LESSONS FROM BARRY WHITE =)

A little over a month ago, Hubby Sweet and I found ourselves agonizing over what we should do with Buster Johnson. He was still the sweet, playful, loveable Buster J but in recent weeks he has grown, well, a little bit more naughty. (That's putting it mildly. Hay...=() We would step out for a while only to find the house ransacked when we returned. Magazines torn and strewn all over the place. And not just one, mind you. Apparently, he'd go through one and tear it up, and half-way through, he'd leave it and go for another one. He'd then repeat the process until he either gets tired or until someone walks into the room to tell him no. The last time it happened, I think he must have torn at least ten magazines. This is sooooooooooo not Buster J. Buster J is a very playful, but very behaved pup. Something was up. He was ignoring Ragdoll. He'd only take token licks of his chewbones before he leaves them strewn all over the living room. He'd play fetch with the tennis balls only so much before he decides he has had enough. Instead, he'd try to climb up on the sofa and beg me to cradle him like a baby. Looking into his puppy-dog eyes one night, I came to startling realization.

"Sweet," I told the Hubby, "I think Buster's bored."

Hubby Sweet's expression said everything that was on his mind. He has been bugging me about getting a second dog ("Tweet, Buster is a dog. He needs a playmate."), but I have--until then--been shooting the idea down. He can play with the kids at the podium deck, I would tell him. (For the record, Buster J is the most popular dog in our condo. Coming home from work, we'd inevitably encounter some Korean kids in the elevator who would all shriek in varying decibels, "Wes Bustah?! Wes Bustah?! WES BUSTAHHH?!" Hahaha. Even the guards who are convinced my name is "Good Morning/Evening, Ma'am" call out "Huy, Buster!" when we pass by. =))

"A dog is different, Tweet. Even here in the unit, he'd have a playmate," Hubby Sweet would always counter.

At that particular eureka moment, I realized that the Hubby was right.

Unlike our choice of a mini-schnauzer (which we researched to death online) before buying Buster, our choice of our second pup was less deliberate. The night before, we were at Bonifacio High Street walking Buster J around. He loves Boni High because he loves harassing all the other dogs, regardless of size. Buster J would playfully paw chihuahuas and shih tzus, even as he went for rowdy games with the labs and retrievers. On that particular night, his playmate of choice was a weird-looking dog that I don't think I've seen before.

"He's a wire-fox terrier," the owner (a kind, 50+ sosy-looking donya =)) said as her yaya struggled with the dog Buster J was harassing, "They're not yet readily available here in Manila. There's only one breeder right now. But you know what," she continued, "he's very mabait. Very maamo. He's kinda expensive but I'm really glad I got him. He's very loyal to me. Unlike my pekingese," she said, referring to her other dog who also had her own yaya," Naku, this little one thinks yata she's the master and I'm her servant." Hahaha! I laughed and heartily agreed, remembering Onchi (Sugar's nickname) and Benjie.

That night, Hubby Sweet fell in love with the idea of owning a wire-fox terrier someday. I told him we'd have to wait because considering they're imported (and rare), each pup would probably cost around P50,000-75,000. The following day, we went to Tiendesitas to have Buster J groomed. We thought that while we were there, we might as well see if he would connect with one of the small-breed pups that were for sale. I was thinking either another mini-schnauzer or a pug; the Hubby was still dreaming of the wire fox terrier.

Quite serendipitously, we found two wire fox terriers in one of the shops. They were brothers, we've been told. Seven months old. Uh-oh. First sign of trouble. They're too old. I was looking out for a pup that was no more than 3 months. The Hubby conversed with the shop owner who told him that the two pups were from the "first batch" to be born here in Manila because the parents were directly imported from Italy. He said that 7-months is actually a good time to get a dog because by that time, all the "defects" as far as stance is concerned would have already shown. He went on and on and on about why we should get a wire fox terrier. Truth be told, I didn't want to get the fox terrier. The old adage "you can't teach old dogs new tricks" kept playing in my head. I thought it was weird that he did not seem to know how to walk. That he seemed to pee anytime he pleased. That--unlike all my other previous dogs including Buster J--he did not automatically approach me when I held out my hand. Instead, he ran away fearfully, his tail between his legs. I told Hubby Sweet my concerns, but I think the deal had been sealed long before we even stepped through the door. The P15K discount that he was willing to give should have tipped us off, but channeling Jerry Maguire, the shopowner actually had Hubby Sweet at hello. And so, if Buster J was my dog, Hubby Sweet was adamant that this was going to be his.

Everyone, meet Barry White. =)

His first few weeks with us were stressful. As in all-caps STRESSFUL in big, bold letters. Buster J readily warmed up to him and he to Buster J so they became fast friends--even brothers. But having spent all of his 7-months worth of life inside a cage with another dog, Barry did not know how to walk nor play. Unlike Buster J who always steered clear of the travel kennel we bought for him, Barry would dash to it and would only reluctantly leave it when we pull him out. It was his comfort zone. The only semblance of the place he has known all his life.

