CEBU, Philippines - Ever since I was young, I have always had pet dogs. They came in all sizes, breeds, colors and temperaments. And they had the craziest names, only because no one in the family took the name-giving seriously. But I loved our dogs seriously. They were Jicky, Benjie, Blubber, Bruno, Winnie, Tama, Gucci, Blackie, Milky, Casey, Flubber, and Ritchie. (There were others whose names have now escaped me.)
I remember spending my afternoons playing with the dogs. Oh, those were joyful times. But there were times, too, when I would be shocked by news that a dog died. Those were painful times. Many buckets of tears were spent bawling over a dead dog.
Flubber and Ritchie have been with us the longest. Flubber is of mixed breed, very old and very orange. Yes, he has a particularly weird orange color. Ritchie is a mutt, has black and white fur, jumps very high, and, very strangely, knows how to smile.
One particular afternoon in 1997, I was told that Ritchie was hit by a car – not just any car, but our car. The incident was too bloody to be disclosed here.
Ritchie’s nose and jaw were crushed. It seemed to me that her wounds weakened her will to live. She was whimpering in pain, and for hours even with my help, she could not and would not, get food or water into her system.
I did not want her to give up. “Not today, Ritchie. You won’t die today. Come on, girl.†In response, Ritchie got up, and ate.
Everyday I visited Ritchie, and everyday I uttered those words to her while uttering a silent prayer, “Not today, God. Please don’t let her die today.†For three weeks, I saw Ritchie slowly regaining her strength, and her wounds slowly drying up. She survived that terrible ordeal.
As you can see, our dogs were a part of the family. Flubber and Ritchie, in particular, were always welcome inside our house. But in 2005, things changed. My sisters-in-law, Ate Aimee and Ate En, gave birth to Pin and Coco. A little over a year later, Andre was born. With that, we stopped letting the dogs inside the house.
I began slowly detaching myself from Flubber and Ritchie. I was spending less time with the pets and more time with the babies.
Pin, Coco and Andre are of school age now. They have recently shown interest in taking care of Ritchie and Flubber. Since Flubber is the snobby one, we usually do not play with him. At times, they would ask me, “Tita, can we play with Ritchie?†Most of the time, I would indulge my nephews and niece by giving in to their request.
One rainy morning last year, Andre asked me the same question, “Tita, can we play with Ritchie?†Because I did not feel like it, I made excuses not to play with the dog. “Not today, Andre. Let’s not play with Ritchie today.†Andre left feeling dejected.
The following day, terrible news greeted me. Ritchie was dead. I did not even know the state of her health until later that day. She had been sick for a couple of days before her death. I was not there for her. Until today, I cannot get over her sudden death.
“Not today, Ritchie. You should not have died today. You could have held up one last time like you did 15 years ago.†I still live with the guilt of not playing with her for the last time.
Today, I received great news. And that news came with four legs and a tail. We got a new puppy. Like Ritchie, he has black white fur.
It is amazing how this new pup has changed how I see things. While carrying Perry in my arms, (that is the name Pin and Andre gave the puppy), I realized that for every loss there is always something gained.
I can now say, “Today is the day, Ritchie. I can let you go.â€
Advanced Speech No. 14
The Touching Story from the Storytelling Manual
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