A day of loss

Dr K N Jha

It was a day of loss. The vet had in the morning put Doogie, our pet, to sleep. In the afternoon, I had discovered the loss of my brand new Nokia mobile phone that my son had gifted to me just a day back. I realized the second loss only when I it needed to make a call to my daughter. All my attempts at recollection failed. Did I leave it in the operation theatre? Or, did I leave my mobile phone in the vet’s office? I ruled out every possibility one-by-one. But I could not find my phone. Finally, I tried catching a quick nap before I was off to work again. Sleep also eluded me when I needed it most. Soon, my mind drifted back to my departed pet. It was about ten years back that my children had smuggled a small puppy into my house through the backdoor. In the evening they had broken the news of this new acquisition slowly over a cup of tea.

I was elated at the very first sight. The puppy looked like a fluffy doll, white and brown, with a pair of sharp,shining eyes. He used to play with us for hours on end. Nonetheless, a pet isn’t an unmixed pleasure. He gave us moments of anxiety also when he fell sick and he received  a slap or two also from us when he, sometimes, suddenly vanished from the houses and reappeared again on his own. Once we had lost him at Delhi railway station during a long train journey to Bangalore. Mysteriously, after ten days we found him again at Bangalore when we had almost reconciled to the loss!  Memories came in an unstoppable train.

Ten years of Doogie’s existence with us seemed all very recent and fresh. True, the dog was terminally ill and had to find his peace; the vet had told us. Was it an easy decision, though? We all loved him, and didn’t want him to suffer. But, who is to decide when one is to die? Can we apply this rule to human beings, even for freedom from pain?  We reasoned and reasoned and then finally agreed to the inevitable.

That afternoon when the rest of the family had reconciled to the loss, and had retired for post lunch siesta, a thought crossed my mind like a lightening: did I drop my mobile into the pit where Doogie was laid to rest? After a brief restlessness and procrastination I left my bed, and in a flash, headed, shovel in hands, straight to Doogie’s grave in the nearby bushes. My wife’s mobile phone was in my pocket.  As I approached his grave, the sight of fresh earth over Doogie’s recent body sent a sharp jab in my chest.  However,with a heavy heart, and hesitation, I started to remove the soft and fresh earth, scoop by scoop, with extreme gentleness. My initial reluctance to disturb him had not left me till then. Thus, I decided to make another call to the missing mobile phone, lest it be somewhere in the nearby bushes. And, lo and behold! There was a soft humming sound. My hunch was changing into belief. As I dug deeper and deeper, the ring-tone grew louder. Yes, there it was. The mobile phone was lying next to the Doogie’s chest. I quickly retrieved the phone, still in its polythene cover, piled the earth very gently over my most loved pet again , and quickly retreated. I had no heart to cast another glance at him.

                                               When I reached back home, the rest of my family members were curiously waiting for me on the outside veranda. They did not take much time to guess what I was up to. But they weren’t ready for this ultimate surprise.  When they learnt that I had retrieved the mobile phone from Doggie’s chest, one of my family members remarked: ‘Doogie made it sure  you went back to him at least once again after you had put him to rest!