I opened the door and saw my sister holding it in her arms. It was possibly the ‘yellowest’ dog I had ever seen. Dirty and dusty. It looked scared. As soon as she dropped it on the floor, the dog ran and hid under the dining table. My sister then told me that it’s a female spitz that was lying on the vet’s table at the dog shelter and was up for adoption. I called her out and patted her dirty thick fur. My sister took her for a shower and she came out all so clean. That’s when I realized she was one of the prettiest little things! We noticed that she was a lazy one with drug, beautiful eyes, so we named her ‘Ginie’ after ‘Gin’. And she became the best part of my life!We took care of her food, she hated pedigree! Trained her to poop on the terrace and she was quick! She was the laziest bitch! Never ate food on her own, I hand fed her and bare her tantrums! It felt like raising a child. I loved it! One day, as I had lunch on the dining table I heard a knocking sound. It came from under the table. I bent and looked, it was Ginie. She was shivering and her body stiff. White saliva coming out of her mouth and her eyes wide open! It was a scary sight. Only later, Rashi told me about her sickness. Ginie was epileptic. The doctor told her this was to happen but the sweetheart was too cute to let her sickness keep anybody from her!
We lived with it. Her treatment started. The doctor gave medicines that were to be given for a lifetime. Rashi had left for her new job in Mumbai. Ginie was totally my responsibility now. As the time passed, her problem became serious. Hence, more medicines, even more dizziness! But she was a fighter. She experienced a cycle of fitts every month for 3 whole days. The shivering body and unconsciousness after every 3-4 hours, was a lot of pain to herself and my heart. Those 3 days were the hardest time of the month for me. Yes! Even harder to take than my periods! As soon as she recovered a little consciousness after every fitt, she walked and hogged like a stray. “Ginie! Ginie!” called me and mom just to try and make things easier for her. But of course, she was too dazed out! I remember the first few months, I cried every time she experienced a fitt. She was a little child and it was painful to see her in pain. But gradually, I had become strong. Very strong!
Once, I gave her food in her bowl. She was hungry, I could tell. She came running and sat right in front of her bowl and looked at it. I started walking around the house, doing my thing. After a pretty while, I looked at her as she looked at her food, then at me, then again food, and then again at me! I smiled and hand fed her until she finished it all. She was one spoilt bitch! I used to kiss her forehead and tell her “what will I do without you?” and she looked at me like a dumb little dog! She really was quite dumb! If I called her from my room in one end, she would go running to meet mom in the other end. If she climbed 2 stairs, tumbled 4! If you tell her to shake with her right hand, she’d lye down! She was a unique piece!
Ginie loved to go for long drives. We had a Maruti Esteem and Ginie loved to sit at the back window, where people usually keep there stuff toys for show, Ginie was the cutest moving stuffy! Never had I ever seen any dog sitting so quietly and enjoying the drive. Our annual Mussoorie trips were her favourite too! I guess she loved the weather. Once, it snowed there. All my family went to the terrace to play with the snow. I took Ginie along and let her be. She ran from one end to another, so excited to see the snow. But like always, her excitement was just for a small moment. She used to be in such a laze (thanks to her never-ending medicines) that she could never run or play for more than 5 minutes. I used to see other’s dogs, so active and playful. But I wouldn’t have exchanged my baby for ANY other in this world!
It was that time of the month again. She started experiencing fitts. But, only this time she had one right after another in a 10 minutes gap! I was failed to understand. She could not walk after that, at all! But hey, here comes another one! And one right after that! It was a moment of panic. Ginie had had 6 fitts in 25 minutes! I called my dad and took her to the vet. While on the drive, she had one on my lap too. She used be so faint that she peed unconsciously, and on me too. But she was my child. I took it as a baby’s leak. The vet gave her Anastasia and she lied into my arms. I came home and put her into her bed and watched her sleep. Her peace meant a lot to me.
