I remember that night of July 26, 2016 when my mother came home and went to my room with a surprising news - she brought a puppy!
I didn't know how to react, let alone what to say. I mean, I wasn't fond of dogs, nor was I even thinking of owning one for that matter.
I mean, I wasn't a dog person.
But anyway, I went down the stairs and saw a big box on the kitchen floor. All I can see was a huge pair of brown eyes that were staring back at me, its whimper coming through the carton. I was already talking to him and cooing him in a high-pitched voice, and right there, I gave him a name - Kyrie, after a famous ball player. So I called him just that from then on, thinking dogs will respond to something out of habit. (I didn't know much about dogs back then, that's why it was just a smart guess on my part.)
When I finally saw how he looked like the next day, I was taken away by how cute he was. His face had a mix of white and black that's why his whiskers on one side were white and the other, black. He also had the cutest voice. But we all noticed he had those small, creepy crawly insects all over his skin so we didn't know what to do with it. So I squished everything in sight, but it turned out there were lots of them. It was about 3 weeks in when he started barking loud, and he first started barking at me! That insolent little thing!
We spent so much time together. It was me who'd clean up his urine whenever he peed, and believe it was tedious and, come to think of it, it felt just like changing your baby's diapers whenever he takes a pee.
But he was cute! I like the way he'd run to me every time I call his name first thing in the morning to greet me, but he'd pee as well. I read somewhere that was due to excitement or submission, but I couldn't be sure. And speaking of reading, since we had Kyrie, I've lost track of how many times I've googled something to learn about dogs. Fortunately, Kyrie wasn't really much of a problem. He never broke anything at home, never pooped anywhere around the house and never caused problems with the neighbors (well, so far).
When Kyrie turned a year old last year, I gave him lots of treats. His birthday was in June. I noticed that, unlike most dogs, he really doesn't like chewy toys that dogs normally play around to sharpen their teeth. He particularly hates those soft, squishy toys that sound off whenever you squeeze them. I fact, he'd walk away looking bothered and chill somewhere. He also doesn't like water. He doesn't like being washed so he'd step out of the bathroom whenever I walk in because he thinks I'll give him a bath again. (He'd sometimes sleep there all by himself because the tiles are pretty cold.)
The water thing has been the biggest problem so far. I followed some good, behavioral tips from the internet and I can say his fear of water is slowly being chipped away although he was still a little uncomfortable, shaking and crying which kinda breaks my heart.
Every morning e was always the first to greet me with his tail wagging by the stairs. He knew if it was my footsteps, as I can see him running to the stairs even before he could see me.
When I was a kid, we used to have cats. Don't get me wrong, I like cats. But dogs are just as cute, adorable and very loving, plus they'd follow you around and will wait for you til you get home, with tails wagging and their big eyes beaming with excitement and all. Cats are a little, um, independent. Guess I just like suckers.