* Sayang *

~26th October 2005 ~

She came to our house in a box with another sibling. Pure white and like a tiny furry ball, wriggling and emitting cute little sounds…she stole my mother’s heart immediately. The partner in crime had wanted the other pup and brought her over to do just what he knew would happen.

Mum looked at me and all I said was, ‘I am not going to be responsible for this one. I have had enough ok. You want, you take care of her yourself.’

Reason why I was unusually unwilling was because I was just trying to overcome the loss of my Juno who I had to put down a few days ago. I then decided I was not having another pet as their eventual passings broke my heart every time. I would grieve as I would for a family member and cry like there was no tomorrow.

Being the softest with the pets we’ve acquired through the years at home, I was usually left with their well being as I got older. Until today, I have had to teach the help how to feed them their meals and meds, give them proper baths and drying them correctly so that they don’t catch a chill. Yes…sounds absurd huh? Well, that’s where my eccentricities come in where animals are concern.

Sayang in Malay is ‘love’ and my mum felt that for her when she realised she had a little handicap. We noticed she dragged her left hind leg along when she walked. The vet said it was probably not well developed at birth but could be remedied with constant massaging to help the bones develop in the right direction.

So my dad did that everyday. He would hold her gently and massage her hip to her leg. Even us, whenever we picked up this tiny white snowball…we would absently massage her leg without realizing. She now runs, walks as normal as any other and is …. quite the growler.

Sayang came not long after Sheba (whom I will relate another day) and Samo who then lived across our house. When Sayang went on heat for the first time, she never had a chance. Samo too was very eager to prove his male hood so to speak. And so they both grew up just after turning one!

Who is Sayang? Well, she is the mother of the rascal Guzz who benefitted his mother’s good looks and coat and his father’s tan shades. With a good mix of his parent’s characters, he has turned out to be quite the intelligent yet playful Guzz I love.