My Childhood Best Friend: Tommy, The Jubilant Dog

Last Updated: November 27, 2023

Step into the vibrant canvas of my short memoir, painted with hues of humor, love, loyalty, and pain. This tale is a heartfelt dedication to my childhood best friend, Tommy—the jubilant dog. Ready to immerse yourself in this emotional journey? Let’s dive in.

Whenever I am often in solitude, I lost myself in the magical moments of my childhood memories. The days of great fun and enjoyment fill my life with different colors. Once there was a creature that was not a human being, is still in my sweetest memories. That life form is our adorable dog, whom we used to call Tommy with love. He was my childhood best friend.

Tommy was ten days old when my mother brought him from our relative’s house. His eyes were not even open. Tommy became our bosom friend within a few days. Now we could neither go anywhere nor eat anything without him. Whenever I returned from school with my sister and brother in the blistering afternoon, Tommy would come at the halfway and happily swing across our feet with ku-ku sound.

After taking our lunch, mom would get busy with household chores, and we went to our rooms. She thought: we are sleeping, but we all were mischievous, and Tommy was more than us. We all jumped out from a high window and go to the mango orchard with Tommy. We used to swing on the branches of the mango trees throughout the day. Tommy would sit under our feet while waiting for our jump.

In the summer, the wind stopped completely; in the rainy season, clouds started to rain; and in the cold, the snow scattered throughout the village. Tommy joined our company every day in each season. Whenever we went to the river in the summer, he would also follow us. For a long time, he sat in the stone and watched us, and eventually, he jumped into the water and swam with us.

Tommy used to eat meat in the early days. No one ate or cooked meat in our house. Seeing us, he stopped eating meat after some time. The people of our next-door gave him bone and flesh, but Tommy would not even touch it. It was a surprising thing for all people. 

Tommy was fond of milk. Whenever mom went to the cowshed to get milk, he would go there. Until mom gave him milk, Tommy would sit in front of the kitchen with a craving for milk and bark. He loved the biscuit so much that if he heard the sound of the biscuit’s packet, he would roam around us until we gave him a biscuit. Tommy was so cunning that he would eat his biscuits quickly and then sat in front of us politely with repeatedly urged for a biscuit. 

After passing the intermediate, my sister and I moved to the city for our higher education. Tommy was left alone at home. Whenever we returned to our village on holidays, he kept walking back and forth in front of us. We would enjoy each moment of our holidays with Tommy. He used to be melancholy on the day of our going to the city.

Now Tommy was thirteen years old and was fighting against cancer. Treatment couldn’t show any improvement in his health. He was suffering every single moment. He would vomit, run here and there, and scream in agony throughout the night.

Tommy’s last night was terrible. He was agonizing throughout the night. In the morning, when he couldn’t bear the pain, he started running around from one field to another field. We were bringing him back. It is impossible to express his pain in words. Once again, he escaped from the house, and we followed him. Arriving at the mango orchard, he stopped his feet. I placed his head on my lap, and he breathed his last breath. We kept crying for hours. My mother dug a grave, and my childhood best friend slept inside the tomb forever.

Works Cited

1. Attribution to the featured image for this post: Bertelli, Matheus. Girl Hugging Adult Chow Chow Sitting on Grass Field. Pexels, 1 Sep. 2017, https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-hugging-adult-chow-chow-sitting-on-grass-field-573293/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.