Mr.Don - We love you!

The last weekend was a very painful one. I was first having this neck pain which was in love with me and never wanted to get rid of me. Then there was this pain in my heart. I have still not recovered from both. The earlier one is nothing when compared to the pain in my heart which would stay on for the rest of my life. I can just hope that time heals it better.

When we had just ended our attempt at racing 3 cute little country-dog puppies for the reason that they we did not have the time and energy, my brother bought a cute little Labrador and we fell in love with it straight away. He was named Don. My brother did not have an opportunity to be with Don for a long time as he moved onto Bangalore for work.

Don was irresistible and very affectionate, and time moved on before we realized that we had committed ourselves to raise a dog. I was in college then and it stayed as a true companion. I loved teaching him to interpret commands like “Sit”, “Stand”, “Fetch” and Search”. It was very much liked but feared by my buddies. My dad did not like the concept of having a dog right from the beginning since he felt that it was in a destruction mode when it was a puppy biting off chunks of anything from TV remotes to Sandals. Almost all puppies behave that way, but even today Don needs something to keep chewing. He has a chewing bone especially for that. We must admit that he was very naughty.

No matter how naughty he was, he had unlimited affection towards all of us. He had developed a very strong bond with my mom and would accompany her everywhere but her work place. He would tirelessly wait at the gate for my mom’s return in the evening. When she returns he would leap in joy and reach her face attempting to lick her. Though there were many times my mom would shout at him, she really showed the same affection that she towards my dad, bro and me. She never let it be tied. So Don was in deed a don at home. He used the best places in our home including the Sofas and the mattresses. My mom felt that Don was an avatar of one of my grandmothers for the way it showered love on us and didn’t like visitors envying at the royal treatment that he got. Even though my dad was not very much inclined towards Don, he knew who the master of the house was. Don would go to my dad whenever there was a cracker burst or a loud thunder.

Time moved on and I had also moved out of my home at Madurai for professional reasons. 7 years passed by and my parents started to feel the pain. They didn’t have enough time and energy to take care of themselves. It was becoming apparent that it was becoming impossible to properly take care of Don along with their ailment. Meanwhile, Don had not changed. He was in fact expecting more out of my mom. In the recent years, he often went berserk whenever he found that my mom was not paying enough attention to him. That was potentially turning out to be a big problem.

Though my mom never ever wanted to part with Don the time had come. We had already been through such iterations half-a-dozen times in the last few years. But at the end of it we would decide that we would never want to let him go.

But this time, it happened. I was largely to be blamed. It happened quickly. And not many know how badly I am hit by the incident.

I had enquired and got to know about Karuna Animal Welfare Association (formerly known as BSPCA). Don was put in a train from Madurai and picked up at Bangalore. We had him at my place for a few hours. My mom spoke to him for one last time over speaker phone and he did respond by barking. He was in fact looking at the door expecting her presence there.

Then my brother and I drove him to Hebbal where Karunas was located. It was surprising to note that he was so calm throughout his journey. He would look into our eyes and we would look into his. Both were watery and gloomy. It was a very long drive for all of us. Don realized what was in store and was in tears. That was the first time I saw an animal crying. He was an intelligent dog and it did not come as a surprise to me at all. I could just remember the days when we had earlier talked about giving it to somebody. On all such occasions it would take a deep breath and then let out air. No wonder it had tears this time around.

Somebody had to do the job of handing over Mr.Don My brother was never inclined to this and shied off. It was no ordinary task and needed lots of courage. I could only have a consolation at the back of my mind knowing that I was helping my folks back home recuperate a little better.

After reaching the place, I finished the formalities. Bro, I and the person who assists my parents back home (who accompanied Don to Bangalore) took a couple of snaps with Don. Without being able to take it, my brother quickly left the place to cry behind the raised windshields of his car. Then it was time that I handed over Don to its new mom and dad – Raju and Padma at Karunas. I chocked but quickly re-grouped to list down what the likes and don’t-likes of Don were to Padma. Don started barking furiously. I just had one final glimpse at Don and how good the other dogs were taken care there, drew some confidence out of it and left the place. The return journey was even much longer one.

From then on it has been like only mono-syllable talk at home. I am sure my wife understood it better and coped well without complaining. Though I am very poor when it comes to consoling others, I at least had to listen to the cries of my mom over phone. I have betrayed myself by posing to be courageous enough to arrange the whole thing. It was difficult for me to hide my emotions. I have been subjected to hours of crying and lamenting behind closed doors, on the bed, in restrooms, on the bike and in the park. It is an irony that I had Don so close to my heart and still felt that people would laugh at me for my child-like weeping that I resorted to letting out emotion behind closed doors.

Here is the take-away that I have derived out of my own experience. You cannot shrug off from having attachment towards loved ones like mom, dad, wife or friends. But please do think thousand times before you adopt a pet. You should do justice to the pet and yourself. If you have the slightest of doubts about the time and energy that you would be able to spend with your pet, don’t go in for an adoption. It is a commitment like marriage. No matter how hard-hearted you are, you can never easily part with your loved pet at the later stage. It would be very painful.

Though we had given the best of what we could provide Don for 7 years, we regret that we count not continue doing the same at the fag end. I wish all this results in the well-being of Don at the new place rather than being at Madurai and we not being able to properly take care of him. I can just hope that Don copes better at the new place and learns to live with his other animal mates.

It would still be great if he gets a better parent who would shower unconditional love at him and provide him royal treatment. Don is used to it for no fault of his and therefore this expectancy.