Riki - The dog and Me -the Human

A promise that will last forever... 

It was third week of November 2003. I was recovering from relapsed Malaria and pneumonia and had returned to my parent’s place from Navi Mumbai. My then husband turned up one early evening and surprised me with a gift. The gift was a cute little black Labrador retriever puppy of less than 3 months of age. (November 20, 2003)

I always wanted a dog but my parent’s understanding of responsibility had always denied acceptance of a dog. We had fish and birds but a dog was too much.

I had dreamt that when I will grow up I will get myself a German shepherd and my ex-husband always had dreamt of having a black lab. So obviously he picked up a black lab. When the puppy came home, my first reaction was, "ohh my baby is here!"

Day one

On day one, this pup sat near the chair which was like ten times his size, six months later he found that the space beneath this chair can be his hideout when a bath is called upon, and a year later, he managed to knock this chair down when ma had tied just once in his entire life.

I remember the day when he came home and walked straight into my life. I had no experience of having a dog and people were ready to offer their free advice, most of which were illogical.

There were some smart asses too… They told fancy stories of assaults by dogs to their owners. Some warned about different infections including diseases like asthma. Well, I am a living example that a dog never attacks the real owner - handler and you don’t catch infections/ diseases even after sharing the bed with a dog for a prolonged period.

During the first few days, I fed him thick rotis with milk as per advice of a friend of ex-husband. This fellow couldn’t digest it and the house was full of his shit. So there was a first visit to the Vet.

The vet declared that it was a non-sense decision to adopt Riki as he was below standard conditions of health and we should return him to the original owner. I was determined not to give up on him yet. I went ahead and challenged the vet that I am going to keep this guy and will do everything to keep him healthy. The vet said he won’t survive beyond 5 years.

Our married life was already on a roller-coaster ride and soon Riki's chores and expenses became an additional ride.

But for me, Riki had become inseparable part of my life. He wouldn’t allow me to be alone for a second. For some time, locking toilet and bathroom door also was not allowed.

In spite of financial issues, professional dog trainers were hired and Riki always refused to go with them for training. The trainers were surprised and mentioned that they had never seen such a bond between a female owner and a dog.

In May 2004, I again returned to my parent's place owing to terrible weakness. Riki followed. I realized that

This is my part of Sofa, which was like 2/3rd of sofa taken and his head on me

this guy felt the pain of separation from me even if it is for a minute. I couldn’t be on different floor... If I would sit on couch, he wanted to be seated right next to me and cuddle.

My cousin Rahi came to my mom's place during the same period. By then this guy had become possessive about my mom too. My mom was not allowed to put plats for this little girl but within a week's time they too became friends.

When I went back to Navi Mumbai in June 2004, I was not sure about staying married any more. Knowing the mindset of ex-in-laws and my ex-husband, Riki's future was uncertain for me. I am thankful to my ex-husband for letting me have Riki. In August 2005, divorce was finalized and God had honored my motherhood with custody of my four legged Son – Riki without any hassles.

Now, I had only him to care for, to be responsible for and to pamper. The love from both ends was mutual. I spent most part of my income for him.

Riks and I at a picnic

My father was posted at Murud Janjira and we would travel there once in a while. He enjoyed playing in sea and chasing birds on the beach. We spent our mornings at the beach.

He detested me going to work for long hours but enjoyed our weekends together at some nearby place and loved riding on foot board of my two-wheeler. He also loved treating me as his private chauffer at times and slept peacefully on passenger seat when I drove long distances with him.

At times when, I, ma and he would drive together, he chose to be in co-pilot's seat and watch over my driving. He had learnt to open his window pane by himself. (My car has power windows.)

All the way, he kept showering me with love. Minor medical issues kept cropping up but the love kept us strong. Every time I went for an outing / trek without him, I would be waiting eagerly to reach him knowing that feeling was mutual.

I pampered him with toys and food and he pampered me with his unconditional love. More importantly, he kept me human. He didn't let the bitterness take over me completely.

My extended family and Riki at a picnic

He had made good friends with most of my cousins and friends. He demanded their attention when they came home and obviously wanted treats as toll to enter the house. My extended family had accepted that he would follow me wherever I would go, so be it any type of function or picnic, the seat would first be reserved for Riki.

Cometh his 8th year, it became difficult for him to climb stairs and to get to my (our) bedroom. Hence, I shifted my sleeping place to drawing room with a

Riks in his bed, first few minutes of night

rolling mattress. He welcomed this adjustment happily. Soon I realized that no matter how luxurious and comfortable his bed would be, sometime during the night, He would be walking into my bed and there will be encroachment and I will have to give up on more than 75% of my bed.

Time passed very fast... It was his 10th birthday and I sincerely thanked God for these many beautiful and precious moments of pure love.

In 2014, I reduced my weekend endeavors and tried to stay by his side as much as I could.

But being a born idiot, on August 3, 2014, I took the annual trip and left him with a caretaker. 13 days later, I returned only to find him in a deteriorated state. My heart sank and I will blame myself all my life for being so irresponsible towards my only one. The visits to vet came to the frequency of 2 / 3 days. The guy who enjoyed long rides on my two-wheeler, now couldn’t bear it for couple of kilometers. He didn’t seem to enjoy the drives as well. I was getting restless. On August 30, 2014, we celebrated his eleventh birthday in each other's company.

During one of the follow up treatments, the Vet hinted euthanizing him; I couldn’t reply as I needed time to think. I knew I will have to let him go one day but I was never prepared. I secretly prayed God, please let it happen right in front of me and let it happen naturally.

Today, Sept 20, 2014 at 8:15 pm he crossed Rainbow Bridge. He was in my arms and his head was resting against my heart when he was crossing the bridge. Sounds dramatic yet it is true... I felt honored that he found my arms to be the right place for transition. Also, I am happy to say that he didn’t put me through the ordeal of choosing death for him.

I write this as I watch his carcass in midnight waiting for dawn for burial. As I stare, I feel he would get up and will stare right through my eyes and say, “Ok, It looks like you are not using your bed tonight, hence it is being taken up.”

I will have lots of stories to tell about my furred Son and only another dog-parent would relate to them.