Man's best friend

Its a title that we are all so familiar with, a title that we have attributed to a very special animal called a dog. So many times I watch on tv about how dogs save the lives of their owners, how they may have jobs that are often of such help to us and how they are simply faithful, true companions who do not talk back (except bark), who do not judge us nor turn away from us when we need them most.

Of course, everyone who knows me now, knows I love dogs haha.
It might be surprising to some people, but I used to be very afraid of dogs =P. When I was maybe 7 years old , I ran into my house's toilet to hide when my neighbour's little sized dog came running into our house. I don't really know what dispelled my fear of dogs either. It was probably my mum's beautiful stories of her faithful and brave dog, Rover, who was a black crossbreed. I remember the photo she showed me, the only photo she ever had of him.

This was a dog who would run out into the dark, to greet my mum when she was on her way back to her kampong and he would be there to protect her during that great distance and dangerous path. He was my mum's best friend. They had other dogs too in the kampong but Rover was the most attached to her. His life was happy but it ended in a very cruel way. He was just doing what he had to do, protect the territory of his owners...when my mum's neighbours came to steal fruits from their garden, they poured the poor dog with scalding hot water to get him out of the way. That was how his life ended. I know my mum must have felt so greived.

But it was Rover's heroism that has him etched in my memory and possibly changed my whole idea about what dogs were like. That was when I asked my mum to get me a dog, a docile, gentle white female crossbreed puppy, called Jessie =D. She was the most faithful friend to me, always by my side when I was happy or sad. When I cried, she seemed to understand because she would be quiet too. She taught me that from then on, my life would be one that would only exist with dogs.

Jessie was about 7 when Snowie came along. We took her in because she had been passed on from family to family for almost 4 times and she was only 1 year old. She was a special dog but the possible abuses of her puppyhoood were rather evident too. We wanted to give her a happy life despite her weird habits and behaviourism but it did not last long too. She was too fragile, we wondered why she was always so small. She died of a slip disc problem. I remember that heartbreaking day. Yup, it was exactly 4 years ago from today.

That was the first time i felt the pain of losing my dog. It took a while to get over the grief and I even thought I would never have another dog again, because it was too much to bear to have to see your dog go. That was when it started to feel quite empty around the house, even though Jessie was still around. We decided this time to get a tougher dog, one that could withstand jumps and falls better, so that history would not repeat itself. The answer, was a schnaunzer, and we found pepper, the craziest wildest dog I've ever had =)

Jessie left us last year of old age (she was 14 years old) and now I still have Pepper but something in me still feels an emptiness since she left. It seems to be a cycle... the pain is great and the memories of my previous dogs are never erasable but I know, I will never be able to live without dogs. I will have another dog, but probably not now because my workload is too much for me to care for a young puppy.

Each time you care for a puppy, you relive the joy of watching it grow up, learning new tricks, learning its name and where it belongs. And you also bask in the joy of feeling them love you more and more day after day.

I can never imagine a house to return to, without a faithful friend greeting me with a happy smile no matter how bad my day may have been. Nor can I imagine an empty house with no one else around. Neither can I imagine not having someone to hug and have by my side at any time I need most.

Dogs are truly our bestest of best friends. If you have a dog, you will understand what I mean =)