Our Glass (not Hour Glass)
From tomorrow onwards, when I am at the hospital, besides missing my husband and my children, and besides thinking of my Domestic Helper who has become very much a family friend to me, I am going to miss Glass, too.
It's been more than a year since Glass joined our family and came home to live with us.
Glass is the third pet dog in our family.
We had Caesar when we lived in Hougang, but sadly, Caesar stayed with us for only less than a week.
Then, there was Dolly who joined us in Serangoon Gardens. Dolly was from the SPCA. She was a lively puppy. Our neighbour used to point at her and say, "Lassie!" because Dolly looked so much like the collie canine-star of the TV serial "Lassie". Dolly stayed with us for about half a year. In the end she had to leave because we simply could not handle her. We were inexperienced dog-owners then and she was SO lively!
In the short few months that Dolly was with us, she dug umpteen holes in our garden and destroyed our lawn. Daily, she jumped at the fence a thousand times a day, barking at neighbours' school-going children, ice-cream men, postmen, karung-guni men, road sweepers, the garbage truck, salesmen and at domestic-helpers who strolled by on their way to the market. She got the most out-of-hand and seemed to get into a frenzy especially when the post man came around each afternoon. She would race around the porch and in the garden, leaping at the fence and the gate, and knocking over several pots of plants. It was a daily affair and soon, I dreaded the approach of noon because that's when the postman usually came around on his scooter.
In a matter of months, she grew from a cute little puppy into a huge lively Bundle-of-Energy. We were inexperienced dog-owners then, and we were unable to cope. Soon, we realised that our garden was not spacious enough for Dolly to roam around in. We didn't have time to take her out for her daily walks. When she stood on her hind legs, she was so tall that we were afraid she would hurt our 5-year-old daughter. Our neighbours were also getting annoyed with her frequent barking. We had to admit that we were poor care-givers who didn't know how to give the best care to Dolly. Sadly and shame-facedly, we took her back to the SPCA.
For years after that, we felt so ashamed and guilt-ridden that we resolved never to ever have a pet dog again.
But, over the years, I've learned never to say 'Never'!
Last year, on Valentine's Day, after days and weeks of sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons, after much deliberation and after months of careful and prayerful consideration, we took the plunge once more. We made the commitment to have and to hold - for better or for worse till death do us part - in our lives a new love. We welcomed Glass into our family. This new family member was only a few months old.
This time around, we made sure that we did our homework : we read up all we could in order to learn all about caring for a pet dog (particularly this specific breed), we talked to and picked up tips from dog-owner friends and dog-breeder friends, we visited pet farms and pet shops to observe and learn all about dogs and their behaviour, and we sat every member of the family down to make a commitment that we would all love, care for and look after this new family member till the day she dies. It was only when we were sure that each and everyone was ready for such a long-term commitment that we dared to contact our dog-breeder friend.
At first, among us was a family member who was rather reluctant to welcome Glass into our home. Although he loved animals - particularly cats and dogs - he wasn't convinced that we could honor our commitment to care for Glass. Perhaps, after our failure with Dolly, he found it hard to have faith in us or in himself to be committed and responsible care-givers. Once bitten, twice shy! He kept reminding us that we mustn't abandon the dog "halfway"...that we must look after it till the day it dies; and that unless we were ready for that kind of commitment, we should never bring another dog home to live under our roof.
Within days of coming to live with us, Glass soon won our hearts and our love. Committing to care for her becomes the most natural thing to do. She is well-behaved, intelligent, loyal, sensitive, obedient and most teachable. She is friendly, warm, fun and lovable. She provides good company. She is a good friend. She has become very much a part of our lives and of our family.
Glass is especially close to my daughter and to me. When my daughter isn't home, Glass will seek out my company, following me around the house. She is hardly out of my sight, or rather, she will hardly let me out of her sight. When I sit, she'll sprawl out comfortably at my feet. When I move out of my chair, she gets up to go too.
Whenever she wants a game of "Tug" or "Fetch", she'll nudge me with her paw and lick my hand, or she'll offer me her favourite plush toy, her blue "Elephant" or her red "Raggedy". Then, when I reach for the toy, she'll playfully back off by a few steps as if to say, "Come and get it if you want it!" Another of her favourite game is "Tag", especially when I go after her in my wheelchair. When she's tired out from running away from me, she will dash to the middle of the kitchen and turn around to "taunt" me. It's almost as if she would say, "Hah! Come lah, come and get me...if you will!" She seems to know that with the curb between the kitchen and the dining room, I would not go after her in my wheelchair.
Nowadays, Glass has even learnt to take a cue from the pc...when she hears "Tada" or Microsoft Window's logging off/shutting down signature tune, she knows it's time to get up and go. No matter how sleepy she is, she would rouse herself from her sleep, yawn, stretch and get up from under my chair to walk to the exit of the study room where she would turn around, stop and wait for me at the door. When the pc has completely shut down and the whirring of the pc ceases, Glass will saunter out of the room and wait outside for me.
She's such a smart little lass! How can she not win my heart!
