Goodbye my dear Panzer
When I was a kid, I grew up having lotsa pets at home…dogs, cats, lovebirds, fishes…the list goes on. They come and they go. There was even a time we had 9 dogs at home. I was never close to any of them tho’ coz when I was younger, I had a hard time accepting the death of one of my cute puppies named Griggle. Eversince I don’t attach myself to any pet we adopted after.
Panzer was different. You just can’t help but adore him. He was such an intelligent dog. Shempre, Dutch Shepherd…you know, one of those smart sniff dogs who could detect your presence from miles away. His breed is similar to that of German Shepherds…matapang din. Most "bomb dogs" that you see in Shangri-La EDSA Hotel are his kind.
We adopted Panzer in 1996 I think…he’s been with us so long that I don’t really recall when. Anyway, I instantly fell in love with Panzer coz he was such a sweet dog. He wasn’t actually mine. He was my Kuya Jonas’ pet. A gift from Kuya Jason. I dunno but I adored him so much that I actually declared he’s my dog too (mangenge kasi-haha). I taught him tricks like jump, shake hands, hide his face when I say "tago"…he even knows that his real name is Panzer even if I fondly call him "Pancit" or "Pancito."
He was a nice dog pero medyo seloso. When we got another puppy named Shaggy, I forgot yung breed pero mabalahibo din and maputi, he was jealous at first until they became best friends, sleeping side by side. When Shaggy died, you could see his depression, he kept on running around the house looking for him…we could clearly see that he misses his buddy. There was even a time he slept near a white cloth para lang siguro kunyari he’s beside Shaggy. That was the kind of dog Panzer was, loving and loyal.
He was also close to my dad. When my dad went to Europe for more than a month, he kept on running around the house, even goes up the veranda just to look for his missing amo. (Kasi madalas my dad is just in the veranda)
Pasaway din kasi si Panzer. He was bawal to go inside the house kasi Mama doesn’t allow him to. Pero we caught him sneaking one time, as in dahan dahan pumasok sa house just to look for my dad nga. Nung nakasalubong nya my mom sa corner, bigla sha tumakbo. My mom naman, instead na magalit, natawa na lang kasi ang funny ng pagsneak ni Panzer eh. Haha.
He was such an adorable dog but things changed when he grew up. He seem to have lost his mind. He misbehaved…I began to be afraid of him too when he dragged Mang Fredo under my dad’s Fiera. He even attacked 2 kids one time our gate was left open. He also attacked my uncle Nards one time. He tried to attack my dad too. Baka at that time, he didn’t recognize him. That’s scary…not being recognized that you’re his master. We were told that’s how it is when dogs don’t have…you know…sex. Panzer was never allowed to play with other dogs outside. He was pasaway kaya we never let him go out without a leash. His neck was big that most leashes don’t fit him. Ang mali kasi hindi sha binigyan ng partner para hindi sha nagwawala. After those incidents, the family decided to put him in a cage. Buti nga that was all kasi my dad almost shot him. Poor Mang Fredo, daming bites and imagine that frail body being dragged under the Ford Fiera…pagnanakawala si Mang Fredo, hinahatak nya again pabalik. That’s traumatic ha.
Reclusion Perpetua…Life sentence it is. We just see him every now and then but I grew afraid to touch him for the fear that he doesn’t recognize me too….everytime I visit my parent’s house, I just call out his name and he just responds…that was it.
Fastforward to July 15, 2006 around 2am in the morning…after a fun fellowship night at Giligan’s in Baguio (BioFemme 2nd Sem Kick-Off Rally), I got a text message from my mom. A message sent earlier that I failed to see. The message was that my Panzer died the morning of July 14. Tears flowed down. I will always remember Panzer…the good and even the bad times. He was such a special pet and he’ll always have a special place in my heart. I never loved any pet as much. Goodbye Panzer. May you go to Dog Heaven. I’ll miss you.
*Note that I don’t use IT to regard Panzer. It just don’t seem appropriate.
July 16th, 2006 at 7:07 am
Aw..ang sad ng pagpost mo… Panzer was a good pet..even until after the biting incidents.. he barked whenever a stranger was in front of our home.. he howled a cute howl everytime someone came home as if to say “andito na si (insert family name here)”.. i miss him too sis. at least di na sya nagsusuffer.. (=
July 19th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
pssssst next time, ipa-neuter c panzer pra nde mag-ala 40 yr old virgin.
December 4th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
i also love dogs. i remember my dog addy, puppy pa siya nun..sumakay me ng tricycle not knowing na sumunod pala siya..pag andar ng tricycle nasa ilalim pala siya, yun nasagasaan siya, naipit ang binti niya..i cried and i taught he is dead na..we rush him in the vet clinic and they cast his poor little legs..after recovering from that accident..yun ang kulit kulit na naman..pero you can still see yung trace ng pangyayari because until now, medyo may defect pa rin legs niya..pero we are thankful pa rin because he is alive naman and kicking!