MISS YOU

We miss him. We will always miss him. He brought sunshine into our home. In these four years he had become a family member. My sister also tied a ‘rakhi’ on his leg every ‘rakshabandhan’.

We brought him home when he was a few days old. We were not allowed to keep pets but this white bundle of joy could not be refused. We kept him inside a box which he eventually ate up from the sides so that it could accommodate him as he grew up. He was fond of eating. He would eat everything from kurkure to cucumbers.

When we used to sing 'aarti' on Mondays he knew that he would get ‘Prasad’. As soon as we began to sing he would peep from outside and impatiently ask for his share. The only things he didn’t eat were walnuts, fun balls, popcorn and chillies.  He also loved to play in snow and to eat it. We had so much fun walking him. Whenever he found some cricket ball on the walk he would put it in his mouth and bring it back home.

Sometimes when we forced him to go to bed he literally argued with us in his dog dialect.

He looked so innocent when he was sleepy. He was very possessive about his pillow and did not allow us to touch it. We used to appreciate the sweet voice he made while yawning and his cute sleeping postures. This appreciation kept on growing with time.

Scooby would wake up us early in the morning and one of us would take him on a walk. When not in the mood of messing around with the monkeys or local dogs he would neglect them and pretend that he did not see them. When any of us returned in the evening he would greet us as if we were coming home after ages. He would wait for mom as he knew she would bring something to eat for him. He loved it when we gave him a massage or brushed his coat.                  

He was an arrogant dog. He was notorious for biting some neighbors though the fault was not completely his. In his presence no Tom, Dick or Harry dared to enter the vicinity of our house. We felt so secure when Scooby was with us.

He left us last month. He was not keeping well for quite sometime. The doctor told us that his organs have enlarged and he was running fever. He gave him some shots and medicine. It was least expected that he would die. But he left peacefully or at least we  console ourselves  by believing so.

I hate the vet who did not take his illness seriously. I hate the pharmacist who was out of town when we wanted to call him home. I hate people who suggest we get another dog. I hate myself when I think I wanted to make him a typical trained dog while he was perfect the way he was.
But the truth is that hating people or blaming situations won’t bring him back. I try not to think about him and tell myself every day that he is happy wherever he is.

          

       Scooby we all miss you. The house is empty as hell without you.  It kills me from inside when I come home in the evening and don’t find you waiting for me. Nobody can ever replace you in our life.