A Dog Story: Missing Poodle

Missing. Lost. Gone. Perhaps even dead.

Where is he? Where is Ren-ren, our poodle? Where, where, where? Wish he'd come back.

Today totally sucked. When I got home from school, I found out that Ren-ren's missing. No one saw him go, no one saw him taken, no one knew where he went, no one knew where he is right now. In a minute, the whole house was on fire, with everyone searching for Ren-ren. Papa went around the streets, asking for him. My sisters went too, riding in the car and yelling Ren-ren's name, stopping at every bark of a dog. The yayas were frantic, because of course they were here all day so they were responsible for Ren-ren.

Lord, we miss Ren-ren. My little sister was nearly hysterical already, crying and blaming the yayas. She even made a video of herself, reporting, "ACTV News...This morning, a dog was...He is Ren-ren (sob)...Please, if you find him (sniff. cry.)...return him to us...reward is P1000...!"

The rest of the night is spent in misery. As of now, while I'm typing here, Papa is still going out and looking for him. My sisters and I are already reminiscing about the good times with Ren-ren, looking at photos and telling each other stories about the last time we saw him. I in particular remember how I wouldn't let him enter the house and would shoo him away.

It's as if he's dead. But, Lord, please don't take him yet. He's still alive, somewhere out there, probably missing us. He'd go crazy without us.

He was our first dog. I remember how he first came to us as a little cottonball of fur, all sweet and adorable. He grew up with us; we grew up with him. Oh no. I just remembered! It was his 7th birthday on September 19, and we forgot. Each one of us. God, I feel so guilty.

What if Ren-ren got tired of us and got mad because we forgot his birthday so he went off and vowed to never return? Or what if he saw another dog and his basic instincts took over him so he chased after that dog and got lost? Or what if someone found him, roaming in the rain, and took him away? Or worse, what if someone stole him, to sell him, or to turn him to dinner?

We were all imagining the endless possibilities of what happened to him. Just some minutes ago, we heard barking from a nearby house. We began thinking that it might be him. Maybe it's just a figment of our depressed minds. Like just a second ago, I thought he barked right outside the door.

Lesson learned: We only realize the value of something when it's taken away from us. Like Ren-ren. He was old already and we didn't pay him that much attention compared to when he was a pup, because we have younger, more energetic puppies right now. Old Dog was forgotten.

So now that we learned our lesson, can you please come home now, Ren-ren?