May 4, 2009

Jamie and Me....

I always resented it when people called him “jammy” and “jimmy “ and I would stop at nothing to correct them and parrot “Jamie is Jay-Me as I’d lovingly named him after the lil blighter in Small wonder-the sitcom I was hooked to when Jamie came home…
And just like getting his name right , everything about him was important to me…
He came to my world 6years back when he was just a few days old,,,in a tub atleast a million times his size, to quote a fried like a regurgitated ball of fur with the most precious eyes I have ever seen…his childhood was a period of bliss ,laughter and countless touching moments….noone minded cleaning up a 100times a day after him or the millions of socks,furniture, sacrificed at his paws….all that we cherish is how his yet-not-a bark sounded like chimes reverberating in the house, how it was the most peaceful feeling in the world to watch him slurp on a bowl of milk or cerelac as in his case n followed by the most deserved slumber at whose-ever feet he found the nearest( mine in most cases)…all the pricks in his body durin his vaccinations felt to be hurting me more than him…

Jamie was a legend from day one…people wouldn’t stop pouring their love and affection on him as a pup and even the most hardcore haters turned mushy at this sight….he was a part of the family,without whom a minute couldn’t be imagined or heard!…he would constant frolick about,would perk up on the mention of a high-pitch “ghoommy” and do a good merry-go-round rendition himself and we took him along everywhere possible where dogs were allowed and more often even where they were not allowed…

He was to me a brother,a friend,and a child I never gave birth to but the love for whom could only be compared to a mothers towards her own baby. A day wouldn’t pass without him being by my side , of all the people at home he loved me the most and for a good reason. A sleep would feel incomplete without having him next to the pillow or the feet depending on the weather ( the AC had to be on to earn his company on the bed) . People often accused me of spoiling him too much for a dog and sometimes even ridiculed my closeness and love for a DOG…only if they knew he meant more to me than a family member you’d want to pamper,love and cherish…
His chirpy hardly-canine bark ,peppy ears , ever pendulating tail , that nose which resembled a gulab jamun n make a diabetic run for one, n the most beautiful eyes that could melt you a moment…His charm and antics were not consumed n enjoyed by me n my folks alone , any one who ever met him fell in love with this guy…he was an icon and a dog-celeb if I may…and if an orkut profile of is own wasn’t testimony enough , his 45 scraps,8fans n 2 testimonials were!...people could hardly say 5 things about me without mentioning him!( which doesn’t say a lot about me, incidentally !)
It pained me the most when he occasionally(yes even he –the most healthy n happy looking living being on earth fell ill at times ( which we jokingly called his “periods” as it happened once a month on avg) and to much against your heart tying n muzzling him so that the vet would poke him a few times and bang Jamie would spring back to action the next day , making everyone forget he’d ever been any less active…

He was sunshine in all our lives…we would look fwd to coming back home just for the joy of him running to us like a bee and complaining in the most endearing ways and at the end of it saying a thank-you-for-coming-back with a warm lick on the ears… he was a constant company o n any occasion..be it a stayover at a friend’s , my brothers wedding vows , a quick visit to the market on my bike or the goa trips,he was a part of it all….who says you cant have fun if you cant talk….he enjoyed every bit of the attention n travelling almost infectiously..there was this time in goa on the beach when he sat buried under the sand for hours on end , enjoying all the curious looks n attention the passers by seemed to enamour him with! a drama queen , he was..no cushions or comfy beds ever mattered to him as a human feet’s comforting touch and he would invariable find his ..he knew when you were happy and join in the merriment like his own…he could sense the blues just as well and be at your side when no one else was… Without speaking a word, he spoke the most amazing language in the world…without asking for a single thing ( if you go past the walks and chocolates he was crazy about), he gave us unconditional love and taught how to live life….


After all the happiness and memories he’d brought in mine and everyone’s life for 6 odd years, he succumbed to an illness last month after a couple of weeks of treatments,blood transfusions and needle pricks every day … They say something about pets taking their family’s suffering onto themselves and saving it….i guess Jamie did his bit too but my dad ( who got Jamie to us) survived 2 heart attacks during the same time……maybe Jamie cleared his dues to him for making him a part of our lives….I’ve lost pets before but losing Jamie was losing a part of me…
Today the house is just not the same……just a little dark,a little quiet…the sunshine’s become meek…a big void exists in the places he’s been…An occasional strand of his hair lying around or his countless pictures spanning from his childhood till recently , doesn’t help much in letting go of the million memories he’s created at home n everywhere else he was a part of…I dont know how to get used to not having a sight of him first thing in the morning or the last thing before going to sleep ..someone's very nicely put it " dogs don't live as long as humans do. they don't have to.because they learn to be a lot nicer a lot faster than humans do"

I know someday he’ll come back in my life, in some form…and then No debts ever take him away for me…
Jamie this is the least I could do to make you live in my heart forever….wherever you are , whosever life you’re enriching right now , I love you my lil angel…

2 comments:

tropical seagull said...

that was quite touching monica. i'd never doubt that a pet was 'just a' dog. its so tough dealing with a loss. this post was quite due i think..

Sharath said...

JayMe....
Itz not a Dog to U, itz ur Family member, I can understand as I got a pet "Pom....". heart touching post.... Hope it will return to U in some or other form....

I feel bad wen someone calls My SANDY, a "Dog". Loved to be called as sandy's brother by the children of my colony....