...also Gump, Osme and Panget. They were our last group of dogs during my early college years. Laila was the oldest. Laila was born in early nineties, 1990 or 1991, I'm not sure. Her Mum, Doggie, was the first dog I befriended when I was a kid. Not the first in the family, though. I was just, I believe, a toddler when my parents owned a white local-bred dog, also named Doggie. I didn't have much cool memories with him. He was a bit unfriendly to kids. Or, maybe it was my fault, too. I was, I think, 4 or 5 or 6, Doggie was having his meal when I decided to sit right next to him and watch him as he devour his food. Then all of a sudden he attacked me. I was then rushed to the hospital. Since then, I can't remember I ever played with him or came close to him. It was a few years after the incident when he lost, or died. I don't really know what happened to him. Then my parents owned another local dog. It was Doggie #2. This time it was brown with straight-up ears. And, a female one. And friendly. Very! It didn't take too long and Doggie got pregnant and gave birth to nine puppies! It is clear to my memory that her first batch of puppies was 9!:) Laila was one of them. Others were given to relatives and friends.
Doggie continued to get pregnant, and same goes with the first one, 1 to 2 were left and the rest were given away. Doggie later died. Natural death. She was old enough, they said. Like Doggie, Laila gave birth many times. 7 to 9 puppies per batch. I witnessed how caring Laila was to her puppies, which she acquired from Doggie. Even when Laila's puppies grew up already, she would still clean them, licks their ears, finds lice for them, and all. It was a sweet moment to see Laila doing those stuff.
Gump and Panget were included in Laila's second-to-the-last batch of puppies. Gump was named after Forest Gump, and Panget is the Tagalog term of "ugly". Both were males. Osme was one of the last batch of puppies Laila had. Osme is short for Osmenia. A former Senator here. Laila, Gump, Panget and Osme were our dogs when we moved in to another place.
- - - M I S S I N G L A I L A - - - It is Mum who named Laila. I don't why and where she got it, though. Laila was brown too, like Doggie. For me, Laila was the sweetest dog my family has ever owned. She was not the aggressive type, but barked wildly. Laila was friendly, anti-burglar type. She would let people get inside our house, but makes sure they wouldn't get or hold anything while in the house or going out. It was okay to her to let people walk around the house, as long as they wouldn't hold or even touch anything, or else, she would bark crazily, or worst would bite them. Laila was generous, too. Gump was the greedy type. The four of them were being fed fairly. What Gump would do was eat fast, then transfer to Laila then to another then to another. Laila wouldn't mind Gump doing that. She'd just let him do it, and would just sit afar. Unlike other dogs, they would fight back.
Laila was thoughtful. In our then community, tricycle (a three-wheeled motorcycle)rarely passes around. We need to get to the village's main road to get one. It is the mode of transportation inside the village. From our house, we need to have a five-minute walk to the main road, with a few turns. Whenever I go to school back then, as early as 5 in the morning, Mum, together with Laila, they would walk me up to the main road. The moment of seeing them walk back home as my tricycle goes on was a touching one. Sometimes whenever I would go somewhere alone, Laila and the other dogs would walk me the main road. Most often they would wait with me for the tricycle, they would sit as I sit at the waiting shed, until I get a ride. Then when they made sure that the tricycle moves away, the lovely dogs would walk back home. I swear, tears stream as I write this. Man, I miss them! They were like Mums walking their kids up to the bus station.
- - - T H E D O G S' R U T H L E S S F A T E - - -In our then village, mosquitoes were everywhere, and were even bigger than the usual, and would bite more stinging and itchy. The dogs sleep at the garage, and are more prone to the stinging insects. A several months later, a year maybe, the scratches resulted into wounds. Laila and Panget acquired more wounds than Gump and Osme. After months of noticing the two poor dogs condition, my
good parents decided to abandon them, one at a time. Panget was first. It didn't hurt that much when my parents explained why they have to desert the 'ugly' dog. Maybe because it was well-explained, plus his condition was really worst, also he was then being rude to his Mum, Laila, and we couldn't control him anymore.
