PIPOY THE DYNAMO

By Ninong

He was yet to turn two months old when Pipoy arrived in our home on the night of July 22, 2012. A puglet so small, looking frail and fragile. We built him a special cage that was actually a bookshelf.
Inside his cage
We easily discovered that Pipoy is a cry baby and doesn’t want to be left alone. So on the first night, Ate Liezl was forced to sleep beside Pipoy in the living room. And it will probably be like that for a week or two.
Looking frail... but don't be deceived
On his first night, we gave him milk. And on his first morning, we gave him milk plus a scoop of dog food. It seemed that Pipoy couldn’t finish his food so we lessened the dosage to half a scoop and increased the frequency from twice to thrice a day of feeding.

On that first morning, I got Pipoy out of the cage and let him loose in the terrace. That’s the time I discovered that Pipoy is a bundle of energy. There is a turbo engine packed inside his little body.
Gnawing the hem of my pants
His first foray was the hem of my pants. He kept on gnawing on my pants with a matching wag of his head. I had no choice but to raise both my feet.

Pipoy’s next prey was the potted plants. He was picking on the leaves like it was food. Then he espied the mat near the terrace gate. And then he saw my feet on the floor again.
Playing with a slipper
A genuine dynamo, the cage couldn’t restrain Pipoy. On his second night, he was making paper airplanes from the newspaper matting of his cage. And then he would bite on the wires of his cage.

And if he thinks there was nothing else to do inside his cage then that’s the time to whine. Vocal reprimands wouldn’t deter this little creature from his racket. What noise he could make with his little vocal cords.
Picking on the leaves
But when he gets tired, his tongue would stick out and he would be gasping for breath. So back to the cage, in the comfort of the electric fan.
Gasping for oxygen
For his Kuya Tisoy, evident is the jealousy. On Pipoy’s first morning, Tisoy went inside the maid’s room and wouldn’t come out until I beckoned him to. So that’s an extra attention required from us.
Tisoy watching over Pipoy from afar
On the good side, Tisoy doesn’t mind Pipoy anymore unlike when Pipoy arrived. We had to put Tisoy on a leash. Perhaps before the week is over Tisoy would be playing with Pipoy.

As for Twinkle, our rock pigeon, she doesn’t mind at all. But Twinkle did some staring on the first morning as if saying, “Who is this critter? Is he the son of Shrek?”
The proud Ninong
Perhaps Pipoy would change for the better as he grows up. It would be difficult for us to handle a dynamo like him. So he’d better behave and act with prudence.

OUR BIRTHDAY - July 16

Told by Tisoy

July 16, 2012 was a Monday so I guess there wouldn’t be any celebration. For your information, it’s my 5th birthday and also the 5th birthday of Twinkle.
I was telling Twinkle that it was our birthday
The weather was fine and it was a good time to cook. Ninong had prepared the ingredients early in the day. In mid afternoon, I saw activities in the kitchen while the stove was already being warmed up.

What’s the menu? Last Sunday, it was nice of Ninang to prepare fruit salad. And come Monday, it was Ninong’s turn to cook fried chicken legs and spaghetti.
Well, here's the food for the folks
As I said, there was no celebration, just a private one for us. But the food was so abundant so the neighbors would partake of it.

My Ate Liezl brought a plateful of spaghetti and chicken legs to our neighbor Ate Flor. She has 5 grandkids who are all fond of me, hehehe.
Hmmm, the food smells good
The Tom family also received the same menu of spaghetti, chicken and fruit salad. The Tom family, well, they own Angela the pug. One of Angela’s pup will become my little brother soon.

Not to be forgotten is Princess, the pomeranian friend of mine from Mandaluyong. She lives near our place now. So we dropped by and took some pictures of her. But I wonder why she is camera shy now.
See my long time friend Princess owned by Tess Perenoud
There was no cake but a little singing was in the air. And, of course, the pictorial by the dining table.

I was fed 2 legs of fried chicken marinated in lemon. Wow, I’d say that was so delicious. And for Twinkle? She was given bits of freshly-baked monay.
That's Ninang carrying me and Ate Liezl carrying Twinkle
Happy birthday to me and to Twinkle.

LITTLE BIG BIRTHDAY BASH

Note: First published in Animal Scene magazine July 2010

Our little dog, Epoy the pekingese, was to turn seven. “It’s a cause for celebration,” exclaimed a friend who is a dog lover through and through.

We have lived in our home for quite a time and, until this time, we still have to know our neighbors. So why not throw a party for the neighborhood kids?

The excitement of a party instantly heightened the atmosphere pressure. After getting a pen and paper, my wife, together with our maid, started the brainstorming session by jotting down names.

Epoy carried by Ninang
It didn’t take long for them to come up with a list of 25 kids and 20 adults. But it swelled with the addition of some relatives and dog-lover friends.

As the planning session progressed, the list got longer and longer. We need to rent chairs, design a tarpaulin, and of course, print the invitation. If there would be loot bags for giveaways then we have to shop for candies, toys and children items.

And so as not to bore the guests, there’s got to be games. And games means prizes, better add that to the shopping list. And do not forget the balloons, please.
Lord and Shugar, Ninang and Epoy, Ricella and Shadow
Speaking of balloons, the budget was now fully inflated. From the simple spaghetti and barbecue, the menu expanded with hotdog cocktails, prawns, fried chicken, lumpiang ubod and the all-time favorite lechon.

What is food without dessert? The usual cones and ice cream in different flavors surely fit the bill. We can top that with leche flan and American fruit salad.

Come d-day, everything was in place. Perhaps good planning did the trick. And another good thing going for us was the weather. It was all fair and sunny on that 5th of June.
Ricella, Jep, Ninong, Lord
Magnifying our joy was the arrival of Shadow and Shugar, the shih tzus from Pampanga owned by Jep Manalang and Christopher Lord Yambao. Another very welcome guest was Ricella Zurbito of Las Piñas who owns an Aspin named Paris.

Epoy, the birthday boy, gamely mingled with the shih tzus in the expanse of our living room. But the guest dogs were somewhat intimidated by Tisoy, our spitz who was incessantly barking. We had no choice but to put Tisoy on a leash.

In the absence of a sound system, we had to improvise so the kids would fully enjoy the games. A laptop with speakers solved our problem. Thanks to the mp3 music that’s free from the internet.
Jeric, Jep and Shadow, Amam and Epoy, Ninang and Shugar, Mommy and Tisoy
With the stimulating games and overflowing prizes, the guests - kids and adults as well - truly enjoyed the party. The “hit the pot” was a blockbuster so we had to do a repeat. Fortunately there were a lot of spare candies and coins for that purpose.

And like a real kid celebrating his birthday, Epoy had to blow the candle on his cake after the singing of the birthday anthem. Amid the clicking of cameras, Epoy and his canine friends seem to understand what was happening.
The winners of the parlor games
At the party’s end, Shadow and Shugar were kept in pet carriers for their trip back home to Pampanga. We fully appreciated the effort of Jep and Lord in bringing along their dogs, considering that they just availed of the public transportation.

We never expected that our neighbors would cooperate with the little fun we had in mind for what’s a party without gifts? A bevy of dog items wrapped with trimmings adorned the corner lamp table – shampoo, soap, towel, canned food and dog treats plus toys.
The party hosts with Tisoy and birthday boy Epoy
Despite the time, effort and expenses incurred in throwing the big party for a small dog, it’s very gratifying to realize that at last we now know our neighbors. Or I should say, our neighbors now know us.