MANILA, Philippines - When she was only eight years old, Charice had a dog named Charot, an Aspin. One day Charot got sick and eventually died. For days and nights, Charice would cry, mourning the death of her first pet, her first-ever best friend.
When she was over her grief, she decided she wanted to take care of “an imported dog.” But such a dog would cost her an arm and a leg and her mother Raquel Pempengco, then a supervisor for a factory in Laguna, couldn’t afford her request. Charice never threw tantrums that her mother couldn’t give in to her juvenile caprice; yet she didn’t give up her dreams of one day owning an “imported dog.”
Fast forward to now. Charice, 18, has three “imported dogs” — Chakoy, a male Shih Tzu; Chasky, a male Golden Retriever; and Charot II, a female Poodle. Chakoy and Chasky are Charice’s four-legged friends every time she’s home in the Philippines. Charot keeps her company at her tony Palazzo apartment in Los Angeles, California, where she stays most of the time now.
“Mahilig talaga ako sa aso (I really love dogs),” Cha told me on the phone Sunday night. I was in their home in Gulod, a barrio in Cabuyao, Laguna, when I chanced upon Raquel animatedly talking to her on the phone. I learned from Raquel that every day, before Charice goes to her taping for Glee or to the recording studio where she is preparing for her next album, Cha would always check on her two babies in the Philippines.
Chasky came first into Charice’s life in August 2009. She, her brother Coycoy and their Mommy Raquel found Chasky in a pet store in Tiendesitas in Pasig
City. “It was love at first sight,” Cha said of her encounter with Chasky.
Charot, on the other hand, was given to Cha by a fan in LA in March 2010.
Chakoy was an early Christmas gift from her mother Raquel and brother Coycoy in November last year. Raquel said she and Coycoy found the dog in a pet shop in Pulo, Cabuyao, Laguna. She knew right away that Cha would love Chakoy, a Shih Tzu, because that time Cha called her mother to say that she wanted another dog “that is small and does not grow big.”
“Pakiramdam ko, ako ang Nanay ng mga aso ko. Ang bata kong ina, (I feel I am the mother of my dogs. I am a young mother),” Cha said, breaking into laughter. Since she takes her “mothering” role seriously, Cha makes sure she provides love and care to her “children.”
“I make sure their immunization is complete, that they eat good dog food (Vitality for Chakoy and Alpo for Chasky),” Cha said.
To make sure Chakoy and Chasky are properly cared for even if most of the time she is abroad, Cha got her two babies a nanny each. The yayas’ responsibilities include bathing the dogs every morning, brushing their teeth three times a day after each meal, changing their diapers every so often, making sure they get their once a week grooming. The dogs also get to enjoy other amenities like their own clothes, cologne, powder, soap, vitamins and even mouthwash.
“Yes, they are dogs but they connect to me like real human beings. I just love them and I am very grateful for the love they also give me,” Cha said.
As for Charot who lives in LA with Cha, the white Poodle gets personal pampering from her, plus the usual chance of hobnobbing with Hollywood celebrities as Cha brings her to her shoots and recording sessions. If she goes home to Cabuyao or travels to another state or country for projects, Cha temporarily leaves Charot to a dog care center in LA where she rents an apartment for her. The rental fee amounts to $90 a day.
“But every time I leave my babies, there is always separation anxiety between me and them,” Cha said.
Right now, because Chakoy is the youngest among her babies, Cha said she misses him the most. “I only got to spend real quality time with Chakoy for two days. Only for two days. Mommy and Coycoy brought him home in Cabuyao in November last year but I was in LA that time. So, I only get to talk to him via Skype. When I came home to the Philippines for two days last February (to do a Valentine TV special for GMA 7), that was the only time I met my baby Chakoy,” she said.
Cha and Chakoy were inseparable in those two days of February. They slept together and ate together. Cha said she would even literally spoon-feed Chakoy during that short but priceless bonding moment she had with her newest dog.
Cha concluded: “It is my dream for my babies to be together in the States.”
Well, at the rate her international career is going now, it doesn’t seem to be an impossible dream for Cha to live under one roof with Chasky, Charot and Chakoy.
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E-mail the author at mailto:bumbaki@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter@bum_tenorio.