A Year it has been. Reminiscing a soul that entered my life and left too soon.

It’s a year today since you passed on to make heaven a happier place but you don’t know the void you have left behind. The void isn’t one that can be filled by anyone at anytime. The world may ask, what makes this dog so special, why should the world be told of how much I miss you…just one clarification, I am not telling the world how I miss you, I am telling the world how much it’s missing, every time one of your kind crossed over. 

The phrase god’s gift is one that fit you perfectly. Being part of a typical tam-brahm family, living in the heart of Madras, I didn’t believe my dream of getting a dog would ever become true. And I became part of every street dog pack in my area, rolling around in the sand, having them jump all over, treating them to occasional treats that I could sneak out of my mom’s kitchen. The very act of petting a dog was frowned upon and I was the spoilt child the other kids were told not to mingle with. And then came Pune which brought into my life so many new dimensions that the sweet child in me became the rebellious one and I hated being an underachieving student, which then became the whole and soul of my time. The only good things about the shift became the society that seemed to accept dogs at home as absolutely normal and that gave me new hope. There was a time when a dog gave birth in our parking lot and they were 5 bundles of joy. Raising blackie, brownie, spotty, naughty and beauty became the purpose of my life and my building’s watchman’s nightmare. As with every litter, each one grew up soon enough and 3 of them ventured out into the big bad world. Blackie and brownie stayed behind long enough for me to start claiming them as mine, and for once I would be ready before time for school. Would rush downstairs every morning, searching for them and playing with them, boarding the bus only to daydream all day of coming home and playing with them in the evening. I spent all of my pocket money on small treats and even coerced my mother into giving me some extra bread which I would soak in my evening milk, ensuring the little ones were not hungry. This phase was one of utter bliss and till date is etched in my memory. Then suddenly one evening I come back to find out the society management had decided these pups were a nuisance and had evicted them from the premises. That day I faced the loss of a pet for the first time and I was heartbroken. 

This loss only reinforced my resolve to adopt a dog and ensure it knows nothing but happiness. But as luck would have it, my future was beckoning and I had to focus all of my time on trying to prove to a question bank that I was smart enough to survive. I had to satisfy my longing for a dog by playing with everyone else’s pet or the street dogs. And the hope of becoming a person with a dog started thinning like the light in the horizon at dusk. Just when I thought all was lost, my parents promised me to get me anything I wanted if I did well in my exams. Those words became the focus of my life and I put all my efforts into pushing the limits, giving my all to the pursuit of education. The stretch between the last exam and the results was too long drawn and the two months lingered on forever. When finally the day came, it was all happy and my parents rejoiced in their successful plotting for I did well enough to join the usual bandwagon of confused medical aspirants. Still with a month to go before school restarted, my cousins from Mumbai came over to stay for a fortnight. It was probably the most blissful holiday I have had till date. The four of us, 2 cousins, my brother and me, almost of the same age enjoyed being together and we spent the time like every other 90s kid in their holidays. That’s when dad asked me what was it that I wanted for doing well in my exams. He probably anticipated a holiday, a dinner or anything else that any regular teenager would have wanted. I started pouring over the classifieds section and the yellow pages, yes, the book of phone numbers that most of us don’t even remember. And in a span of a week, I had contacted a few dog kennels and vets to find out regarding any puppies that may be available. I started putting a list of names together in a diary for the puppy and discussed with my the other three, convincing them to keep it all hush hush till we got some clarity. We broached the topic a bit, like a teaser at home once or twice, and my parents convinced we were joking, went along with our plans and gave us some inputs as well. On the 10th of May 2004, we fixed an appointment over the phone with for two days later, plotted to get my father to leave the driver behind for us to roam around the city and coaxed my mother to accompany us on a random trip outside. On 12th May 2004, once dad left for his office,  we couldn’t control our excitement anymore. Post lunch, the four of us got into the back seat of the red Zen and we finally told my mother what we had planned for the day. I had shortlisted a mix pup, a great Dane and Labrador mix breed puppy, and the last of the lot was up for grabs. My mom didn’t believe we were serious even then and against her wishes, came to the breeder. Any way, I wasn’t  convinced the puppy was right for my family, he seemed too quiet and too busy with himself. I wanted a puppy that would accept my embrace when I hold my hands out and would return my love with the same fervour. My spirit was deflating and It seemed like my wait was never ending as my cousins had to leave in a few days which meant my partners in the deal would be unable to participate wholly in the project. As the dejected bunch headed back to the car, the breeder’s wife suddenly popped her out of there little kitchen window and yelled,”arey,woh peeche wale bhi dikha de!” My heart was pounding, there was another section behind where there was a possibility of another dog. We walked towards the rear and the wife came out of the house. She walked up smiling and told us that they have a litter of 8-10 puppies, but they will go on the market that evening as they turned one month just that day.  She enquired if we wanted to have a look and without batting an eyelid, we unanimously said Yes. And then came the sight that got my heart to stop and I fell in love. A small enclosure, roughly the size of a single bed, held a bunch of black and white spotted Dalmatian puppies all running around inside and playing. The wife opened the door of the enclosure and it was a sudden burst of energy through that little opening with each one jumping over the other, eager to explore a new area. And I could not take my eyes of these little bundles of pure joy. I forgot all my surroundings, all near and dear and everything else that mattered. I crouched low to embrace the puppies that came running towards me and picked up the first one that responded to my calling out 'Pepper'. She came running into my arms,tripping a little along the way in the cute way puppies fall all over, and managed to fill my heart leaving no space for any other, human or dog. I knew she was the one and it seemed everyone else also agreed. Surprisingly my mother too agreed, that rare moment of her giving in very easily. That was when we placed the call to dad, to ask him the obligatory question. My dad’s account of how he was stunned during a meeting is quite entertaining but that’s his story to tell. All I know is that he was given an option between a female or male pup, or thought he was given a choice. But our hearts were already set on the little girl who ran into our lives. We finally got the approval the four of us were dying for, and we came home in that little red Zen as driver, mom, four happy kids and a jumpy tiny Pepper. 

That's the little Story of how my baby came home many years back. Now she isn't here, and it's only her memories that keep me company. Haven't felt as loved by anyone else.