I’m not really an animal person. I don’t like cats as I’m scared they’re going to scratch me even though my parents always tell me pinaglihi ako sa pusa among other things. Dogs? I’m scared of them, I’m scared I’ll get bitten by one. Now there’s only one dog I’m not scared of and one dog I love with all my heart.

My Dad brought home a month old puppy we named Bambi (nick name for Bambina) back in 1998. I’m ok with it coz puppies are really cute and not scary at all. Years had passed and she grew up together with our family. She’s just always there, beside the gate always waiting for us to come home. She will always be so excited to see us.

Then back in 2008 we moved to a bigger house. In the new house Bambi is able to move around.  There she is also allowed to go inside the house. That’s the time I grew closer to her and the time I started to appreciate her more than just being a dog.

I saw how she’s protecting us. She’s not a big dog, she’s just medium built. At night she won’t sleep. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and I see her patrolling the garage (if she’s left in the garage) or the living room. Just the tiniest sound she will check.

Bambi is a very loyal dog. She will stay beside us and stay there for as long as we’re still there.  She was also there with me feeling my pain when I was going through a short term heartbreak.

She’s also very smart for a dog. We never train her but she never pee or poop inside the house. She’ll wait for us to wake up in the morning and open the door for her. And during daytime when she has to go pee, she’ll sit beside us to get our attention, telling us she has to pee, if only she can talk. We give her time to do her thing outside the gate and she’ll choose the grassy area to do her business in. When she’s done and we call her name she’ll go back in like a person would. Oh she also knows how to cross the street. She’ll look left and right and wait for cars to pass by. Very smart I’m so proud. It’s as if she’s a real person.

Whenever Mommy and I leave, she’ll look at the car as if asking us why we leave her and she’ll look at us until she cannot see us anymore. When we’re back she knows it’s us even before we get out of the car. We’ll see her tail waggling like crazy and once we’re beside her she’ll get so excited she’ll go round in circles. At night when Mommy and I head to our own rooms, Bambi will follow us up in the stairs and just stay outside our doors. That gesture warms our hearts…

She’s gorgeous. So beautiful. I love her face shape, her color, her “puppy” eyes…. Even the way she walks, so cute and sexy… I love the way she walks I always find myself staring at her behind….

Bambi is very picky with food. Madali siya magsawa. Mana sa Mommy ko. But she loves my cooking and the cakes I bake. She’s my fan. She can’t get enough of my cookies and banana cupcakes. We feed her dog food, sometimes human food. She doesn’t like rice, she loves pork and beef. Sometimes her meals are even more expensive than what my Mom and I are having. But for the love of Bambi we’ll give anything.

Last month, New Year week, she gave birth despite her age. During labor, of course she was in pain but she still listened to me when I tell her to stay in one area. Then she got sick after. She looked like she was panting and weak. She just stayed in one place even when we call her. We got really worried and called in a vet. The vet prescribed some antibiotics and injected her with some other meds. Then after a few days we finally were able to breathe again because she’s back to her old self.

Now that Bambi’s older, somehow I feel like we wasted all those years we neglected her presence. We only got to appreciate her like how we appreciate her now since 2008. Ten years of her life we cannot bring back. Now I love her so much and I miss her too. (Of course not as much as I miss Mommy and Daddy heheheh…) Mommy directs the camera to Bambi every time we’re Skype-ing so I could see her too.

My Dad asked me months ago if I want a new Shih tzu coz Bambi is old now. I declined as I only want my Bambi and no other dog. I don’t want her to feel jealous.

She’s the sister I never had, my best friend. I’m closer to her more than any human friends I have. Bambi’s love and loyalty for me and my Mommy and Daddy is something one cannot quantify. Now I understand how some people love their dogs more than they can love other humans. Coz I’m like them too, I love Bambi to pieces. And I hope she stays with us for a lot more years to come because we need her more than she needs us.