10 Promises to My Dog

10 Promises to My Dog is a Japanese movie (based on book written by Hare Kawaguchi) I've never heard of until Phenny told me about it. (Thank you, Phenny :-))

The plot, as taken from www.eiga.wikia.com is about a 12-year-old girl named Akari gets a puppy and names it Socks. She loves Socks and spends practically every moment with him. However, as she gets older she's able to spend less and less time with him, due to a busy life and having to move away. She leaves socks with a childhood friend but eventually she's reminded of the promises she made to him as a child.

Simple and straightforward story and I believe most will know what the ending will be. I have been warned to prepare tissue for the show and .... yep, let me warn any of you who are going to watch this show, please bring tissue and get it ready on your hand. I must admit I tried really hard not to burst into tears (I TRIED SOOOO HARD) and I failed miserably! It's one of the show that I was on that thin line to cry like a baby. Lucky I didn't do that if not I must been kicked out from the cinema. Don't be ashamed of the crying, you can trust me, you'll not be the only one. You will soon hear and observe the following:

• people unzipping their bags for tissue
• the sound of a packet of tissue crunching somewhere
• people's hands tend to be doing the movement of wiping tears away
• and occasionally you may hear someone who really cried it out loud in silence (erm, go figure)

Why it was such a emotional roller coaster to me it's because there are so many points in the movie that I can personally can relate to:

• the main character's dad is a doctor (my parents are doctors)
  
• she's the only child (ME TOO!!!!)
  
• she got her dog when she was 12 (I was 11 ... almost around the same lar)
  
• at one point of her life she needed to be away from her dog and couldn't do anything about it (Yes, it happened to me when I was 17)
  

As you know I love my Kiky dearly. She is above all else. And the fact that this show has so much in common with my own lives just made me cringed inside but I'm glad I went through that and it's another chance to relive the memory and say thank you Kiky for all the beautiful time you've given me.

In the show, the main emphasis was put on the 10 promises that were made to the dog - initialized by the late mother of the main character. As she was reading out the 10 promises, I was silently checking whether I was doing all the things mentioned. The promises (speaking from the dog's point of view) are:

1. Give me time to understand what you want of me
2. Place your trust in me. It's crucial to my well-being.
3. Be aware that however you treat me, I'll never forget it.
4. Before you scold me for being lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me.
5. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when it's speaking to me.
6. Remember before you hit me, I have teeth that could hurt you, but that I choose not to bite you.
7. Take care of me when I get old.
8. You have your work, your entertainment, and your friends. I have only you.
   
9. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you will be painful for me.
10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Everything is easier for me when you are there. Remember I love you ...

So, how do I fare?

#1:
I wonder if I've given her time to understand what she really wants, may be sometimes I don't. I know she always wanted food but I really played that hard on her. :p

#2:
I do trust her except when the time I stepped on her pee. Hmm ... I don't trust her in that area.

#3:
She remembers the way I treat her ...? No wonder she prefers my dad than me because I always made it hard on her to get food. Aiyah!!!!!

#4:
I never scold her for being lazy. Hmm ... She's never lazy except when she was really old. :( She can hardly climb up and down the stairs. That, I understand. So, I didn't scold her for being lazy. :-)

#5:
Talk to her sometimes??? I talked to her all the time! Literally. When I studied, I'd ask her to help me revised. I even asked her to study what I studied. Sometimes she got it right. Sometimes she got it wrong. They were multiple choice questions, you see. I even talked to her on the phone especially when I'm so far away from her since 1998-2005. :( :( :(

#6:
Hitting her ... I definitely did. Yep, when she's pooing and peeing everywhere. But well, after a while I'll play with her again. How can you not forgive when you see those droopy eyes?????

#7:
I didn't pass this one for sure. I didn't really take care of her when she got old. I have both of my parents to thank in this area. I failed as I was too far away to take care of her. Sorry, Kiky. I wish I could. :(

#8:
Yes. I have my other areas of my life to count on and she only had me but then again, she had my family. Again, I have to thank my parents for the best work they've done in taking care of Kiky.

