My best friend

I want to talk about my best friend today,

Her name is Mao Mao （毛毛,）

she was abandoned 9 years ago (2004) in front of our new house.

One early morning in the summer we heard sounds of a puppy crowing,

I went out to the door and saw a small puppy standing there looking at me.

It was a small female puppy with short white yellow-ish hair,

dark black eyes, hanging down ears.

I always loved dogs, so I was so excited and woke my family up to see her.

I asked my parents if we could keep her as our pet,

but my mom disagreed. 

She said we should take her to the animal rehoming center later.

But I begged my parents the whole morning, 

and finally they agreed to keep her.

(taken in 2004)

I was so happy and excited to have a pet,

I played with her everyday, trained her, walked her,

 and did everything with her.

My dad built a dog house for her, 

and I remember I could crawl in the small dog house with her.

Years passed, 

she grew up so much that I could not hold her in my arms anymore.

But anyway, she was still my best buddy.

She was so energetic every time I see her.

We had a small front yard and a gate to keep her inside.

She dig out hundreds of holes in our garden, 

so we decided to put her to the garage.

 She could stay in the front yard only when we were watching her.

 For some unknown reasons,

she hates motorcycles so much.

Every time when someone passed our house 

by riding motorcycles she gets pissed and starts barking as loud as she could.

Our neighbors complained several times first,

but eventually we heard more complaints.

By chance, one of our neighbors' said their friend lives at a quiet place

where he has a tea plantation in front of his house, 

and he'd like to take care of Mao Mao for us.

My mom agreed without asking me, 

and I remembered I was secretly squatting at our second floor balcony 

listening to them talking about taking her away now.

I saw them putting Mao Mao on the motorcycle and the guy drove away.

I cried so hard that night because I didn't want her to leave.

But we didn't have any other options.

Not sure how many days (hours) after we sent her away,

she appeared with the broken chain on her neck in our garden.

I was very happy and surprised how she ran all the way back home.

But my mom called the guy and he took her again.

I heard that time they decided to chain her on her wood house in case she run away again.

Soon after (not sure how many days,) 

surprisingly, Mao Mao pulled her wood house with the chain around her neck home!

It was a dog house made with wood, and the size was big enough for 2 elementary kids to get inside!!

*ALSO!!! The distance between our house to the place the guy lives is about 6 minutes driving, 20~40 minutes walking*

I felt so sorry for her, but again, happy to see her coming home again.

My mom didn't give up, so they sent her back again.

(Don't know why I started laughing after I typed that haha)

However, she ran home again soon after. 

My mom finally gave up sending our dog away,

Mao Mao was so loyal to us, and I think we will never find a dog like her anymore.

She stayed with us for the next 6 years,

and during that time,

 the only thing we could do was only 

saying sorry to the motorcycle drivers in our neighborhood.

I think they got used to it at the end. haha

In the year of 2010, 

because of the location of my high school and some other reasons

we moved out to an apartment in the city.

We couldn't take her with us since we will be busy, 

and we didn't have a garden for her.

Our neighbors were kind enough to take care of Mao Mao,

so we would go back during weekends once or twice a month to see her.

Soon after I went to the States to study,

and my family got busier and busier 

until the point that they seldom go back to our old house to see our dog.

I could only visit her once a year during summer time.

Because our old house is at a very inconvenient place if you don't drive,

so I only went back twice with my family last summer.

In the beginning of this year,

I was in the States, I remember it was one weekend morning.

I got a text from my brother saying that Mao Mao had passed away few days ago.

I couldn't believe that it happened,

she looked healthy last summer!! She was completely fine!!

Those thoughts came out of my head at that time I saw the text.

I called my mom to asked about the details,

she said Mao Mao walked to the park like she always do every afternoon.

She laid down besides the tree she used to and fell asleep and didn't wake up.

The security guard went up to say hi to her in the evening,

 and realize she wasn't breathing anymore.

I felt relieved,

she was healthy and happy.

She passed away without sickness.

I just wish I could have said goodbye before she left us.

I am thankful that although I couldn't visit her much each year,

but she still remembered me every time she saw me.

She would ran with all her energy and jump on my body to lick me,

just like she always did...everyday when we get back home from school..

I could feel how thankful she is for us keeping her with us.

She forgave us giving her away,

she still loves us no matter what.

And so do I.

I miss her so much, and if I had a chance to see her I want to let her know how much she meant to me.

Even though she chewed my favorite shoes,

even though she dig out hundred holes in the garden...

it doesn't matter at the end.

Thank you for the nine years with us.

I love you, Mao Mao.

(The last picture I took of her last summer)

7.30.2013 Perng-chih