The day he came into my life ..... My life fully changed.... From carelessness to responsibilities... From loneliness to companionship... From keeping secrets to sharing it with someone.
That SOMEONE was no one else but DINO, my pet..my kid...my bachcha..would be more apt. I can't call him my dog... because I never treated him like one. Not just me but my whole family welcomed him with open arms.
I still remember, when I was a kid we had another pet... But she was more of a friend or a source of entertainment for me. But real meaning of owing a pet or enjoying that bond was understood by me when I was in 9th standard, when one day my dad suddenly said he is bringing a German Shepherd pup. That was the turning point of my life.
Since I have talked about turning point I would like to share why I said so. Because that may really help people to understand pets and understand how life changes when you owe a pet.
Since childhood I was very close to my Grandma. She was my parent, my guardian, my mentor, my guru and my friend too. I lost her when I was in 8th standard. and my life turned upside down. From a shy, silent kid all of a sudden I turned into a frustrated, irritated, angry girl. But with Dino's presence my life changed again. And I declared to take his wholesome responsibility.
After that I always had someone to share my feelings with. Now you would ask, do dogs understand what we say? Or do they also respond to what we say?
I would say Yes :-)... he understood every bit of what I said and even what I could not say. Dogs have this special ability of reading eyes. They can read our eyes. They really do.. You don't believe me na?.. Then go and check for yourself :-) owe a pet and you would know how beautiful this bond is...
Till now I never realized nor ever thought of how people raise their kid but during this beautiful journey of 12 years unknowingly I was doing every bit of what was needed to raise My Kid, Dino.
Now when I look back I feel privileged that by God's grace i got that chance at a very early age.
Years passed by happily with Dino. And now came the most difficult phase of my life...
Dino was getting old and was diagnosed with tumor in December 2012.
Merely this news broke me completely... I still remember, how difficult was that day for me and my family.
I always thought our bond was never ending... But "dreams are reality in a different world".
Day by day things were getting difficult for Dino. He started losing his appetite, his hearing sense, his limb's grip.
I am sorry I cant express, how I felt, in words.... I was fighting with this fact everyday... And more than me that kid was fighting for us. Because he could see that pain in our eyes. And he wanted to put all his efforts in striving for life against cancer.
Now it was March 2014... how can I forget.. we celebrated Dino's 12th B'day on 27th March :-)
In fact we had arranged a professional photo shoot too before his birthday... wanted to capture as many good memories as we could with Dino.
And there came another shocking day.. Just after a week of the photo shoot. Dino's grip on floor had become even weak. And one noon something happened that I can never forget.. He got paralysis attack.
Over and above his age and cancer, now he had a new battle to fight with - PARALYSIS.
That attack left his body partially paralyzed. His hind limbs lost its sensation. We had to support him for his walk, for his sitting, standing everything...
But this time I could see pain in his eyes too... Pain of not being able to do things on his own. Pain of being dependent on his family. Pain of seeing pain in all of our eyes.
Dino was a brave boy... He gathered all his willing power and started walking again on his own, of course with the help of proper medication. He tried his level best and showed tremendous improvement during initial 2-3 days. But after that his tumors never let him recover.
Things were getting worse day by day. His tumors were multiplying at a very fast pace. and his external tumors were rupturing frequently.
And the day came which once again left us speechless and numb...17th April 2014, Dino left us all.....
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Our Special Bond is still alive.. And would remain intact till I am alive.
I shared this experience only to let people know...animals are far better companions than humans...
Save them, Protect them, Adopt them......
Also I would like to share one more important information, especially with German Shepherd owners or those who are planning to have one.... This breed often faces problem of tumors and paralysis. And the most painful thing is that their tumors are mostly not detected in early age. So if you owe this breed please get their regular checkups done and take care of them as much as you can, Trust me.. every bit of your care is worth it !