#9:
Separation is painful for both parties. I seriously dreaded every time I parted with her. When I knew she was really aging, every moment I held in mind that she might just leave me. Hence every single second is cherished dearly. The last time I saw her I took 100 over photos of her. My parents called me nuts. I call myself a genius though I wish I would have taken better pictures though. But I didn't regret what I've done. I wish I had videotaped her even though her brown hair had turned white which made her looked like a mini inverted Siberian Husky. :p

#10:
Go with her in difficult journey. This ... is one of the thing I regretted the most. My gut was telling me to go back 1 week earlier, should I have done so, I would have been there for her when she moved on. But I went back 1 week later when she's already resting well in her grave. No use. I'm sorry for not being there when you said bye bye. What more can I ask? You chose Sunday to be your parting day and yet I was not there :(

To remember her once again, I decide to put the passages I used to write on my friendster when she died on 17th April 2005 in this blog.

Hope you don't mind the nostalgic path I'm taking today. Thanks for reading. ;-)

When Death Simply Can't Wait

Kiky

(17 August 1991 - 17 April 2005)

An 8-year-old boy and 11-year-old gal saw a pair of miniature pinscher at the backyard. Fighting for food, running away from water and hiding from the fierce maid. Knowing that they were brothers and sisters, the boy and gal decided to name them Kiky and Koko after more than 10 minutes of name-picking discussion.

Kiky, the younger one, a female 1 year old minpin when I discovered her. My uncle decided to give it to my family, since her brother, Koko, seemed to always bully her as she was smaller in size. That's when my journey with my first ever dog began and I will never regret nor forget a single moment I've spent with her. She has been marvellous.

Kiky travelled by car for 3 days and 3 nights from Jakarta to Pematangsiantar, the place where she eventually called her home. She has been a great quiet passenger, even though she has to sleep at such a strange place, she knows she's in for a great journey. It's such a relief when she found out we have stopped by at some eating place or a hotel where she could get more comfort than the crummy car. But well, the journey paid off and she arrived at my house happily.

My family has never had any dog before. Well, we seriously have no idea how we are supposed to bring up a dog, but guess, it shouldn't be much different from treating a human ... so since then Kiky has been part of our family. We spoke Mandarin to her and even gave her Chinese herbal soup, and she simply loves it. She slept on the bed with me every night but sometimes she prefered my parents bed as it's so much bigger -_-!

Time after time, there are so many things to be discovered from this little soul. She could sing ... well, when I was howling like a wolf for fun, she actually copied me and howled along ... and since then the whole town know there's a singing dog exists. People actually flock at my parents' clinic to look at her performance. Haha ... :-)

She knows how to kiss when you ask her too ... and she definitely know who's the best person to get food from. And that's definitely not me :) It's my dad who has transformed her from a skinny underweight minpin to a small little piglet!!! -_-! Overweight by 3x the standard weight she's supposed to be. Aih ...

Despite of the fame and pamper she's received, she has never been arrogant for once! She is still the humble and strong little Kiky we have seen when she fought with her brother. She never back out. She stood still and fought on and that's how she fought with her death. For one month she refused to eat and her bleeding won't stop too but she persisted. Until this morning, she woke my dad up by making some noise, guess she knew her time's almost up. My dad fed her some milk, wiped her face ... and she fainted. The end ....

She chose a Sunday early morning to say goodbye because she knows Sunday is the only day my parents don't need to work and able to bring her to the burial straightaway without leaving the clinic. Even at the point of her death, she's still such a understanding soul.

Thank you, Kiky for what you've given to my family and me personally. I'm really sorry for not being able to spend more time with you as I've to study and work overseas. But all these while you've always been in my thought and heart. I love you more than anyone and anything you can ever imagine. Guess we won't be able to find anyone like you in this life. No way. It's almost impossible to replace you. I can't wait to see you again, Kiky. To see your cheeky smile and nottie pee-ing all over places activities. I even miss the time when I did step on your pee pee as you found a new place to do that -_- ... and I never notice. But well, you've been great and it's time for you to rest well and stop suffering from any illness. I'll visit your small little "tomb" soon, Kiky.

You are always alive in my heart. Love you.