Scampi, the symbol of love and innocence

To love is to live happily. That’s what Scampi showed me though he went away leaving me heart-broken and devastated. I will never forget nor erase his memory because Scampi is a part of my system. It is only a true dog lover who would understand the anguish I carry in my heart and may be a little of it by Dr. Janaki Collure of Pet Vet who was Scampi’s vet for ten years.

A decade ago, I went over to buy a Cocker Spaniel pup. A litter of young pups all bubbly and bouncy, stared at me from their kennel. They were all let loose in order for me to pick one. While all pups ran helter skelter, one adorable pup came running to lick my feet. I held him over, kissed and huddled him close with a new found love, dawning over me ... and never put him down in the next ten years.

But Scampi went away on November 26 with kidney failure. I was helpless. What was I to do? All vets at Pet Vet battled to save his life.

He was in acute pain. I wish I could have reached beyond to minimise his pain when he kept his fixed eyes on me, appealing for help. But he never complained because I was beside him right through until mercifully it ended. He died in my arms. It shattered my heart when I had to take him all the way to Marawila, his home he shared with me for ten years, to bury him and watch his farewell to all the domestics who had tended him with love and care and who in return gave them much joy.

We buried him in our lawn where he played, frolicked and grew up every day in his life and gave all of us much love and joy.

During his life time, Scampi was beside me, never leaving me even for a moment. He sat by the bathroom door until I bathed, beside me when I walked, under my bed daily.

He spent hours under my table when I sat to do my usual articles .... and the irony, he is not there when I am writing his painful tribute but his memories are floating around.

He was the only one who listened to me at the piano, even for hours. Never complained about my cooking or driving. Every night before I get to bed, I would reach for him and in the morning, it is he who greets me. Now, everything is only a memory.

I wish to say no matter what happens, Scampi will never leave my life. He gave an unspoken binding commitment to our lives. He was my love, friend who shared things most precious to us. It is not easy to find words to talk about our life together, knowing how close we were to each other. He taught me that genuine friends share most things precious to us. It is difficult to talk about our lives together, how close we were to each other; I cannot find words. For once in my life, I have got stuck on words.

Scampi taught me that genuine friends are found on a shared vision. His eyes revealed it while my conscience absorbed it. Our faith in each other grew day by day and if I were to search the whole wide world, there will be none to take his place in my life.

In a shaded nook in our sprawling lawn where he used to run, frolick and bask in the sun for over a decade, he was laid to rest.

- Gwen Herat