26th October 2010
It was her 6th birthday at home. Like every year, we had got cake and a tiara for her! Her eyes used to letch at the cake. She loved it! And that was one of the days when she was allowed to eat sweet! That is the day I saw ‘Marley and me’ on TV. It was too sad to see the dog die in the end. Honestly, I did cry. I hugged Ginie tight that night and said ‘what will I do without you?’. And again she looked at me like a dumb little dog. My girl was experiencing her periods. It had been more than two weeks. That’s a lot more days than what she usually experienced in every 6 months. So, I took her to the vet the next day. It seems like Ginie was born with bad luck. Her uterus was severely infected. The doctor called her in for next 5 days to give her 2 injections per session. She was also inserted a medicine in her uterus through a long ‘rod’ like instrument. She used to scream in pain, I held her tight. Now that’s a lot of needles and dizziness! But her bleeding did not stop. My home smelled like a hospital.
After consulting 3 doctors and getting her endless injections and medicines and an x-ray and a blood test, our regular vet finally said we need to do surgery! My heart pounced. ‘A surgery!’. It was Diwali in 2 days and we had to go to Agra
It was time for Diwali prayers and I prayed for a miracle. And believe it or not, the very next day Ginie had stopped bleeding! After 45 days, everybody in the house took a sigh of relief. This meant no surgery! We returned happily and got back to our daily routines. It had become cold so I pulled out Ginie’s coat from the cupboard and put on her. She always looked like a smart dog in that red, collared coat. Ginie had become anemic for all the blood loss, but I thought it was temporary.
15th November 2010
It had been a week and Ginie hadn’t barked! The house was too silent. I took her to the balcony in the morning and forced her to bark. You know, the same old ‘shooo that!’ technique. It worked! Finally, my baby barked. I had plans to catch ‘social network’ with a friend that day. So I got ready, waiting for her to come. Ginie was doing her usual thing now. She used to run in excitement, barking her guts out and come back and lye again as if she’s worked at the mines! Mom had asked me to feed her before I leave, and I had passed that order to my younger brother. I was already running late, so as soon as my friend came to pick me up, we left. I don’t remember saying bye to Ginie. That had happened before.
I was inside the theatre, it had only been 20 minutes in there. My phone rang. It was my brother. He usually calls me to ask if I’ve fed Ginie before leaving. So I text him to text me back. But he was calling again and again. I went outside the theatre and called him, only to find him crying out loud. I remember my heart skipped a beat as he said ‘Chani come home. Something’s wrong with Ginie. She’s not moving, at all!’. I asked my friend to give me a ride back home. I was petrified! I called back to check again and told my brother that I’ll be there the soonest I can. And all he said ‘Let it be, she’s gone!’ It was one of the things I never ever wanted to hear. Ginie was dead. My little baby had left me. The crying was uncontrollable then. There was too much traffic on the road. I cried and cried, but nothing worked, of course! As my friend drove, honked and tried to take care of me, my world had shattered, it seemed. I was so numb to listen to the horns or see the red light. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life. As she parked the car, I ran. And I ran! I had asked dad to take Ginie to the vet, hoping it was just another faint. I remember my fingers had become stiff, I guess my blood pressure dropped. I reached home and could hardly speak. I tried. Brother said that dad had taken her to the vet. I fell into his arms and broke, completely!
The bell rang. They were here. My second brother came to me and gave her into my arms. So lifeless! I hugged Ginie and burst. I could feel her icy cold face against mine. I had seen her sleeping, had seen her faint too. But to see her dead, was the worst sight of my life! I cried ‘what will I do without you Ginoo? What will I do without you?’. And I waited for that dumb look, but in vain. My baby had walked 6 years of her life hand-to-hand with pain. As I said, she really was a fighter! My dad slipped a spoon of ‘amrit’ in her mouth and took her away from me. It was time for her burial. As they went down the stairs, I could only see Ginie’s foot coming out of the blanket she was wrapped in. I felt like I’ve lost a child. And I really have.
