The ‘poop machine’ filled the void that Cindy left us with

CHENNAI: My first pet was a Golden Retriever named Cindy. We got her when I was five-years-old. She became part of our family instantly, and opened our hearts to a different kind of love — something no human could teach us. I have such a strong love for animals because of her. When she was a little puppy, she would fill her stomach to the brim like she’s never seen food before. Before long, she would be waddling around the house, like a drunken man, barely able to walk straight. And yet, the next time she ate, she would do the same.

She was very protective too. She wasn’t ferocious as such, but she did get restless and loud when strangers came around. She gave birth to 13 puppies, all of whom we gave away to friends and family. She was an amazing mom — she would refuse to leave her puppies alone, even to go relieve herself. She trusted my parents a lot, so she would make sure at least one of them was in the room before going out. My mother is a gynaecologist, and she delivered Cindy’s puppies. My mother wasn’t a dog person at all, in fact, she was very reluctant to bring a dog home. But Cindy changed the way she felt about animals.

She died in January of 2016. She was 15-years-old and had developed arthritis. Towards the end, she couldn’t walk, eat or even stand on her own and required a syringe to take in food. It was really hard because she would eat less and less every day, and our vet told us there was nothing we could do about it. Losing her was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. She taught me a lot and was there for me when I was lonely and lost. She was the gentlest of creatures, who changed our lives.

We got ourselves another dog — a black Labrador named Duke, sometime in April the same year. He came into our lives to fill the void Cindy left us with. He is currently two-years-old, and is such a bundle of joy. He excretes so much around the house that we call him a ‘poop machine’. He has so much energy and is constantly running all over the place. He’s a naughty dog and he follows my mother around like he’s her personal bodyguard. He’s our big baby — the minute you don’t give him attention, he creates chaos.