Buddha – The Wise One
11 Sept. 2004 – 22 Dec. 2015

Che and I decided early in our relationship not to have babies but like a lot of other parents we landed up with an unplanned baby. Unplanned she may have been but she was never unwanted, and we enjoyed her so much, we had 5 more in 5 years. Yep, we’re really bad at family planning. 😉

Two nights ago I lost my first born, my oldest son. Words seem inadequate to describe what I am feeling. There is a blankness, a numbness, an emptiness that is yet to set-in that I know will leave behind a void never to be filled.

Buddha came into our lives late in his and our lives, he was 6 then. I still remember that day when Che looked at me with puppy-eyes and asked if we could bring home another dog. I remember telling him that I’d first like to see the dog.

So, Che whisked me off to Windward Kennels to get me to meet the dog he was already in love with; to convince me to take him home. I still remember my first impression of Buddha – a timid dog who took time to warm up to strangers, a guy who rather be left alone than be in the thick of things and yet so beautiful both inside and out.

I thought he would be easy, a cake walk for me that would also be an excellent calming influence on the two young nut-cracks we had. I was proven so wrong!

As the months rolled by Buddha transformed, he still retained his quiet introspective self but he also started to display a boisterous self who joined in the games, the play, the charges to the door and the barking howling matches.

He came into his own and stopped backing off, he started to take dogs head-on. Clear about what he wanted, what he liked and disliked, he now didn’t hesitate to put the dogs in their place. And as the months rolled by I fell in love with him, more and then some more.

Buddha was a dog no one who met him would forget. He made an impression, an impression all his own, an imprint unique to just him. But he had his quirks – he was terrified of crackers and loud noises, had a dislike for too much excitement, pee’d slow and long, and had a mouth so foul-smelling that you’d never forget a kiss from him, that is if you hadn’t died of the aroma. 😀

A couple of years ago when he had been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and arthritis, I started to worry but Buddha’s love for life made the problems look like they didn’t exist. He fought his way through it all with help from various people who loved him and stayed active right up to the end.

When his heart started to act up a couple of weeks ago, he valiantly held on while I fretted. He loved his walks and demanded them, and I, had to give in and take him in spite of my misgivings. On his last day, he walked well, ate heartily, showered me with time and attention and refused to leave my side.

And when he went, he went just as quietly as he had come in 5 years ago. A gentle presence by my side that slipped away before I knew it. He gave us 5 glorious years that we will relive forever. He was Buddha, through and though, aptly named for he had learned all the secrets of the universe and he held them all in himself.

I lost a son two nights ago, my oldest, the first born and I will never be whole again. I’m not a mother of human babies and I don’t know the pain of losing a child but what I do know is that words aren’t enough to describe my grief, no balm is soothing enough for this chasm I have in my heart, no amount of tears can wash away this pain I am feeling.

Buddha the wise one with floppy ears… #LifeAsFreya #InstaDog #BuddhaTheWise #weinerdog #dachshundsofinstagram #dachshund #dogsofinstagram #whd

A video posted by @freya3377 on Feb 7, 2015 at 7:52pm PST

You will be missed Buddha and yet I know you will always be with me, as that little hole in my heart that will be filled again only when we are reunited. Run free my child, I hope you get your very own hammock up there. xxx

That should have been the end of this monologue but there are people I must thank for him and his life before I close. Preeti – a big thank you for sharing Buddha with us, Devisri – for kicking me into getting his diet right, Dr. Pavan, Dr. Ramesh, Dr. Ajitesh & Dr. Girish at Cessna Lifeline and Dr. Shiv Prasad his homeopathy doctor with the magic sugar pills – for keeping him medically healthy, and the brat pack for keeping him happy. Special thanks to Anithra, Chaitanya and Mom & Nanisaheb for being there always, even at the end and for his first toast.

Buddha is my 9 year old wire-hair dachshund. He’s simply adorable, looks cute and has a great temperament. Keeps to himself most of the time. In almost all confrontational situations he walks away and rather than fight. He’s timid and takes a long time to get friendly with most people (both Che and My Mom were exceptions, he took to them right away), so is loved even by non-doggy people. All in all he’s all buddha, saint-like, wise and almost always meditating.

Around New Year’s Buddha broke his front-right-lower canine. He didn’t seem to be in a lot of pain or discomfort at that point in time so we let him be to see how things would progress. Things seemed fine for a while and we left for TfN. In the middle of the tour Preeti who runs Windward Kennels where my dogs board, called to say she was concerned about his tooth and wanted to take him to the vet. He was becoming finicky about his food, not using the right side of his mouth, losing weight and seemed to be in some pain.

So, off Buddha went to the vet. The Doctors at Cessna looked at it and realised Buddha was in a fair bit of discomfort as there was a lot of sensitivity. Also canine’s are important teeth for dogs. Buddha has already lost some of his front teeth due to age so losing this one would make things difficult for him. They decided to try and save the tooth by doing a root canal and restructuring the tooth.

When Preeti called me with this news, I had a mini panic attack. My dog was doing into the OT and I wouldn’t be there for him (also a little bit miffed that I would get to watch a one of a kind procedure 😀 ). There was no question of not doing the procedure; if it would help Buddha, we had to get it done but we’d rather have been there. This is where Preeti comes in, she’s someone I trust, I know her and with her I don’t need to worry. Buddha couldn’t be in better hands.

The guys at Cessna did the procedure and it was a success. Within a few days Buddha got less cranky, started eating on the right side and put on some weight too. And I became the proud Mum of a dog with a root canal and restructured tooth!

Here’s are photos of before and after. Check out more photos taken by the Cessna guys on Buddha’s first of a kind root canal.

Before

After

Of course it doesn’t all end with the root canal. We now need to take care of the tooth to make sure he doesn’t break it. At his age a repeat procedure is just traumatic and best avoided. The cost of doing it again is also a great deterrent. 😛

Taking care of his tooth isn’t as much work as it sounds. Buddha doesn’t like toys much so there isn’t much random chewing that he does. Most chewing only happens with food. So we have to watch what he eats and while he eats. Chicken bones are just fine and don’t hamper his teeth. It’s beef bones that we have to be careful about. Initially we stopped giving him beef bones completely but Buddha loves bones and not getting any upset him and he started to try an steal bones from the other two.

Over time I also started getting a bit confident so we started with very small pieces of bones. I now give him larger bones but still not big enough to have contact with the canine. He grinds most bones with his molars at the back, so as long as the bone size is such that it doesn’t touch the canine in his chewing, all’s well. This took some time and learning but I think I’ve got a grasp of what bones he likes and what is safe for him so, both he and me are happy.

Buddha also has a heart condition and arthritis which means a controlled diet and exercise to keep the weight down along with medication. But he seems to be dealing with it all in his usual Buddhaisque manner and no one looking at him would know his secrets.

Now why did I make this post? Just. I wanted to tell the world about Buddha and his Root Canal. Also this is a thank you and recommendation of Cessna. The Docs there do such good work! Thanks Doc 🙂