in the building loved him especially since he was so different from the the other dogs who were big Labradors or fat out- of-shape Dachshunds and old, shapeless Beagles. He was a novelty.

And the other dog in this story, was a Spaniel . I’m not exactly sure what kind of a Spaniel she was but she had a beautiful, glossy honey brown coat and the most adorable puppy dog eyes.

Biscuit loved the fact that Raya was gentler than the Labradors and Retrievers who looked down their noses when they found him scampering near their feet.

Even though Biscuit was much older, and Raya a head taller , they loved hanging out togwther and looked forward to their morning romp in the garden .

They became the best of friends and unbeknownst to most of us became best buddies or ‘building friends’ and even visited one another in their homes !

Gradually, over time, Biscuit would find it hard to keep up with Raya’s energy and would indulgently look on while Raya yapped enthusiastically around him .

“Come on,” she would urge while Biscuit sat firm with his chin on his paws. He was getting old and would just sit around till he got his breath back and then join Raya half-heartedly in her game for a minute or two.

After a little bit of horsing around , the two would walk back home side by side.

Then suddenly Mariocame on the scene. He was a handsome brown Retriever with a burnished, coppery coat who was still to grow to his full size.

Even though he towered over Raya, she couldn’t help get attracted to him. Compared to Biscuit, he was boisterous and loud and he gave Raya a good workout. She was torn between her old friend and her new one.

But Biscuit understood.

The three of them would meet in the garden and Biscuit would gamely go along with Raya and Mario. A few minutes of frisky play was all that he could manage.

Then he would sit under the tree watching the two young ones run madly around the garden, barking and chasing each other .

He would wait patiently, till Raya and Mario came up to him, tongues hanging out and tails wagging .

And then, the three of them would walk back the path together and make their way home .

Ciao

A ‘Building Friend’ is peculiar to Mumbai where friends are made with playmates in the building. All interaction is restricted only to the building