I thought Raju was finally getting better. He had walked over to each member of the family that night, pausing as if he wanted one last moment with us. When he looked at me, I smiled back, believing the worst was behind us. It wasn't. It was his way of saying goodbye. This is the story of the dog who spent 14 years teaching me the meaning of unconditional love.
My name is Prince, and honestly, I didn't have much interest in dogs. But my brother did, and when we heard an uncle's dog had puppies, my brother asked for one without a second thought. The uncle agreed. That's how Raju came into our lives in 2011, a tiny Indian Spitz puppy
I felt nothing when he arrived. My brother wanted Raju more than any one else. But then he left for another city due to work. But little by little, I found myself falling for the small things - his innocent eyes, his tiny paws, and the sweet little sounds he made. Whenever I left the house or came back, he'd be waiting near the gate, watching for me. In those quiet little moments I fell in love with him without knowing.
After that, I did everything with him like playing, feeding, bathing, taking him for walks.
It was soon a habit. If I went to the farm, he'd come along. He slept right next to me and woke me up every morning. On Sundays, he always followed me to the chicken shop, because he loved chicken that much. If anyone so much as raised their voice at me, he'd bark at them like he was ready to protect me at any cost. He was like my protector.
I have always been a little picky about cleanliness, but whenever I ate, his fur would fall onto my food .One look at his innocent face, though, and I could never say anything.
One time, my mother was feeling emotional, and Raju sat beside her and cried along with her. There were a lot of times like that. He never had a single health problem in his life, always fully healthy. Even trained him to go to the washroom outside and he never broke the habit inside. He was bathed every other week; he enjoyed it all.
Then in 2020, I had to leave for a hostel for my studies. It was more difficult than I could have ever imagined to walk away from a 10-year bond. Raju felt it too. He would always be at the door waiting for me every holiday. He would jump on me and be over the moon happy when I returned to him, and we would spend all our time together! However, when I had to leave again, I had to leave with a heavy heart.This continued the same way, right up until 2025.
When he became older, Raju began to weaken. We took him to the vet a lot. All of them said the same thing: "This just happens because of his age."
He had to struggle to stand day by day. His unable to walk normally. He was mostly asleep. But it got worse. He would spit out the food that he ate.
We knew we had to take him to the vet immediately, he was not able to walk properly so we got him treated.
Surprisingly, he found the strength to walk a little. He followed my mother wherever she went and even joined my dad for a short walk. Watching him that night, we couldn't help but believe he was finally on the road to recovery.
Well, now that I think of it, it was not a recovery.
That was his final time showing us his love.
He sat with each member of his family, one-by-one, throughout the night and continued to look at me, again and again, as if trying to say something. He stood by us until we slept.
At midnight I went to see him and found him sleeping peacefully by my brother's side.
I didn't realize then, I thought, "He seemed active, maybe he'll feel better in a few more days."
The following morning, his nose started running and we rushed him back to the vet.
We had stayed by his side every moment since he became too weak to move. But that day, we stepped out for just half an hour
When we returned, my mother was crying uncontrollably. Raju lay there, motionless. The dog who had spent 14 years filling our home with unconditional love was no longer with us. In that instant, our home felt emptier than it ever had before
A single thought will keep returning to me, again and again, even now.
Maybe he already knew his time had come.
That's probably why he made reasons for my sister and I to come home.
Hence, on that final night, he mustered all his strength in his body. He followed my mother everywhere. Went on a walk with my father. Spent the night sleeping next to my brother. And kept looking at me.
He looked at each one of us, one by one..
Maybe he was saying his final goodbye.
Maybe he didn't want us to see him die.
That is why he sent us away, for a little while...
And went away in silence.
A soul that stood guard over our home for 14 years.
Maybe, even in his last moments, he wanted to soften our tears.
