Loki: The biggest love of my life

In February, we announced the story writing contest -- THE WRITE HOUR: A Story Writing Contest for Members of the Silver Talkies Club. A big round of applause to our members Preeta, Geetha Prasanna & Ramana Sista for their wonderful and heart-winning entries that were the Three Best Entries. We will be sharing their stories here one by one, starting with Preeta’s.

Our theme:  The Different Loves-Love can have different forms, bonds and adaptations. 

Preeta, Geetha and Ramana's stories reflect those special loves. Enjoy the read.

The biggest love of my life

By Preeta Narain

What I'm writing now is nothing but a love story. It stemmed from love and grew into my life's biggest love. A promise made to my children, who kept asking us to get a dog, resulted in a unanimous decision to adopt a dog from the shelter. So, on Valentine's Day of 2014, we met and fell in love with this scrawny Cocker Spaniel with the most beautiful eyes, and that's how we brought Loki home. But alas! He had been neglected, beaten, and abandoned. He had lost all faith in humans. In the one year he took to trust again, he was defensive in an aggressive way and even bit us. I noticed how he would cringe at the sight of a stick or mop, bark agitatedly at raised voices, and keep looking at us warily. But none of us had the heart to give up on him and return him to the shelter. And believe me, one year was enough for the equation to change completely to mutual love and trust. 

Before we realised it, he had left his paw prints all over our hearts and was here to stay. 

Loki then began to unleash his love on us uninhibitedly — as much love as his little heart had suppressed for all those years. He finally had a forever home and his very own family. Every member in the family had their place – I was Mom who petted him the most and fed him; Dad, he was a little wary of but made sure he got petted by him regularly. My daughter was his big sister who spoiled him with treats and accessories for his photoshoots. But the best and cutest relationship was with my son, whom he considered his equal and just a 'pup' compared to him. He had his ways of playing with him, almost bullying and arguing, and would bark displeasure if he felt the boy was not behaving! And so it was that Loki became my third child and the best sibling my children could have.

He earned his place in the family — a self-appointed monitor who tried to keep everyone under his watchful eye. He would herd us all into the living room and then lie down with a contented sigh. He would chase away the pesky pigeons that fluttered annoyingly about 'his' balcony, barking doggy abuse at them. He barked at all the other dogs in the apartment complex, trying to ascertain his position as Alpha dog. He played complicated games with us, for which he made the rules. Any toy he had was his and not to be shared with us. But it would be ours if we managed to get it away from him. His greed for food earned him the title of Bottomless Pit. His powers of detection were legendary, and there was no way we could hide chips, bananas or cheese from his advanced olfactory sense. He loved dressing up and posing for pics. He apologised for mischief by offering his paw and the most remorseful expression. He was an absolute devil when taken for a walk, pulling the leash with such gusto that we would be dragged along. In the car too, he would bark excitedly — announcing to the world, "Look at me! I'm going for a drive! All the rest of you can stay here for all I care!" All in all, he had turned into this bundle (I'm talking about severe overweight issues here!) of love, allowing little children to pet him and enjoying all the attention.

But then life, that big spoilsport, is not all about fun and laughter and soon came time for tears and fears. In June 2021, Loki was diagnosed with cancer. There was some metastasis in his lungs and other organs. The treatment followed was geared toward keeping him comfortable rather than torturing him with aggressive treatments like chemo and radiation. He is still fighting it. The vets are amazed at his resilience and call him a tough one. He has lost over 10 kilos, and his eyes often get clogged with discharge. His hair is shedding in clumps, and his lovely coat has lost its richness and shine. We all take turns caring for him — my husband is most devoted to his care. I feel bones and small tumours whenever I touch his body. But he still fights on and is not ready to leave us.

When the time comes for him to leave us, I know that all the love he gave us is worth all the pain of losing him. I cannot imagine my life without ever seeing his beautiful eyes with their myriad expressions; or feeling his warm body leaning against my legs, nosing my hand towards petting him, as I drink my coffee first thing in the morning. Loki, my baby, my pigeon warrior, my miracle — thank you for being part of my life. I will always love you.

Loki is love; even as he learned to love, he taught us to love uninhibitedly. 

Special words from our judge author Meera Rajagopalan: A beautiful tale of love, and I’m fighting hard to control my tears. A pet story has an inherent ability to make an instant connection. This vignette is great at eliciting a smile from behind the tears. The picture of this fumbling, overweight, protective dog is perfect. It’s ‘Marley and Me’ in 800 words! Love some phrases like “left his paw prints all over our hearts and “All in all, he had turned into this bundle of love”!  

Please share your feedback in the comment box below. And watch this space for the other two best entry award winners this week!