Dog Shaming

Paki-dedma na lang ang wrong syntax...

When we were looking for a dog, I chose Kelly because he resembled my beloved dog, Bastic. Little did I know that Kelly's behavior is like Bastic's as well. Bastic, although very loving and devoted, is prone to jealousy. He never really warmed up to TheHusband and would either bark at him madly or ignore him when he visited. Well, except that one time when we had a new puppy whom I played with a moment too long -- Bastic got mad at me and ignored me the whole time, and when TheHusband, then still TheBoyfriend, came to visit, Bastic welcomed him with so much enthusiasm that TheHusband was a bit stunned of the attention he was getting. When I was back to his good graces, he was also back to ignoring TheHusband. Little surprise he died a few hours after my wedding.

Kelly is pretty much the same. Before he murdered our bunny, he was already showing signs of jealousy. He was always trying to "remove" the rabbit away from us when we were playing with it. He would give it sly side glances when we cuddle with it. Not just with the rabbit. It happens every time when we have a new animal or even when there are guests in the house. Alam nyo yung mga batang papansin and making "pasikat" when you have guests and gusto sila lang ang pinapansin? Ganun sya. Anyhoo, when we moved here, I tried to plant monggo, but when it started growing up, Kelly dug up everything. I thought, he must have liked that area kasi merong bit of shade and cool earth, and besides, okay lang, I can always plant new ones. Ever since last year, when we moved Sharkteeth's playhouse, he dug a hole behind the playhouse. It's the perfect spot. Cool soil, shade from the wall, cozy spot. I started planting again, away from the first spot, away from his spot. After successfully germinating the seeds, I moved them from the potting wells to the soil, an area where full sunshine falls in the morning. The plants took well to the soil -- the leaves were lush and the plants were growing up fast. ABA! ABA! ABA! A couple of days ago, makita ko, may hukay dun sa garden where I planted -- everything, save one plant, was uprooted. TheDog? He was eyeing me askance and wagging his tail tentatively. The very same manner he reserves for when he's guilty of something. When I told TheHusband about it, he concluded, "nagseselos na naman 'yan." And I realized that, yes, perhaps TheHusband is right. That TheDog got jealous of the plants. Why would he deliberately choose those locations to dig on those two separate occasions? Which brings me to my question: If dogs are capable of complex behavior such as jealousy, what other "human" attributes and behaviors do they have? Curiouser and curiouser. Meanwhile, Kelly and I are friends again. I mean, how can you hold grudge when he makes paawa look with his eyes?