For some people, a dog is just a dog. A furry, four-legged animal that scratches around and licks its genital absentmindedly, and bark and whine for unknown reason.

But for others, a dog is a ray of sunshine. A source of happiness. A reason why we all want to rush home quickly. And a reason why we ever want to get up so early on weekends, if it weren’t for the constant whining we get for delaying their morning rituals.

Ever since I’ve had Micah, I have to admit that my life has changed completely. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. Quite literally, I’m afraid.

Dog lovers know that having a dog is not easy – it’s a lifetime commitment, as a dog can live up to twelve years or more, and during those years we must be prepared to face whatever challenges that come our ways – right from day one.

For Micah, it has been a bumpy road ever since I adopted him. He was crying all night the first time he was brought home, obviously missing his family and being scared of all the sudden, new environment he was forced to be in.

The loneliness that he had to face whenever I left him for work was not easy either. I had to put him in the back balcony upstairs and locked the door because the maid we had back then was scared of dogs. So every morning, Micah would cry and refused to be put there. He’d jump and jump in vain to see me vanished before his very eyes, until he would see me again in the afternoon.

What we humans often forget to realise is that dogs think and feel quite differently than us. When we leave them at home, they don’t know when we’re going to come back. All they know is that we’re gone, and they’re left alone. So all that whining and crying is not them being overdramatised, it’s their fear of loneliness.

Thankfully, Micah has reached and understanding that I will always come back, so every weekdays when I have to leave for work, I bid him farewell and scratch his neck and kiss the top of his forehead while telling him not to be naughty, and he just sits there and looks at me with those beautiful eyes. As I close the door, he just sits and stares at me. But the fact that he’s so understanding about it actually breaks my heart even more. I really wish I could bring him wherever I go.

There are funny moments too – moments that I really can’t explain except that perhaps, if it’s even possible, that Micah actually understands human language.

Whenever he has his toys lying around outside the bedroom, I always make sure he carries them back in. So when I head to the bedroom, I tell him to go get his toy. At first he seemed a bit confused, but not when I tell him to do so, he simply picks his toy up with his teeth, carries them all the way in to the bedroom. and drops them off once he’s inside.

When he is in my bedroom and he wants to go to the toilet, he simply goes and sits next to the door. If this still doesn’t catch my attention, he wails and cratches the door until I open it for him. Sometimes, when I’m too lazy, he can go to the toilet by himself, but most of the times he demands a company.

Then there are the strange habits. Remember how he climbs the bedside table and sleeps on it? Well, now he climbs the unused dining table downstairs by using the massaging chair that sits next to it. I noticed this when I was downstairs making something in the kitchen, when I realised that he was nowhere to be seen. I called him over and over when I noticed a brown, furry figure that had the same color as the dining table, lying comfortably on top of it. I was awed. Nobody taught him that, and I never would’ve thought of him as a dog who loved heights.

As a dachshund, I have to admit that Micah doesn’t particularly warm up to people that easily, unlike a Golden Retriever, or a Labrador. In fact, he is quite picky about them. But when he really likes someone, he will follow them around everywhere like their biggest fan. He even rolls around and taunt his belly, demanding a tummy rub from his newbest friend.

That’s what happened today, when I went over to Toni’s house. At first I was worried that he wouldn’t like it there because he is quite suspicious to new places, even more because there are no dogs there, unlike at Juinita’s house. But he fell in love with Toni and his house immediately (mostly because of the coffee smell). He was even served a special coffee made by Toni and he followed Toni around like a lovesick puppy ever since. I’ve never seen him so infatuated with a stranger that quickly before.

I was also worried that he wouldn’t be able to control his bladder, but to my surprise, Micah seemed to understand where he was supposed to go. I was worried he would go inside the house, but he actually did it at the front porch where the ground was cement-coated. I was awed once again by his cleverness.

He was also so excited to be able to explore Toni’s house and had the smell of coffee emanating from the kitchen, and because the fence was quite high and safe, he was able to sit in front of it and scare the people who walk or drive past by barking at them – something I wouldn’t let him do at home since our fence is wide enough for him to get out.

People at work think it’s funny that I care so much – perhaps even too much – about my dog. But for me, he is more than a dog. He is my son, and whenever I’m away I always think of him and wonder what he is doing at that very moment.

Humans think a dog must be so privileged to be loved and cared for by humans, but really, it is our privilege as human beings, to be able to experience the unconditional love of a dog – the love we feel everyday since morning till evening.

I talk to him when I’m lonesome like;
And I’m sure he understands.
When he looks at me so attentively,
And gently licks my hands;
Then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes,
But I never say naught thereat.
For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes,
But never a friend like that.

W. Dayton Wedgefarth

This post is dedicated to Elyani Gunadi and Parvita Siregar. Special thanks to Toni Wahid for the beautiful photographs of Micah.

It’s not exactly annoying, just mind-boggling and perhaps rather strange, as I already mentioned before. And because I managed to snap a few photos of him being caught in the act, I feel that I should explain this newly developed habit by pictures.

I know he has this thing for using the UPS underneath my desk as a leverage to get attention (and food) from me whenever I am snacking in front of the computer, but now he’s started to think that using the UPS as a leverage to climb the bedside table is a mighty fine idea to accomplish his… mission.

Once he gets on top of the table he starts doing maneuver of this and that, trying to find the most comfortable position, perhaps?

When he finally does, he lies down and rests peacefully, looking around from a new (higher) angle seems like a better place to ‘hang’.

What freaks me out the most is the fact that now he is able to do is oh-so-silently that when I turn around to look, he’s already lying on the table and he does this without drawing any attention from me whatsoever. I have to say that he’s starting to resemble his daddy’s sneaky little habit.

