It was a sunny afternoon, everything around me seemed to be brightened up by the blazing sun. We had gathered there to witness the birth of our friend's dog's puppies. Aaradhna, the dog's owner, had just moved into our neighbourhood and was already a part of our gang. It was solely because she owned a dog. Back then, owning a dog was a huge thing. And for a ten year old, it still is a big thing even for this generation. Her dog was a female Labrador, a beautiful yellow coated dog who was very friendly. The dog had gained all our love within no time. The fact that there would be more little bundles of happiness like her was what had had us waiting there in the sun on that day.
We had been sitting in the park in front of Aaradhna's house for over an hour. We were looking at the garage where the vet had taken her dog, Dollie, who was about to give birth to pups. We were all so excited, we had forgotten all about our lunch. It had been too long already since we sat waiting, we knew that, but our hopes were high.
We had already started deciding on the names for the pups, as if it were the most important thing to do then.
There were five of us, Aaradhna included. So we decided we would all get to name one pup each and if there were more, Aaradhna would decide. It was a fair plan and everyone seemed happy.
When it was my turn, I offered to name the pup 'Cookie'. All of them nodded and grinned. It was a good name.
I don't remember how long we sat there, staring at the garage door. When the vet came out to tell us the pups were all out, we jumped up in ecstasy and raced to the house.
Once we were inside the main gate, we decided to go in slowly, in order not to frighten the pups, and we walked in together.
When it was time for us to see the pups, Aaradhna's parents let us in the garage. There were seven pups, perfectly healthy and breathing little balls of fur. It was a wonderful sight, to look at those tiny beings. And Dollie was one proud mother, she would have beamed at us if she could, trust me.
We all took turns to pet her and slowly walked closer to the mattress on which the pups were lying.
Just beside the litter was a small lump, unmoving. The vet said that one pup had no chances of survival and pointed at the lump I was looking at. Thee little pup was tiny and beautiful but barely breathing.
As we looked, Dollie went on to lick the pup. She cleaned the pup and held it close. We weren't expecting anything, we were all kids and the vet had given up on the pup long ago.
But then somthing wonderful happened. Within an hour, the pup began moving and breathing a little easily. The vet was shocked out of his wits too, it was a beautiful thing to watch. Dollie had done what the vet thought was impossible, such is the power of a mother's touch.
We named the pup 'Lucy' and she is still a living example of hope for all of us. The little pup who grew up to become a beautiful dog herself, taught us that hope is all one needs even in the darkest of situations.
#lookup #hope
