John, mga aso ang itinuturing na anak!
Happy fur parent ang award-winning actor na si John Arcilla.
In fact, noong premiere night ng Happy Birthday To Me (HB2Me) ay gusto sana niyang dalhin ang isang alaga. Pero hindi natuloy. “There was never a time in my life that I don’t have dogs,” umpisa niya.
“Since bata ako, ang family namin is family of dogs. So hanggang sa noong hindi na ako nag-aaral, so naka-accumulate na ako ng mga dog na lahat gusto ko,” dagdag niya.
“So umabot sa 13 iyong dogs ko. Pero iyong 13 dogs na iyon, tatlong generation kasi iyon. So alam mo iyong kapag nanganak iyong dog mo, syempre gusto mo sanang i-let go. Kaso iyong mismong mga staff ko, kapag inaalagaan na nila ng mga three months, sasabihin nila, ‘Kuya John huwag na natin ipamigay.’
“Kasi sabi naaalagaan naman, kawawa naman. Sabi ko sa kanila, alam ninyo, thank you. Kasi ayaw ko talaga silang i-let go pero dahil iniisip ko kung sinong mag-aalaga. Ayaw kong dagdagan ang trabaho ninyo. Sinasabi ko talaga iyan. Kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa mga staff ko kasi napakalambing din kasi nila sa dogs. Kaya dumami ng 13. Tatlong generations iyon,” pagkukuwento ni John sa amin.
Hindi murang mag-alaga ng aso. Sabi nga ng iba, pang-mayaman na rin ito.
Kaya tinanong namin kung magkano ang budget niya for the dogs. “Well, I’m very thankful, kasi a lot of people are sponsoring me. Kasi may feed na nag-i-sponsor, may nag-i-sponsor na vet. So, imagine iyong 13 dogs ko. May kumpare akong vet. So parang nag-exchange deal. So mga event naman niya, ako naman ang pumupunta,” sagot niya kaya wala siyang masasabing gastos.
Kaya naman ang haba ng post niya kahapon tungkol sa ‘dog schooling.’ Yup may dog schooling na.
Post niya tungkol dito: “All my life, I lived with dogs. Up to now, my Mother and Father’s voices still echo separately in my ears, sharing their own fond memories from different years about the dogs we had. My mother is 93 years old and, amazingly, can still perform her favorite speech, Tribute to a Dog by George Graham Vest.
“My family, from parents to kids, are dog lovers, but I never realized that I would love dogs deeply, more than how I simply cared about them when I was a kid, as companions, or simply as barkers just in case an intruder, a burglar, or some kind of small-time robber entered the vicinity of our property. Stories that sounded so typical back then, like how loyal our dog Brownie was, or how Spot would find refuge in our coconut plantation, 18 kilometers from my old folks’ house, when he turned emotionally sulky if he felt he was being reprimanded or so, feel so strangely amazing to me now.
“These days, I’ve found that some of these behaviors are common to some dogs, while others are not. And there are a lot of behaviors I am discovering which actually come from “dog schooling,” sabi sa kanyang post.
“How wonderful to see when dogs could be trained as a result of some dynamics you’ve developed with them according to your unconscious intentions, which can then be consciously developed to get the results you really desire. Like when and where your dogs should pee or poop, to make your life and home still tidy and sanitized, while enjoying the pleasant, de-stressing, and joyful effects of their presence in your daily living.”
Meron ba silang yaya? “Well, I can consider na iyong mga staff ko ang Yaya sa kanila.” Tatlo ang staff niya.
Sa ngayon ay apat na lang ang mga baby niya.
“Ngayon, four na lang kasi sila ngayon. Iyong dalawa bago. Bagung-bago iyong big dog. Standard na Poodle. Iyong isa, Jack Russell, four-year-old pa lang siya. Iyong dalawa kong senior ngayon, ito iyong natitira doon sa 13 na tatlong generation. Isang 14 at tsaka isang 13. Pero usually, isang 16 at tsaka isang 15. Usually ang dogs ko umaabot ng 16 to 18 years old,” sabi pa ni John na ibang-iba ang role sa HB2Me bilang ama ni Elijah Canlas na mahilig sa prank.
At tulad ng ibang fur parents, todo iyak din siya ‘pag nawawalan ng baby. “Oo. Grabe. Totoo naman pamilya ‘yan eh.”
Samantala, bagama’t ang HB2Me ay naghahatid ng mga katatawanan sa pamamagitan ng mga nakakagulat na birthday prank, sinusuri rin nito kung paano maaaring magkaroon ng toxic attitude sa isang pamilya.
Isa itong dark comedy-thriller starring Elijah Canlas at si John Arcilla ang gumaganap niyang ama with Carmi Martin and Criza Taa.
Written and directed by Veronica Velasco, mapapanood ito sa mga sinehan simula sa Aug. 19.
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