Our hero, as a puppy, was rather unimpressive... a mongrel of undetermined origins...crawling with ticks, spotted with skin infection and sporting a scrawny, candlewick- like tail....
But something about him tugged at me... and so, I brought him home...ticks and all... wrapped in a newspaper...
I'm sure if he were to describe it, the next few days when we converted him from road-mutt to socially acceptable house-dog, were pure torture...
Long and persistent soaks in medical solutions and heavy-handed combing through of matted fur... and what often seemed to be a losing- battle was finally won... I had myself a dog... my very own pet!
The next few years can be described as a collage of memories...
Coming home from school:
Everyday as I walked down my lane towards home, my mother would bring him out for a walk and let him go to run down the length of the road towards me... He had a funny way of running... as if his front and hind quarters were running a race to see which would reach me first... he would end up running diagonally, having to constantly right himself until he reached me after which I would pick him up (and as the days went by and he grew heavier- lead him by the collar) and head home...
And then one day, a few weeks later, he managed to get a peek at the view on his left... saw that there was an open field... hit the brakes and shot off into the wilderness!
After that day, it used to be a race to see who would reach that point- of- no- return first...!
Scaredy- cat to Lord of the Front yard:
He was a nervous youngling... jumping at unexpected noises, wary of unknown visitors....
And then there was the spray-painting incident... He was (finally) relaxing on the balcony when a cart rolled by... to which were attached big, black water-buffaloes...
Our poor hero, scared to his bones, instantly lost control of his bowels and sprayed the back walls with the evidence of his fright!
So we began to wonder... maybe he would be best as an "inside- the- house"- pet...
He did give the best cuddles... he would love nothing better than to climb into the nearest lap and stay there as long as the owner of the lap permitted...
He loved playing "Fetch".. of course, he never really understood the concept... he would usually run after the ball and then play tug- of- war when we tried to take it back from him...
But change he did... with age came courage... and, one day, he had a chance to redeem himself completely!
One day, when I was home alone... I heard a cacophony of barks and shouts and yells...
On going outside, I found my scaredy-cat with bared teeth and raised hackles, barking for all he was worth at the intruder sitting in the bougainvillea at the edge of our property with wire-cutters in his hand... The man was a crying, quivering mess... stuck in a tree, without escape- routes and refusing to get down...
My hero's actions gave me enough time to alert my neighbours and chase away the intruder!
My scaredy- cat was now the Lord of the Front yard!!
Our Hero gets a Heroine:
After many years of living with all-male companionship... our Hero hit jackpot when we brought home Dippy... a small, fluffy brown-eyed beauty with just the right amount of attitude! It was love at first sight...
They would sit together... go for long walks together... and greet each other with sniffy-kisses and wagging tails after long absences (long absences = 5- 10 minutes)... Theirs was a love story lasting more than 9 years...
The other male, Pepper, was left in the dust... poor fellow...
Retirement:
By now, our Hero has learnt how to run in a straight line (most of the time)... found his courage... and fallen in love... So he decided to retire...
Of course, he stayed on in a consulting capacity to keep the youngsters in shape...
The fact that his sight, hearing and heart was failing didn't deter him in the least!
But now he had more time to bask in the sun... take long naps... follow us with his eyes as he sat in His Corner of the house... and relax, in general...
At 15 years, he was slowing... and I hoped that he was happy with the life we had given him.. and that he knew what a treasure he was... and how much we loved him...
It is difficult to write about his declining health... I want to remember him as he used to be...
Full of beans... eyes dancing with laughter!
On the 13th of April, 2012, at 16 years of age... he left us to go to the great meadow in the sky...
A fast passing saved him from a lot of suffering and us from a lot of heart-ache....
But I miss him... I ache for the fact that his gentle love will not be there to greet me when I go home... and even though I know that we will meet again... I ache for the fact that I didn't get to say one last goodbye...
But I will console myself with the fact that he is whole, healthy and as full of beans as ever... running around to his heart's content... and I know that when its my turn to leave, he will be right there, waiting to guide me through to that happy place...
