30-day challenge day 10

my hands smell like medicine. i have been playing nurse for the past few days. it's been touch and go for a while. i have cried a lot. i've lost 1 patient but i am not giving up.

i always cry when my pets die. i treat them like family. i call my pets baby even when they are 6 years old and i talk to them like they are children, trying to tell them not to rummage through the neighbor's trash or the eat shoes and slippers we sometimes leave outside.

we have had a lot of pets throughout the years. My brother used to have this mini-zoo at home.He had pigeons, hamsters and turtles, in addition to the usual cats and dogs. Currently, I have 7 dogs and a cat. The cat, Tammy, has been with us since 2005. He's lazy and always sleepy the way cats are. He would go into your room and bother you while you're sleeping. He loves to be scratched. Mimay, our dog given to my sister allegedly named after her (Hershey Mae) has been with us probably for 4 years. One of Mimay's offspring, Milo, is 3 years old. She is one of the first puppies Mimay ever had. She had survived parasites and mange to which all her other siblings have succumbed to. Mimay gave birth to a new batch this year. 5 puppies: Pretty Girl, Pretty Boy, Rambo, Pow and Hammy. My siblings are creative in giving names.

Three months ago, Hammy died. We found him under the car. Apparently, he hasn't been eating. It must be the parasites again. Then the other dogs lost their appetite. This triggered me to bring everyone else to the vet. We don't really bring dogs to the doctor since my mom believe they're askal they can survive anything, and vets are not easy to find. But I told myself, I'm not going to lose anyone else. I have to do something, at least.

I found the vet via the Internet. Even if it requires a car or a jeepney ride, his clinic is the closest one there is. He dewormed the dogs and gave them antibiotics and appetite stimulants. I just recently realized that it's the same one kids are given when they are sick.

They're supposed to take their medicine 3x a day. It wasn't easy since I sometimes miss my meds when I need them. I had to give the meds in the morning when I get home from work then at noon before I go to sleep and lastly before I go to work at night. I think I have been good taking care of them since they eventually recovered. Every morning when I come home from work, they would run to me, lick my hands or tug at my clothes.

Milo gave birth to six puppies in June. They are very fragile and small. One of them died after a few days. After a week, another one followed. My dad said that Milo doesn't have enough milk so I had to teach them to drink milk from a saucer at three weeks or sometimes I give them milk using a syringe. We only had non-fat or evaporated milk at home but they survived. Four of them became happy healthy puppies. One pup, my dad accidentally run over. So we have 3 left.My sister gave them their names, which I remember but can never refer to the correct puppy. They are all of the same color, just like Milo.

I thought everything was going well with them. Then, the rainy days came. I have been hearing my dogs cough for the past few days. I thought it would go away. Then, I told them to stop bathing under the rain. One of Milo's pups stopped eating on Monday and she was feverish. I can tell by touch. I was worried but can't bring them to the vet since my brother's not home to drive us and I have work on Monday night. I researched about dog fever on the net and gave the pup the remedy. Ice cubes it said, put it on your hand and let the dog lick it. I did that. I also read that you can give your dog aspirin but we didn't have any. When I left for work on Monday night, I just told myself not to worry too much. When I went home on Tuesday, the pup's already eating and I thought she's getting better. On Wednesday night, she refused to eat again. I decided it's time to get her to the vet the following day. She died on Thursday. I cried a lot.

I decided to take her siblings to the vet on that same day. I noticed that her brother wasn't eating as well and have lost weight. The vet said they were feverish. They were given shots and meds. Afer three days, the male pup died. I accepted it and said it was better since he was so weak and it made me cry to have him take his medicine. He was eating very little or not at all. He had that look in his eyes as if begging and he was crying as if begging me to stop the pain.

As of today, there is only one of Milo's pups left. I call her eyeliner because she has black lines around her eyes like Kohl. She's fine now, running around and playing. She also never lost her appetite. We're almost done with the meds ,and I am hoping she'll be all right.

It is so heartbreaking to write this but I did it for the pups and for all the pet lovers out there.

Pavino Veterinary Clinic
Dr Jessie A. Pavino, D.V.M.
Dra Irene R. Manalo, D.V.M.
8 Manuela Ave, Dona Manuela Subd,
Pamplona Las Pinas
tel 028462919
cell 09213413234
Clinic Hours
Mon-Sat 8a-6p
Sun and Holidays 8a-4p

Time Capsule Part 1

"Can you dig me a hole in the garden?" That small voice was followed by a persistent shaking of his limbs.

"What?" he asked, now half awake. He didn't realize he fell asleep on the couch until his niece woke him up.

"Please Tito,"the little girl pleaded and stroked his hair with her little hands. Even he could not resist that cuteness.

"What do you need a hole for?"he asked, sat up and put the child on his lap.

"Peter went to heaven. He needs a funeral." Her voice was sad, she was holding back her tears. Maybe all kids get sad when their pets die but this one wants her uncle to dig a hole in the garden to bury a goldfish.Stephen was tempted to ask her to just flush Peter down the toilet. It would both save them some time and effort.

And what is this 'went to heaven thing' and Peter, what a funny name to give a fish. He looked at Jamie on his lap, waiting for his answer. He swallowed those words. It would only break the kid's already broken heart. Her dad gave Peter as a birthday gift and she has took care of him well, but all life has got to end. That is a reality. A friend of his once told him, that a person can grasp the meaning of death easier if he or she had pets as a kid. "Okay, let's get a trowel."

The garden isn't a real one. It's just a piece of land in front of the porch that has a lot of weeds growing in it. They just moved to this house and nobody has the time nor the heart to start gardening. Celine, his sister and Jamie's mom, never had a green thumb anyway. He couldn't expect Lander, his brother-in-law, who was always away on a business trip, to care about plants.There are still a few santan bushes but maybe once upon a time, that garden was filled with orchids or roses or other flowering things.

"Where do you want a hole?" he asked Jamie. The kid was now carrying a chocolate box. It's her childish version of a coffin. He smiled and thought that it is a long time ago when he was a kid himself.

"Anywhere, just make it deep, please," Jamie requested.

"All right. I'll dig here near the bushes so that you'll know where to visit Peter," he answered and almost broke into laughter. He wanted to laugh at himself for playing along with his niece.

He had to wet the soil before he could start digging. It was easy, they had a garden hose. Lander bought the property just a few months back and they just moved in two weeks ago but maybe nobody has lived in that house for years. He started digging and smelled the freshly turned earth. He almost forgot what it smelled like. He dug a hole that he thought would fit the box. Jamie wouldn't want Peter to be buried without his coffin,she was watching the whole time.

I'll just pretened I'm digging a treasure, he thought. After few scoops, the trowel struck something hard. He thought it was a rock. He tried to pull it out. It came out easy, with very little resistance. "What is it Tito?" Jamie asked.

"It's a box." he answered and thought:"Did a little girl used to live here a long time ago? And did she bury her dead gold fish on the same spot Jamie will bury Peter?"
>>to be continued