After Jerry’s sudden and untimely death we were unconsolable, my sister was hit the hardest as she took care of him since day one. She cried all day, everyday and demanded that we find a suitable replacement.

We tried but couldn’t find a Labrador pup, black, chocolate or yellow for that matter and looked at several other breeds including Pointer’, Boxer’s etc. but never got the same vibe we did from Jerry. Then one day, we saw an add in the newspaper for Golden Retriever pups, that a family had in a close by neighborhood for sale. There were still three available from a litter of six.

We went to check them out. The parents were Champions from several Dog Shows and were registered with the Indian Kennel Club (IKC), and the pups were so much expensive for us to even consider buying one. As we observed them for a while, we saw one that was the strongest of them all and seemed to have a better dog sense, and so adorable. I have to admit I had never seen anything as beautiful as a Golden Retriever pup in my life. We picked him and told the owner that we will come back for him, knowing very well that asking our parents for thousands of rupees for a puppy is going to be a daunting task. I knew what we wanted, and I knew my sister gets what she wants. So I kept insisting to her that this is what we need. It worked, my Dad gave us the money without a hassle.

We brought him home and named him Jerry! Buzo, loved having a new pup, he seemed to have got some new energy in him, playing with Jerry. Though, for the first few days, Jerry didn’t interact with any of us. He missed his siblings I guess, but he started to open up to Buzo, you know dog sense and all.

In time we realized how different Jerry Jr. was from our Black Lab or from Buzo for that matter. He was so much more intelligent. He learned things so fast and on his own. We never had to try to teach him anything. He knew the timings of our favorite TV Shows, and would sit through them, even if he “really” has to go! He knew the timings that my parents would come back from the Hospital or I would get back from College, and wait for us at the door!

In November 1997 my sister got married and moved to U.S. Suddenly, my mother and I were left with the total responsibility of Buzo and Jerry. With my sister gone, Jerry took easily to my Mother and suddenly she had two dogs, Buzo and Jerry following her every move, looking after her. Jerry grew up to so beautiful. There was never a time, when I would take him for a walk, and people will not stop to admire him and talk to me. I kind of used him once in a while to talk to some “hot” girls that jogged past us everyday! He was a such a sport!

In June 1999, Buzo left us after 11 years. Jerry was left alone. We never let him see Buzo dead, and kept him away when I buried him in our yard. He couldn’t have bear the loss. Yet, he didn’t eat for days, looked for Buzo everywhere in the house and outside when we used to go for a walk. I guess it was the first time we was alone. But he adjusted over time.

In August 1999, I moved to U.S. for further studies and the complete responsibility of Jerry fell on my Mom. She did her best in taking care of him, with his hospital trips etc. I saw Jerry once in a while, every time I visited India in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and Jerry would pick me in a crowd right away. He stayed with me all along, slept under my bed. But he would go to Mom all the time, possibly knowing that I would leave again.

Last I saw him was in 2004, when I was in India to get married. I remember how my mother introduced him to Nidhi, when she entered our home for the first time. It took a while, but he accepted Nidhi as an addition to our family. We left soon for the U.S. and I was never able to see him again. He lived for years since, but when we visited India again in 2006, he was in a different city where my parents were posted. They came to Lucknow to be with us, but Jerry was left behind, and sadly I couldn’t find time to go and meet him or bring him to Lucknow. But I knew that he was taken very good care of by one of our caretakers in Pratapgarh. She loved Jerry as her own.

My parents retired from their medical profession and moved to Lucknow from Pratapgarh in the winter of 2007, Jerry was left behind to be brought back later. But that time never came, he spent his last several months away from all of us, with his caretaker and got sick. I June 2008 I got a phone call from my mother, that Jerry passed away. She blamed herself for not being able to bring him back to Lucknow, as he worshipped her and she couldn’t return the favor.

I know that he is in better place now. I would have done anything and everything in my power to have him with me, but it’s wasn’t meant to be.

He brought so much Joy and love to us, as did Pintu, Buzo, and Jerry before him. Rest easy my babies, I will always love you, and miss you everyday!

I know my life would be fuller and richer, with a dog in our life, but i don’t know if I will be able to bear another loss, even it it’s 10 or 15 years from now.

Jerry, a black Labrador was our third dog. We brought him home in September of 1995 from a family friends place. Jerry was 12 days old, when his mother discarded him, his eyes were not open by then, and we fed him with cotton buds soaked in milk and formula for weeks. Buzo was grown and mature by then, he would come and sit by us, while we fed or looked after Jerry. At first Buzo tried to keep the focus on himself, but as time went by, he realized that this pup is going to stay and he accepted him, looked after him when we were not there. Jerry, for lack of knowledge accepted Buzo as his natural father, but I think Buzo didn’t mind the attention.

Jerry, in his first few weeks portrayed the same characteristics that Buzo had in the recent past. First several nights I had to pick him up from his box in the middle of the night and put him on my chest, to keep him quite and he seemed to enjoyed that. After several days I realized that he probably missed being in close proximity to something breathing along with him. I took a old desk clock, which my grandfather had left behind, wrapped it in a piece of cloth and placed it in his box at nights as he slept there. Surprisingly that worked, I think the rhythmic “tick-tock” made him think of a beating heart! He did sleep well since.

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. Having Buzo around helped us a lot, as Jerry learned so many things that Buzo did (pottie training) or wasn’t allowed to do (climb on beds, couch, or roam anywhere near the dining table, when we’re eating) and imbibed them, without us trying!

By his first year, Buzo and Jerry were almost the same size, though Jerry outperformed Buzo at everything, as he had age on his side. Yet, they were a sight to be seen when I used to take them for a walk in the mornings. Most people stopped to look at them, waive at us. Several small dogs ran away from us. Jerry enjoyed “fetching”, as I would assume a retriever naturally would. He was sharp, could pick the right stone from a pile that i threw in. Though, he never really got the hang of his size, he tried to sit in my lap all the time, assuming that he would still fit, as he used to when he was a pup….

After so many years, my Dad really took interest in our dogs, he loved Jerry for some reason and vice-versa. Things that Buzo was not even allowed to do, were Ok if Jerry did them. He would let Jerry climb his bed and sit by him! which was very surprising for us knowing how he cared about cleanliness and order in the house. I think Jerry knew that too, he slept under his bed everyday and every chance he could. He was such a joy!

Unfortunately, Jerry didn’t live long, he passed away due to failing kidneys at a tender age of 18 months. I buried him in our yard. Buzo, along with us all was hit very hard. He missed Jerry, his best mate 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 either. He asked us to search for a suitable replacement. We tried but we couldn’t find a black Labrador pup anywhere. We looked at Pointer’s, Boxer’s and several other breeds both never got the vibe we used to from Jerry. We kept looking hoping that soon we’d find one who could bring solace to our hearts.