My Sister's Loves

My sister and I had our weekly update chat last night via skype. We talked for almost two hours and she delighted me with many stories mainly about our family. My sister is a natural talker, and very gregarious too. One thing that really brings me joy whenever I talk to her is about her dogs. I was born into a family who loves pets, especially dogs. We would always have puppies in the house--one or two--and they would usually remain with us until they grow old and die. We treat them like members of the family. I remember we had a dog which my auntie named "Pilita", a famous singer in my country with Spanish blood. Funny how a dog can have that name. Well, obviously she can bark, yes, but sing, no! And then, I remember we also raised rabbits (which multiply fast), and ostrich. For more than five years now, my dad and aunt raise some chickens at the back of our family house in the province. We don't want them to (because it's additional work for them and we just want them to relax and enjoy a retiree's life), but they would always insist that it's their pastime. So, instead of running an argument with my dad (which would always happen when it comes to his chickens), we just let them do what they want.

Going back to my sister and her dogs, she has four actually, but she can't hide the fact that she dotes on two (the ones in the picture). One of them is Julian (or sometimes, Jualini), which I gave her as a birthday present a year ago. Simon is a Japanese spitz. And then, there's Jazmin or whom we fondly call Jazmini. Jazmin is a hybrid--a cross between a dachshund and a shih tzu--so she has a long body (from her dachshund mom) and a relatively furry coat (from her shih tzu dad). She is only eight months old and she came to us early this year as a present from my bestfriend. Soon, our house (the one where my sister lives) will be filled with Jazmini's litter as she's already dog-ticipating. Jualiani has just proven his virility. Last night, I told her that Jazmini might have a difficult time giving birth since a dachshund normally has no fewer than 5 puppies and given that his mate (Juliani) is bigger in size that her, then chances are Jazmini's puppies would be larger than the normal (dachshund). Well, my sister is prepared to spend for a C-section for Jazmini, just so her precious dog will not suffer too much!

The other two dogs are Bianca (a fat snobbish spitz-mongrel hybrid who loves to eat) and grandma Chinney (we call her grandma as she's the oldest of the pack. She's actually Bianca's mom, and part of the litter of Jap, my sister's original dog who died two years ago. Jap lived for almost 15 years and was the epitome of a loyal companion dog). These four are my sister's loves.