Have you ever experienced the joy of having one?
Hunter was my first official dog – a German Shepherd who shared my life for 14 years.
An uncle brought him to our home to show him off. For some reason, he got out of the garage, ran out in a playful mode, and onto a speeding vehicle moving downhill. By most accounts, that would have been the end of it. But the driver was able to brake fast enough, and Hunter found himself crying out – not from a car injury, but a possible pulled muscle and a sudden stiff neck. Not to mention he was traumatized.
My mom, got furious with my uncle’s poor judgement, leading to him leaving Hunter with us… or should I say, with me. Hunter slept at my bed that night. I was a young, College Freshman by this time, and a very private person – far from the sociable debonaire in front of you :)
That trauma with the car, however, would come back again and again by way of a debilitating pain in the neck area. He would yelp and cry out, and out of desperation, we gave him Neurobion (a nerve medicine) – that seemed to work, but it came to a point where my mom talked to me about bringing him to the vet to euthanize him. That evening I hugged Hunter and prayed to God give him more time to be my companion, at least, until I would have a partner and not be left alone. For some reason – call it a miracle, or an answered prayer even… Hunter’s attacks stopped.
--------- Fun times: We’d play ball – that would mean me bouncing a pelota ball on the floor to ricochet to the wall, and arch back to me – or Hunter; to whoever was fast enough to catch it’s downward curve. This definitely gave him some much needed exercise. We would go for walks – one opportunity arose; we snuck up on an unsuspecting cat, downwind – one slow step at a time. Hunter understood what I wanted to do, so he also moved slowly - we were on a hunt, and we were able to reach within six inches from this blissfully unsuspecting cat, who was busy grooming itself. We were literally on top of it. I then waitrd until it realizes it’s predicament, and like a flash, it sped away from us. I held back – after all, the challenge was to sneak close. Chasing would not be a real challenge… plus I’m sure I just spared the cat from spending one of it's lives.
One of the more consistent things Hunter would do is always wait by the door for me to arrive from school. Whenever I opened the door, he’d be there… excited to greet me. And it was a good feeling to go home to someone literally bounding for joy. It would also be a great counter to the sermon I would receive form my mom for coming home late. On certain occasions that I felt I was at the short end of life's situations, I would literally talk to Hunter - he became my sounding board. He looked like he understood me, and sat beside me to offer companioinship
No one outside of my family could approach me when I was asleep. And even then, if any of my sisters would try - he’d give a warning growl. I would therefore wake because they would start berating Hunter. It wasn't his fault, he was just protecting me. Meanwhile, they (my sisters) would stay a respectful distance away while dong so.
I used to own a harmonica, and tried playing a sad haunting tune with it; Hunter would start moaning and bellowing – singing in accompaniment. Amazing, huh? He could feel the emotive nature of the tune and join in. Hunter was also social with my friends. WHenever they visited, he'd just be under the table - seemingly listening to teh conversations. He saw me accepting them, and in the process, he, too, accpeted their comapny. When I'd converse and drink some alcoholic beverages with them until late at night, he'd stay with us for the duration of their visit. If a friend slept at my spare bed, Hunter would allow it - he even had this habit of getting the cardboard center of a toilet paper roll, and just chew and salivate on it. Then he'd put it on my sleeping frien's chest - sort of asking to play toss the soggy roll, and he would fetch it, then return it to repeat the process of toss and fetch.
-------- Hunter meets Barbie Hunter was my dog, years before I met Barbie. When I brought Barbie home to meet the family on my mom’s birthday, Hunter stuck close – always observing, and smelling her. He was measuring her – to see if she was worthy of me. As time went by, if he saw her hugging me, he would insist on putting himself between us. But he would also notice my mood – and know that Barbie wasn’t hurting me at all… just frustrated with his over-protectiveness. He accepted (or tolerated) her around me.
When she would mockingly act like she was attacking me, he knew enough to intervene – but not attack. You have to realize, against a petite female; a full grown German Shepherd can intervene in a lot of ways. Still… for the love of me, they tolerated – even loved each other.
Nerve attacks again: One night his nerve attacks came back. This was Barbie’s first time seeming Hunter this way, and she tried comforting him too. Again I prayed silently… this time, asking God not to take Hunter yet – at least, not until I had a family… and like before, the attacks subsided. However, I also realized that Hunter had been my constant companion for close to 14 years, and his age was catching up. For all intents and purposes, he was a senior - an aged dog in his twilight years Hunter leaves: When Hunter finally left me, it hurt a lot. I won’t be ashamed to say I cried. I had to bring him to a place in Manila that accepted animals for burial. After all, it would be hard to bury a relatively large dog in a place that hardly had soil. I had to borrow a friend's car. When Fred found out why I needed the car - no questions asked, he lent me the car. This ws to rush him to the vet. He also knew how close Hunter was to me. Unfortunately, when I saw tht HUnter looked to want some water, I asked the vet clinic if they had a water dish. For some reason, they didn't and we ended up looking around. By the time I returned to him, Hunter was already gone. I hated the clinic for robbing me of having those last moments with Hunter. Fred and I searched for the burial place, before that, we even brought Hunter to my sister, to sort of say their goodbyes. I was drained, tired, and sad - but when I got home, Barbie comforted me, and showed me the ‘good news’ – she was pregnant (with Bryce).
It seemed that Hunter had stayed on until I had my family… he left knowing I was not alone anymore. His mission of companionship, loyalty and unconditional love had ended. He knew I was in good hands. I thanked God for all those years and imagine him looking down on me from pet heaven.
Truth be told, I enjoyed my experience with Hunter. Yes, his passing was painful. But rather than focus on the pain of his leaving, I prefer to remember the good old days. Do I regret having Hunter? Of course not. Would I do it again? We did. Still do. You can learn and grow with your dog. They will reward you with loyalty, playfulness but most of all… unconditional love. So, my advice? Ditch your aloof and demanding cats, and adopt a dog as your companion instead. Hahahaha! Just kidding... we do have cats too. But the commection just isn't the same. The show of unconditional love is deep with dogs, and I'd like to think they also make you a better person for it.
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