"Death ends a life, not a relationship"
There is nothing called 'prepared for the worst'. You can never imagine or feel a loss until you actually go through it. No amount of 'mental preparation' helps you deal with the loss of someone who has been a part of your life for as long as you care to remember.
An eleven year old journey came to an end yesterday, 05 April 2011, and what a journey it was. Full of love and adventures and giving. Duke Havaldar (Dukie, Daddu, Gannu, Thabli) passed away onto a higher universe and took with him more than just his clean, pure soul. He took a little of each of us with him, at the same time, leaving a bit of himself in each of us. No life once touched can be brought back to its original state and as we mourn for his loss, which is not even very real yet, we cannot help but laugh and cry at the same time. Amidst tears that dont stop, a memory about a certain cat chase or gluttony over food brings laughter bubbling through the same throat that is constricted with these tears.
Baby, we love you more than you can imagine and even as we cry, we can imagine you sitting on a cloud, chewing on a fat bone and bullying other dogs around you. You are such a darling that words alone cannot express how we feel towards you. What you have given us is priceless, love. You bound our family together and taught us so very many things that we would otherwise have taken for granted. Baby, you will always be in our prayers and thoughts. I could never again eat bread omelette at home without thinking of your nose sniffing at the air hopefully. I could never look at another cow without laughing and thinking of the kick you received by a calf when you were younger. I could never think of coming home without getting a pack of chew sticks for you. I could never take the car out again without thinking of how it still is and always will be 'your' car, and not ours.
We love you baby. Rest in peace.
