Buddy was no ordinary dog, and his devoted owner, Shiranthi Perera, can name countless people who would gladly testify to that. Her main objective, therefore, was to tell the world that there are dogs like Buddy who would heal you. Every single story that she had written in the book is a true incident. According to Shiranthi, even people with pets of their own would often say that Buddy was rare, almost human in nature. Buddy can understand anything and learn anything quickly; you just have to tell him. ‘I never had to actually train Buddy, and he surprised me with a lot of intelligence and empathy. So I didn’t want the memories surrounding him to disappear and only remain with my family and me. Even my daughter told me that we shouldn’t be selfish and actually share his story with the world. So I had to find some method to preserve his memory,’ said Shiranthi. This is how she came to publish “Buddy & Me” through The Jam Fruit Tree Publications.
At school, Shiranthi was good at writing. When she was around eight years old, there was a weekend paper with a writing competition where they had to write a story. Shiranthi recalled how she was a shy girl and how she secretly wrote a story and posted it. It won her second place. ‘This was the first time I wrote to a newspaper, and after that, I started getting a lot of fan mail,’ said Shianthi. However, her writing journey didn’t stop here. Just after she finished her ALs, they had to wait one year for the results to roll in, during which she applied for a vacancy for training journalists. They had an exam, and she was taken in as a trainee sub-editor. ‘I was working with a lot of giants in the industry, and I was humbled by how they liked my work even though I was the youngest there. One day, they told me to write to the paper as well. So I wrote quite a few articles and even interviewed famous people and actors,’ reminisced the author. It was an amazing experience for her, but unfortunately, she had to leave for medical school afterwards. But still, even as an eye surgeon, Shiranthi would help anybody with any writing project. Her first book, however, is because of her loving Golden Retriever, Buddy.
Shiranthi shared how Buddy would wait for her till she came home from work and would go to her room with her and stay there while she wrote this book. He would watch her as she worked as well and give both company and inspiration to her throughout the first draft. If Buddy realised that Shiranthi was too engrossed in the manuscript, he would get disappointed with the lack of attention and would play with his toys and perform tricks to get her attention back. ‘His safe space was me, himself and our room. When I’m not at home, he would never go up to the room and would instead stay downstairs and would even get depressed when I’m not around for too long,’ said Shiranthi. ‘I know that he loved everybody at home, but Buddy and I shared an undeniable special bond. I was very slow with the writing, mostly because I was always waiting for more experiences with Buddy to happen. After his fourteenth birthday, I realised it was the perfect time to finish writing it.’
What Shiranthi has highlighted the most in her book, through Buddy, is how humane a dog can be. His ability to be friendly with any animal is also shown, along with it, which is a quality that animals that are hunters by instinct usually don’t possess. She explained how Buddy was a dog who did nothing wrong and harmed no one. Buddy has never angered her or made her upset. He had not even chewed a slipper when he was a puppy. Shirathi mentioned how the only time he made her cry was the day he left them. ‘He was a pure soul, better than most humans. I have all the reasons to believe that he was a gift sent to me by some higher power because I always felt like his purpose on Earth was to love me, make me happy and protect me. Even while Buddy was having health complications, treating him was surprisingly so easy. He understood everything and never made anything difficult for me. How he looked after my daughter is also an important part of the book,’ noted the author.
Since writing has been a lifelong habit of Shiranthi, writing this book wasn’t a major challenge for her. The flow and ideas came to her naturally, and Buddy gave her all the inspiration and motivation she needed. Even at the last minute, Shiranthi was adding content to her book with ease. However, finding the time to write the book and patiently waiting for more incidents to happen in Buddy’s life were challenges for the author. ‘I was constantly wondering if I should stop now or if I should wait a bit more. I never knew when exactly to stop writing,’ she said. Selecting which photos to go into the book was also a major task for both the author and the publishers because Shiranthi had thousands of photos of Buddy, all unique and important. From the day Buddy came into the author’s life, she has been taking photos of him. Having to decide the limit of photos to be used was therefore an unexpected challenge Shiranthi had to face while publishing her book. ‘However, this book is more of a souvenir for me, and the purpose of writing this was to introduce Buddy to the world. So, for that, I needed to put as many photos as I could. His whole lifetime was in my phone gallery.’
Whenever Shiranthi had a problem or was feeling down, Buddy was always there for her. He was like her therapist. A Golden Retriever living for fourteen years is a remarkable feat, and she feels like this book was his doing. ‘Even though he would not be there with me every day, his memory would still live on. If I didn’t finish the book before he left, I would have never found the energy or motivation to finish this book. I would be numb with grief and never publish this. Writers in general need the right state of mind to write, and I would not have achieved that with the pain inside me. So I believe he waited until I was done with the book to take his departure. He was there with me until I sent it for printing,’ recalled Shiranthi lovingly. Her only regret was that she was planning an adorable book singing with Buddy, which she wasn’t able to do. But then she realised that she had a beautiful pawprint of his that she had used in the book. His paw was there across pages and chapters, sometimes appearing as if he were walking across his stories. Shiranthi came to realise that Buddy has, in his own way, signed each and every copy for the readers. She believes that Buddy knew she depended on the book to not feel lost afterwards. And every time someone buys the book, the author believes that Buddy lives on in their minds.
What’s beautiful about the love of dogs or pets in general is that they give so much love, expecting nothing in return. This book is not only about a dog’s life story. The author explains how it is also about looking after and caring for a dog, and for adults who are hoping to bring a puppy into their families. This book would open the eyes of those people and offer them tips and advice on how to bring up a puppy properly. Pets are definitely part of your family, and pet owners should take the time to learn about them and make sure they are healthy and happy, just like how we would care for our human family members. ‘One shouldn’t just get a dog and leave them by themselves, it’s a responsibility that you are agreeing to. You should be able to observe your pets closely and notice when they are acting differently, and take fast action when necessary. I hope this book will urge pet owners to be more aware of their pets and educated enough to question the vets as well,’ said the author.
This is also why Shiranthi stresses the fact that one shouldn’t get pets as mere accessories for the family. ‘If one is unable to provide the time and effort, please be kind enough not to bring any pets home until you are confident enough about it,’ said the author. She also added how one should also analyse what kind of dog is best for your family and environment in order to give them the best home life possible. Pets deserve to be played with and given enough exercise. Mental and physical stimulation for dogs is very important, and without these, their behaviour can turn depressive and irrational, potentially shortening their lives as well. Therefore, the author mentioned how it’s rather selfish for owners to disregard these necessities. ‘I’m glad that I gave Buddy everything a dog needed. They are living beings with needs, emotions and a craving for attention and bonding. For you, they can be pets who can be replaced, but for them, you are their entire life. Never take their unconditional love for granted. In the end, the line between them and us is so small, and I hope this book opens every reader’s heart to that truth,’ she said.
When you purchase directly from the author (+94 77 303 8853), 20% of the proceeds will go toward animal welfare.
by Gayanga Dissanayake