Caesar is our inspiration.
In November 2007, a tiny puppy was lying on the the side of the road. He looked in bad shape and his body was a haven for fleas and ticks.
Back in the day we didn’t have the knowledge or the network of all the amazing humans who do good things for animals. We took the puppy to a vet who would only treat him if we decide to keep him. So we took him to another vet with a better attitude. Dr. Hatekar took a look at him and put him straight on the saline. It didn’t matter if we were going to keep him or not. He was a puppy needing treatment and that’s what he got. Thankfully with a miracle and medication, Caesar managed to pull through.
And so he became a permanent resident of floof house. Since it was our first time with a dog having earlier been parents to cats, fish, tortoises, turtles and humans, we were learning a lot of new dog things. Somehow he enjoyed the company of cats, to the extent that his first kiss was also with a cat. Caesar and Meow often chilled together and even begged together during human meals. They were a great team.
Caesar grew up a top dog. He barely showed any interest in the material things, except for food. I’ve never seen a hungrier dog. A frequent visitor to the hill in Pune, Caesar didn’t really like to play with any of the dogs. He would wag his tail when seeing the dogs and humans he liked. He would just roam around in the nature, expanding his territory until the marker ran out of ink.
Back in his empire, Caesar enjoyed scouting the nearby areas by climbing on the edge of the terrace. It’s only then I found out that dogs have better perception of height than I imagined. As time went on, he made new friends and new enemies. He ate the best food, had the best naps and had the loudest bark. All of fine in Caesar land.
Then Cleopatra showed up. The empire was under threat!
“Who is this new tiny creature that just sat on my bed??”
He was clearly not happy. For the first few weeks Cleopatra was not allowed on the bed, so Caesar enjoyed his space. She could not climb the bed either, which just meant that she would cry to manipulate us into bringing her on the bed.
With time, Caesar accepted her. She was clearly not a threat. She was too tiny and her name was not Brutus. On the days when they slept in different rooms, Cleo would jump with joy upon seeing Caesar in the morning. He would even let her lick him thrice, after that he would want his space back.
Caesar also found a great friend in grandmom. Both were the senior citizens of the house and both lived at home extremely peacefully, going about their daily routines. He would sit in grandmom’s room when she was alone and provided a sense of security better than most humans.
Then showed up Jazz, a rescued golden retriever. Jazz is a big full grown dog, taller than Caesar. Uh oh, this seems a real threat to the empire now. To everyone’s surprise, her calm demeanor transformed any possible threat into a great bond of friendship.
Unfortunately about a month ago, Caesar was diagnosed with a disease which had rapidly spread through his body in a matter of hours. Chemotherapy didn’t help and Caesar crossed the rainbow bridge, fully aware that his empire was in safe paws. Caesar is no longer with us in body but his spirit and legacy continues through our philosophy, art and products.
