....they say when you hold a baby or a pup close to your heart, you are that much closer to heaven...We have had pups and dogs around us all the time....never knew a day without them.....it feels strange now not having my constant companion...my partner...my buddy ..here with me ......I still remember the day we went to get him...in fact we were not sure we would be able to have him, even though Shubha Di had said she had a pup for us...Sahil my son was most excited...he had no sibling...this was his chance to have someone he could play with and call his own....his bro....all this while he had an imaginary friend...now it was all set to change...when we arrived we were completely taken by surprise...there he was .....just made for us....a bundle of white and brown and pink paws....we were smitten....Sahil would not put him down and I was apprehensive...having never raised a Dalmation before and a liver spotted one at that....Sahil had clean forgotten that Dalmations are traditionally black and white... and this one was so sparsely spotted and with brown instead of black dots.........almost as though he has walked out when the paint job was being done..Champion had been christened even before he was seen by Sahil...for him it was either Champion or Buster... and this one was nothing less than a Champ.....
He was a nice dog.......even though he got car sick...a brave pup who smelled a Rottweiller right back when he became curious of this bundle in Sahil's lap as we searched for a Vet nearby....Soon he was housebroken after days of cuddles and training....Champion was home and like how.....the neighbours were petrified of his bark and even more of his bite...and could he bite....as some of our friends would stand to learn....he had bitten three of them....just a nick ....and was admonished before he could do any more damage...so soon, we were the proud owners of the "Beware of Dog" board outside our door.
He never soiled the house...never chewed any shoes or slippers...but he loved to chew his mattress and any paper I chucked into the bin......yes,it had to be something I chucked.. and he would pick only that one out....sniff it out!!... I even joked about his penchant for strips of cloth asking him if he was a tailor in his last life, at which he would look so sheepish that you forgot why you were angry with him!!
That he had music in his blood was evident when the Guruji who used to teach Sahil would come for his weekly lessons and the most eager student would be Champion, who would park himself next to Guruji, who, never took offence at this unusual "Shagird".. After the warm up classes Champion would join in and add to the riyaaz with his soulful renditions... and the Guru would indulge lovingly...
soon Champion learnt to smile on command....he had many other qualities too....like being able to figure out when I was leaving to work and cleverly lying down on my saree as I tried to drape it.....like waiting to eat the bones after dinners and parties but never begging for them...or eating without being asked to..... he was a gentleman dog...well behaved and completely civilised....he also never leched...never ran after bitches or even so much as tried to cavort...he knew he was very special... and a snob.....after all he was a Champ....!!
Thirteen years and three months...he gave us an incredible lifetime of love, laughter, licks, bites,barks,wet noses, free bathing sprays and no ticks ! He was a clean dog, who.hated ticks, flies and ants...would not allow any of them to live or sit on him. Trips to the Vet were regular and he would not allow anyone else but the doc to touch him....Today he leaves behind a void.....a deep vaccum a family that aches to hear his patter on our shiny floors...we want to see his smile...his thumping tail....his occasional bark....the persuasive and persistent wet nudge of his nose....eyes that were so deep.... that spoke many tongues....we miss our friend and friend and baby and bundle of joy and love and fur....He left us on the 23rd night of July this year to join his mates in heaven and continue to live a leash free.... eternal existence...we will love him always....
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