By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
What a sad Christmas!
My ever loyal dog, Wewee, died at lunchtime on the 24th of December. He stayed with us for five years. He was brought to our house by my brother Dodong when I was newly operated on due to a hip injury.
What made my Wewee very special was his devotion to the family, especially to me. When Roger, my husband became ill during the Covid pandemic, Wewee slept at our round dining table every night assuring us that he was always there. And when my husband died, Wewee slept on a chair beside my bedroom door assuring me that everything would be okay.
He must have a premonition of my husband’s passing. At the onset of December this year, he would insist on sleeping on the antique chair beside my working table inside my room. That was also the time when I had my unceasing cough. Grabe gyud ang ubo nga gidugangan gyud sa mga doctor ang akong gidaghanon sa antibiotic.
I got out of the house on the 22nd as the road manager of the 5th and 6th generations on our route to our project “Christmasses of yore”. All my 4 dogs sent us off to the car which I took. Wewee was the leader of the band. Every time I came home from a short day out, all four of them were behind the gate waiting for us. They knew who can get inside my bedroom and who are supposed to be seated at our small receiving room.
On December 7, our other dog – mother dear – died. She just came in with her little Tomtom. We gave her the name mother dear because she is one very lovable dog. She must have known that she was adopted. Ngano man? Tungod kay magpadaplin lang gyud siya unya adto usab siya matulog sa gawas sa balay samtang ang uban namong gialagaan, didto magpahiluna sa sulod sa balay. She considered herself a lookout. Apan naluya lang siya ug kalit. Miingon among mga higala nga gihiloan kuno intawon siya. I do not understand why others could be so cruel to animals.
The loss of mother dear was compensated by mayang’s giving birth to 5 cutie puppies. Mayang is the sister of my Wewee. And she had two male puppies with two females.
We only have Mayang and Kagid now. Kagid’s history is both happy and sad. There were two puppies thrown in our yard one morning. Unya ang duha gikagid. They were emaciated. Kagid as in kagid. Kagid survived but his brother died after a few days. Mao kadto nga nagpabilin na lang gyud ug kagid ang iyang pangalan.
Despite his name, he turned out to be a very happy dog. Sometimes, Wewee got jealous when I cuddled Kagid. But Kagid insisted on staying with Wewee when Wewee was tied to his chair.
On the morning of December 24, Wewee remained lying on his chair. I found out that his eyes were covered with a lot of dirt. So, I freshened his eyes and tenderly scrubbed his face and showed him my loving care. He had laboured breathing, then. While having my hapohap, I whispered to him to sleep eternal.
At mid morning I went near the kitchen to do some clearing and cleaning. Wewee was tailing me until I had my lunch. It has been his practice to eat with me but he refused to eat what I shared with him. Then came the other dogs. So I asked Meo, our sinaligan to tie Wewee for a while so that the two dogs would get out of my room. Sa among barangay, matingog gyud ang siren pagka a las 12 sa udto. It was at this point when Wewee made his swan song. I noticed that his song was cut short. He usually sings up to the end of the sounding of the barangay siren. Every time I played the Maiden’s Prayer on the piano, Wewee would sing at the top of his voice. Moundang lang kung dalhan na ni Roger ug latos.
Wee, I still cry a river for you. Raymund has your portrait in charcoal waiting to be framed. He is my son-in-law and Wesee’s portrait was his Christmas gift to me.
Shall I still say, Merry Christmas?