Home is Where the Dogs Are

- March 12, 2015

You never know when is the right time to have a dog in your house. You just knew right then that you will be pack with a full responsibility and in need of a fury friend. I always wanted to have a dog since Bandit, the dog that I had when I was a kid. My dad picked him up from the street and I love him so much. I remember one day I woke up and I could not find him, so I climbed the gate because no one was awake yet. I ran around the housing estate to find him, and I cried when I found him tied up in a tree about 800meters from the house. He was crying also, I guess he was 3-4 months old. I ran back to the house and woke my dad up and told him that Bandit was kidnapped. He brought a scissor with him and helped Bandit. Not long after my mom gave Bandit away because she's not a fan of a dog. That's all the memory I had with Bandit. Ever since, I always wanted to have a dog, but patiently waiting to live on my own.

Right after I got married and move to Bali, a friend posted that a dog named Angel need to be adopted because her owner had to move abroad. A quick decision was made between me and my husband that we were agreed to adopt Angel. Even though Angel was 5 years old already, it does not stop us to love her. She's such a sweet one yet also a bit naughty sometimes. But having Angel is such a bless. It grows the big responsible before I have my own baby.

Few months after having Angel, we have another friend giving away his puppy. We called him Butter and like Angel, we immediately fell for him. It was a breezy June I remember, we drove quite far from Tanjung Benoa to Denpasar to pick Butter. And on the way home, he pooped on my lap. That was our bonding, I guess. Long story short, I cannot go into details, cause it breaks my heart, on early October, we lost Butter. Some one just left my house gate opened and Butter ran away. I cried for a month. Every time I feed Angel or take Angel for a walk, I think of Butter. I miss him, till today. I remember the first time we took Butter to the beach, the moment Butter lost his tooth, the night Butter was sick and how scared he was when it's raining with thunder. I wish that he has a loving owner now. I shed a tear as I write this.

A few weeks ago, my husband's friend told us that they want to sell his puppies, yet we told them, we could not afford to buy. So having another puppy was only a dream. It's not that we can not adopt other dog, but I always believe that it's not you that choose a dog, it's the dog that choose you. Until 4 days ago, the friend called my husband again and told him if we can take good care of the puppy, we can get one for free because he's moving to Jakarta and not be able to bring his 7 dogs. I was so excited beyond believe. We get to his house, we let 3 puppies out, and this cute little guy was just come to me and sit on my lap. If you have a dog, you must know this feeling. Again, he stole my heart. We name him, Benji. Shorten from Benjamin Hobart, a character in Friends series.

Having dogs are not as easy as it sounds. When it was just the two of us, we don't care of what time we came home from work, we don't care woke up a bit late in the morning. After having these babies, we always want to run home at the soonest. They surely teach us a lot of things, how to be more responsible in your life, how to get excited over everything, how to be more appreciate of such a little time we have, of how to be happy all the time. Dogs are amazing creatures that God created.

Walking them on a leash, playing with them freely on the beach. And nothing beats the feeling the pure joy and love a dog expresses when you come home. It's hard to resist. No other pet reacts quite like a dog when you come back home. A bird would not greet you, a cat will ignore you, but not your dog.

They might not be people, but there's no doubt that they are part of our little family now, and they what makes our house a home.