Goodbye, for Now

She rests, under a lovely tree, in a garden blooming with all that is wild and wonderful. In retrospect, it is the perfect resting place for Cookie, our 12-year-old Dachshund. We always knew, when the day came, saying goodbye to her would be one of the most difficult moments of our lives. And it turned out to be harder than we had imagined. For several weeks, soon after she passed on, the house seemed almost unrecognizable. This was no surprise because our day started and ended with Cookie, you see. Every nook and corner of the house reminded us of her in some way or the other. The pain of losing her was real and profound. 

As a pup and through much of her adult life, she rarely woke up before we did. She loved her beauty sleep. But the moment we were up, she was up too in a jiffy – and ready to tackle the day. She had some quirky yet adorable habits. One that she never missed was her quiet time on a doormat or ‘Cookie’s yoga mat’ as we like to call it. She had claimed this spot as her safe haven, and had developed the habit of spending a fair amount of time in quiet contemplation every morning as soon as she woke up. Oddly, she would sit facing the wall each time, with her head bent down as if in deep thought and quite oblivious to what was going on around her. It seemed certain she was communicating with her inner self – strange perhaps but true!

The rest of her day was spent as would a quintessential lady of leisure. Sunbathing in the balcony was a favourite pastime; she would flop herself comfortably, and watch the world go by. Never one to ignore any movement around her (except during deep reflection each morning!), she could be counted on to alert us to the slightest sound. Between barking at the wily neighbourhood cat, when he ventured a little too close to the balcony, at the unsuspecting human who may have just been on a routine morning stroll, at echoes of noisy chatter from afar, and many such ‘aberrations’, she always made her presence felt. Physically, she was petite but that was all that was dainty about her. Most people were thrown off guard when they heard her bark. She had the most forceful bark I’ve ever heard, one that clearly belied her frame. Any human sporting a headdress of any sort was her instant target. Perhaps her modest height made her especially wary of tall humans. On many occasions, I’ve had to request our tall friends to squat at her eye level to make her feel at ease. That always worked like magic!

She relished all the good things in life, especially food. Mealtimes were sacrosanct, and I can never forget how the look of anticipation would slowly twirl into a frown if, by chance, there was a delay by even a few minutes. 

In spite of being a bit of a reluctant walker, she was full of life. Chasing the ball all over the house was a source of immense joy. She also made it her business to keep a close watch on my movements at home, ensuring she could see all that I do from a chosen vantage point. In other words, she stepped in as my 24x7 bodyguard and shadow – nothing I said or did escaped her.

A companion unparalleled, a pure soul, a beautiful and mischievous child, a graceful lady, Cookie lives on in our hearts and in the hundreds of thousands of memories vividly entrenched in our minds.  

We miss you, Cookie, and can’t wait to see your floppy-eared, doe-eyed, sweet face again!

                                                                                                                                   -- Sumitha Menon

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