Remembrance

Ronnie An epitome of love and devotion
 
I love dogs. My mom loved dogs and being surrounded by dogs during my childhood days, I grew to love them too. And it all because of Ronnie, also my mom’s four-legged companion. Ronnie was the first dog our family had. An adorable Doberman pup – she was everyone’s sweetheart. She was gentle and extremely loving – a little naughty though, sometimes. One of her quirky characteristics was that she would greet people, at the door, by flashing a wide grin, as though saying, “I am so happy you are here. Do come again”. Out of all the people in the house, Ronnie was very close to my mom, and was unbelievably possessive about her. The two were inseparable, I remember an incident when my mom slipped out Ronnie would be very restless and only found comfort by curling on to mom’s saree on the bed. When my mom was ill, during her last few days, Ronnie would sit beside her, and watched her intently. If mom needed some help, Ronnie would bark at the top of her voice and call out to us. On the day, when my mom passed away, Ronnie was completely shattered. Despite our relentless efforts, she would not eat or drink, for days on end. All day long, she would sleep under my mom’s bed, snuggling her saree. For dogs, the death of a loved one is rather difficult to deal with. It was disheartening to see Ronnie in this state. I decided to take her to my place, hoping that a change in the environment would help her deal with the loss of her friend and come out of depression faster. I would spoon-feed her and do all that I could to make her feel better. But Ronnie showed no signs of improvement. Her depression was now taking a toll on her physical health. She had lost considerable amount of weight and was starting to fall ill frequently. After keeping Ronnie away from her home – the place where she spent her entire childhood, and the happy days of her adulthood, I reluctantly took Ronnie to my parents’ place. As soon as I entered the house, Ronnie rushed to my mom’s room, and lay down beneath her bed. It had been a long, since I visited home. So, I let Ronnie have some private time, and left the room to catch up with my family. After an hour or two, while I was ready to leave, I called out for Ronnie. “Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie…,” I called her twice, thrice, several times. But Ronnie wouldn’t respond to my calls. I got worried and went to my mom’s room. There she was, lying peacefully, still and silent. I shook her slightly to wake her up. But she wouldn’t budge. Ronnie was no more. She had left us all, and was on the way to heaven to reunite with her dearest friend -the friend she loved deeply and couldn’t live without. That day, Ronnie taught us what true love and devotion was all about. She made me fall in love with dogs even more, and inspired me to do something to make life better for animals in this world. I currently own six dogs – four Pedigree dogs and two Indian dogs. I adore them all dearly. –Shamala Balaji, Bengaluru
 
‘Thank You’ Kaizer – We love you!
 
On 14th July 2014 I lost my handsome baby Kaizer who I had brought in as a baby when he was just a month old at my mom’s place. Today, he is no more with us and I have written here a ‘Thank You’ note for him. THANK YOU KAIZER! Thank You for teaching me how to love without expectations. Thank You for teaching me how to hug and feel one another’s warmth. Thank You for always being there when nobody was around. Thank You for making me understand people around me. Thank You for making me a better person. You were my true companion with whom I could laugh, play, dance, cry, sulk, kiss and hug. Thank You for being my huge furry natural teddy bear whom I used to hug and sleep on rainy days and night the most. Thank You for making me an early mother of you and making me take care of you. Thank You for being a part of my teenage life. You enjoyed my parties, you loved my friends and my music.     You were my handsome hunk with light coloured drooling eyes and a royal chiselled cut face. I always admired to have a handsome boyfriend as you but never could have one as handsome as you. Thank You for all you did for all of us, from being a companion to a true life supporter, to a protector. You did everything for us. We owe a lot to you. This is just a small gesture note of Thank You, which is still not enough as you filled in all spaces in our lives and kept all cords together. Thank you my baby. We will miss you a lot. Be happy wherever you are as I know you are now in heaven and smiling at us. –Love Tuli & Fly, Mumbai