When dogs die
A whimsical take on afterlife in the doggy world
When dogs die, they immediately go to The Department of Dogs.
It’s the place where dogs are made, and it deals with all dog affairs (yes, with tennis balls under the dresser too).
Upon arriving there, they are offered food in case they reach hungry, a drink of cool puddle water, and some magazines to tear while waiting for further instructions.
Then they’re given a choice about what to do next.
They can either go back invisible and be by their human’s side forever or go back as a puppy. Whatever they choose, the strings will have to be managed accordingly.
“What strings?” you ask! Oh, you silly dog person!
Every dog has invisible strings attached to their human’s heart. What do you think they tug on when asking for that extra treat?
So when the dog dies and goes to the Department of Dogs, the strings stretch all the way with them. That’s why you feel the gnawing pain around your heart at the time.
If the dog decides to stay invisible by your side, the strings return back to their original size but lose much of their force. As much as the dog wants to, they can’t ask you for that extra treat now, and the Department of Dogs provides all their favourite treats anyway.
If the dog decides to come back as a puppy, new strings need to be formed. Puppies don’t know how to manage them, and they can’t be trusted around old strings. They tug quite a bit in the beginning but become more discerning with string use as they get older. The department keeps the old set too, just in case. They say all dogs find their way back home eventually, so it’s their policy to store all strings on record, in case the dog needs to pull an old one (they claim there has never been a need for this).
Now one would think this is a quick process. But due to the abundance of sticks, squirrels and tennis balls, even the best-trained employees at the Department of Dogs are easily distracted. It’s their own form of bureaucracy. Some dogs might take a while to make up their mind too. So it may be at least a few weeks before the strings stop stretching, letting that hollow pain make way for fond memories.
Every once in a while the department gets a dog who has never had a chance to call someone their own. In this case, the department works very hard to send them to a loving home or to a human in need. If that falls through, the department offers them a place with them. You see, The Department of Dogs has to be run by dogs; it wouldn’t make sense otherwise. They also offer consultancy positions to dogs who have been through numerous cycles with humans. Their experience and wisdom help the department work better.
So that’s pretty much what happens when dogs die. Sometimes, your invisible dog or a new dog around you may accidentally snag and pull an old string, and it might hurt. Remember that this doesn’t mean they’re gone; this means they’re still around.
What happens to cats? They have a virtual string service that’s rather quick. That’s how they have nine lives.
I wrote When dogs die in 2019, before I knew June and before the world knew the Covid-19 pandemic. It was one of those afternoons where the memories of dogs lost to time find their way to you. I was missing Penny and Dollar, my parents’ dogs who had passed in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Then I started thinking about the numerous community dogs I had lost over the years and started wondering where all these dogs go and if there is someone to take care of them in whatever exists beyond life among humans.
I wrote it, thought of sharing it with the world, decided not to, and forgot about it. About 2 years later, after June passed, I found it on my Notes app. By then, I was writing Pressure Kukur and felt that just as this whimsical take on dogs’ afterlives had made me smile in a time of grief, it might bring someone a bit of relief in their grief, even if momentarily.
June has been gone from our lives for 5 months today but I firmly believe she’s on her way back (or is already here). Our beloved pets always find their way back to us, one way or another. All we need to do is wait.
