August 23, 2010.
“Love thy neighbors.” The dog is a black rottweiller, big. And he smells. Ugh. Being a Sunday, I chanced upon Larry, the local busybody, buying his cigarette sticks from the store. And he informed me that the dog was in residence in the empty unit (block 15) next to ours (block14) for several days already. Drat! Apparently, Rada, the dog’s owner left the dog there for some reason. I have been complaining about the smell, not knowing that it’s coming right there in the front terrace of the vacant unit beside ours. So it was why passersby covered their noses as they passed by our sari sari store. The unit belongs to the Aquino couple, retired employees, who bought the unit and rents it out. However, the place was only rented a few times, in fact the place was lucky to have tenants for more than a month. But this is another story.
Ah, neighbors. There are good neighbors and there are bad neighbors. It’s in you if you are a good one or a bad one.
The neighbors who live across the street are dog people, dogs are their business. In fact, they own and operate a dog and cat clinic sa bayan, but they also rented the unit beside us, and turned it into an extension dog and animal clinic for several months. It was okey at first, because it was comforting to know that there are neighbors in that particular side. Medyo masaya, especially if they’re keeping vigil on a dog patient. They stayed for nine months. The unit's tenants usually stayed two months max. They closed shop, right after Allan, Jonna, and the two vets left one after the other. But not before leaving behind a white sickly dog, whose presence came to my notice only when our store customers pointed to its smelly existence right next to the store. That was the first time… I lost no time texting Doc P regarding my complaint ---and the good Doc P promptly transferred the dog to a kennel in their house, yes they had several empty dog kennels in their basement/warehouse. He cleaned the mess, but the smell still lingers. . .
Back to the rottweiler, I asked Bong, the unit’s caretaker, to do something about my complaint regarding the dog but he only passed the buck to me. “Ikaw na lang, Te,” he said, “they’ll listen to you.” Aside from that he said that it’s me who’s directly affected by the smell. Larry, ever the helpful one, advised me to go to the barangay with my complaint, but I don’t have the time and inclination to go to the trouble. I had to do it ---when I saw Jeff on their second floor terrace, I pointed to him the dog. No finesse, but it worked. He immediately came downstairs with his friend Jeepoy who took the dog outside the house and tied it in front of their bodega. Jeff cleaned the smelly mess, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But when it rained that night, they put the dog back inside the unit.
The next day being a Monday, I watched as students going to the nearby school passed by our store in groups. I was home alone, so I had my fill of the dog smell the whole day. Late in the afternoon while watching the passersbyl, I saw how a child and her yaya almost jumped out of their skin followed by a loud growling. The child and her yaya, not knowing there was a dog, walked too near the terrace and gotten the surprise of their lives when the dog growled and bared his long fangs between the grills. Luckily, there was no oncoming vehicle especially the reckless tricycles or they could have gotten run down. Coming from the school and going up the road, one cannot see the dog lying in the terrace near the grills. That night, I never got a chance to talk to Jeff, or any from Doc P’s regarding the matter. Nor the next morning. . .
Before I left for work, I hit upon an idea... I borrowed a big pot of greenery from Manang Cleo, another neighbor, while the tricycle driver, who stopped to give me a ride, got a wooden bench from another neighbor, and placed both across the two units’ boundary. Manang said “sasagasaan lang nila yan, makita mo. . .” Not to be deterred, I also put a cardboard sign saying, “Mag-ingat sa . . . ASO” complete with an arrow pointing to the unit next to us. Maybe, they'll get the hint. And those passing by will not be caught unawares by the big dog again.
When I came home that evening, nothing seemed to change--the sign, the bench, and the potted plant were still where I left them. But Doc P's van was already parked in its usual spot. I stayed late hoping that someone from their end would come and talk to me. . .
What surprised me the next morning was the cleaning frenzy by my neighbors. They even gave Beauty (the dog tied in front of their gate) and another small dog they have in the kennel inside the bodega a bath. Amazing, ulanin at arawin si Beauty in front of their gate but they just let the dog there. Somehow may nangyari. . . I patiently waited for Doc P before they left for their clinic in town. Yes, I think he knew already what I'm going to complain, for he amiably told me that he didn’t know about the dog, that it’s not one of their patients, and that Rada had already taken the dog home. Hah!
Did my strategy worked? Somehow, I had this feeling that they were just waiting if magrereklamo ako. The dog has been staying there for several days already, but they acted as if nothing’s wrong. They live across the street, hence, they're not affected by the smell. But for me, the smell still lingers on. . .
I'd like to mention that I have nothing against dogs, or any pet in particular. But if you have one , you have to be responsible for them.
Have I mentioned what happened to the potted plant? Unfortunately, the pot didn't escaped the wheels of the Pajero driven by Caloy, one of Doc P's two sons. If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, and promptly mentioned the fact to Doc P, they won’t own to the deed. Yes, he’ll replace the pot, but he said that some two months ago to this day. . . I think I'll send him a note this time, along with the remaining balance of their credit from the store. Ho ho ho
