Rustom a.k.a Russtty

I have always grown up with pets. First a rabbit, then birds, and then a succession of dogs, most of them adopted off the street. When I had Ayana, both Sameer and I were in agreement that our kids must also grow up around pets. Bruno entered our lives when Ayana was 1.5 years old and to be completely honest, I wasn’t ready for the added responsibility. I took time to adjust to him and much though it pains me to admit it, I was stricter with him than I should have been.

When the incident with Aarav happened and our lives turned topsy-turvy, it was Bruno I turned to for solace. Many a night passed with me sobbing into his fur, unbeknown to anyone. He was Aarav’s favourite from the time Aarav learned how to crawl and it was him I turned to when I felt that life had fallen apart.

So when a few months after we returned from the hospital Bruno fell sick and left us, I felt that my heart could take no more sorrow.

Thus, it was with great reluctance, at Mom’s urging that Ayana and I went to meet Rustom, an abandoned lab of 4-5 years who was being fostered by a family. In my mind, I was very clear that I was only and only going to see Rustom and there was no way I was ready to open my heart and home to any other pet after Bruno.

The family fostering Rustom lived in Chattarpur and one fine morning Ayana and I drove down there. We were greeted by a cacophony of barking from various other dogs who lived there. Ayana was excited, I was wary. We were shown into a spacious drawing room and sat there chatting with the owners. Suddenly the door opened and a Labrador entered. He had the saddest look I had ever seen on an animal and even as I raised my hand to call out to him, he came and lay down at my feet. He had a little stump of a tail, which the foster parents told us was because when he was found, his tail had been eaten up by maggots so it had to be operated upon and cut. Even as I felt cracks forming around the wall I had built to protect my heart, I stayed firm that we needed more time to consider whether we wanted to adopt another pet so soon.

When we got up to leave, Rustom followed us. As I opened my car door and turned to thank the people for their hospitality, I heard Ayana exclaim. Rustom had quietly climbed into the back seat and tried to make himself invisible. He sat there, his head turned the other way, almost as though he hoped we wouldn’t notice him. No amount of coaxing or cajoling made him budge and being someone who believes that the universe sends us signals, I decided that he was meant to return with us.

Ayana and I took him to the vet, where he was bathed, examined, and pronounced underweight but otherwise healthy. I told Mom who did her magic and came up with the name Russtty.

Russtty spent the first few weeks following us around like a shadow. It took months for him to lose the sad expression he had come with. But once he did, he was a delight. In the last four years, there is not one day I can remember when he gave us any trouble. He loved his walks and would start pacing up and down an hour before the dog walker was due to arrive.

He loved treats and learned early on that it was mom who was most susceptible to providing them surreptitiously, mostly when I wasn’t around.

Was I less strict with him? Maybe, maybe not but I loved him wholeheartedly. The first being I said good morning to was him. He held a piece of my heart like no other pet ever had and I envisaged many golden years with him as the kids grew up and he grew old.

So when eight days ago, I woke up to find that his heart had stopped beating, I felt my world crash around me. Again. As a family, I don’t think any of us have taken the loss of a pet as hard as we have Russtty’s going.

And yet, life must go on. Russtty came into our lives at a time when we held almost no hope where Aarav was concerned. And with him, over the years, we learned to hope and love again. We shall tell ourselves that he left when his purpose was fulfilled, but I don’t think there will be a day when we don’t miss him. We will adopt other pets but the presence that Russtty had in our lives was one-of-a-kind. It doesn’t mean that we shall hold ourselves back from loving again; it just means that somewhere, a tiny corner of our hearts shall always bear Russtty’s name.