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.

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!