9 Years Ago A Dog Adopted Me
Her name was Hershey and she has a few years left.
I changed her name to Peanut in 2010.
I thought ‘Peanut’ puts more humor into her already-funny-looking face and the way she struts around the house with her wagging tail. I couldn’t have thought of a better name for a tiny, fluffy dog like her.
Since I moved back to my parents’ house, I made sure to bring her out on the bike every morning.
Seeing me move the bike towards the gate is her cue to dance around. I pick her up and place her in the basket. She sits quietly and waits for me to pedal. It gets warm here in Manila, but her fascination with cats, dogs, moms sweeping dried leaves and cars passing by make her forget the discomfort.
After every ride, she’d be done for the day. She takes naps, visits me while I work every 2 hours or so. Sometimes she participates in my video calls to my boyfriend in Seattle to sniff and say hello. If I’m lucky, she lies down on my bed to stand by or watch me work.
The idea of moving back to my parents’ house may appalling to many people, especially that I’m 34. This is temporary and before I know it, I will move out again. For now, having Peanut around makes me content with that decision.
When we adopted her from my friend Tin, she was thin, unhealthy and a little too hyper. She looked and acted funny.
Years after living with my parents, she has mellowed down. She also looks much better now. She’s gotten older, a little bit slower with climbing up the stairs, but she has the same spunk as when we first saw her.
After one year, we adopted another dog named Ica. She’s an older dog, partly disabled, and had a gentle demeanor. My father loved her dearly and took care of her until she breathed her last at the veterinary clinic. He buried her in his tiny garden in front of the house.
It broke our hearts when Ica left us. I never knew what Peanut thought of Ica’s passing but she must have felt the difference that she’s back to being the only dog in the house.
In the 9 years that went by, Peanut has witnessed all the good and bad things that happened to our family — the birth of my nieces and nephews, holidays and occasions, the family arguments, numerous visits from relatives and friends. She has smelled it all.
She saw me through the tears of losing jobs and relationships. I knew she celebrated with me when I bought my first car by smelling all of its tires and scratching the seats. She got too excited when I came back from my first trip to California by smelling my ‘balikbayan’ box like a guard dog.
She welcomed the love of my life by inspecting his shoes. She licked my legs eagerly on Sundays that I decide to go home, and even after I decide to stay away so I can travel and discover new places.
She was left behind, yet all she had was unconditional love.
Peanut stays at home waiting, living her simple life with my parents, and never changing her stance whenever I’m back. She has remained the same through it all. She’s my most loyal friend.
Her life here on earth gets shorter as each day passes. I think about the first day that she won’t be around anymore, the first month that I won’t get to see her sleeping quietly on her pink dog bed, the first year that I’ll be thinking of her face every day.
She changed our lives forever and I will always be grateful that our souls met.
This might sound cuckoo…but I know that little Peanut chose us. My family and I were given this opportunity to care for this little heartbeat that brings joy and warmth to everyone around her.
We were the lucky ones.
I want this to be an encouragement to anyone looking for an animal companion at home to please choose animal adoption. Don’t buy from breeders or pet shops. One puppy sold is another cage to be filled by a puppy mill.
There is something special about adopting animals from a shelter or another family who unfortunately can no longer give them the love they need in their short lifetimes. A big change happens. We become responsible for another life and we commit to this life until the end. We learn how to love differently, a little more openly, and with more compassion.
While adoption gives the animals a better quality of life — they get to eat healthier food, they get to play without fear of getting hurt, maybe even have other animals to live with…it changes us, humans, even more.
Taking them in allows us to live a bigger, more meaningful life.
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Odyssa is a writer, Ashtanga yoga practitioner, and a remote worker. Follow her tweets here. Subscribe to her weekly letters to hear her thoughts on Ashtanga yoga, shifting from the office desk to remote work, writing (of course) plus bits and pieces of her personal life.
