THE RETURN OF CLING-CLING
THE
RETURN OF CLING-CLING
Edward’s pet dog Sophie, died while he was out of the country.
And so, hurting like anybody would when
you know you can’t be present when your
pet is laid to rest, he turned to me for comfort and asked if I could share this
tale once more.
Let me begin by quoting Oliver Wendel
Holmes: Beware how you take away hope from any human being.” And so to those
who cling with faith and enduring hope to
the Lord’s promise that we will all be reunited with our loved ones in heaven one blessed day, this story is for
you. You see, I like to imagine “loved
ones” to include the pets we loved and
who loved us so unconditionally in life. I have always maintained that in all
probability, a living, loving creature with strong emotions has a soul.
I can’t prove that, of course, but neither
can I ,prove that you and I have souls .
I simply chose to believe we have - it
is an act of faith.
But allow me to share my own personal
encounter with a ghost dog:
When
my dog Jay-Ar was taken to the pet clinic, the attending veterinarian called me
in my office to explain its affliction. Doctor M also expressed his satisfaction with the
affection and concern Yaya Nelly gave the ailing animal.
“If everybody who came to my clinic knew
the history of their animals like your maid did , my job as vet would be so much
easier. Bilib ako talaga sa katulong mo. Parang tao ang tingin niya sa kanyang
alaga. Ang suerte ni Jay-Ar.”
This did not surprise me. My servant knew that in my home, pets are
treated like people. And even a newly hired maid would, in time, begin to develop an affection for the animals
when she sees the care her employers give them.
One day, a strange thing happened. Nelly
told me over merienda that she saw a
strange dog sitting outside my closed bedroom. It was facing the door with its
head gently moving from side to side as though waiting for someone to let it
in. When the dog saw Nelly, it began to wag its tail.
“ Inday, “ my maid of twenty years excitedly reported to me. “ For a while I
thought a stray had wandered into our house. But it was such a friendly dog and
it acted as though it knew me. So, I assumed that perhaps it belonged to our
next door neighbor but just as I was about to make a call, the dog simply
disappeared. Nakakagulat, tumayo ang
balahibo ko! (it was so startling. I had goose pimples.) I looked all over
the place for it. I wondered how it could have possibly gotten in or out of our
house with all our doors closed and the garden gate, too. And its rather
strange that the rest of the animals did not notice its presence.”
This alarmed me. That dog could have
easily been a prowler. Our subdivision had its share of well-publicized
burglaries. If a dog could easily come in and out of our house, a stranger
could.
“ Of course, that was no strange dog,” I
snapped impatiently. “You must have mistaken one of our dogs for a stray. Next
time be very sure you do not leave any door unlocked.”
“It was not one of our dogs,” my maid
insisted. “And besides this one was a
large spotted dog with one black ear. It had such round, gentle eyes and I could
swear it was smiling at me. And you know what, I have this strong feeling it
was waiting for you to come out of your bedroom.”
Nelly had been with me for two decades
and I knew she could be very stubborn at times, specially when she knew she was
right. This loyal servant, was a hardworking, no nonsense type of person who
has earned the respect of my family and so I decided to control my annoyance.
The description, however, opened a wound
in my heart I thought had healed a long time ago. It reminded me of a beloved
pet I lost in the early seventies.
SUDDENLY, she was very much alive in my
mind. Cling-cling (short for Cleopatra) was a female terrier my father had
given me for my 30th birthday. I did not have a chance to go home to
Iloilo to get the female pup and so, after a long delay of eight months, my
mother decided to bring the dog to me
herself. My family and I were living in Cebu City at that time ; my husband’s
first provincial assignment out of Manila.
My concern about Cling-cling not being
able to adjust to me and my young family was unfounded. It was love at first
sight for the dog. It rushed to lick my hands, its tail wagging and its entire
body swaying as it whimpered in pleasure. I was astonished! My father was so
happy over the developments and laughingly told me over the phone…”I had
brainwashed that dog that she is your dog, yours and yours alone. A gift from mama and me.”
No dog had ever been that devoted to me.
She would run around in circles with barks of welcome when I came home and she
would follow me all over the house like my shadow. She was happiest when I
allowed her to come inside our master’s bedroom where she would lie patiently
in one corner keeping an eye on me, her eyes shining with overflowing canine
affection.
Her overwhelming devotion was touching
and it set me wondering if there was truth in the reincarnation theory that a
human spirit can enter an animal’s body. Who’s loving spirit was in my dog’s
body? Was it someone I had known in another life?
For two years Cling-Cling led a happy,
contented life in our rented home with its sprawling yard and fruit trees just
behind the perimeter wall of Cebu Country Club. When my husband was reassigned
to Davao City, I brought along my dog despite difficulties. Cling-cling
suffered injuries from that boat trip when her dog cage fell off a precarious
perch while being unloaded from the ship.
After almost four years in Davao City, my
husband was once again reassigned. But the memory of that accident made me
hesitant to bring my now aging dog with me. I couldn’t decide whether to leave
her with a cousin who was also a dog lover or risk another boat misadventure.
I finally decided to bring her along. I
was afraid the separation would break the dog’s heart. And so, the plan was for
my family to go ahead by plane and Cling-cling together with another pet would
follow by boat along with the crates carrying our personal effects. This was
the way it went on the previous trip.
Before I left for the airport, I checked
her cage personally to ensure it was securely locked and of course to assure
her everything would be okay this time.
“ I’ll see you in Bacolod City after a
few days, Cling,” I told her as I scratched her ears and played with her cold,
black nose. She seemed to understand as she sadly licked my hand, her eyes
pleading and sorrowful. When she saw me board the waiting cab, she began to
howl – a long, mournful wail that was like a dirge.
The sorrowful cry from my beloved pet
would re-echo in my mind for many years. You see, my dog never made it to
Bacolod City. That night, when my silly maid who was left behind to sail with
the dogs opened the cage to feed her, the agitated dog bolted out of her cage
and was lost forever. She might have tried to follow my cab and lost her way,
who knows?
For many years, I refused to have
another dog in the house - until Jay-Ar came along. And for a long, long time I
would dream of Cling-Cling patiently waiting for me to come out of my bedroom
so she may share my merienda hours
with me. The early afternoons had always been her favorite time of day because
she had me all to herself. With the morning chores over and the fetching of the
kids from school still a few hours away, I would leisurely take my afternoon
snacks with my dog. How she loved hot pan
de sal dipped in cocoa.
That evening, as I was watching tv, I
imagined a wet, cold nose nudge my hand that was dangling from the side of my
bed. I bolted straight up, startled. I don’t know what made me run to Jay-Ars
cage! He was dead but his body was still warm. He died from heart worms which
he got from mosquito bites.
After we buried Jay-Ar, it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps Cling-cling
knowing I would be in pain again came to comfort me, or perhaps warn me of my
impending loss? And was it Jay-Ar this time who nudged me to announce his
death and say goodbye?
I would never know for sure, would I?
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