Simba

“..nu…, wake up!! The vet is here. Simba is not keeping well”
I sprang awake when I heard these words. As I rushed out of my room, vivid images flashed before my eyes, one where Simba lying on the ground with his mouth wide open and others were following the same pattern.
Over the years I have had many dogs for a pet. Most of them were short lived. But Simba was the one who has been around for a while. In other words he grew up with us.
I still remember the day when my bro brought him home. I had returned home for my study vacation from my hostel. My bro was standing in front of our house holding 2 puppies, one in each hand.
I rushed towards him and took the darker of the 2 pups. That was him, Simba.
Simba, the lion king, was the perfect name, as per by brother’s opinion. The other bitch was named Sherly. Well there they were, Simba and Sherly the 2 perfect pups.
Sherly, apparently, was given off to my brother’s friend as we found it unmanageable to train her. She lived up to her breed, a typical Doberman, Ferocious and unpredictable. But Simba won over everyone’s heart with his charming nature and great personality. It was my job to keep him clean, which I did.
Soon Simba became a part of the family. Everyone loved him irrevocably. He always poured extra affection towards me. His howls made a sounded different “….nu….. nu…..” whenever I was around. Ambu always believed that his howls sounded like he was calling me.
We kept him tied the entire day and used to let him lose during nights. But whenever I was at home, I used to play with him in the evening. Fetching the ball has always been his favourite game. He just used to modify the game by not getting the ball back to me when I threw it off, but instead run around indicating me to follow and catch him. When I used to give up, he slowly walked towards me tempting me to catch him and then used to run off.
Simba always acted like the smart dog. Even when we brought home other dogs, Rocky, chintamani, Benzie and Julie, he never attacked them. Rather, he behaved more matured and showed them that he was the boss.
As of today, we have only Simba and Julie as our pet. Fate took the other dogs away. For the past 9 years, Simba has been more than just a pet to me. That morning when I saw Simba feeble and weak, I realized how important he was to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to let go.
4 days back I wrote this blog, but due to circumstances I was unable to post it. Guess it needed a good bye note. I called home to hear the news. Simba is no more.
Bye bye Simbu …. You will stay in my heart for ever. You took away one of my reasons to be happy when you left, leaving a hollow space in my life. I ll miss you.