a tribute to milenyo

I remember the first time I saw him was when Ayn and I brought Allan to his house. He told us to wait so that he could show Milenyo to us. He brought Milenyo out on a leash and the dog was sniffing all over and jumping excitedly. When Allan brought him to the door of Ayn's van, he almost jumped inside and I was so nervous. Ayn was all, "Awww, doggie, doggie!" and I was, "Ay, cute nga siya--- get him away from me." Allan was so proud of his dog. He laughed at the fact that I was afraid of him. "Ang bait-bait nga niya, eh!"

Sometimes, habang nagtetelebabad kami dati ni Allan, kinukwentuhan niya ako tungkol kay Milenyo, but I wasn't really interested because I didn't care much for dogs (since I knew they didn't care much for ME, either!). Once, while Allan and I were talking, he suddenly started shouting in disgust.

"Ano??? Bakit?? Ano'ng nangyari??"

"YAAAAAAAAK!!! N***b***n si Milenyo sa braso kohhh!!!!! AAAAHHH!!!"

I laughed so hard, but for the life of me, I could not fathom how something like that could happen. I couldn't picture it in my mind. Then again, who would want to?

Allan used to tell me that Milenyo liked to kiss him while he was sleeping. I thought it was something like you see on TV where owners give their pets pecks on their noses. He said it was much worse than that. I didn't really believe him.

I finally got to meet Milenyo one-on-one, face-to-face last October when I went to Allan's house to view his downloaded videos. I talked about that in one blog entry. He barked and barked at me through the screen, perched on the sofa like a weird cat and I clung to Allan's shirt and whispered over and over through clenched teeth, "Don't let him jump on me, don't let him jump on me." I kept remembering how frisky he was that first time in Ayn's van. But after an eager sniffing, he deemed me harmless enough to calm down, so I was finally able to relax. Later, he put his head on me knee and looked up at me with doe eyes so that I just had to say, "Awww," and pet him. He seemed to like me.

When Allan and I got together, and I started to go to his house more often, Milenyo would always greet me the same way. At first, I was still nervous, but then I realized that he was just excited that Allan was home and that he had brought his pretty visitor (hehe, joke lang ;) with him. Once, I was watching TV while Allan was catching some much needed sleep on the sofa, snoring away, when the strangest thing happened. Milenyo went up to him and started licking Allan's lips. Eeew, I know. I thought the same thing. But I figured, "Hey, they probably have this special kind of relationship," so I didn't mind it much. Then, I noticed that Milenyo's tongue was practically inside Allan's mouth. Oh gawd. Yes, I know, I know. Uggghhhh! And to think those are the lips I kiss (that in itself is something not many people like to imagine, either, hahaha). EEEwwwwrrgGGHHH!

At first, I would swat Milenyo away with a "No, Milenyo!" but in 3 seconds, he'd be back at Allan's lips, licking away lovingly. I tried waking up Allan, too, but that's even more of a Herculean effort. In time, everything seemed so futile that I just let the two lovebirds be. Allan would wake up bugnot and I'd say, "Milenyo kissed you, you know."

"Talaga?? Ba't hindi mo siya pinigilan?? Yaak!"

"Hello! Ang hirap kaya! I even tried waking you up, but that didn't work, either."

He'd slump dejectedly in his seat and say, "Napanaginipan ko pa naman na kini-kiss kita. Hay naku!!" We would discuss from time to time whether Milenyo was gay or not. Such was that admirable canine's devotion to his master.

Allan told me once about the time that Milenyo actually followed Mrs. Montero out up to the LRT station. She was in a dilemma because, on one hand, she had to leave immediately, and on the other, she couldn't leave him there. Fortunately, Joey (candyaudioline circa '98) just stepped off the LRT and was on his way home. She begged him to bring Milenyo back to their house. So Joey had no choice but to hoist him up onto his shoulders and carry him like a goat all the way back to Allan's house. It was so weird to see Milenyo up on Joey's shoulders like that, Allan recalled.

Last New Year's Eve, Milenyo barked and growled at Ralph, whom he had seen very little of. But when the fireworks started, he hid under the table or cowered beside Allan's leg all night.

Milenyo, for all his quirks, was a very good dog. I don't like dogs, but if I'll ever have one, I'd want it to be like Milenyo. He was always the first to know if Allan's brother was going to have an attack. He used to wait up for Allan all night 'til he came home from a gig. He would bark at intruders, but once he knew you were a friend, he'd behave well around you and even come up for a pat on the head. He shit and pissed where he was supposed to and took care never to dirty the floor, although he was known to chew some things to shreds in his lifetime (casualties include several cellular phones, a thousand peso bill, and a walkman).

When he got sick, we were all worried about him. He wouldn't eat. He became very thin. His bark was no longer deep and full but weak and high-pitched. He slunk around the house instead of bounding to and fro. He never stopped trying to wag his tail, though. They brought him to a vet, who diagnosed him with pneumonia, worms and an eye infection. They gave him medicine, and he improved slightly, but he eventually lapsed back into deterioration. One night, while Allan and I were at the computer, he shit on the floor and convulsed. We were shocked at how far gone he was. He looked like a dog who, having found himself incontinent, had finally lost his canine dignity. It was heartbreaking to see him like that.

His death was unceremonious. He had passed away early in the morning; Allan's older brother had tearfully broken the news to him. They couldn't bury him in the tiny plot of land in their compound so they had no choice but to give his body to the garbage truck when it passed. It seemed an irreverent end to a noble life.

Last Sunday was the first time I went to Allan's after the death of Milenyo. It was strange not to have Milenyo sniffing around me as I walked through the door, but his recent sickness had put an end to that habit weeks before and I had already gotten used to it. I didn't think much of Milenyo's absence at first; perhaps, in the back of my mind, I thought he was going to reappear out of hiding suddenly, like he was still playing a game with us. But then, I remembered that he wasn't going to come up to me for a rub ever again and I felt a distinct empty feeling in the air.