Abstract

-Death is the greatest leveler. Death shatters all distinctions and binds all living creatures in a shared sense of vulnerability. This article will aim to closely explore the process of committing, caring and mourning for companion animals in memoirs like Suniti Namjoshi’s Suki, Naomi Barton’s “Death Dignity and Dogs”, and other ancillary writings. The memoirs give us the opportunity to reflect upon the question of agency in caretaking. Animal lovers must decide on behalf of animals on simple everyday matters like administering a pill, and also heartbreakingly difficult ones like “putting them down”. The article enquires into the emotional aspects of care taking and healing as opposed to mere physical cure, which is one of the mainstays of medical humanities (Cole et al. 26). It seeks to understand the demanding, fallible and transformative nature of care. It also explores the possibilities of companion animals acting as providers of care, and demonstrates how animal studies conjoins with medical humanities to expand the term of ‘living well’ to ‘living well together’ (Kirk et al. 76). Additionally, we see how writing about the same is to challenge the normative order by acknowledging positive feelings for animals, and also seek a community around caring and grieving.