DogExpress
In Betul, Madhya Pradesh, a 15-year-old dog named Duggu spent his final hours refusing to leave his owner’s side, and in the end, he did not.
Duggu’s owner, 67-year-old Pradeep Jain, who ran a tea and paan shop in the town’s Ganj area, passed away on Sunday after falling ill. His body was brought home from AIIMS Bhopal later that night, and that is when Duggu started to unravel.
The family says Duggu grew restless the moment Jain’s body reached the house. He kept trying to push his way toward his owner, pacing and barking, unable to settle. With relatives and neighbours streaming in to pay their respects, the family had no choice but to move him to another room. It did not help much. Duggu barked through the night, clearly unwilling to accept what had happened.
At one point, he found his own way back into the room where Jain’s body lay. He did not bark this time. He just sat close to him, quiet, watching, for a long stretch before finally walking away.
On Monday morning, before the funeral, the family brought Duggu near Jain one last time. He sat beside him again, looked at him for a while, then went back inside.
Minutes after the funeral procession left the house, something changed in Duggu. He paced around a room two or three times, lay down, and did not get up. By the time the family checked on him, he was already gone.
Jain’s brother, Dilip Jain, said Duggu had been part of the family for 15 years, ever since he was brought home as a two-month-old puppy by Jain’s son, Vivek. The two shared meals off the same plate and, more often than not, fell ill together too.
The family laid Duggu to rest near Ganj Mokshdham, the cremation ground where Jain was cremated according to Hindu rites, so the two would not be far from each other even now.
Duggu was an Indian Spitz, a breed known for forming an unusually tight bond with its family. Everyone who knew him agrees on one thing: he simply could not bear to go on without his owner.
in Chandigarh, India. 
