1970 - YEAR OF THE DOG

I am born in the year of the dog. Since i was 7 years old, i've always had a dog... i don't know if the year i was born has anything to do with my love for dogs. Heare's an almost complete list of names of the dogs i had, and still have...

my first ever dog is named PATTY. she's a mixed breed of "i don't know", i was too young to care about breeds. my memory of her: she loves to play with me after school. i used to have her pull me while im on skates or skateboard. she also bit my thumb till it bled, and i just washed it off and put calamansi juice... one day she just disappeared. my parents told me that they had to bring her to my dad's "talyer" coz she has gone crazy, they chained her up coz she was drooling and would bite. i didn't really understand what happened, up to now. they never told me the whole story.

next was LUCKY. yeah, lucky??? my brother ran over him while he was backing up the car. didn't see that happen either. they didn't tell me at the time, coz they know i'l be so heartbroken.

my aunt brought me a newborn pup, all white and full of fleas. she thought i would be able to take good care of her, the mom of the pup died that's why my aunt thought of giving me one of its litter. i called her MINNIE, since she's so tiny. never lasted a day with me...

the same aunt brought me another mestizo dog, yup, an adult dog. her sister (who's also my aunt) owned him, but couldn't take care of him anymore. he was so skinny. his name is BILLIE. i got him when i was in 4th or 5th grade... while having him i adopted another puppy and named her JEAN. BILLIE JEAN EH??? nope i wasn't a michael jackson fan, but i loved watching the all male dancing group called THE TIGERS, who, always used mj songs to dance to. jean got sick and died at her young age. billie lasted with me until my college days, but i was in a dormitory that i couldn't be with him as much as i used to. i think he looked all over for me one time that he got lost. when i cam home that day, i was crying so much. you see, the first few dogs i took care of, nobody told me the real deal, coz they were protecting my feelings. this time they thought i was matured enough to know what really happened.

then a few years passed and my brother bought a japanese spitz, and called him MAXIE. another playful dog, he sleeps beside me, or when its too hot, just stays in my room, not necessarily on my bed. i had a black cat who thinks maxie is his dad or something. that cat sleeps on maxie's neck. maxie doesn't mind.

then a friend gave me a mixed breed, like her color, gray. called her MICA. se's a lot taller than MAXIE, but nonetheless, they had puppies of their own. 6 puppies... all white. but probably the breeds weren't compatible, none survived. after a few years, of old age, they both said goodbye. MAXIE and MICA lived until i had my 1st baby.

then came BROWNIE. my 1st daughter would always watch these pups next door nursing... so we decided to ask for one. brownie was our second baby actually, she would also drink milk from a feeding bottle. she grew up really smart and loyal. she now takes all my kids to the school service, making sure they are safe, she goes with us whenever we go to the nearby store and would watch for possible danger... we were able to train her well and does understand basic instructions.

brownie produced a lot of puppies already and went to new homes. now we don't allow her to go out alone to avoid getting pregnant again.

then i bought MISTY. a croos breed of japanese spitz and (the breeder said) a pomeranian. she's taller than brownie now. so im not really convinced that she is that... already spent a lot for her medications due to skin problems. up to now, there are some redness in some parts of her skin...

my latest baby is RADAR, a purebred shih tzu... here is the story why i got him. i will never have a real human baby boy anymore, due to 3 consecutive c-sections. i have 3 girls and ive always dreamed of having a boy. my vet told me that someone is selling male shih tzus, asked her about it and had known that the breeder is my friend. talked to my friend right away and after a few weeks, got him. now we are thinking of bringing him abroad with us. he is our own child, my daughters call him baby brother.