Dogs

Didn’t really have anything in mind to write today. Wasn’t really in the mood. But then while browsing Reddit I came across an Askreddit thread. “What Makes You Cry Everytime?”

Read through it, just curious about what affected other people. Then came across someone mentioning Marley and Me. It’s a fairly popular movie about a man and his dog, Marley. Has Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

Well, someone replied to it talking about their own Labrador, and it got me thinking about my dog too. She passed away last December, the very night I came home from college.

She was a small, black poodle. Full of energy, patient and friendly with strangers. She never bit anyone (though she did get more aggressive in her old age).

We got her when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I remember I used to fight with her, because she didn’t pay as much attention to me as she did to my parents or elder sister. I used to kick her (absolutely horrible of me, I know) and she’d snarl, but she’d never fight back. Maybe she knew that I was too young to know better.

Time went on, my sister went to college in another city, and we all grew older. If she had to go to the vet, I’d be the one to go with her. Eventually I built up a good relationship with my dog.

Time went on. She began to go blind and deaf. Luckily we had wooden floors, so we would be able to knock on them to call her. She began to grow more aggressive, likely because she couldn’t tell what was going on. We’d let her sniff our hands before attaching her leash, so she’d know it was us.

My sister, who had come back to our city to work, got transferred to another country. Soon, I was about to begin college. Those years were bad. I was struggling with my depression, and my dog was declining in health. Still, I’d find peace in just sitting with her and petting her.

Then I went to college, a few hours away from home. It was residential, so every few weeks I’d come home for the weekend. Each time I gave her a big hug, knowing that that goodbye could be her last.

Finally, my semester final exams came. Turned out one of my exams was earlier than I thought, so I was able to come home one day sooner. Walked into the house, and immediately asked where my dog was. I knew she was going.

Walked into my sister’s room, where she was lying on a blanket, breathing heavily. She was dying, and I could tell. It was… heartbreaking to watch. I tried to give her some chicken broth through a dropper, but she clamped down on it with her teeth so hard that the plastic of the dropper cracked. She was done.

So mum and I sat with her till 4 in the morning. Dad came and took over, and we got some sleep. She died half an hour later.

We buried her in the morning, on my aunt’s farm. Then I went and got a tattoo of two dog paws on my left wrist. Something to remember her and her love by. Some may say that’s a bit risky, the emotional charge might have led me to make a bad decision, but I had a strong gut feeling about it. And I trust my gut.

Still don’t regret it.

There’s a line which Owen Wilson’s character in Marley and Me says at the end of the film.

“You know how we’re always saying what a pain you are, you’re the world’s worst dog, don’t believe it, don’t believe it for one minute because you know we couldn’t find a better dog, I love you, more than anything, you’re a great dog, I love you.”

Anyone who’s had a dog will tell you how much of a pain they can be. But they’ll say so with a smile, remembering just how wonderful they are as well.

Again, from Marley and Me.

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

The thing about dogs is that they become like family. They’re not pets for amusement or just for fun. They’re wonderful, loving beings who become a part of you.

Damn, I think I’m gonna go watch Marley and Me. Let me see if I have a good blanket.