‘For those who take their pets to heart, dogs (or cats) are life partners, oftentimes much better stress relievers than their human counterparts.’
I NEVER thought I would own a dog, much less five, nor did I ever imagine sharing my bed with them.
We had dogs when we were living on campus in Diliman but our dogs (half-breeds) were kept outside the house. I even had to bury one of them in the lot of our assigned residence in Area 2 when one morning we discovered him lifeless near our garden swing. At that time, my mother was seriously ill and had been given six months to live; so my father told me of an old folks’ belief that a dog usually offers itself as a “substitute” for its master.
Indeed, it seems true because my mother lived for another nine years after that.
It was in 2007 when I finally decided it was time for me to have my dog as a housemate. At that time, I consulted with Dr. Carissa Dioquino, a neuro specialist from the UP College of Medicine (class of 1989) because I was having headaches. She found my BP to be at 170/110 and asked me to get myself admitted to a hospital. It was Thursday then; I held off till Saturday and that began my lifelong use of maintenance meds for hypertension.
Then someone told me: get a pet; it will lower your BP. Believing in that, I got not one but two: Cleopatra the Maltese (born Feb) came in April of 2008 while Hayden the Shih Tzu (born July) arrived in August of the same year.
Through eight years, Hayden always recognized and respected Cleo as the Alpha, but she died in 2016 and for days Hayden was distraught. That year, I was gifted with another Maltese, Apollo, who now became Hayden’s sidekick as he was to Cleo.
So Hayden has been with me for 16 and a half years now. Oh – he got his name from the male protagonist in an infamous viral video that was circulating at the time of his birth.
Hayden was the ideal lap dog. He was obedient. He was house-trained. And he was sweet. Just as Cleo gave me stares when puppy Hayden would steal her food, Hayden would give me stares when puppy Apollo would steal his food. But Hayden kept Apollo at bay with his timed barks. And life was pleasant for the two of them – until Goya, the irreverent liver-colored bull of a Maltese came on the scene in 2002. Goya didn’t respect anyone. And by the time he came into our lives, Hayden was already 14.
Goya has been tough on Hayden and that’s why I have kept them living apart. It’s the two “senior” dogs, Hayden and Apollo, who stay with me and that’s how I’ve seen Hayden age over time.
Now I am bracing for one of two things: either I will find Hayden lifeless on his dog bed in my living room either in the morning when I wake up or in the afternoon upon my return from work, or I will need to bring him to a vet to be put to sleep. I have to admit that while I’ve been prepared for this for some time now, I know that when that time comes, I will still feel like someone punched the breath out of me and shed tears at Hayden’s departure.
For those who take their pets to heart, dogs (or cats) are life partners, oftentimes much better stress relievers than their human counterparts. So much so that I even used to have Cleo and Hayden sleep on my bed next to me, a practice that came to an abrupt end when one night Hayden farted in my face.
Thank you in advance Hayden for allowing me to care for someone other than myself.
While I don’t believe in guardian angels, I guess you come closest to the one in my life.