IN FRATERNAM MEAM: THE DEATH OF MY VERY VERY PRECIOUS DOG, MISTY

IN FRATERNAM MEAM

Sunday, November 12, 2006

THE DEATH OF MY VERY VERY PRECIOUS DOG, MISTY

I HAVE A VERY PRECIOUS DOG named Misty. She was a pure breed Bichon Frise, hairy white colored little dog, as big as a cat. She came to our lives when she was only 2 yrs old and I was practically the one who stand for her like her mom. I have to give her milk in a medicine dropper little by little so as not to choke her and she will be like sucking on her mother's nipple.

Misty became the playmates of my two boys, when they were growing up. She sleeps in all the rooms, either mine or the two boys individual rooms. Life with Misty is a bliss and very fun. She rarely bark, unless she can see that there is a lurking danger ahead or within the house. But in general, this dog of mine is a treasure and a pleasure to be with.

When we leave her behind and go to work or out for chores and all, as soon as we walk in, she will start whining and crying and run back and forth the house, as if telling me or my family that she was left behind and we did not take her with us. She comes and greet us by kissing our feet and we always reward her with pat on the head and many good words of praise.

I love Misty so dearly.

She is trained to relieve herself on the old newspaper down in the basement. She will always watch the squireel by the window, during fall and springtime when then are knocking by the window asking for peanuts and nuts. Misty has a very peculiar eyes. It is not black nor it is blue. When the light is shining directly towards her eyes, there is a color of blackish, gray that I cannot figure out.

When she was 5 yrs old, in human life - she had a medical problem in her kidney. We took her to the veterinarian and was advised that blood transfusion should be given to her. Blood from a Roth Weiler was immediately given to her and she did survived the ordeal. She hates being dressed up during winter time so she could take a walk outside in the snow. So, I don't take her out during winter time to frolicj in the snow. She loves to play at the front lawn, amongs the plants and the chrysantemums and the daffodils and tulips when they are in bloom. When I work on the front lawn and at the back yard, cleaning and raking the leaves from the trees and the cutting the grass -- Misty watches over me without any noise or a whimper.Inside the house, she follows me anywhere. During the day, it is only me and my dog left at home since I work nights. She watches over me and for some reason, she will wake me up between the hours of 11am and noon time, because this is the time I need to take my prescription medications.

I took Misty home to the Philippines in 1987. We stayed in the Philippines for two years. She was always with me even at my office and keeps me company during the boredom that overcome me, thinking of my family that I left behind. I was working in the Philippines for a big shipping company that has a Japanese partner and needed a Filipino-American passport holder that has background in public relations and shipping laws. I qualified, so I signed for a five years contract and the two years I have stayed in the Philippins I was accompanied by my dog. When I travel abroad on orders of the company,(which I did for more than 6 years), I will leave my dog Misty to my house keeper and she will be looked upon, with full instructions that my dog be treated like a human being, not like an animal. It was a shocker for the housekeeper, and to lots of Filipinos. They are not used to see a dog, being pampered, taken cared of and being talked to and being treated like a human being. It was so hard to explain to them why I treat my dog like that and how the Americans treat dogs like human beings.

It was so funny, my housekeeper talks to Misty in Tagalog, with a heavy Visayan accent (one of the regional dialect in the Philippines)my dog does not and will not respond to her. I will talk to Misty in English with an American accent and my dog will respond immediately. The housekeeper cannot accept the fact that the dog sleeps with me underneath the covers and eats with me at the foot of the table in a carpeted area exclusively for my dog.

When my contract in the Phillipines and Japan expired, I did not renew it anymore and returned back to the U.S. I took Philippine Airlines, with Misty in her prescribed kennel with my full address. This airline told me that they will be interlining my dog all the way to Chicago, so I just let it that wat. Then when I arrived in Chicago, my dog Misty and the kennel did not showed up. Then we got a call from Philippine Airlines that the dog was rerouted all the way to Salt Lake City by mistake. Three days after I arrived in Chicago, finally my dog Misty on his kennel came out of the carousel. As soon as I got her out of the kennel, she was whining and running all over the floor of the airport terminal. All the passengers who saw her kept on laughing. When we finally arrived at home, my dog kept on sleeping. She has jet lag for travelling more that four days in her kennel.

Two nights ago, I did not notice my dog. It is only now that I was recalling, when I noticed her walking round and about in the bedroom and was whinning and has a fit, so at 4am, I took her downstairs so she could relieve herself at the old newspapers at the basement. Then we came up again to bed and she slept at the foot of my bed and I went back to sleep. Yesterday, I went out with my wife to do some groceries, when we came back, Misty cannot walk, and was so immobile, standing and making no noise at all -- she was just standing and will not move even if I call her name loudly. So then I carried her to the bedroom down at the basement and settle her down on her cushion bed. I continued my project down at the basement and kept on watchng her once in while. She was just lying down and was so gentle and quiet. The whole night I was watching my dog and tried to give her some medication thru the water that she was drinking, but will not touch the water. Early morning, I checked on her, she was breathing contineously and fast. She was making some noise and I kept on patting her head and re-assuring my dog everything will be okey and kept on telling her she will be alright. My eldest son was crying and wanting to take her to the emergency, but we can't find an open animal hospital on the weekend.

Noon time, I caressed my dog in the head and she made some noise and cried to me. I told my wife, I need to go out because I cannot watch the suffering of my dog. She was in pain and I have a feeling she will not last the day. When I returned back this afternoon at 4pm, she was just lying still on her bed, still warm and moist in her fur. She was no longer breathing and the life on her is gone.I took her in my hands and say a prayer for this wonderful and loving creature -- that has been part of this family for the past 17 years of our human life (84 years dog life).

I have laid her to rest in between two of the apple trees in my backyard. It was a grave that was dug immediatley. I cannot wait for the ground to freeze and or it will be hard for me to dig the pit for Misty. Then i have to place on top of her grave five hollow blocks to cover her up so no other creatures or animal will come and dig her grave. I have lighted a candle inside the hole of the hollow blocks and kept on looking from the window and kept on whispering my dog's name. Tomorrow, I will buy the solar collector light so that at night my dog's grave will have a light that will watch over her the whole night.

I will truly miss my dog.

I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU, MISTY. YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A GOOD AND LOVING DOG. I AM SURE YOU ARE HAPPY NOW IN YOUR PERMANENT PLACE OF REST. I AM SURE WHEN MY TIME COMES, I WILL SEE YOU AND WE WILL HAVE SOME GOOD TIMES AGAIN.

BYE MISTY!!

posted by infraternam meam @ 5:16 PM

3 Comments:

At 1:23 AM, Sidney said…

Sad to hear about your dog! She was really your friend! I understand your pain. But as you said, one day you will see each other again and in the meantime she will lives on in your heart!
At 1:23 PM, infraternam meam said…

sidney,
tks for ur kind words. i really missed my dog very much. i don't know if i will still get another one. no other dog can replace Misty. she has given me the best years of her life and made me love her very much. my friends and family from the phils. are all laughing at me and they are sayin g"It's only a dog". they don't know how dogs are loved abroad.
At 9:06 PM, Kiwipinay said…

im so sorry about the loss of Misty. this is really sad. i understand how you feel. yes, no other dog can replace Misty or anyone else. But just like what other people say.. this, too, shall pass.