UNWANTED / SEPTEMBER 6,2009 =D

He was not wanted.

Not at all.

I had put my foot down and have pretty much made up my mind that Buster J will be an only pup for now. I've thrown every single excuse at the Hubby. We can't afford a new pup; we're paying for amortization and saving up for all the renovations of the new place....Buster J seems OK being alone for now.....etc., etc. In truth, I really did not want to get a new pup. I was still heartbroken over Barry.

But, as fate would have it, while I was not paying attention, busy chatting up Baby Cousin Rae (who had come home from LA for Dooders' and MJ's wedding), Ko (my eldest cousin on my mom's side) and Hubby Sweet have already hatched a plan. Ko had a breeder friend who's dame recently gave birth to seven pups. All, but one, have been sold. It was easy enough, he said. They come from a champion line--from both sides--their papers multi-colored with red and green marks. (Red marks, I think refer to Philippine Champions; green marks refer to champions in other countries.)

All, except one had been sold, Ko explained, because no one would take him. He was the runt of the litter. The lone aberration from a long line of champions. Two months old, but so small, he could fit in Hubby Sweet's palm. Ko's breeder friend was giving him away for free. He just needed to dispose him off since he wasn't going to earn anything from him anyway.

"Bigay mo na lang sa'kin!" the Hubby declared excitedly, at which point I turned and looked at him.

"Give you.....what....exactly?" I asked, haltingly.

"Uh....." he grinned sheepishly, unable to continue.

"My friend is giving away a Siberian Husky pup for free," Ko jumped in.

"A Siberian Husky.....?" I asked, eyebrows beginning to rise.

"Tweet," Hubby Sweet said, still grinning sheepishly, "it's free."

"It's also going to grow up to be bigger than our house," I countered.

"But, it's bansot! Ko said, they're giving him away for free kase he's two months old and he can fit in my palm! Di lalaki yun!" Hubby Sweet tried to reassure me.

Ko grinned amused at the entire exchange. It may have finally dawned on him that I really did not want a pup. Free or not.

"I'll give it na lang to Papa. Send it to Marinduque. Para may kalaro si Stu," Hubby Sweet continued, referring to his dad and his beagle in his home province. "Imagine, he will be the first Siberian Husky in Marinduque!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, "Call him."

"Who?" Hubby Sweet asked, dead give-away that he was merely using his dad as an "out".

"Si Papa! Call him if he wants a Siberian Husky," I insisted.

"Why wouldn't he want a Siberian Husky?! Of course he'd want a Siberian Husky!" he continued, hedging.

Delaying tactic detected by the missus.

"Sweet," I insisted, "Call him. If you're going to hit him with a Siberian Husky, he at least has to know, right?"

He called (I insisted within hearing distance). Put down the phone. Put both his hands up.

"I told you he's OK with it!" he beamed.

To cut a long story short, the Siberian Husky never made it to Marinduque. Hay....

I was hoping Ko would forget all about it though--what with all the wedding-related rush--but the day after the wedding, Hubby Sweet and I woke up to an early morning text: Iniwan ko kay Abie yung puppy mo. Pick him up today if you can. Wah. =(

Ko did not forget. Abie was my uncle who lived next to Ko's place.

"You're bringing that pup home to Marinduque next weekend," I muttered, half-asleep, half-awake.

"Of course naman, Tweet," he beamed, unusually cheerful as he is not really a morning person. "I will take him to Marinduque--as soon as we complete all his shots."

GRRRRRRRRRRR. I knew it! Hay! =(

We picked the pup up that afternoon. Ko had left the pup at Abie's place where Tita Doy, Tito Pete and Rae are temporarily staying. Hubby Sweet knew Mother would want to visit them. It was inevitable, I suppose. Even if I wanted to delay it, it wasn't meant to be.

We entered Abie's home to find the pup sleeping in a cardboard box. He looked more like a rodent than a proper 2-month old Siberian pup. So small, he looked like he could curl up and actually fit inside a tabo. Hubby Sweet picked him up and cuddled him. There was an instant connection between the giant-of-a-man that was my husband and this.....this....runt of the litter that no one wanted. The pup looked around. Dazed. Confused. He was roused from his sleep, so I suppose that can be expected.


That's when I looked into his eyes. One brown. One blue. I have never seen a dog with different-colored eyes.

"Is he blind in one eye?" I asked concerned.

"Sabi ng Ko mo, normal daw yan sa Siberian Husky," Abie explained, before continuing, "May pag-asa naman daw na magpareho yung kulay habang lumalaki."

Oh. I thought, probably not.


Hubby Sweet put him down. He teetered on stilt legs that seemed too thin to carry his bulging tummy. He was bald in a lot of spots.

"Why is his tummy so big?" I asked, "Chaka kalbo-kalbo siya, 'no?"

"Busog," Abie explained, "Pinakain ko. Madami nakain."

Oh. Deep inside, I thought it had to be more than just food inside that bloated tummy of his. "Mukha siyang asong lasenggero. No wonder they gave him away for free," I thought.

Apparently, I was right.

After we brought him home to House Better (where we usually stay during weekends), he pooped and instantly I knew (from experience with Barrioca) that he had worms.

'We have to bring him to the vet," I told Hubby Sweet. "I'm sure he has worms. His poop looks like the way Barry's did when we first brought him home from the petshop."

