Best Friends

Good friends are hard to come by. Great friends who will stand by your side through thick and thin? Even harder. I am fortunate to be blessed with many great friends thus far and am very grateful for having them in my life. But there are two of them I rarely acknowledge and despite my neglecting them for so long due to my father's illness and his eventual passing, they are still always excited to see me when I walk through the door. Their care and concern for me is unconditional and just having me around fills their hearts with untold joy. They never hold a grudge against me for our disagreements and my constant scoldings. Even if they were scolded for something that wasn't their fault, they would still ask for forgiveness just because they can't stand the thought of me being angry with them. Allow me to introduce you to two of my closest buddies, Eddie and Casey.

Eddie and Casey are my two Jack Rascal.... er.... Russell Terriers. Eddie, named after the adorable Jack Russell that both my wife and I love on 'Frasier', is the handsome brown-faced fellow with the popped-up ears and Casey is the feminine all-white sweetheart. Eddie (he's Aussie) came into our lives and made our hearts his home in 2002. Eddie was a surprise put together by my dad and my wife for me. I was going through a really rough time then and they thought a dog would cheer me up. Eddie did more than just cheer me up. He became a good friend. When I talk to him, he tries his best to listen to what I am saying and when he doesn't understand, he will cock his head as if to say "Please say that again? I am trying to understand you." All he needs for his friendship and undying faithfullness are pats (which he will insist on if he feels that his quota for the day was not fulfilled) and for me to toss his favourite orange rubber ball to him.

One day early into 2005, my wife and I decided to stroll into a pet shop at United Square to look at the cute puppies in the window... something we always did whenever we spotted a pet shop. That day was no exception. However, twenty five minutes after walking in, we left with a 3 1/2 month old all-white (quite rare) Jack Russell! We named her Casey. While Casey (made in Singapore) may appear to be sweet, mild and so loving, she can be quite cunning too. In the presence of company at our home, she behaves like a little shy child, always hiding and peering from behind my wife. But when she's alone with Eddie, she makes Eddie her personal challenge by thinking of new and creative ways to taunt him. Eddie, being the gentleman that he is, obliges the lady and allows her to chew on his ears and bite his back leg while he runs. I think she does that to slow him down!

Casey is all fun and play. She walks around without a care in the world with her tail is constantly wagging. Just call her name and that tail of her's speeds up dramatically. If you do not give her any attention or shower too much of it on Eddie, she'll "potong jalan" (cut queue in Malay) and insists that she be in the spotlight. Eddie is quite the opposite. While he does enjoy play time and attention, he is very respectful towards us and allows Casey to walk all over him... literally too! But he can become quite "serious" especially if someone is feeling down or not well at home. One night about two months after Eddie came to live with us, I was having severe abdominal pain. Not wanting to wake my wife up with my tossing and turning, I decided to struggle to the living room to lie on the sofa. Little did I realise the small puppy had woken from his deep slumber (he snores) and followed me to the living room as well. After lying down, I noticed the little fellow sitting beside the sofa with a very worried look on his face. You could tell from the frown on his face and his eyes seemed to be glazing over. I patted him and closed my eyes. He then started whining. I opened my eyes and looked at him again. This time, he stretched his little paws up to me as if asking to be lifted up. I carried him and placed him beside me but for some odd reason, he decided to climb onto my tummy, curled up there and slept. Strangely, the warmth from his body relieved the discomfort. It was then that I knew that he could sense pain in others.

Dogs are such wonderful creatures. I always tell my wife that dogs are smarter than people. Why? Haven't you noticed that no one in the world understands anything a dog is trying to tell us but dogs, with a little training, can "sit", "stay", "roll-over" and "paw" on command? Smarter or not, they've taught me a great deal about forgiveness, compassion, care and most of all, loyalty. But from a dog's point of view, you're already perfect as you are and they never fail to show that they feel this way about you. One of my great friends gave me a ceramic tile with an inscription that said "My goal in life... is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am". I will definitely try.