O how I shall miss her (and I believe she, me) when I am away at the hospital! She'd probably be very puzzled about my sudden disappearance... : (
It's been more than a year since Glass joined our family and came home to live with us.
Glass is the third pet dog in our family.
We had Caesar when we lived in Hougang, but sadly, Caesar stayed with us for only less than a week.
Then, there was Dolly who joined us in Serangoon Gardens. Dolly was from the SPCA. She was a lively puppy. Our neighbour used to point at her and say, "Lassie!" because Dolly looked so much like the collie canine-star of the TV serial "Lassie". Dolly stayed with us for about half a year. In the end she had to leave because we simply could not handle her. We were inexperienced dog-owners then and she was SO lively!
In the short few months that Dolly was with us, she dug umpteen holes in our garden and destroyed our lawn. Daily, she jumped at the fence a thousand times a day, barking at neighbours' school-going children, ice-cream men, postmen, karung-guni men, road sweepers, the garbage truck, salesmen and at domestic-helpers who strolled by on their way to the market. She got the most out-of-hand and seemed to get into a frenzy especially when the post man came around each afternoon. She would race around the porch and in the garden, leaping at the fence and the gate, and knocking over several pots of plants. It was a daily affair and soon, I dreaded the approach of noon because that's when the postman usually came around on his scooter.
In a matter of months, she grew from a cute little puppy into a huge lively Bundle-of-Energy. We were inexperienced dog-owners then, and we were unable to cope. Soon, we realised that our garden was not spacious enough for Dolly to roam around in. We didn't have time to take her out for her daily walks. When she stood on her hind legs, she was so tall that we were afraid she would hurt our 5-year-old daughter. Our neighbours were also getting annoyed with her frequent barking. We had to admit that we were poor care-givers who didn't know how to give the best care to Dolly. Sadly and shame-facedly, we took her back to the SPCA.
For years after that, we felt so ashamed and guilt-ridden that we resolved never to ever have a pet dog again.
But, over the years, I've learned never to say 'Never'!
Last year, on Valentine's Day, after days and weeks of sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons, after much deliberation and after months of careful and prayerful consideration, we took the plunge once more. We made the commitment to have and to hold - for better or for worse till death do us part - in our lives a new love. We welcomed Glass into our family. This new family member was only a few months old.
This time around, we made sure that we did our homework : we read up all we could in order to learn all about caring for a pet dog (particularly this specific breed), we talked to and picked up tips from dog-owner friends and dog-breeder friends, we visited pet farms and pet shops to observe and learn all about dogs and their behaviour, and we sat every member of the family down to make a commitment that we would all love, care for and look after this new family member till the day she dies. It was only when we were sure that each and everyone was ready for such a long-term commitment that we dared to contact our dog-breeder friend.
At first, among us was a family member who was rather reluctant to welcome Glass into our home. Although he loved animals - particularly cats and dogs - he wasn't convinced that we could honor our commitment to care for Glass. Perhaps, after our failure with Dolly, he found it hard to have faith in us or in himself to be committed and responsible care-givers. Once bitten, twice shy! He kept reminding us that we mustn't abandon the dog "halfway"...that we must look after it till the day it dies; and that unless we were ready for that kind of commitment, we should never bring another dog home to live under our roof.
Within days of coming to live with us, Glass soon won our hearts and our love. Committing to care for her becomes the most natural thing to do. She is well-behaved, intelligent, loyal, sensitive, obedient and most teachable. She is friendly, warm, fun and lovable. She provides good company. She is a good friend. She has become very much a part of our lives and of our family.
Glass is especially close to my daughter and to me. When my daughter isn't home, Glass will seek out my company, following me around the house. She is hardly out of my sight, or rather, she will hardly let me out of her sight. When I sit, she'll sprawl out comfortably at my feet. When I move out of my chair, she gets up to go too.
Whenever she wants a game of "Tug" or "Fetch", she'll nudge me with her paw and lick my hand, or she'll offer me her favourite plush toy, her blue "Elephant" or her red "Raggedy". Then, when I reach for the toy, she'll playfully back off by a few steps as if to say, "Come and get it if you want it!" Another of her favourite game is "Tag", especially when I go after her in my wheelchair. When she's tired out from running away from me, she will dash to the middle of the kitchen and turn around to "taunt" me. It's almost as if she would say, "Hah! Come lah, come and get me...if you will!" She seems to know that with the curb between the kitchen and the dining room, I would not go after her in my wheelchair.
Nowadays, Glass has even learnt to take a cue from the pc...when she hears "Tada" or Microsoft Window's logging off/shutting down signature tune, she knows it's time to get up and go. No matter how sleepy she is, she would rouse herself from her sleep, yawn, stretch and get up from under my chair to walk to the exit of the study room where she would turn around, stop and wait for me at the door. When the pc has completely shut down and the whirring of the pc ceases, Glass will saunter out of the room and wait outside for me.
She's such a smart little lass! How can she not win my heart!
O how I shall miss her (and I believe she, me) when I am away at the hospital! She'd probably be very puzzled about my sudden disappearance... : (
posted by Me at 6/06/2005 09:50:00 PM
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