STORIES OF LIFE – Sad Memories

The sad memories of losing pets since the days of my childhood, either by being forced to give them away, or having them put down by vets, have tortured my soul up to this day. One example is the story of my lovely pet Reno, a good-looking German shepherd dog.

I was not even nine years old when I lost my father and when Reno, his dog became mine. Yes, Reno loved me, and I adored him. Reno was intelligent, loyal, and obedient. In those days, we lived in a strict Islamic city called Arak in Iran. The people of Arak considered us spiritually unclean – simply because we were Armenian and Christian. Thus, when I took my dog out, and they began chanting, “Unclean, dog Armenians,” I would get extremely mad and order Reno to attack them. Reno, would immediately obey me and scatter them away.

Now, you might wonder why they called us ‘unclean’ or ‘dog Armenians!’

The fanatical Iranians, who considered dogs to be ‘najis’ (unclean), believed that we were at the same level as dogs simply because we were not Muslim. In Tehran, however, people were not the same.
They accepted us as Iranian citizens and respected us for who we were.

When I turned ten, we had to move to Tehran, because of my two older brothers finding each a job there. Unfortunately, we could not take Reno to Tehran with us. The owner of our rented apartment would not allow us to own a dog. Therefore, we had no choice, but to give my loyal and loving dog away to a village owner.

No words can express my misery when I saw Reno being taken away on a leash that day. Indeed, I can never forget that sad moment, even today as a grandmother.

Later in life, I was forced to go through similar heartbreaking experiences. So many times, I had to suffer the pain of seeing veterinary doctors putting an end to the lives of our cats, and another dog – a cairn terrier. Once, after such an incident, I was leaving the vet’s office with teary eyes, when a woman in the street ran forward and hugged me. She knew quite well, what I was going through.

Recently, our seventeen-year-old cat, Fate, who apparently is going through the last days of her life, has created the same sad situation for me. Despite the fact that we took her to the vet and he treated her with the appropriate drugs and injections, she still has not been eating, nor drinking any water. The other day, I put my hand on her head and prayed fervently, asking God not to let her suffer. I begged Him to help her die in her sleep. I am happy to say that today; she has started eating a tiny little bit of food. I do hope she will recover from her ailment and enjoy the last days of her life. Who knows, maybe God will answer my prayer.