Some relationships are extremely intimate, appearing unbreakable. However, the fire of death does not spare even these bonds. Megha KC from Kusma, Parbat, shared such a close bond with her dog. The dog, black with patches of brown on its body, was dearly loved by her. She affectionately called the dog ‘Kali’, and sometimes ‘Kalu’ out of fondness. For Megha, the dog was very precious. She had raised Kali since it was a puppy. In old photos shared on social media, Kali appears very small, and Megha looks much younger than she does now. During festivals, she would apply tika on Kali and always keep the dog close to her.
However, just a few days ago, Kali passed away. The dog died while Megha was away from home. After sharing 11 years together, Megha was deeply grieved by Kali’s death, having raised the dog like her own daughter. Her family also shared that throughout the 11 years, Kali was never harmed and was always given whatever it wanted to eat and allowed to go wherever it wished.
After losing a dog she regarded as a daughter, Megha conducted full funeral rites and observed mourning rituals. She dressed Kali’s body in white cloth, offered rice and salt, honoring the dog’s soul’s peace. The family mourned as if mourning the death of a human family member. Megha expressed gratitude to Kali for the companionship through joys and sorrows. By Tuesday, she had completed the three-day mourning period. In Nepal, it is not the first time a family has observed mourning rites after the death of a dog. Previously, in Manpur, Tulsipur, Shashidhar Paudel held a nine-day mourning period last monsoon season after his dog’s death.
