A few days ago, I marked my 11th year of being a corporate slave. :) Eleven years of working, eleven years of working for the same company. Sigh. I don't know if I should be happy or not. Nevertheless, I celebrated this milestone by reporting late for work. Haha Before the long weekend, I knew that the weekend and holiday will never be enough for a pending freelance work. My predictions were accurate. I slept very late last Monday so I needed the morning of the next day for sleep. It was a great decision to report for work after lunch. I felt more refreshed and avoided that melancholy and sentimental mood of my 11-year milestone. Everything went fine that day. Despite reporting half day for work, I felt productive. I was able to accomplish a day worth of work. Surprisingly, the kids during my evening classes were well behaved. I even managed to drop by the mall for some shopaholic mission. Haha I finally found the blouse that got away a few weekends ago.

I thought this will be one of the rare days when I can say that everything went perfect. I can sleep knowing that I'm happy over simple accomplishments. When I reached home, the real surprise was waiting. Our 11-year old dog was missing. Pardon my shallowness. For some, this may mean nothing. Admittedly, I don't consider myself as a devoted pet lover. But when I learned that our dear Douglas was missing, I felt sad. In a snap, my entire mood was ruined. He was the lone pet who survived and stayed with our family for more than a decade. He accompanied me on those nights when I need to review for my examinations to nights of rushing freelance work. And even though he ruined all my favorite flip flops, he has shown more than enough loyalty. He would walk me with me to the jeepney station on my first years of working. He would only leave when I already alighted from the jeepney or the FX taxi. When I discovered that my special brother needs to be rushed to the ER, he walked with me to my grandparent's house to call for help. He felt my fears and tears. I will never forget our family's little predicament of starting the New Year without any glassware. Douglas fears all the sound during New Year's eve. He would freak out, broke all our plates and glasses and squeeze himself inside the dishwasher. 



A neighbor was claiming that Douglas was apparently caught by the Impounding Section of the City Government. Douglas is usually unleashed in the afternoon under the supervision of my Father. Unfortunately, it was one of those days when Douglas escaped. 

I told my Mother to ask my Father to check the City Impounding Office. Unfortunately, my hard headed Father refused. He was claiming that Douglas was anyway too old for a dog. He will soon pass away.We might as well leave the last phase of his life to the City Government's euthanasia. My Father further emphasized that the government will surely charge us with hefty fees. And just like that, I felt annoyed and irritated. My cousin probably felt my sentiments. She willingly donated some money to pay for Douglas' release... that is if Douglas is still alive and not yet poisoned by the officers at the City Impounding Office. 

Before I sleep, my Father agreed that he will check Douglas tomorrow. And I hope everything will turn out well. I can't afford to receive more bad news.

UPDATE September 3, 2015

 We found him :) The story is still quite unclear. My parents found him so weak and hungry in front of our gate around 4 am. I'm suspecting that he walked far away from home and lost his way back... because he was already too old.

I forgot to mention that we felt that Douglas is already half blind because of old age. I still have fears that something bad happened to him while he was lost. Above anything else, I'm more than thankful that he's back to where he truly belongs. :) #Family