An Ode to Pipa

I was cleaning my mailbox when I saw a picture of my pet dog with a kitten. And I would like to share it to the world as a means of remembering the first pet that I lost.

Yes, that's a KITTEN!

What's the story behind the picture?

Pipa (my dog) had given birth to dead puppies on her second pregnancy. And when I took the puppies away from her, she mourned. She made low wailing sounds whenever she saw me as if she was asking where are her puppies. After a day or two, a stray cat in the neighborhood had given birth near Pipa's shelter. As the mother cat transferred her kittens to another place, Pipa snatched the remaining kitten. The mother cat wanted her kitten back, going back and forth near Pipa's shelter, but Pipa kept the kitten close to her. I tried to take it from Pipa so I could give it back to the cat, but Pipa whined as if she's crying. She looked at me with very sorrowful and almost teary eyes. It was quite heartbreaking to see her act like that, so I let her have the kitten. She cared for it just like how I see her cared for her first brood.  She licked it like a pup, tried to feed it by nudging the kitten close to her nipples. When it crawled a little further she would gently nudged it back close to her. To cut the story short, and it's quite a tragic end, the kitten also died. And Pipa was never the same again.

One day, I will write a book about her. Someday. 

For today, I will remember her through this post.