Hubby Sweet, of course, took the chance to declare that the pup would have to stay in Manila until he is all better. After all, we can't send a sick dog to the province, right? Hay.......!

"What should we call him?" Hubby Sweet asked, obviously trying to diffuse the furrow that was beginning to form on my forehead, right smack between my eyebrows. I had suspected all along that he really wanted to keep the pup for himself, but was hoping that he would actually send him home to the province.

"Bansot!" Mother shouted from the background.

"Banzo," Hubby Sweet and I agreed, "Para medyo kunyari sosyal." Haha.

What was it that someone said about bringing home strays? Don't ever give them a name.

We gave Banzo a name. I suppose that meant--at that very moment--that he was ours for life. Hay....=D

Buster J was initially indifferent to Banzo. He was an oddity to him, I suppose. Banzo was too small to amount to anything important. Too fragile to play with--he was not meant for the kind of alpha-games he used to play with Barry. But Banzo wouldn't let up. He kept bugging Buster J. He'd bite his tail. He'd paw at his ears. He'd bug Buster to death. He refused to be ignored.

I was concerned that Buster would snap and just smack him. Me of little faith. Hubby Sweet was much better at it. He knew Buster was an inherently good dog--that he was going to be patient with this new addition to our lives, at least until he figures out what Banzo was good for.

The Hubby was right. Eventually, Banzo won Buster over, and we saw the birth of another Band of Brothers.


It was not easy having Banzo. With Barry, it took only two trips to get him "right". With Banzo....well, let's just say it's good we got him for free because what we paid for in Vet bills, medicines and electrolytes would rack up to possibly MUCH MORE than what we would have paid for if we had gotten a regular pup. Susko! Doc Dennis, vet and Banzo's best friend, explained it well. His mom may have had worms when she got pregnant and Banzo hit the jackpot and got the mother load. That would explain while all his siblings were normal sized, he was not much bigger than a tennis ball at 2-months old.

He had round worms. When we got rid of the round worms, the hook worms showed up (they apparently travel throughout the different organs). Even when we finally got rid of all kinds of worms, he continued to have loose bowels. Perplexed, Hubby Sweet, and I brought him back for one more visit to Doc Dennis during which we confirmed that while Banzo is now free of worms, he had live protozoas circling his tummy. Ayayayayayayayay!!!!!!!!! We probably spent more time at the vet's clinic over the two months after we got Banzo than during our entire span with Buster J! No, let me correct that. Because of Banzo, I have spent more time at the vet's clinic than during my entire lifetime with any of the dogs I've had since I was a child! Naku. We practically had an entire medicine cabinet filled exclusively with Banzo's pills, syrups and electrolytes. And yes, Hubby Sweet and I walked like zombies over that period as our sleep was constantly being interrupted by Banzo's incessant pooping throughout the night (sometimes as much as four times!). We used to kid each other in the middle of the night. Darn it, having Banzo was like having a baby! Except that instead of rolling up soiled Pampers, we were rolling up bunches of Inquirer and Philippine Star. Hahaha. =D

I laugh now, but I knew I was a goner though the day I got teary-eyed in the car after another trip to the vet. I found myself cuddling and whispering to this palm-sized pup, "Sweetheart, naman, get better na...."

I was not going to lose one more. My heart, at that point, would have been irreparably broken.

Thank God, things did start to turn around for Bunch-Bunch (my nickname for him) on the 3rd month. Thing is, all throughout the time his tummy was acting up, he was healthy otherwise. Magulo. Makulit. Maliksi. Malakas kumain. It was something to be thankful for, Doc Dennis said, no matter how perplexing it may be. Otherwise, with the time it took for us to get rid of everything that was wrong inside him (we had to be careful with the strength of the meds because of his small size), he would have otherwise been dead if he had been made of lesser stuff. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had the blood of champions running through his veins.

These days, he wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. He's the most intelligent among all the dogs I've ever had, but experts will tell you that unlike most dogs who will only do as they are told, Siberian Huskies need to understand why they are being told to do things in the first place. Otherwise, good luck. Haha. Hubby Sweet always says, "Si Banzo, mana sa nanay. Matalino pero pasaway." Haha! =D Still, he gets away with a lot of things basically because he is very sweet and very malambing. Also very sipsip kay Mother--which is probably the only reason he is still allowed to visit House Better, despite the fact that he has ripped the leaves and flowers off some of Mother's favorite garden plants. Nakuuuuuuuu! =D

Who knew I'd end up adoring this pup I initially did not want by thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss much?! *Arms stretched wide open as far as I can reach =D*

Then again, who knew that this palm-sized, not-much-bigger-than-a-tennis ball unwanted pup who was given away without much of a chance.....

could grow up to look like this..............

.....and then, finally, this!

All within the span of barely four months. =D

Banzo is more than a survivor. He is a walking miracle.

And yes, more than just being wanted, these days, he is loved. =)

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P.S. - I had wanted to get Banzo on his own (as I usually do with Buster and did with Barry), but I have to ask Mother to hold Banzo everytime I need to take his picture. He seems to think it's a game everytime I whip out either my cellphone or my camera so he just keeps running around and around and around and around and around......haaaaaaaay......hay! =D