Our Pet Poofie

A year ago, a friend gave me a 2-month old puppy, a girl puppy. She had big, brown scared eyes. Her fur the color of the night with a splash of white on her chin and toes. My then 4-year old daughter, Jian, fell in love with her on first sight. She named her Poofie.

Poofie's breed wasn't anything special. In Filipino, indigenous mixed-breed dogs are called ASKAL or 'Asong Kalye' which translates to stray dogs. Yup, we let them be. They roam around and come home at night. So there are times, dog-eating humanoids steal them and make them 'pulutan' or side dish to their drinking sessions . This one should be a crime. Thankfully, ever since childhood, we had no pets who became 'pulutan' or else there will be hell to pay.

Poofie might not be a high-class breed dog but we love her and adore her completely. She was trained not to come inside the house, but she only listened to my mom because me and my daughter would secretly let her in. My daughter didn't let her be; she'd carry her around to Poofie's annoyance.

She adores her so much.

We bring Poofie whenever we play and bathe in rivers. She was a powerful swimmer. Until Poofie was 4 months old, we bathe her. As she grew older, she took baths with her brothers, Pokemon and Sammy, in the river a few meters from our house.

When Poofie was just 5 months old, we had to leave her and had to go help my aunt in Agusan. During this time, Jian missed Poofie so much she sometimes cry. Our neighbor and close friend, Aya, took care of her. We sometimes videocall and she'd call Poofie for us to see.

After two months, me and Jian went home. I really thought Poofie will not recognize us anymore and will even bark at us. Jian was so excited but I held her back. It was almost 2am when we arrived, it was just Aya at the house. Me and Jian called out to the darkness for Poofie. She came running, whimpering and wagging her tail. My fears that she will not recognize us disappeared. We could tell she missed us as much.

Jian and Poofie were inseparable. Where Jian was, Poofie was nearby. When the kids were playing, Poofie was nearby sleeping.

Poofie didn't get angry when adults teased her. She will just whine and whimper when she got hurt. But when kids like Jian, Anding and EJ (my daughter's friends) play with her pulling her tail or ears, she barked at them. She never acted as if she would bite them, it was just as though she was barking at them to behave.

When I went away to work around September, I called everyday and would laugh at how funny Poofie was. My daughter got enrolled in Kinder II last year in August. When my mom and Jian waits for a cab, Poofie waited with them. When a cab stops, Poofie was the first to get inside. It was hilarious how my mom and Jian hid everyday from Poofie when they leave for school. She was also their "welcoming committee" whenever they come home. Poofie got so excited whenever she saw them back.

Poofie got pregnant around October. We were so excited. She'd gotten so wide. I started tying her to her house at night so she won't roam around anymore. She was always so behaved. We've counted her giving birth to her puppies on January 2022.

Sadly, on the dawn of January 3, 2022, Poofie got away from her tie. A car hit her and she died after a few minutes. Our neighbor, Janjan, was the one who saw it and ran towards Poofie. He then called out to us to tell us what happened to Poofie. The car who hit Poofie also stopped, and the driver profusely apologized. He didn't see her crossing the highway. We accepted his apology.

The hardest part was telling Jian. I cried when I was closing the eyes of Poofie. Some dog-eating humanoid neighbors asked if they can cook Poofie. I told them no. Even Janjan was furious, and told me he will help me bury her. Me, Aya and Janjan buried Poofie under a tree where she liked to nap.

Jian was calling Poofie, the whole morning. I told her Poofie must have been roaming around. My heart broke everytime I hear Jian called out Poofie. In the late afternoon, while hugging Jian on a rocking chair, I told her that Poofie got hurt and angels had to take her to heaven. My daughter's screams made me sob uncontrollably with her.

Until now, we miss Poofie. There are still nights Jian will cry because she misses Poofie. There are still days I catch myself from calling out Poofie. She was our Poofie, we love her and we'll miss her forever.

Run free, Poofie and puppies. 💔