Seven years back, on this cursed day, Bruno, our ten year old Dobermann was fast nearing his end. He had stopped taking in any food and from his vacant looks that I can distinctly remember, I think, he was aware of what was coming. Was he sad or glad to leave us – I really don’t know, but I’d like to believe that he was happy about his life with us and therefore, sad to leave us forever. For me and Lekha, he was our world, making up for the absence of our own biological children and never once, did he make us conscious of that deficiency. His delightful capers and his insistence to be amidst the two of us, in all our activities had a disarming charm about it and his sneaky preference to Lekha over me, was something that I never resented.
Our friends and neighbours, always used to talk of his ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ sort of behaviour. He behaved like a rogue whenever he was with me, pulling me in all directions and generally, gave the impression to passersby, that he was taking me for a walk but during my absences, if Lekha were to take him out of the house, he was the most well behaved dog – it was most evident when they’d to negotiate a flight of stairs, either up or down, when he’d turn back periodically to confirm as to whether she had comfortably negotiated the steps!
He left us in the morning of 16 Mar ’03, around thirteen minutes past six, as I was carrying him up the flight of stairs after taking him out. Earlier I’d removed his collar, whispering to him that I wouldn’t mind if he were to run around anywhere on the open field and pranced around, beckoning him to follow me and I saw him follow me with his eyes, never once shifting his position – was he, then, relishing my ignorance of his impending death or was he sad that however much he’d have loved to follow me, he was unable to do it, I’d never know. As I carried him up the stairs, his head firmly against my chest and him looking up at me, there was a gentle tug as life ebbed away from his body and his head dropped listlessly and dangled in front of me.
My close friends and relatives say that he must have been very happy to die in my arms but that’s one happiness of his that I shall always grudge him till my very end.
Tomorrow, I shall say a prayer at his grave before going to office and Lekha, as always, will offer his favourite piece of cake that she’s baked!
Our friends and neighbours, always used to talk of his ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ sort of behaviour. He behaved like a rogue whenever he was with me, pulling me in all directions and generally, gave the impression to passersby, that he was taking me for a walk but during my absences, if Lekha were to take him out of the house, he was the most well behaved dog – it was most evident when they’d to negotiate a flight of stairs, either up or down, when he’d turn back periodically to confirm as to whether she had comfortably negotiated the steps!
He left us in the morning of 16 Mar ’03, around thirteen minutes past six, as I was carrying him up the flight of stairs after taking him out. Earlier I’d removed his collar, whispering to him that I wouldn’t mind if he were to run around anywhere on the open field and pranced around, beckoning him to follow me and I saw him follow me with his eyes, never once shifting his position – was he, then, relishing my ignorance of his impending death or was he sad that however much he’d have loved to follow me, he was unable to do it, I’d never know. As I carried him up the stairs, his head firmly against my chest and him looking up at me, there was a gentle tug as life ebbed away from his body and his head dropped listlessly and dangled in front of me.
My close friends and relatives say that he must have been very happy to die in my arms but that’s one happiness of his that I shall always grudge him till my very end.
Tomorrow, I shall say a prayer at his grave before going to office and Lekha, as always, will offer his favourite piece of cake that she’s baked!
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