When Panget was gone, I then started missing him. I wouldn't know what to do if they'd do the same to Laila. So, I started giving more attention to her. This is despite my busyness on school stuff. I washed Laila every week, I tried to clean her wounds. But after a few months of doing so, I hated it, but it didn't pay off. My parents dumped her :'( They failed at first. Using my family's tricycle, my father drove it down to a far place from our village. Mum was inside the three-wheeled vehicle with Laila. They did the thing early in the morning while me and my dear brother were still sleeping. They abandoned Laila to that far place outside our village. Just when they thought they have succeeded, they were surprised to see Laila home wagging her tail, welcoming them back. When they confided to us (me and my dear bro) that they failed to forsake Laila, my heart was celebrating. But then I was distressed. I kept on hugging and patting Laila and telling her how great she is that she escaped her fate. Since that night, I let her slept in my room, always locked her in. But after a few weeks, my parents did the thing again, and this time they were success :@ At first I didn't know that Laila was gone, until my parents came home, and asked where Laila was. I was, like, "no way"! I immediately checked her in my room, in my brother's room, in my parents' room and its bathroom, in our general bathroom, I went around the community calling her name, but no one came out. "Shit, they did it!". I then locked myself in my room, crying, hoping Laila to come home like she did the first time around. That day, Mum cooked the family's favourite Sunday lunch dish, to make up maybe, but it didn't work out to me. I didn't talk to them for a week, they were explaining things to me, but I couldn't understand anything. I hated them! I kept on waiting for Laila to come home for a month, but she wouldn't :'(
I was not recovered yet with my first heart break, when after a month of Laila's lost, it was Gump's turn. Gump was given to somebody from our old community with me and Mum unaware. Gump was slaughtered, my brother reported. Mum couldn't accept the fact, and neither did I. The deal was just Panget and Laila to dump, but my sucky father broke it! My parents then fight, and I got in the way once in a while. I was raging. I hated him!
It sucks that Gump was brutally killed when he escaped his death twice. In our old community, he was ran over by an SUV. I didn't witness it, but they said he rolled his body under the moving vehicle. The second was with a closed van. This time, I witnessed everything! He was crossing the road, when this van passed, with normal speed. People were telling the driver that there was a dog under, he then slowed down. Gump then started groaning. I almost cried, I didn't want to see him full of blood, but that's how I thought I'd see him, with intestines out. Thank God I was wrong. After the van ran over him, he immediately ran to our house without wounds, no broken bones! He escaped his death for the second time. Everyone was surprised and impressed!
It hurts that whenever I go to the main road for the tricycle, it was just Osme alone walking with me. The used-to-be four dogs, now only one.
It didn't take too long when we moved in to a new house once again. We brought Osme in. In our first old house, my family used to own up to 11 dogs, now it's just one left. I'm not used to have only one dog around, when I grew up with dogs everywhere. But then, I couldn't do anything. Our new house is smaller than the first two, plus houses were clustered. And, so, they wouldn't allow too many dogs.
It sucks that in this community, we have a neighbor that is hungry, very much hungry for dog meat. He is actually a dog meat lover! OMG! He raises dogs just to slaughter them and eat them. How nice! When he saw Osme around, he asked for him. Of course, as new to the neighborhood, my
friendly father gave Osme to the pioneer, the dog meat eater!
I can remember how I hated my parents back then. How they made their decision of sending the dogs away to dispatch was so unfair! The dogs, especially Laila, showed loyalty to them, to us, but despite that they dumped them! I wanted to sue them for animal cruelty, but I couldn't. I didn't know how and who to speak with to sue them. Until now as I remember the poor dogs, I remember the hatred that I've been holding in. I'm praying that my
lovely parents are forgiven by the wonderful dogs. I'm praying too, that if ever the re-incarnation of dogs' souls exists, man, it'd be a pleasure to meet them in their second life.
(Photos soon)
