“Motu and I – Unlikely friendship”

            “Motu and I – Unlikely friendship”

They say that dog is the best friend of mankind. But a pet is also likely to save lives at times. Such had been the case after the demise of my father ,when I was only 13 years old.

Those were the dark days of my life, a teenager who was supposed to blossom like a flower , was all mushroomed up with darkness , fears and insecurities. A father is a true friend in all possible terms that can be , and to be departed from such a loving soul who meant everything to me, was very hard for me to bear . However, to balance out this void, Motu was sent in my life by nature/God/Almighty.

Motu was the “pup” of our pet “Diana” . Basically, “Diana”had given birth to 6 “pups” but some were given away to neighbours , one succumbed to death and we kept “Motu” for ourselves.

As I was very “shy” and “timid” as a person , I was always outcaste in my school. I did not have any friend circle amongst those smart and cool kids.

Teenage is the time for transformation. It’s the transformation of not only the body hormones, but of the thought process as well. It’s the confusion that every teenager faces  about “ I am not a kid nor a grown up”. So admist all this mental turmoil that I was facing ,“Motu “ was the sole  friend that I had.

I used to take “Motu” out for walks regularly to the nearby park. “ Motu’ had severe deformity in his legs so his front legs did not have much strength and he could not walk properly.

Initially, as a “pup” though he was very inactive but as he grew in his age he started gathering strength in his legs with his will power.

“Motu” not only started going for walks but he also started running as well…..Whenever, I used to come back from my school, he wagged his tail seeing me from far off. He used to grab my bag in his mouth and put it on the chair. Then he would bang his plate number of times on the floor for food. We would both have our lunch together and go off to sleep.

In my moments of depression and loneliness , whenever I would sit out in the garden gazing up in the sky, “Motu” used to come and put his head on my lap as if sharing my sorrow like a friend . ‘

We used to go for long walks along with my brother , and I used to hug him as he was so beautiful and sweet. All white and fluffy like snow , he would appear like a soft toy.

While being a dog, he had the courage like a lion. I remember him chasing off dogs and other animals twice his size and no one used to dare trespass our house, which was located on the ground floor.

Motu had a strange way of taking bath, unlike his other counterparts , who dread water. Motu just loved “Water” and enjoyed bathing. He enjoyed the rich lather and the bubbles that used to pour up like snow flakes whenever soap was put on his soft body.

He enjoyed the cold water and the smell of his dog soap. Seeing him enjoy , like this even I started understanding the importance of hygiene in our lives.

Motu just loved food and that too on the right time. He taught me the importance of schedule and how to keep the bowel system regular.

He had an avid interest in watching TV just like his mother “ Diana” . I remember me coming back from the school and we used to sit glued to the TV set and spend our time together in laughter, joy , sorrow and every bit of other emotions that we could share. “Motu” being a pet could not decipher his emotions in the language that was understood by me, but in friendship one doesn’t need any language , all one needs is deep love and understanding , which the two of us ofcourse had no dearth of.

Unfortunately, after a couple of years he caught a fatal disease and he struggled through it very hard.

It was very “painful” for him and when we took him to a “Vet” I remember  the doctor commenting that “ Your Motu is a lion by heart”, as the pain that he had due to the disease was unbearable, which the poor creature was tolerating with so much of will power and bravery.

“Motu” due to the disease grew weaker and weaker day by day and my brother and I took him to the hospital where he was administered endless type of medicines but everything turned up in vain.

Then came , “The dark day” when my pet was not able to move at all even to pass urine. Due to weakness he had to unwillingly urninate in the room itself, which we could make out from his eyes that he never wanted to. It seemed he was guilty for his action of his.

In the evening, when his condition worsened we called up our mother to rush home from the office. Our mother made it as fast as she could and cuddled him when she came, she consoled him and tried to make him feel better. We all cried and prayed for him, in the hope that he might recover somehow in the next morning.  My sister slept in the same room as him so that she could take care of him and even put off the lights so that he could rest a bit….But when the clock struck around “11.30” or so “Motu”took a little sip of water that was kept beside him and nodded his head and lied down to one side…that was “The end” of him. It was as if he said the last goodbye to us all before leaving and just wanted to make sure we were with him , during his last few moments. My sister shouted to all of us and we rushed to check on him….but he was not breathing….he was gone.

Motu left many memories in my heart, both in joy and in pain and he will always have a special place in my heart . It was the most unlikely friendship in my life that I have till date….. Thank you “Motu”…