Every year, the world celebrates 11th April as the National Pet Day. An annual reminder of how much we love our pets and the special place they hold in our hearts – what’s not to like? Worldwide, National Pet Day is celebrated joyously by animal shelters that encourage adoption and persuade us to open our homes to stray animals. At homes, our lovely pets are showered with a little extra love on this day. It’s a day to share lovely memories of our pets and most importantly, be grateful for their unconditional love.
However, this year, we decided to take a different route. Every day we that we get to spend with our pets is a lucky one - but this time, we wanted to listen to those who aren’t as lucky. For many of us, pets who have passed away hold just as special a place in our hearts, and we want to dedicate this National Pet Day to them.
No matter how many years they share with us, our pets leave us with a lifetime of memories. Every story is beautiful – and it keeps our love alive, even after our pets have passed. On this day, we want to share your lovely stories and keep the memory of your beloved pets alive. So, here’s a few stories that warmed our hearts!
I. Kirtana & Jenny
Tell us about your pet.
My pet’s name was Jenny. She was a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and Labrador. I remember getting a call from a pet shelter staff saying the sweetest fluffy pup had just come in for adoption. No one had adopted her because she was female. I rushed there absolutely delighted, brought her home and that was the most pivotal point in all of our lives. She quickly became the most integral part of our four-member family. She had the gentlest soul with a vivid personality. She was an absolute daddy’s girl that waited for him to come back home like Hachiko did. She loved egg puffs and meat jerky, but she also hated being left alone. She had a way of sensing anxiety in people, she would always bring a tennis ball when she did, almost as if to say “Get up! Play! Don’t be sad” and it always did the trick! She loved her collars, the more bedazzled the better it was. Each time we would buy a new one, Jenny would go around the room with her head held high showing it off to each person in the room till everyone said it looked nice. She also loved to showboat her tennis ball catching skills which she always managed to catch suspended in air, once she did that feat she would look around and wait for people to clap, and only then drop the ball. She was just absolute pure delight.
What was your fondest memory with her?
I remember having a bad day and coming home when it was pouring rain. I begrudgingly went up to to the terrace to bring down my clothes that were left to dry. Little did I know; Jenny had followed me. I gathered all my clothes and placed it in a dry place, I was visibly annoyed.I looked to the side and there she was drenched in the rain nudging me to play. She ran around the terrace barking at me to play with her in the rain, running back and forth, urging me to chase her. Of course, I had to oblige. I didn’t know how she managed but I was laughing within 1 minute of chasing her around. Before I knew it, my Mom had come looking for me, saw us playing and joined in. Then came my brother. In a span of ten minutes, Jenny had almost the entire family running around chasing her, laughing, drenched, with no worry in the world and that’s something no one else could have accomplished. Only our pampered playful diva could. That moment single handedly cured us all of any sadness we may have had instantaneously.
What was it like losing Jenny?
It is by far the most devastating experience I’ve had to live through. Jenny was 11 when she was attacked by my neighbour’s dog. The injuries were fatal. I woke up to the screams of my mother and I remember seeing my poor baby girl severely injured. We rushed her to emergency care but it was in vain. I don’t think anything prepares you to lose a loved one, ever. Especially a being as magnificently pure as a dog. She left a huge void, one that never went away. There are times we all sit together and reminisce about how beautiful life was with her in it. We had a grave built out of marble with her name engraved in our front lawn. Now and then I catch one of us standing by her grave, talking to her or gazing at it. And we all instantly know; she was the best thing that happened to our family and for that we will always hold her memories close to our hearts. She was after all our Queen of Joy.
II. Saumya & Earth
Tell us about your pet.
Her name was Earth. Or at least that’s how I remember her. We had her with us for less than a week so were still deciding on what to call her, but she was Earth. To me. So wise and pure and extremely tolerant. We found her on the streets, the same place where we found her big sister, Luna, a couple of days earlier. Must have been a month old, the little baby. She was very weak and needed a home immediately and so we adopted her without a second thought. She was suffering internally, that was apparent. She wasn’t very active, didn’t play or even run around but she had so much to give, so much love, even for Luna, who hadn’t accepted her until her very last night with us.