Because I am a kind mother, I decide to get rid of my books so that he has more space for himself. I think this is the beginning of something that I might regret later on, because at one point he actually manages to fall asleep…

And fall asleep he does…

But the sleeping does not last long. He still thinks that my bed is, after all, the most comfortable spot to lie his furry body and cuddle into a good deep sleep. Even though I am aware of his effort to climb onto the bed, he never tires to try again, and again, and again. And my answer is always, without failing, “NO! Back!” (meaning back away right now you furry little devil, or I will dethrone your ass down).

So now what happens is that this habit has become a daily thing. In a jerky, backward and forward session, he does this everyday – climbing on top of the bedside table, rests there for a while, gets bored and tries to get onto my bed.

If you think that’s weird, wait till you see this…

And this.

Despite how mildly annoying it is, I can’t help but feel besotted. This habit is the one thing he develops all on his own, by his own initiative, and even though God knows why he’s compelled to do this I have to hand it to this dog; he’s a one smart kiddo!

Some days I wonder how is it like to be Micah, my beloved dog. His life consists of eating, sleeping, playing and more sleeping.

He falls asleep on practically any terrain on any occassion; I wish the same thing could be said about me, a person who not only suffers from irregular sleeping pattern but also troubled sleeping.

I keep telling my dog how lucky he is, because unfortunately for the rest of them in the world…

…they aren’t so lucky after all.

And I’m telling you; this lady might say she is in her early forties, but believe me people, she doesn’t even look a day over thirty! The dedication she takes for eating well and exercising daily sure do pay well to her figure – she put me to shame what with her flat stomach and wrinkle-free face, and reality hit hard when I looked down to my slightly bulged belly and the fact that I couldn’t even discipline myself to go to sleep at the same time each day!

So who am I talking about exactly? It’s none other than Elyani – the person who owns a wonderful blog called ‘Elyani’s Place‘ that I never forget to visit and leave comments in. It’s a fantastic blog full of enriching information and thoughts and it was from her blog alone I’ve grown to admire her as a person and as woman. Not to mention that she is also a dog-lover like me, and from the moment I read her posts about her late pup Fatso, I was hooked. They were beautiful and touching stories about the connection a human being had with her dog, and I couldn’t help feeling all warm and fuzzy, as well as appreciating all the moments I have with my own dog, Micah.

We had lunch at Chatterbox, which was located in this famous mall in her area, and as soon as we sat down to eat, all the stories came out and we talked as if we had been friends for ages. She told me the story of her life, and I told her mine. I felt as if she had been where I had, and listening to her stories, I felt comfortable for having a person to share exactly what I was going through, and for her to be so understanding and wise about it.

There were so many things to tell – I felt like I could hang out with her and chat until we lost times, which we did, because after lunch, came coffee and we continued our conversations talking about our dogs and their weird but adorable antics.

She was also kind enough to accompany me to the jeweler’s to look for rings and I found a pair with the perfect price and design. I made a mental note to come back there sometime next week with my beau. The shopkeeper was telling me that it would be wiser to let the other party know what kind of design I’d chosen because some couples take a long time to agree to something as simple as rings. But I know my beau’s taste well – we even picked the same design when we browsed through Orori.com. We really clicked.

And the same thing happened with Elyani and me. We had some time to browse through the clothes shops and I found that she and I had the same taste. She also told me about this cute bag which had pictures of dachshund dogs on it and showed it to me – as soon as I saw it I fell in love, it was the cutest bag ever! I couldn’t resist purchasing it. Elyani also bought one from the same shop but with the pattern of a cat and in a different design.

When we looked at the time it was nearing 5 pm and I almost forgot to get dogfood for Micah! Luckily Elyani called the place up and it turned out they were open till 10, so I was like, “Phew. Ok let’s check out more shops!” It was evident I’d been deprived of clothes shopping for a very, very long time.

She accompanied me to the pet shop and I had to buy US Grain Regal Lamb Bites since they didn’t have Nutro Choice Holistic – I was slightly annoyed because the last time I was there, they recommended Nutro and now they claimed it was getting difficult trying to import the brand, so I was given Regal Lamb Bites which they said was better and was also always available in stock.

Elyani bought a cute-looking collar for her kitty Suneo – I can’t wait until she took photos of him with her soon-to-be-bought SLR Canon 450D!

I offered to take her home but she refused because the traffic -she predicted since she knew her area well – would be hellish. So we said goodbyes and made promises to catch up again soon. I had a really great time and I came home also with a lot of stuff from her – this interesting feng-shui book which I’m borrowing, the Monggo chocolate bar that she bought for me when we passed the shops and this huge presents for Rima which she’d asked me to give to her husband when it was time for me to pick up the yummy Belg chocolate she’d promised to give to us!

To end this post, I’d like to show pics of the recently bought bed for Micah – it was so adorable and I saw it at Ace Hardware today and as soon as I clapped my eyes on it I knew I just had to have it. Cute, isn’t it?

I decided to spend more time to browse her blog and found beautiful stories of people rescuing stray dogs, as well as the heartbreaking ones of stray dogs who had been taken cared of but eventually passed away because they weren’t strong enough to survive due to the harsh treatment they’d been getting (either attacked by other dogs on the streets or being abused by their previous owners).

So in attempt of trying to help, I’ve decided to create another blogroll category in my blog called “All About Dogs“, which listed the sites that advertise stray dogs ready for adoption.

For Charmy – the owner of Fauna Welfare – I’m ready to discuss about that poster design, whenever you’re ready. I’ve a couple of ideas already about what it’s going to look like.

For others who are reading this blog, please spend some time to browse through these sites:

• Bali Street Dogs
• Dog Need Home, and
• Fauna Welfare

And if you see any cute puppies that you wish to take home to keep you company and shower you with unconditional love, give them people a holler and adopt a dog immediately – you won’t regret it!