The Bravery of Shadow

Shadow was an askal. Askal is short term for "asong kalye"  aso in Filipino's name for dog while kalye means street,  so askal is shortened name for As( aso) Kal (kalye) meaning a street dog or stray dog. It was a colloquial  name for a breed of dog whose origin came from a mongrel that litters the streets in the Philippines. An askal can be combination of street dog to street dog or street dog with a purebred. Askal is a kind of canine breed  treated if not considered the lowest of its Canidae(dog) family, not entirely my opinion. Its origin can be never be ascertained. 

It was my sister who brought him home one night. He was given to her by her co-worker  whose dog bore lots of pups since we need a guard dog, my sister  took the mutt in. My sister, like the snap of a finger, named him Shadow for he will be our shadow in the house  guarding it from thieves and burglars. Shadow was certainly a great addition to our family that upon his arrival a banner was made for him that says "Welcome home Shadow, May your life with us be bark-full, bite-full and  alert!" Just kidding, If I  remember correctly, we were happy to welcome the cute mutt  however, his first nights with us were a nightmare for his incessant yelps,  whimpering  and crying irritated us so much that we all ended up not having enough sleep for days. I think when he was brought to us, he was still 3 weeks old , basically still a baby,  who still needs his mother's nips and milk. We were pessimistic for we were predicting that he would not live a week considering  his cries were getting weaker and weaker since we has brought home. Baby Shadow cries were fading like a dust giving into night and death was already waiting with great anticipation.  But we never  stopped serving him milk to his plate for him to lick off.  Thankfully, he survived that plateau stage, a physiological stage of no development,  which was crucial for he either die or live.  He pulled through that stage and upon our nursing  he got stronger, ready to take on the world with kennel fierceness.

I don't know but dog has this protective instinct to their master and territory. Shadow was no exception  for he was protective to us and when a another askal from our neighbor  will go sniffing  their way to our property or human comes  for a visit would bark angrily and his eyes  will go glassy  with a kill.  I guess it was loudly telling them that  our property is his, no one messes with it or he would bite off 2 kilos of meat off  your back. His growing from baby to adulthood was without grave incidents. One time, when Shadow,  MaiMai came to visit Aring, our adopted child, she was bitten when she just went  prancing inside  our fence. Thank God, Shadow after observing him 5 days, if gets weak or gone crazy ,  he  acted normal so meaning he had no rabies. Well, MaiMai wasn't the only victim of his biting, Aloy, Aring's brother was also one of the statistics.  I guess Shadow  had a hots for Aloy for he would always irritate the dog by throwing stones at him, tease him and scare him. As a means of retaliation, Shadow settled the score by driving his sharp teeth into his legs. Another, is our neighbor, who would stone and bat him with a tree stick that resulted to his limping for days matched with an open wound from being stoned. No matter , how much we would like to bring our neighbor to  the barangay court we can't for we  don't have a indicting evidence against him. Again, Shadow, like a shadow with a vengeance, had bitten him in the arm.  The incident was  later called "quits" for he treated our dog with cruelty, I guess he knows what he had done to the hapless dog and he brought it upon himself. If we can only read Shadow's expression, we are sure that there is this smug look upon his face. 

Although, I pictured Shadow as a fierce and insane dog. We was actually, very gentle and thoughtful. Why? Like any other dog, when we came home from somewhere, he would get so excited. We would bark with zestful excitement upon seeing us, wag his tail and he would turn circles like crazy which very cute at times annoying for he would jump on us and soil our clothes. A simple "chee!" and he would stop and go meek.  As always, we never pampered him like some people but we were never cruel to him. What we eat is what he eats. Sometimes, we bathed him which would drive him crazy that we eventually stopped it. As he was not on a leash, he is free to roam around the place, getting into fights with other dogs in the neighborhood, eating dead frogs, scavenging the trash or garbage and breeding other females dogs. One time, when our neighbor's Japanese Spitz got out of the their gated property, Shadow wasted no time humping her. If they had an offspring? I guess none.     

Shadow

Shadow's intense nature had eventually earned him the refutation of being the leader among the askals. His refutation even grown like an urban legend in our place, people  were wary to pass by our house for a barbaric dog will bite them. Parents would warn their children to tread carefully with Shadow. No drunkards would attempt to snare him for their pulutan( a food served with a alcoholic drink) for his menacing stature. Our house or the place within our property's vicinity was treated with dread with police cordon around it.  Shadow definitely live to our expectation and purpose and more.      

