My Very First Dog!

We moved to our new home in Aliganj in winter of 1987. This house was massive compared to what we had spent the last 10 plus years. One day our neighbor “Raja Babu” brought home a puppy! He was a German Shepard mix. He named him Juno!

Seeing Juno and playing with him once in a while, we started to yearn for a dog of our own. We begged our parents for sometime, knowing very well that my grandfather was dead against it. Knowing my Dad, I knew we would have one soon, and we did within a couple of weeks. We went to the same people, who gave Juno to our neighbor. They still had three pups left from the litter.

My friend Sonu and I looked at all the pups, and then looked straight at one of them, he looked at me directly in the eye and wagged his tail, with his tongue hanging out in the summer heat! I knew he was “the One”, and we brought him home. My sister named him “Buzo”, for a labrador character we saw in a hit movie back then, titled Betaab (starring Sunny Deol). First few days, Buzo stayed quite, understandably so. He was taken away from his mother and his siblings very late and he had developed a camaraderie with them. Buzo had problems with sleeping alone, he would whine all night long, if left alone. One day, just frustrated with all his whimpering, I picked him up and placed him on my chest, while I slept. He seemed to like that and slept for them on, but that was something he though he could do forever.

Buzo was much bigger in size and considering our inclination for non-vegetarian food, which he got a lot of, he over-powered Juno within weeks much to the chagrin of Raja Babu, who always showed off! Buzo, like Marley (see Marley & Me, 2008) was a hyperactive pup. He chewed on newspapers, sometime even before my grandfather got his hands on it! which always guaranteed a session of loud verbal abuse, aimed mostly at me. Everyday, rain or shine Buzo would wake me up at 5 AM, all ready to go out for his walk, and we did along with Sonu and his Doberman, Ronnie! I was fit then, Buzo made sure of that. Our responsibilities were divided. My Sister fed him and I walked him as simple as that, though sometime we did change our roles, as the situation demanded it due to our college schedules.

Once Buzo felt like catching up on Ancient Indian History two days before my exam. He took my book and chewed it to the last page. When I saw him there, with strewn pages all over our terrace, he had the most innocent look. He knew he had done something horrible, which he would pay for. But all I could do was laugh, probably with fear that how am I going to study for the exam. I didn’t tell anyone, went to the bookstore and bought a new one.

In 1990, our parent moved in, and our grandparents moved out with my uncles. Buzo, opened up to them very easily. He was soon very attached to my Mom. He worshipped her, not even I was allowed to even raise my voice with her, argue with her, leave alone do something to her. We had to be very careful to not approach our mom, way too fast or it would alarm Buzo for some action! He growled at us if we even joked about hurting mom….and she loved him back as much as we did.

Years passed, when one day in September of 1995 we got opportunity to bring another pup, a Black Labrador home. We named him Jerry. Buzo was grown and mature by then, and opened up to Jerry, and looked after him. As Jerry grew up, Buzo grew old, he couldnt keep pace with Jerry’s antics all day long, and straightened him once in a while. Their relationship was that of a father and son, Jerry looked up to Buzo and followed him everywhere.

Unfortunately, Jerry didn’t live long, he passed away due to his failing kidneys at a tender age of 18 months. Buzo, along with us all was hit hard. He missed Jerry as much as, if not more than us. My sister was unconsolable and demanded that we replace him with a new one, or she’ll go mad. Well, our Dad couldnt bear it for long. He asked me to search for a pup. We soon found one, a Golden Retriever, we named him Jerry! Buzo, loved having a new pup, he seemed to have got some new energy in him, playing with Jerry, who enjoyed chewing Buzo’s tail the most..

My Sister got married in November of 1997, and then Buzo and Jerry became my sole responsibility. Buzo’s needs were different as he grew older. He didnt bother any of us as much, but there was Jerry who took over, from where Buzo left off. Buzo got sick often as he grew old, to the point where he lost his sight to cataract, and his hearing. I continued to take him on walks to keep him active, he followed me everywhere, but I started to see that he was fading away. Once he got run over by a car when he was crossing the road, as he couldnt see or hear it approaching. But the driver, saw him and yet didnt slow down. He drove over Buzo as he screamed. I ran to him, towards the car, while the driver tried to drive away knowing very well, that he would face dire consequences if he stopped. All I could do was to grab a brick, which i threw at the windshield and cracked it wide open, yet he took off. Jerry chased him for a while but returned to attend to Buzo.

