Aki

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I was two weeks old when the humans first visited me. I was one of two males, the fattest and the whitest. I was perfect - except that almost half of my tail had no fur.

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When I was a puppy, I injured my tail when my mommy accidentally stepped on it. It lost half of its hair and it became limp.Manang fell in love with me, though. and she wanted to adopt me

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The owner suggested another dog but Manang insisted on me because I reminded her of 750, her furless-tailed Labrador. For weeks, Manong searched for other black Labradors . He was hesitant about getting a ‘defective’ dog. What if the fur never grew back? Or the tail remained limp? He would then have to contend with a dog with a rat’s tail.

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Manang urged Manong to continue with my adoption. She was worried that if they didn’t take me, nobody would, and I’d end up homeless and dejected. Convinced, they returned and paid my nanny. Manang brought a towel stitched with the name ‘AKI,’ which was short for ‘Achilles’ because they said I was perfect except for my weak tail.

Before I moved to my new home, my kennel was delivered to Manang’s apartment and its arrival sparked a lot of tongue-wagging. The neighbors threatened to call the barangay if Manang brought me home because they said dogs are noisy, smelly and health hazards. The housemate expressed how important sleeping is to her and that my barking might disturb her.

Everyone was concocting issues without even seeing me yet - it was absurd! My poor humans were distraught. It felt unfair because Manang asked permission from the housemates and they allowed her to take care of me.

Every night my human would sleep beside me on the floor so that I wouldn’t cry and disturb the housemate. She’d wake up at 6 a.m. and, to avoid complaints, she'd return early to make sure there was no poo.

The first month was dog hell. It was so difficult to be a dog and not be allowed to act like one. Manang was tied to a one-year contract at our home, and had two months left. Her relationship with the housemate was getting rocky due to the housemate’s apparent dislike for me. I was not allowed inside the house, bark, poo/pee or even play. Manang would sneak me inside her room when no one was around. It was very stressful for my humans and me.

She then decided to group with her college friends and found the Ilonggo House. We moved during the last week of March, paying two rentals in two houses for two months, just so she could get out of that evil place.

In the end we found our little piece of paradise. I had four loving humans, a big backyard, friendly neighbors, sister Poopie, and all the freedom I want to romp inside the house and bark to the world that I am a DOG - and a very happy one at that.

www.theinuogler.blogspot.com