One of the behavior of dogs, Shadow was no exception, was to tail their master. He would excitedly, accompany us when we walk to the highway for a commute. There are times when he would cross the highway, see us hop into a jeep and that's the time he would go running home. Sometimes, a simple "uli!" meaning go home was enough for him go prancing back home but sometimes not. Until one night, that was Sunday, my sister, the one who brought him home, went out to go to a Mass celebration, when Shadow tailed her to the highway. She frighteningly, shooed him away, she was fearing that a vehicle will ran him down. After a few attempts, she managed to shoo him which gave her a sigh of relief. She recounted that, she saw Shadow, when crossing the highway seems to  have a know how. on how to do it. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, when Shadow  was not fast enough to run for safety to a speeding taxi which hit him on the head. She said that she heard a loud bang and a unforgettable whimper from a dog who was obviously in great pain. The taxi just went on speeding and the next time she saw was Shadow running, from what she can guess, home.  She thought that Shadow will be okay and she went her way to church. But she was wrong for we just found Shadow lifeless in our backyard. It was  my mother who found her first and the next thing scene was commotion that woke my sister who told us that the dog was hit by a taxi. 

Shadow died of internal hemorrhage of March 2006. If I can  fit in my foot in his shoes it  really must had been painful and a slow death. I can just imagine the excruciating pain and  can't do anything to alleviate it. It must be very very hard to be a dog, when the means of communication is bark or growl, humans cannot acutely guess for what  they means. For Shadow to  go come running to  a  distant home and die must have been a painful ordeal. It was amazing how  brave he was in his pain that he can still go home to the house where he was loyal with.  From what  my mother and my siblings story, they never heard him cry. They just wondered  why there was no familiar bark. Upon seeing his dead body, we immediately, dug a grave for him. 

I never really bothered Shadow. I mean, I always tell people in the house to feed him. never to forget to feed him or he might go loony with starvation but to touch him or cuddle him? Nary. The longest conversation I had with him was "stop" when he goes carting off the other pair of the slipper or chew on plastics in our garbage or  yell at  out" of the house when he is smelling like death when he feasted on frogs. But when he died I cried! As in cry an honest cry of sadness and pity to a dog who had served us greatly and the way he died was a true tearjerker. A brave dog indeed he was. He is surely missed.      

The Tale of Gam Gam: The English Mutt

On the grounds of Divine Mercy, El Salvador

Who am I to discount the wild tale of the feat of tiny  street urchin that my brother picked and brought home one rainy night? What I'm about to tell is a story of one tiny creature who pulled a stunt of bravery. An inspirational story from  rags  to riches.

Out of compassion, my brother brought  home  this little mutt that looks scraggy and sick. For days, after bringing  him home,  my brother and father was troubled for 2 days the dog was not eating; not the dog food, the fish, the viand with rice.I mean Nada.  What he would do was just to sniff the food and leave like a haughty  stiff upper lip Brit (no pun intended). Probably one of the reasons, was his name GamGam, which was definitely  not his name, felt foreign to him.  By the way, GamGam is just a male derivative  from a female dog 's name- MagMag , a terrier poodle my brother used to have .  Since the small canine wasn't eating what  they did was not to serve food in his feeding plate for days . His only sustenance was just water .Like a defeated soldier, he raised his white flag and surrendered to his appetite  after 2 days of fasting. Like beggar who had not eaten for months he has no choice but eat what was being served-a fistful serving of vegetable and rice. Of course, the drama didn't end there for the English mutt with brown orange hair made a paw declaration that he is going vegetarian. Where on earth can one find a vegan dog? Well, Gam Gam was(past tense). Since then he doesn't eat anything other than vegetable and rice.

Shaking after a swim from the sea

Because, he origin was unknown, my brother  brought him to the veterinary clinic for a check up, vaccination and to ask the vet the certainty of his canine breed.  The vet said that he has  the royal blood of poodle and  aztec's warrior blood of Chihuahua.  Certainly, one will never know of what breed combination GamGam  came  from. For all I know he could be a cross breed between a Siberian Husky and a Mini pinscher.Kidding aside, obviously the elsewhere original owner  of GamGam who holds the sacred knowledge of the genealogy of Gam Gam-the Vegan Dog from UK. 

