IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, A TRUE FRIEND

A pet owner recalls his enduring relationship with his dog.

My wife and two daughters and i were residents of Jumeirah, in Dubai back in 1990s. Having been brought up in rural South India, i was used to many cats, dogs – even cows and goats in and around my ancestral home. Hence my yearning for a pet dog was always strong.

In December 1994 – the week before Christmas - my young school-going daughters asked me whether we could adopt a pup. I immediately responded by calling K9 friends ! I was informed that several puppies were ready for adoptionat the villa of a woman living nearby.

The pet owner showed us four pups. We were all in favour of the beautiful female puppy, which had a black coat sprinkled with white fur patches. Her name was Negra and she always had one wet eye, as if from crying.

My wife said that after the initial enthusiasm, the rest of us would slowly stop caring for the dog and it would fall on her shoulders to feed and bathe Negra. The prophesy came true to some degree.

Years passed and Negra grew up to be a mild mannered , medium sized beauty. She gave three litters of six pups each.

Negra could recognise the sound of my car from about 300 meters and three road bends away. In the summer, she loved being in the staff quarters with the air-conditioner on, while during the winter she was happiest outdoors. Chicken bones were her favourite food. Negra was a much loved member of our family for 11 years.

Then in 2005 i had get admitted to a hospital in India for bone marrow transplant. Under the influence of various medicines i dreamt of Negra and had hallucinations of her being next to me. The nurses at the hospital laughed when they heard this from me, explaining that hospitals do not allow dogs in sterile rooms.

The week before Christmas, 2005, my daughters who were alone at home, saw some boys calling out to Negra. Our dog gingerly walked away with them. That was the last we saw of our dear Negra.

Four months passed and i returned home healthy. I hoped Negra would return or that we would know her fate. But we still do not know what happened to her. Negra came to us in a Christmas week and went away in a Christmas week. When Christmas 2008 approached, we hoped we would see her again. But that was not to be.

I am sure Negra put in aprayer for me when i was ill. Otherwise i would not have made it.

TITO MATHSON

(This article appeared in Gulf News, Dubai, UAEi, in 2007)