It was Easter night and the year was 1994. I was sitting alone in my little one-room apartment and watching Easter mass from the Vatican. It was about 3 o'clock in the morning. The choir was blasting in jubilation: *Jesus has risen from the dead, indeed, he has risen!*
.... when all of the sudden, there was a scraping and whining at my door. I rushed to the door and looked out of the peephole.
A dog!
*Oh shit! A dog!* I said, understanding that I'm in trouble. Being dog crazy, I knew that there was nothing else for me to do than to open the door and let him in. There would be no escape for me. So the door was opened in he ran, a very young dog, no more than 6 months old. He had long legs and he was very yellow. In fact, he looked like a kangaroo. He headed straight to the kitchen where he landed in an easy chair.
I hadn't wanted another dog. My first dog, Juki the fox terrier had spent 17 glorious years with us and his passing was such a shock to everybody that I couldn't even think about taking another dog. But I had told the Universe that if there would be a dog in trouble I would be available.
I watched him eat whatever I could find in the fridge, and wept tears of frustration as I understood that my easy life would be over. No more sleeping in! No more long trips abroad! But I kept telling him through the tears: *Don't you worry, I'll figure something out!* And I called him Kuru.
In the morning my mom called and I told her the news. She reacted, as I had suspected she would, very badly. She had a hundred of reasons why I shouldn't keep him but finally, when she ran out of those, she said: *All right but you've gotta call him Kuru!* Because she too, was dog-crazy! *I already did*, said I.
We had always thought that Kuru would be the prettiest name for a dog :)
So that was the beginning of the Age of Kuru in our family. Kuru was treated like royalty. He immediately fell in love with my father, whom he considered to be his Teacher and Grand Master :))) I was sort of like his sister, only less hairy. And mom was just mom. She brought him all kinds of treats and tried to spoil him rotten, but with Kuru, it just was not possible. He was a gentleman to the core.
When my father died unexpectedly a few years after Kuru's arrival, I was horrified. What would happen to Kuru? How would I be able to comfort him? My dad was the most important person for him. He waited for him diligently by the door every day until he came by my place. When my father was abroad, Kuru just couldn't settle down for the waiting. And when he came, Kuru would not leave his side. So I couldn't imagine what would happen now that my father would not come anymore.
But things played out in an unexpected manner. Kuru didn't wait for dad and he didn't look for him in my parents' apartment. Actually, he acted as if nothing was wrong. Only on occasion, when my mom or I couldn't hold it in any longer and started to cry, Kuru would come, put his paw in our lap and look at us as if he were saying:* What are you crying about? It's all right!* And wag his tail.
He KNEW.
I could go on and on and on but there's no need really. But there is something I wanted to say about Kuru. He ... as well as every animal who the Universe sends us ... are really our guardians and our teachers, and not the other way round. They are our buffers against the hard things in life because no matter what, you have to compose yourself and be there for your animal. To say nothing about their unconditional love and utter beauty.
And now that Kuru is gone from the material world, I can feel him, in the form of a great Spirit that he always was, standing behind me, egging me on and arranging things for me.
But on occasion, when the bitterness of his loss overwhelms me and I start to cry, I can hear him say: *What are you crying about? It's all right!*
He KNOWS.
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