What was your fondest memory with her?
My fondest memory of Earth is literally every damn thing we did together. Even the image of her eating food or sitting next to me, looking at Luna playing, watching a film, are really fond memories. Her face, her eyes, her voice, are all my fondest memories. But the night of 2nd Feb was beautiful. A friend of mine was home and Earth was sleeping on his lap and Luna on mine. Couple of hours went by and a very graceful Earth slowly and carefully climbed on to my lap, every step calculated. A very sleepy Luna acknowledged her presence and accepted her. The two slept together peacefully for the rest of the night. Her last night.
What was it like losing Earth?
It was a dreadful day. My boyfriend was out of town and I was alone at home with the cats. I woke up to an extremely sick Earth and I knew that she wasn’t going to survive. She could barely walk. The day went by in endless visits to the vet’s, but nothing was going to work, I knew, the vets knew. I had seen a similar case before, another pet I lost a long time ago who had the same condition. But we had to try. By the evening, I realised there was no way I could keep her here any longer and decided to get her back home. It was an emotional roller coaster with lots of crying and wailing and weeping and then finally accepting and letting go. We came home, I put her in my lap, played some healing music and soothed her journey into the other realm. We buried her under a tree. By now, she would be in the trunk, the branches, the stems, the leaves, the flowers and when autumn comes, she’ll fall into the earth and be born again. Mother Earth. Baby Earth.
III. Layal & Boshi
Tell us about your pet.
A female white mouse named Boshi.
What was your fondest memory with her?
My fondest memory with Boshi was actually her meal times every single day. Being a fussy eater, she would never eat anything that was repeated earlier. So if one at one meal I gave her cottage cheese, I could only give her another round of it the next day. She loved nibbling on boiled noodles and mashed bananas as well. In some ways she was like a reflection of me. A very lazy but adorable reflection.
What was it like losing Boshi?
It was actually the only time in my life that I lost my appetite for 2 days straight. It was really really hard to wake up with an immediate thought of not seeing them anymore every day.
IV. Mallika & Jasmine
Tell us about your pet.
I grew up with Jasmine, a fawn labrador. I don’t think the word loving does justice to describe her, she was beyond the capability of its very definition. She was my best friend.
What was your fondest memory with her?
It’s too hard to choose just one! She was fiercely protective of me, and absolutely hated when anyone raised their voice or hand at me. She’d stand guard in front of me, growl and bark at anyone who tried to get closer if she sensed danger. Even when my parents would try to wake me up for school in the morning, she’d get so angry at them! She would jump on the bed and guard me, and bark at anyone who tried to get closer! Her barking would wake me up anyway, so the point was a little lost. However, it gave me so much comfort in knowing that she was always protecting me. This happened literally every morning. It’s the small, every day acts that I’m so fond of.
What was it like losing Jasmine?
The very moment was surreal. She was battling an illness for a long time. When it was happening, she was visibly in pain, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t take control of her body. Her head was resting in my lap, and I was whispering in her ear, pleading, “Jasmine, not now. Please, stay with me. I need you. Not now. Stay with me a while longer.” The longer I pleaded, the worse she got. Finally, when I started whispering, “It’s okay. You can go. I’ll be fine. I’ll be just fine. It’s alright. I understand if you have to do this. I don’t want you to feel this pain anymore.” she instantly relaxed, and passed away in my lap. It’s been more than 4 years but I think about her every single day. I miss her presence and love in my life. All I want is to pet her one more time, kiss her forehead, give her a hug one last time. I still feel like she’s protecting me, though. I know she’s still looking over me. I miss her incredibly, but I’m so thankful I had her in my life. She gave me my happiest memories, and gave me love which overwhelmed me.
V. Akshat & Bono
Tell us about your pet.
