5 years ago...

11^th November, 2013. Around 18.30 hours. It was chilly winter Monday evening. We were busy arranging things at home to match those with freshly painted walls. I was rushing things as I had to see my friends that evening. I was in midst of something when I heard feeble sound. I was all ears. It was faint and helpless “woof-woof” coming from my building’s parking/ staircase.

For a second I thought it was my neighbor's puppy who I thought had fallen from their window. I immediately went down to check what was happening. All I saw was small ball of fur, a cute, little, weak pup. I knew it was not my neighbor's pup, so I went around checking if some other puppies are there, but to no avail. There was no one around. Clearly, there were two probabilities – someone had left this pup there or it had lost its way. Either way, that pup was orphaned and homeless.

I called Pratik down. Initially I was very scared to touch it. Pratik brought one basket and warm cloth and put that pup in it. I did not know how to respond to the situation. Surely I was surprised, but had no feelings as such towards that pup, I thought. I continued with my plan and went out with my friends.

I was out but was not mentally there. I found my mind constantly running back to that pup. There was something about that pup. Its frail voice was there in my ears and was disturbing me. I started feeling restless. I called Gaurav, my friend, who knew about various organizations which took up such pups for adoption. He shared one number. I ranged that. The lady on the other side showed her inability to pick the pup the very same evening. She suggested that I keep the pup for that night and that she will come to pick it Tuesday morning. I got panicked with the sudden responsibility.

I again called Gaurav to inform what had happened. He gave me instructions as to what I should do to keep that pup warm, what I should give it to eat etc. One of the suggestions was to get some gripe water for it. I found that one weird; it was as if some baby had come to my place. I complied with the “To-do” list.

I came home to find that pup was given entry in my home. I was baffled with my parents approach. We siblings always wanted to have a dog as a pet, which they always resisted saying it was not easy to have a dog. They gave varied reasons for the same. But the truth was they did not want us to go through that traumatic phase of separation from the beloved pet. Back then, we were already grieving the loss of our (not exactly ours) cat, Sharukh. So we knew how painful it could get.

I could neither study nor sleep that night. I was constantly checking on that pup. It was sleeping peacefully. When it woke up, it went on peeing spree. I was like dude stop that, because I had to clean that mess. We fed it milk mixed with gripe water. It slept again.

Tuesday morning, that lady called me up saying that she would pick the pup. We decided to meet midway. I don’t know how but, Dad got convinced and he said, “You can keep that pup. And we can send him to Vasantkaka's farmhouse.” 

Those words confused us. We were like, is Dad serious? But he said yes, we can keep it provided we take its good care. I again did not know how to respond. What was happening was beyond my comprehension. There was one time when I was craving to have a pet dog. I had even convinced myself that I will never ever be able to fulfill my wish. And now, out of nowhere we were having a pup. I called that lady again to inform her that we are keeping the pup. She appreciated our decision and also shared some vital tips to take care of it. She also told us to see vet asap. 

We took the pup to the vet. He said the pup was just 2-3 weeks old, separated from its mother. So its survival was prime aim. He suggested dos-don’ts. In short, extra-care was needed. It was as if we had a baby. We got into sudden parenthood, with arrival of that pup.

That pup, I named him RRio. It looked more like a rabbit due to its fur and color. So my mom named it as Bunny. I wonder, what if that Lady had come the same Monday evening, what if my parents mind had not changed, what if?? We may never had Bunny in our lives.

Today we celebrate Bunny’s 5^th birthday. It is actually not his birthday. It’s a day when we found him. Let me correct that. It’s a day when he found and chose us, decided to be part of our family and change our lives forever. It is also a day which restores my faith in destiny. Destiny wanted us to meet. This day also signifies that never give up on your wishes and dreams. They can come true in weirdest possible ways and not necessarily at the times when you think they should. They come true when you need it the most without your knowledge. 

Am eternally grateful to Almighty for this gift. Only lucky ones are privileged to have dogs in their lives. We are among those. All I can say now, God bless Bunny and dog bless us!