Pet tales from the crypt

Today, we remember the dead – at least that’s what Kathy, my human, tells me.

Yup, it’s me Yuri (yes, that doggie with Kathy in the photo) taking over Kathy’s space for today because she has taken off to spend some time with her dear dad who she says is "resting peacefully."

Before I go on with my story on dead pets, I just want you readers to know that I am a new, proud dad of five (two girls and three boys) little pups.

Greta is their proud mom. The pups are so cute as they are beginning to look more and more like me. But just like all little ones, they love to sleep, eat and play. Yes, in that order.

‘Nuff said.

I smuggled my way into the car with Kathy and joined her when she went to interview Dr. Veronica Matawaran, faculty in charge at the UP Vet Med Hospital. I wanted to make it there because I overheard Kathy say that she wanted to find out about the place where they bury pets at that huge university.

I became interested in dead pets when I read a portion of a book Kathy was reading, The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by Juliet Cunliffe. The chapter on "Dogs in the Ancient Past" reads, "When their pets died, people went into deep mourning and anyone finding a dead dog was duty bound to send it back to its hometown so that it could have a proper burial. In Japan, the dog was venerated because of its connection with the god Omisoto. Curiously, dogs in Japan were buried standing up with their heads left above the ground, so that for several days after they died, people came to lay food beside them."

Interesting.

"There are people who, when their pets die, prefer to bring them home and bury them in their backyards, if they have a backyard. There are others who ask us if their pets die here at the hospital to bury their pets for them," says Dr. Matawaran. I sat quietly beside Kathy because I did not want the good vet to check out my health.

Dr. Matawaran told Kathy that in the past, they used to cremate the pets that die in the hospital. But that is no longer done today because the fumes from burning the pets can pollute the air. Instead, the hospital buries pets on their grounds. "There are some clients who ask us to bury their pets for them. There are others who prefer to take the pet home to bury him or her in their backyards," adds Matawaran.

Pet owners handle death in different ways. Some pet owners, Dr. Matawaran says, just leave their pets, and then there are others who stay to witness the burial of their pets. "The janitors tell us that that there are even some pet owners who come back to visit their pets even after they are buried," says Matawaran.

Perhaps it was because they were so close to their pets when they were alive. The vet recalls, for instance, that she had known a couple whose dog died of old age. The couple came back to the hospital to visit their dearly beloved dead dog for a few months – I guess it was until they were able to get over the loss of their dog.

Matawaran says that in cases where pets are expected to pass away, she explains to the owners early on how sick their pets are. In truth, she says, it is the responsibility of every vet to do this so that pet owners can deal with the situation when it actually happens.

Matawaran adds that the janitors at the hospital have been witness to people bringing flowers for their dead dogs. They have also seen other pet owners coming back to spend a few minutes at the spot where their pet was buried. Others stay to watch and make sure that their pets are really laid to rest.

Kathy asked Vet Matawaran if she could see the place where the dead pets were buried. And off we went to check it out.

The place is really much like an empty lot. Not anything like the huge cemetery with giant markers where Kathy’s dad is buried, for instance.

Matter of fact, except for the two markers we saw, which we were told were signs of two freshly buried pets, there were no other signs of pets being buried in this area. "When the pets are buried, we put markers if that is what their owners want. They are not permanent markers, just a small cross so that the owners can find the exact place where their pets were buried," says Matawaran.

"Sometimes, some owners come back after a year. The marker might not be there anymore but they just spend time looking at a general area where their pets were buried."

"Has anyone seen or heard a dead pet?" Kathy asks. "So far, we have not heard of any howling at night stories or of any dead pet haunting our hospital," Matawaran smiles.

As Kathy drove home, she told me about a few stories she had heard from some of her friends about them seeing or dreaming of their dead pets. I yapped as loud as I could so she would see how excited I was to hear the stories.

There was an interview with Rosanna Yulo that Kathy remembers. In Rosanna’s backyard, there was a marker for her dead Golden Retriever whom she fondly called Paton. Rosanna told Kathy that Paton visits her in her dreams and that his memory is very much alive for her. In another interview that Kathy had with Bituin Escalante, she remembers Bituin telling her that her dead cats were buried in the patch of grass in front of their house.

Oscar Lei shares that when his cat was alive, he loved to drink from the mug of water that Oscar would leave on the table beside his bed. Oscar swears that shortly after the cat died, he heard slurping sounds coming from the mug. "‘Di ko alam kung guni-guni ko lang," says Oscar to Kathy. But Oscar, a Buddhist, is sure that his cat has evolved into a higher life form because he was such a good cat.

Nene de Vera – who is from Calasiao, Pangasinan – tells Kathy that she lost her Maltese Terrier Hairy to old age. She was devastated by the loss and perhaps this is why he came back to her. "I saw Hairy walking in the garden shortly after he died. I walked towards him, but he disappeared."

Susan Ner recalls her sadness when she lost Duchess, her 13-year-old Toy Terrier. "I remember that even up to a year after he died, I could still feel his presence in my room because he used to sleep with me. I would feel the bed sink on that side where Duchess used to sleep. I buried Duchess in our garden so that I could visit her every day. I used to dream about her often. I know that she is still very alive in my memories."

Sally Chua lost her cat named Kitty in April 2001. "He didn’t get well and the vet told me that he could operate on him but it would cost P15,000. But even the operation would not be a guarantee that Kitty would live. Kitty could not poop. He was having such a hard time. In the end, I decided to put Kitty to sleep," she recalls. "I feel guilty about that decision but I know it was what I had to do. My mom told me that on the day Kitty died, she could hear faint meowing from the window where Kitty used to sit – it lasted for about three days," she adds.

As soon as we got home, I ran off to Kathy’s room because there was another book I wanted to check out.

God is Dog Spelled Backwards by Julia Cameron. I really like the title of the book, which is about a dog like me who tries to answer questions about whether the humans’ God really exists. Not knowing much about God, I really like looking at the cool illustrations, some of which appear with this column.

I bark to Kathy if she believes that there is a place where pets like me go when we die. Kathy says she can’t imagine a heaven without pets like me there to keep her company.