Bono was a black Labrador, who never grew to full size since he was the last of his litter. The later ones tend to not grow as big as other ones. He was the poster boy for his breed - had a voracious appetite, ever-friendly, gentle with children and human-centric. Regardless of where we put his bed, he would find a spot where most people were sitting, or from where he could track everyone’s movements in the house without lifting his head off the floor. He was very popular with other dogs and rarely had fallouts. He loved travelling in cars and was an expert swimmer. He has been to Goa many times and was particularly fond of digging holes in the wet sand, feast on chicken, sleep a lot in quiet hotel rooms - long story short, he seemed to share the Goa sentiment with humans. He was extremely patient and good with children. We named him Bono when we got him without knowing that it was perhaps the name that defined how he lived his life. In Latin, bono means ‘good’. And to date, he is the meaning of the word ‘good’ to me.
What was your fondest memory with him?
As age caught up with him, the intensity and lengths of his walks reduced. Along the new, more relaxed route, he found a shrub which seemingly had medicinal properties. In nature, animals have a natural tendency to go the right shrub for a particular ache or discomfort. Smelled the leaves and they had a sharp herbal tinge. Bono, despite his age did retain the childishness of rejecting food that wasn’t tasty enough. Hence, it was like seeing a child shock his parents by eating herbal leaves to alleviate an upset tummy! On days when his stomach was upset, he always made a stop at that shrub. He would snap a few off, and walk a few yards away. Here, he would sit and patiently munch on the leaves and watch people pass by, much like a senior gentleman enjoying a pause on an evening walk. Pet lovers tend to anthropomorphize their pets - perhaps to an extent that others may find repulsive. But I certainly did see a human being in him. His emotions and ways came out in the simplest of ways like the one narrated here.
What was it like losing Bono?
Age caught up with him. As a family and as someone who lived with him, it does provide a great measure of comfort to know he lived a full life. At the very end, his organs began failing. There were physiological signs which our vet, when told about, immediately told us that Bono but a few hours left. I sat by his side, as his eyes were shut. His breathing became heavier and we knew his time had come. Those few minutes seemed like a lifetime, watching him linger in the twilight zone between life and death. As he began to groan in discomfort, I uttered the words - asking him to go, giving him permission to leave. And as if he had heard everything, he stopped breathing. I felt a part of me leave with him. More than grief, it was acute pain to see the spirit part from body. The pain worsened to see his body there. To see the spots on his body which I knew he relished being massaged. As for today - time passes by, the painful memories recede and one is left with only the good times. Because those are the only ones that matter.
VI. Mallika & Kia
Tell us about your pet.
Chaos, we all called him Kia, was my little sweetheart ginger coloured cat, who I rescued off the street when he was 40 days old.
What was your fondest memory with him?
He was the sweetest little cat in the world. Super happy and playful and never hurt a soul. Was scared of cockroaches and everything around, and he literally changed our lives and turned our house into a home. I’m a Canine Behaviourist, Trainer, and an animal rescuer all thanks to him and my dog Rio. My fondest memory with Kia. That’s hard. Every memory is so fond and still fresh, I never ever talk about him. The pain is too much. So, Kia hated sitting on a person’s lap. He would let us cuddle with him and hug him for a while, but would never sit on our laps while we were just chilling in bed. My all time favourite movie has always been The Lion King. And even today when I watch it, for the millionth time, I still cry and weep like a baby. He would watch only Lion King with me. Nothing else interested him. But this movie, he recognized, and always watched the entire movie, and whenever I’d cry and start tearing up, he would sit on my lap and purr against my face and literally ‘purr’ my tears away!
What was it like losing Kia?
It was the worst moment of my life. He had a lot of health issues that we knew of ever since he was a baby, but we chose to let him live and have a happy life until his issues caved in, and we let him go peacefully, comfortably, in my arms in our room at home with the AC on. Our vet came home and injected hin and put him to sleep. I still tremble thinking of that moment. He looked into my eyes just before he went, and I haven’t felt more pain or helplessness and worthless in my entire life. He was a little angel in our life, and always will be. But he lived life, king size!