Cartoon

It was a Pleasant but humid day in the month of May 1984 when I came across this little pup with fluffy white hair. The little doggy was very playful and I carried it home to show it my family. This later on became a routine affair.
Every time my mother offered it milk & other delicacies but she was apprehensive that the Pup would get acclimatised to us and utilise the daily visits to stay on with us.
None of us were keen to have a pet but the frequent visits slowly and surely transformed or rather melted the hearts of all and sundry and it too enjoyed the love & affection administered on it.
This Pup was full of life but possessed certain eccentric attributes which prompted the kids in the neighbourhood to name it ''CARTOON''.

Time flew and the Pup grew into a robust Dog and one fine day the municipal authorities (mind you in the 1970's & 80's the BMC used to catch all stray dogs without a license & destroy them after keeping them in a Pound for a week) caught him and took him away.
After spending a restless night my brother took the initiative of bringing him back from the pound after paying the Penalty and getting a Dog License from the municipal authorities. Even the Person who wrote his name in the License was amused by the name ’’CARTOON’’ and patted it on its head before handing it over.The joy of coming back from a desolate area was very much obvious and all of us were quite relived to have him back amidst us.

Though Cartoon was feeling uncomfortable at the onset, sporting the new collar coupled with a flashing aluminium license, the adulation which he received from the people in the neighbourhood (he was the only stray wearing the Collar) perhaps, spurred him on.

During the rainy season of 1987 Cartoon was involved in a brawl with another stray which left him with a deep gash on the neck. The wound was very deep and in a drenched condition we could hardly recognise him. My brother cleaned his wounds by bathing him in hot water and I still remember the blood that covered our entire bathroom. For a moment I thought he would not be able to survive but somehow we managed to nurse him back to health.

Even my father who was not at all possessive of animals began to shower his affection and he would follow every one of us the moment we left the house. Cartoon was no longer a stray but became a Part of our family. He was very possessive and the jealousy showed when he openly disapproved our actions of feeding or caressing any other dog in the vicinity.

I still remember a day when the whole family had gone out for a day to a relative’s house. As usual he went to our house in the afternoon for lunch as per his usual practice and started knocking on the locked door with his paws. When the knocking got too hard our neighbour offered it some biscuits and milk. Though hungry he refused to have it and wearing a forlorn look he sat outside the door.
We arrived late at night and gave a now usual whistle to him ,and down he came running breathlessly running the 3 floors in a jiffy and licking every one and barking in a low tone .May be it thought we all had left him behind to fend for itself.

November 15th 1990-Thursday:I saw him from my gallery and though he responded to my call with a little wag of his tail he looked a bit tired. He did not have the food when I bought him upstairs but laid down to rest outside our doorstep. My mother thought it was his usual STYLE of refusing to have food and then eat it when no one noticed him. He did not eat the whole day.

November 16th 1990-Friday:Cartoon could not walk properly, he tried, staggered and fell down awkwardly. Sensing something was very much wrong we took him to a vet who administered an injection.

In the evening he looked calm & composed but showed no signs of improvement.
November 17th 1990-Saturday: Having Slept most of day Cartoon started to wail loudly at night. Even in acute pain whenever my brother caressed him Cartoon kept quiet as if he knew that we were trying our best to ease his discomfort. The whole night seemed very long and nobody slept as the moans began to play on our minds.

November 18th 1990-SUNDAY: The moans continued and eventually around 9.30 am Cartoon left this mortal world as his lifeless body lay still, in my bothers lap bidding a calm good bye to everyone who loved and cared for him.
The Shock of losing Cartoon was immense, the tears refused to stop, the grief was so intense as if someone in the family itself had passed away.

It’s close to 2 decades now since Cartoon passed away but whenever I see any dog the fond and nostalgic memories that we shared together albeit for a brief Period of 6 years comes back to life .....