My pug, my darling son, Tin Tin is no more, and no words can describe the pain!

He’d had a kidney stone in February, for which he was operated upon. He’d been on a special diet since, and I’d not given him anything he was not supposep to eat. He’d been on quite a few medicines too, and had been doing fairly okay. Yet, on Tuesday, the 6th of November, in the afternoon, I noticed that he was unable to pee. He was trying his best, but very little was coming out. And I was so upset and worried. Could he be getting a stone again? So soon? Well, I rushed him to the vet, who removed some urine with a catheter. The vet thought that it was a UTI, and not stone. He had me send the urine for testing, and the report came the same night. It showed a lot of pus cells in his urine, which was hazy, and also had bacteria. It was indeed a UTI. To make matters worse, he puked 3-4 times between that night and the 7th morning. So, first thing in the morning and n Wednesday, the 7th, I took him back to the vet. As we were getting to the porch, suddenly Tin Tin collapsed and convulsed. I screamed, hugged him and called out to him rather loudly. For a moment I panicked that I had lost him. But then my fighter of a brave boy opened his eyes and woke up, and we rushed to the vet. The vet confirmed that it was a UTI, gave him an injection, and removed more urine using a catheter. The catheter was going in smoothly; iso the vet said that perhaps it was pain or a burning sensation and the thickened urine which were making it difficult for him to pee. I was asked to give him water and fluids such as cold water every two hours, and I was also asked to give him a medicine to stop the puking. I took him to the vet again the next morning to figure out what next, and to monitor his progress. This time, the catheter did not pass, and I was asked to rush him for an X-Ray. He had an emergency surgery, and 12 stones were removed from his bladder. My trouper survived the surgery, which the surgeon thought, was nothing short of a miracle.

The next day brought bad tidings. Come afternon, Tin Tin breathed his last in my arms, looking at my face with his big, innocent eyes? He was perhaps telling me, “Momma, I have fought as much as my little body could and beyond, but now it’s time for me to go.” And then it took hardly a few seconds, and he was gone. Poof!

It was as if a gust of wind came from nowhere and blew a flower off the branch of a tree. When the sun rose on Tuesday morning, none of us knew what was to come. It was as bright a day as any other in tropical India. And suddenly, between Tuesday evening and today - hardly three days - my beloved baby was gone. It is yet to register. I expect him to come barking through that door any minute, to lick my nose. And yet, my husband and I had him cremated. So, wishes, for us, are indeed horses.

His vets say, his death was peaceful, and that is some solace. And my husband said, he was blessed to have died in my loving arms. Tin tin, you are and will always be my beloved - the love of my life!