Life in Zambo

I've read somewhere that pet photography isn't something that you can take lightly. It's like trying to take pictures of babies. You can't tell them to sit still and smile, nor tell them to do something crazy and then attempt to capture that moment. I have two Labrador Retrievers, but I think somewhere along the line, probably one of their grandparents wasn't all Labrador. I mean, how can a Labrador Retriever have long hair? Just look at him.

Every early morning, my dad would wake up, pray, and go to the store to buy some pan de sal . He used to do this every day before breakfast all alone. Almost a year ago, when I first came home, he's had companions do this task with him. I call them Choi-Choi and Chai-Chai. It's actually Tisoy and Tisay, since among the litter of nine puppies that April gave birth to, they were the only light-colored ones. At first, my dad was hesitant about letting me keep them, but I wouldn't hear of it. There wasn't anyone I could trust enough to keep my peace of mind intact. There wasn't anyone who was cheesy enough to do what my dogs can do. It's amazing though how my dad managed to train them to run into their, ummm, fenced space when there's bread involved. They become really smart when they see bread. I trained them to sit and wait, but my dad trained them to stay out of the house, and go to their room.

I was reading another manga yet again and finally decided to turn in for the night when I noticed that it was way beyond my bedtime. Tossing and turning, I finally got annoyed with my restless mind and turned to Facebook. On my News Feed, a picture of an injured dog and its history showed. As an animal lover, of course my heart hurt for the poor thing. Scrolling past the images, my heart started feeling a familiar hurt. It's been almost three months since my April left me. I just thought about how unfair it was that I had to lose what I held onto to keep my sanity intact when I was going through difficult times, that I had to lose my speechless friend, who even without the ability to speak managed to keep my afloat from all the stresses my job, boyfriend and even myself, gave me. It was unfair that irresponsible owners, when their pets no longer serve their wants, leave their pets to die while I, who loved my April, was so desperate to keep her. She never failed to welcome me...