Today marks the birth anniversary of my late pet Golden Retriever Shawny. She was born on September 1st back in 1994 and I got her to my home when she was 45 days old. If dogs lived long lives that would make her 30 years old. In an alternate universe dogs and cats live long, long lives and she would still be with me now. I was 18 when I got Shawny. My family – dad, sis & I – had decided to get a dog after I started speaking about getting one for the past 2-3 years. I found a breeder in Kaloor who had 20 dogs and his golden retriever female had just given birth to a litter of 8.
My cousin sister Raakhee and I went by car to pick her up. He opened a kennel door and out came the two puppies followed by their mom, who the breeder’s wife quickly ushered indoors. Now I was torn between selecting between the male & the female puppy until this point in time. The decision was made for me by the female puppy.She came running towards me as soon as she was out in the open – straight for me and not my cousin or the breeder who was standing near me or the boy but me – and started playing with my shoe laces. She was feisty and playful and was a lot of fun. I fell in love instantly and picked her.
We brought Shawny, my puppy, home and we were inseparable except for the 9 months (spread over a year) that I was in Bangalore and the 6 months (again with lots of visits in between over 10 months) that I was in Calicut. I still love and miss her and she will always be in my heart till the day that I die. I couldn’t have asked for a better best friend.