The residence of GamGam before

Months have past since GamGam was taken in and he has become forlorn for no one can intermittently let him out of the house for the day. He was left alone in his own devices in the apartment- no toys, no playmates, nothing else to do but eat and sleep. Like any other proper English man, he would  take his bowel respites outside the house.  When no one was around in the loft? GamGam would bear the pain  and need to discharge until my brother and farther would  arrive and  let him out for the day. I guess, with great concern , my brother decided to bring him home (we rents a pad with my father ) for  us  to take care of. Pity to the small snooty dog, his transfer to our residence was not all that he hoped for,  for he was made to live outside the house. For the reason that there are premature twin babies at home and with a dog inside, they might get asthma attacks from its hair. Hesitantly. we installed a small dog house for him made up of plywood, which  we later added a second floor as our dirty kitchen. Imagine the scenario while we cook with firewood a small dog was sleeping and resting below.  Although, he was left to fend for himself with bigger aggressive dogs, foreign food and the sun and the rain he took his station with admirable intestinal  fortitude.  He seems to be happy but getting scrappier and scrappier that his hair got grossly matted  and revoltingly entangled to look at. I guess, no one would attempt to steal or pick up a dirty dog that could be a host of the millions of lice bloated of blood. He had befriended Shadow our fierce guard dog and  from I can see they make an odd couple indeed. For  example Shadow had this scary growl and dangerous barks that one would skitter for safety while GamGam has this little yelps that one would want to pet and cuddle him.

GamGam riding the bus

I don't know but we are wary of dogs. Especially, the dogs we always have are guard dogs who doesn't hesitate to bark and bite  stranger who happens get inside our fence even with a  hair or skin. Unlike some people, we aren't as, lovable and touchy with dogs. We just feed them and on rare occasions we  bathe  them. We bathe GamGam but we never groom him as to even slide a comb in his dreadlocks of a  hair. How far can he get clean? A bathe using human shampoo and detergent  bar.



Months since he was transferred, the Brit diminutive canine  had become a pitiful sight. Out of deference, I decided to bring him to my friend for an adoption, our agreement was  just to give us an offspring/s he might have and of course proper care.  I mean, I took the initiative for I saw the condition that he live at home. We can't provide him the proper care that a breed of his kind needs. If heavy rain   and wind will ensue he will definitely would get wet inside his tiny and humble abode con dirty kitchen . If flood would  strike our place he literally have to swim for his life.  That's no way for a nasal accent Brit to live and he will eventually die. A breed of his kind deserves a honorable death from a lifetime of good life.

My work(haircut style) of GamGam

Before his adoption, I took the courage to clean GamGam . Once and for all he deserves a day in a spa, my own  brand of spa treatment.  Armed with a detergent soap and  a pair of scissors, and  steel shield  I  picked the Vegan Dog, my bad he was no longer vegan at this time, and  placed him in  basin with water and bathed.  While still wet I frighteningly, I don't want to be bitten, I began  cutting  his plastered hair. Good news! no lices. However, I have tell you, with  great regret, that it wasn't without blood,  for at times I  would cut through his pink skin and all he can do was  just  whimper and cry but still bravely hold himself straight albeit shaking with fear and cold- he does not bite and ran. His steadfast resolve against pain was admirable( I suspected an Irish or Viking blood in him). By the time, I was finished with him, he ended up looking like a work of art, except that artist does not have talent and taste, he was an unsightly specimen. Nevertheless, one can clearly see his prominent his adorable and uniquely pink snout and the cute way he looks at you-that intense and intelligent look, that belie an incorrigible innocence.


Sunday, if I can remember, the day that I finally brought him to my friend and his family. Instantly, my friend's mother fell in love with GamGam. How can she not? He was without  props under his belt, he really capitalized on his big doe eyes, ribs poking out, uneven hair cut and this " pity me" act that instantly mesmerizes his unsuspecting victims.  They feed, groomed and brought him to veterinary clinic  for further vaccination. Another opinion was again spun for when the doctor was asked of GamGam's breed, the lady animal doctor she said it is poodle and something. They also asked for his age, the vet said "more than one year" based from the number of canine teeth that had grown.  Indeed, his age and breed still remains a mystery even to this day for no one could tell with certainty. While we respect the vet's   guess we still have to do some research on the net of his kind(breed) the best we can come up was his lineage leans  toward Bichon Frise or Maltese plus another breed. 

The Brit dog at work

Months after his adoption one can tell that his stature had improved but he still remain wary of being touched, since he was not used to being petted. GamGam post no problem to them since he is meek and used to being himself lying under small coffee table in the house. His temperament as always reserved, is not does not get overly excited like some dogs for you seldom hear him bark or see him run  wildly around the house or gnaw  on things. He was still picky with food  (he likes chicken now)and continued to be guarded with people. Indeed a true blue British. 

It's been more than a year since I brought him to my friend's  family and GamGam has become an integral part of their family. He is enjoying the comforts of good grooming, shelter, care, love and affection that is fitting for an English gentleman.    

close up shot