WinterABC2023 The Flame- Day 6: Saying goodbye to Boxer

tcndangana

Jun 8

There are some scars that will never heal and there are some traumas that have made us the people who we are today.

I was only six years old when I learnt about death. Little did I know that death cannot be undone. Maybe this is why I live in the moment, tell people that I care because while I can because the thought of living my life in regret scares me.VaHungwe allowed Tee and I to go to his house and pick the puppies that we wanted. I fell in love with a black puppy and I named him Boxer. Tee choose a brown puppy with a white patch and named him Bruno.

My mother, Tee and I visited the Veterinarian and our dogs got all the injections and I remember going to buy dog food for our puppies. It was a wonderful experience having a pet and I think my mother wanted to teach us her children how to be responsible so we would clean the kennel, bath the puppies and clean the yard each morning. My holiday routine was waking up and rushing to see if my puppy was still there in the kennel. My mother would later scold me for going to play with Boxer in my pyjamas.

Boxer was not as active as Bruno, who used to chase after his owner whenever she went outside or would bite all the shoes we left on the doorstep. One day I woke up and ran to the kennel to find Boxer lying lifeless on his mat. I thought he was sleeping so the six-year-old me tried to wake him up but he did not wake up. The crying brought my aunts outside and that was I realised that Boxer was dead.

I thought the pet doctor would save him but that was impossible. I cried and we buried Boxer close to our house. My aunts decided we hold a service for Boxer and I scattered the scratch cards that I used to collect.

Death is painful and inevitable and I only learnt about it when I was six. I love pets from a distance because I have not fully healed from Boxer's death.

What were some of the life lessons you learnt when you were young?

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