Buzo was hurt, with open lesion all over his body, a cut on his forehead. He was hurting, yet he found me by my voice and came to me. I carried him inside the house, tend to him and took him to the doctor’s later on. Since then he got scared stepping out of the house, and if did he stayed at my heel all the time. He knew that I would do anything to keep him from harm, and i would have. I waited everyday for that driver to pass by, so I can teach him a lesson, but he didnt,  ever.

Soon after Buzo’s condition deteriorated and one day while I was watching TV, he came to me, though he could barely walk, looked at me, I bent down to him so he could see my face with his failing eyesight, we brushed our noses against each other and he lied down by my feet. I knew it was time, I sat beside him, with his head in my lap, he started to breathe heavily till he took his last one, and then he was gone. Jerry just stood there, came to check on Buzo, and realized that he was gone, he lied down beside me. I called for my Mom and Dad, they came and confirmed that Buzo was no more.

Next morning I buried Buzo in our yard with my own hands.  I had never done that before, and felt so empty. It was heart-breaking for me. I had to keep Jerry inside, so that he doesn’t see Buzo, as he kept howling the entire night, as he missed Buzo at his side.

Good thing was that Jerry was there, he took care of us, knowing that we’re hurting. Jerry and I visited Buzo everyday. Even to this day, when I visit home, I go by the place where I buried Buzo. I Love him, I miss him, my first, and my very own dog!

This is first of a series of posts I’m going to write about my dogs, which are no longer with me and whom I miss a lot everyday! The reason for doing this, is “Marley & Me”. I watched this movie last night and it brought back all the wonderful memories I’ve had over time, of all the time I spent with four of my dogs who are all in better place now.

Our first dog was cross-breed (of a German Shepard and a real wolf), and was given to my Dad in a small town by one of his assistants. My Dad named him “Pintu”. I dont have much memories of him, other than a few. He was big and heavy and loved my sister and I a lot. He was very protective of us. I remember riding him sometimes like a horse, and he gladly took me everywhere inside the house. I grabbed his tail so many times and he never even moved!

My mother tells me that when I was very young, she and my Dad used to leave him by my side when they went to their respective hospitals, while I slept at home. When I used to wake up and cry, he would go to our balcony and bark continuously! My mother who worked at the hospital across the road, would get the indication from his barking that I’m up and needed to be taken care of, and she would come home and tend to me.

There used to be a Guava tree in our backyard, which all the kids in the neighborhood wanted access to, so that they can get their hands on ripe guavas to eat. Pintu never did let anyone go near the tree. They all use to come to my sister and asked for one. She used to pluck them and give it to all the kids.

Pintu was so big and fierce that one of our servants, use to put two choke chain on him, when he took him for a walk and Pintu was always dragging him around. Pintu used to be fed with beef, which a servant of ours used to procure from the butcher, cook it and provide to Pintu. However, Pintu never used to eat, unless my Dad would tell him to. He will sit next to his bowl, drooling….but would not eat unless my Dad said “Eat”. He was that committed.

When my parent got transferred to a different city, and due to space limitation, they had to leave Pintu with my maternal grandparents. Thereafter, our visit to him were limited to every other weekends, sometimes once a month. One of my maternal uncle, Atul took good care of him, to the best of his ability, though he was always more than handful for anyone other than my Dad.

Every time we went to our grandparents house. He knew we’re there and always welcomed my mother by standing up to her, placing his two front legs on her shoulder and give her a kiss!, and sit by my Dad’s feet all day long. This went on for years, till one day when we got there, he wasn’t there to welcome us in his usual way. We got to know that one day since their main gate was left open, and he got out…never to be seen or heard again!

We all hoped that he lived long enough wherever he was! and had a peaceful passage over time. From that time through 1987 we did not have a dog, partly because my sister and I lived with our grandparents in Lucknow, in a very tiny apartment. There was not enough space for a dog!

I will always love you Pintu!