Where Buster J would literally zoom out the door, springing (as opposed to just walking) on a leash, Barry would only stand still and refuse to budge. He had no concept whatsoever of being taken out for a walk. He had not known life outside of a cage until then. He literally did not know what to do. He was at a loss. The look in his eyes said as much.

Whereas Buster J has already been trained to poop and pee once in the morning and once at night--and trained to go to the veranda in case he needed to "go" mid-day--Barry pooped and peed everywhere. It did not help that a quick trip to the vet for a check-up showed that he actually had a mild case of diarrhea--which we're betting he already had when we bought him. And so, we'd walk into a room to find his poop and pee all over the place. To say that the experience was exasperating is an understatement, but we could not fault him. After all, he had been used to pooping and peeing in his cage anytime he felt like it. The shop helpers probably just hosed down his cage every morning in a superficial effort to keep the kennel clean.

Ah, the shop helpers. At one point, it all of a sudden dawned on me why Barry would go running away, his tail between his legs everytime I tried to reach out for him. He was probably used to being shooed away with a sweeping hand motion as the shop helpers cleaned his cage. The thought broke my heart.

"Don't worry, Sweet," I told the Hubby, honestly trying to reassure myself more than him, "he'll learn from Buster J in time." Except that Buster J--instead of being a model for Barry to go to the veranda everytime he needed to go--amusingly regressed and decided that he will poop and pee as well in all the areas that Barry pooed and peed in. ACK! I realized quite belatedly that it was Buster J's way of marking his territory and establishing his position as The Alpha Dog of Unit 2*0*. Suskopo. I wanted to cry.

I suppose niece Patita hit the nail right on the head when one weekend in House Better, armed with doggie treats, she threw one which Buster J readily fetched and then devoured. She then turned and threw one for Barry, but Barry just stood there. (Buster J, of course, took the opportunity to fetch and devour. =)) Patita looked at me quite perplexed.

"Maybe you should try giving it to him first, Patita. He doesn't know how to fetch yet," I suggested. Patita held out the treat, but Barry just stared at it. (I had to hold Buster J to keep him from getting this one as well. Haha!)

"Maybe you should just lay it before him," I suggested again, "maybe he's too shy to get the treat from you." And so she did, carefully placing the doggie treat on the cold marble floor, but Barry just stood there and stared.

"Boy, Nangnang," Patita blurted out as she turned to me, "He's not too smart, is he?" HAHA! I had to laugh at that one. =)

"No, Patita," I reassured her, "He just does not know yet. He'll get it in time." =)

Still, Barry made Buster's life infinitely more interesting, and if only for that, I held on to the idea that we did the right thing. (That's just them playing; they don't really fight. They growl a lot, but they don't fight. Haha! Parang kids in the playground na nagyayabangan lang. =))

"We have to be patient with him, Sweet. We can't give up on him no matter how exasperating he is. We have to remember what he has been through before we got him," I told the Hubby repeatedly, really more for my sake than his, "Pancho (one of the shih tzu pups we once sold then demanded to get back) was a very angry dog when we got him back but we successfully nursed him back to being sweet. It'll take time. He'll 'get it' eventually." I repeated it so often, it practically became our mantra.

And, "get it" he did.......................eventually. =) We still have the occasional "accidents", but we have managed to generally "train" his toilet habits to a morning and evening poop & pee (but unlike Buster J who can "hold it" until we go down to the podium), Barry goes when he needs to go. ACK! =D Still, he's spritely now, even out-running Buster J everytime we set them free either in the tennis courts in House Pioneer or in the garden at House Better. Best of all, he has learned to trust people. While he still shies away from strangers, he now jumps up and down to greet us when we walk through the door and prefers nuzzling next to us when he rests or sleeps. It may be the corniest thing in the world to say it, but really, through the worst of times, sometimes love and commitment will be the only things that can get you through. And once you get to the other side, you will realize with quiet satisfaction, that it was all worth it. =)

*********************************************************

I've always wondered about puppy mills. We've bought dogs from pet shops in the past and have not really encountered any major issues. Maybe it was Barry's age at the time we got him that made all the difference. Still, when I look at him today, I'm thankful that we got him--despite all the initial difficulties (including several trips to the Vet to 'get him right'). I get the feeling that if he had stayed at the shop a little longer, he wouldn't have made it.

Which really sets off a debate in my head: the next time we get a dog (in the VERY DISTANT FUTURE =)), should I get from a breeder or should I save one more puppy from a puppy mill. Hay....=( Maybe I'll just go to P.A.W.S. and adopt. Maybe. We'll cross the bridge na lang when we get there. For now, it would just be the Buster & Barry show. =)