Finding Julia

Rana Gill 

I GOT a call from ‘principal ma’am’ that Julia needed an anti-rabies shot, and so my services were required. Needless to say, I went to the pet shop immediately and introduced myself as a vet, expecting a discount. The shopowner obligingly offered one, feeling elated in the guise of making one more acquaintance of a vet, expecting me to guide my clientele to his shop for medicine orders.

 When I saw Julia, the first thing that crossed my mind was, ‘Where is the muzzle!’ I cannot take the risk of injecting her without a muzzle. A bite here, a scratch there, and it will lead me to partake of the rabies shot alongside her!

 But then, I was assured again and again that she was the gentlest of beings on the campus. Still, my experience belittled the assurance and I asked for her to be restrained by a help. The guy who came to my rescue held a momentary clasp over Julia while I tip-toed from behind and administered the vaccine. She didn’t move an inch, graciously taking the pain. With benevolent eyes, she shot me a look that I accepted as a thank you. It is a different matter that we are never thanked by our patients.

When I came to know Julia’s story, I was astonished. A few months back, after she devoured her own pups, she was left in a village located on the Jalandhar-Phagwara road, where she could fend for herself. The act she committed was grave and unforgivable in the eyes of mortals. 

After she was gone, principal ma’am missed her, felt forlorn and undertook searches to bring Julia back. Weeks of searching in the village and the surrounding areas yielded no result. 

 When all hope was lost, one day while coming back from Delhi she spotted Julia by the roadside, near the same spot where they had left her months back. One look and she knew it was Julia. A clap, the sound of her name, was enough to draw her attention and make her stop still in her tracks. She did not resist when she was carried to the car. She was brought back to Hoshiarpur, her home.

 The first thing she did after coming back was to rush to her designated spot, reaffirm its place, with her eyes brimming with tears. Did Julia really miss the campus? If only I could commune with her I would know what it felt to be back in the secure environment of her home. But for now, she is back in the arms of her nurturer, among people who value her worth in their lives.