Pets

I miss my doga a great deal. Thing is one never realises how much you have until you don't have it anymore. With pets, you get so used to having them around that one doesn't realise how much they help by just being there.

It's an amazing feeling to come back home after a long day and have your dog come up to you. Or when she sits by you when you're feeling blue and down and out. Or have her follow you around when you dance the tango. Or watch the kittens run all around the place trying their best to grab hold of a tail, any tail. Or realise the best way to drink milk, kitten style, is to climb into the vessel itself.

Pet owners could tell you a lot of tales. Pets make you laugh. They reduce the stress levels. Never did I realise this more than after my doga left. A point that was reinforced the other day when I left the office feeling really miserable and felt my spirits lift just after I petted a police dog. :)

Earth angels

It was a little after 8 p.m. of 28th December, 2006, when we lost our beloved rott, Taffy. While the grief was very much there, the major worry was what to do with the body. Well, we hadn't concreted a section of the compound for this purpose only. But moving the huge stones that covered it, digging the grave and shifting the body (all of 42 kgs.) down from the first floor where we stay seemed a herculean effort for me and my mom. Just shifting her on to a rug with my cousin's help took a great deal of effort on all our parts. Attempts to find someone nearby who could help were unsuccessful. I did what I usually do in such situations. Sent a prayer to St. Michael, the Archangel, for help. At 9:30, things were still the same. Told my mom, "Let's go down to the hardware store and pick up the necessary digging implements. We'll do it ourselves."

The first two shops we visited had already closed down. The third was, fortunately, open. When we asked for what we wanted, a man sitting out front asked us what it was needed for.

"Our dog is dead and we need to bury her. We can't find anyone to do it. So we're doing it ourselves."

"I'll come and do it."

And he did, along with a friend of his. Painters who were picking up a few provisions on their way back home. Our earth angels.

So, they came. Dug the grave in just a few minutes, carried our baby down with such love and care and even said goodbye to her. Which, of course, was tough for all of us. Even stopped by a few days later to check on the grave and see how we were doing.

It's difficult not to marvel at how the Universe handled everything. The way things just fell into place. Just when you think a situation is hopeless, something happens to change it. As long as there is hope. And faith.