Goodbye!
You may have heard it so many times that ‘it is hard to say goodbye!’ Trust me, some goodbyes are not just hard, but they are heart-wrenching. You are left short of words to describe that pain. 18th August, 2024 brought one of the most difficult goodbyes in my life.
My beloved Bunny passed away. This November he would have completed 11 years of age. Bunny needs no introduction. He was not just a dog. To us, he was a sibling, a buddy and our most spoilt baby. For almost 11 years, he had been an inseparable part of our lives. He had indeed changed our lives altogether by his very being.
Bunny’s entry in our lives was not only dramatic but also miraculous. Evening of 11th November, 2013 brought in our lives the most precious gift we could ever get. I always said, Bunny is God-Gift, we could have never found anyone like him ever. That evening a small, frail pup walked in our lives to transform us as a human forever. With his arrival our lives were filled with all the joys, happiness and contentment.
I must say he was one of a kind by his personality – antique piece, as Aai called him. He was quirky, sassy, choosy and at times short tempered. In the morning when my Ajji sat down to say her prayers, he used to go and sit in her lap as if he was also praying alongside her. I always wonder how he knew that age-wise Ajji was the senior-most in our house, the weak and vulnerable one. He was so watchful that he did not like anyone going near her. Anyone who bowed to take her ‘ashirwad’, had to undergo his ‘dreadful’ bark. He was extremely protective towards her.
Sometimes when she kept some portions of ‘prasad’ for us, Bunny used to sneak and eat it all. Peda, Besan Ladoo, Malai Barfi, Puran Poli, steamed sprouts (harbara, matki, chhole, vatana etc.) were some of his most favourite items. He liked those so much that he used to steal them.
At one occasion, he literally stole besan ladoo from Rohinikaku’s bag. Once he also stole a whole box of malai barfi and left an empty box as a clue. By the time Aai came to see what was going on, malai barfi was sitting in Bunny's tummy and helpless Aai found Bunny with guilty-face in the kitchen.
Pedha made Vasant-kaka his one of the most favourite persons. Everyday Kaka used to get pedha for him without failing. Bunny knew the exact time when Kaka used to come. At that particular time, he used to sit with all his eyes on the main door. He used to get super-excited even with the sound of Kaka’s vehicle and start wagging his tail.
Bunny also loved puranpoli and sprouts. While cooking these foods in the kitchen, with each whistle of the cooker, Bunny came in to check the status. He literally used to be impatient when these items were getting cooked.
While trying any new food, he had one rule - first that food has to be tasted by me; if I eat & offer him that food, only then does he eat it. I was his ‘Food-Taster’.
Every morning, we had tea and biscuits together. When I used to open a packet of biscuits, I could find him standing next to me, asking for his share. Once I finished my tea, I used to keep my tea-cup on his head and say ‘this is my little fur-table’.
He did all the talking with his eyes. His eyes were extremely beautiful. It spoke so much without actual human words. I remember once Dad was hospitalized for some surgery. Bunny could not meet him for 8 days. Once Dad was discharged from hospital and he came home, Bunny literally had tears in his eyes. It showed clearly how much he missed Dad.
Prachi was his favourite ‘chew-stick’. He has bitten her so many times despite she being the one to feed him lunch and dinner daily. And Pratik was his personal assistant to bathe him, take him for a walk, take him to vet and what not. To be honest, I did little for him and this is what eats me up now. I regret it. I wanted to do so much for him.
Time went by so fast and it transformed my sweet little pup into an aged dog. Like in humans, in dogs too age comes with ailments. This May only, we had to put Bunny on a 5-day IV course. Doctor said it was some liver infection. He recovered from it.
However, since mid-July, he stopped eating all together. He did not even drink water for up to 4-5 days. Doctor took his blood samples. Diagnosis showed poor kidney and liver parameters. Doctor told his age is not supportive to give him strong antibiotics. He was put on fluid therapy again.
Pratik took him to the vet daily for saline. After coming from Court, calling Nana-Kaka for his rickshaw and Doctor for his availability and then taking Bunny to the clinic, became his daily-routine for a month till 18th August. He was hopeful, everyone was hopeful that Bunny will come out of this safe, sound and that his health will recover.
However, his health kept deteriorating. This time, his blood report showed he had ‘jaundice’. He lost almost 8-10 kgs. During the last few days, he was force-fed using a syringe, with the hope that at least some solid food will help him recover. While feeding too, his eyes used to get moist, as if he was trying to tell us that this is the final few days.
On Saturday (17th August, 2024), it was raining heavily in the evening. I came home and saw Bunny was being fed. Pooja, Darshan had also come. Dhananjay was also there. He insisted that I stay back at Guruwar-Peth home, with Bunny. I think he too knew that Bunny was already on his final journey. I stayed back.
That night, the Doctor could not come as he too was stuck in rain. Pratik went out and bought IV & injections as instructed by the Doctor. Aai put Bunny on IV and I sat next to him. It was around 1.45 am when IV finished. After that Aai and Pratik went to sleep. I stayed back with Bunny.
That night despite IV, he was not sleeping. He was restless and breathing heavily and with difficulty. I tried to comfort him by patting him, massaging him. But nothing seemed to work. In the early hours, he vomited and then pooped. I noticed blood in poop. I realised it is just a matter of a few hours or day and he won’t be around.
It was Sunday morning – 18th August, 2024 around 8.40-45 am, when Bunny’s soul left his body forever. He died in the arms of his most favourite ‘Pitoo Dada’ with Aai and me being around. As said earlier, this was, rather, this is the toughest goodbye ever for all of us. His mortals were buried at Kaka’s farmhouse.
Like Ajji, Bunny too fought for long for his life. During this last phase he was mentally preparing us for the worst. In his death, he taught us how to face our worst nightmares. It was a learning – denial mode in such difficult & crisis times will only worsen things; by acknowledging and accepting things as they are, can help you swim through such situations. THIS TOO SHALL PASS!
It is almost a month since Bunny passed away, but there goes no day without us missing him. He taught us commitment. He made us compassionate, kind, empathetic, sensible and responsible humans. He occupied our lives in such a way that now when he is gone, it is difficult to do even a single thing without remembering him. I still feel that he is around me. Sometimes he does visit me in my dreams. With him no more, there is no blabbering, no playing.
I miss his bark, the feel of his fur, the warmth of his body, his heart beat, his magical fibre all over my clothes, his whole being. This pain is taking time to heal. The void left cannot be filled anytime soon for I’ve lost not just a ‘pet’, but a brother, bestie, stress-buster, healer, therapist and my baby. This damage is manifold. I still feel a lump in my throat and my eyes well up while talking about his memories.
Nevertheless, I always feel grateful that I got to share my life with him. He enriched my life in countless beautiful ways. I know he is watching over me and will definitely come to me in some form or the other. I consider myself very lucky that he came into my life and made me believe in its goodness.
I love you, Bun! You were and will always be my sweet, little, cutie boy forever. Miss you Pupushki!
As of now, I sign off with these borrowed lines:
It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again!
