May 19, 2011

After saying good night to my parents I entered my room which was as usual messy. I love to see my things in a messed up rather than an organized manner. I said my prayers and was above to drift off to sleep when I realized I had to think of a name for my new pup. Hold on...the pup is not even born… I do not even know whether the pup‘s mom is pregnant. But crazy me, already busy with my first task. After doing some R&D I decided to call her Ancy. That was the first time I uttered that name, not knowing how important that name would be to me.
 
After a month I got a call from my aunt. She said, "You can come and collect your pup." I was all excited. I went to my aunt’s house to take my pup, my Ancy. She was sleeping in the hall. She was so adorable I just lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek .She opened her small eyes to see her future owner. I guess she recognized her soul mate. As she was in a new place she was a bit scared. I can’t forget that moment when for the first time I held her in my arms. She was a Doberman crossed breed with black and brown color.
 
I started to take care of her as if she were a small baby. I used to share my snacks with her. She loved Maggie. I used to take her for walks and make her run. She was growing like any other dog, the only difference was that she was dependent on me. She followed me everywhere I went. My dad and mom loved her too. She was everybody’s "honey". I used to give her medicine, bathe her, clean her sleeping place, pray for her and finally say good night to her. When she was three months old everybody's eyes were on her tail. They say a short tail is a Doberman trademark.
 
Dad’s first rule was never to take a dog inside the house. Who cares, when Dad was not around, I used to take Ancy inside and used to give her a grand tour. Bread and rusk were Ancy’s favorite. Dad is known for his anger and is a terrific man. Even Ancy was aware of that and was scared of him.

My brother always hated the dog. When I fought with him he would chase me and beat me up. I used to call Ancy. Like a guardian angel she used to appear and stare at the chasing person. He stopped beating me in front of Ancy. Sometimes I used to beat him up and run towards Ancy. Poor guy, he used to stand at a distance and watch us.

One bad day when I was alone at home Ancy had a bad health problem and suffered from a stomach ailment. She used to poo every now and then. I could not see her suffering. I didn’t know what to do as I didn’t have enough money to take her to the vet. I called the doctor and he said that he would come in an hour. Thankfully, by the time he came, my parents were back home. It was Ancy’s bad day - she was given an injection. Poor baby.
 
I decided to join St Agnes for my BSc which required me to stay in a hostel, as my house is in an interior place. It was Dad's decision and nobody dares to say no to Dad. On the day I was to leave, I cried. I didn’t cry because it was the first time I was staying away from my parents, nor was it because I was gonna stay far away. I cried because I was leaving Ancy. She just sat in her place and saw me leave.
 
First day in hostel I missed everyone, my house and my parents. That night I cried listening to a dog's bark because it reminded me of Ancy. That was the first night I missed saying good night to her. Time passed by, Ancy was three years now. Every month I used to see her, and I was happy to see that she missed me too.
 
I completed my BSc and joined Nitte for MCA. Again hostel life. Ancy was doing really well. She was a smart dog. Once my dad grabbed a stick to hit me because I had retorted. I was over the moon to see Ancy about to bite my dad at that very moment. It was a tremendous feeling to realize that somebody loves you so much that they can’t see you get hurt. My dad was touched. Everybody used to say that Ancy belongs to Sylvia and both Sylvia’s and Ancy's characters are similar. Even though they compared me with Ancy I never felt bad. After all she’s was my dog.

Ancy was seven years old now. I was in Bangalore for a few months for my 6th semester project. As soon as I completed my project I had come home. I still remember that day.

May 21, 2010: BAD and ugly day, a day I hate to the core: 
 
Mom called me. I was sleeping as I was tired from my journey. She said she couldn’t find Ancy. This was not Ancy nature - one call from the Lobo's and she used to appear. I started calling her. Once, twice, thrice...no reply. I knew something was wrong. I started to search for her. Finally, I found her lying on the ground a short distance away from my house. When she saw me she tried to get up but couldn’t. I ran towards her and talked to her. She seemed to understand me and closed her eyes. She was relieved because I was with her. I called my Mom so that she could help me shift Ancy to our house. Ancy was heavy, and with great difficulty we shifted her.

Dad not aware of anything was sipping his morning coffee. When he came to know, he was upset and hurried to see Ancy. He said, "Forget it, her you can't save her. Her time has come." I was not ready to accept it. She had severe stomach ailment. Her tongue was hanging out and she was fighting death. I couldn’t bear to see her. But I didn’t lose hope and started giving her medicine. But I couldn’t stop crying. I called the doctor too. He came, examined her and prescribed some more medicine. But her condition kept worsening. I tried my best to save her. Every 10 minutes I used to give her home medicine.

When she finally stopped breathing I was there with her, comforting her. Seeing me Dad said, "Forget her, I will get you a new pup" and he put a sack cloth on her body. When nobody was there I went near Ancy’s lifeless body, lifted the sack and touched her. I told her how much I am gonna miss her. I didn’t know that Dad was watching us from far away and he said, "You think if you touch her you can bring her back to life?" I was speechless. I didn’t have control over my tears. My eyes wear swollen. At the end of the day Dad with the help of our neighbor’s boy was able to make arrangements for Ancy's lifeless body in our garden.
 
Now I am working in Bangalore. I see lovely dogs with their owners every now and then and envy them. I remember those days with Ancy. Even now I love dogs, I adore them. I know no dog can ever replace Ancy, no matter how much I may love them.