Around five years ago, Balong wanted me to buy him a puppy for a pet. I told him a puppy is a big responsibility so I bought him two Malayan box turtles instead. But after a few months the turtles got tired of us, I think, they went missing, we looked for them in the bushes and under the roots of the coconut trees but they weren’t there. He cried the whole day and he made me promise to buy him another pet. I promised, of course, but I didn’t keep it. Having two kids is more than enough for me to keep me busy the whole day!

Fast forward to early this year, his obsession for a puppy resurfaced again, he begged and cried for it pero hindi pa rin ako pumayag, siempre!

Knowing that crying and begging won’t work with me, he now uses different tactics to torment me hoping that I would give up one day. Here are the list of animals he kept as pets:

Kuhol
My mother went to Alabang one day to buy tilapia and bangus, she only buys her fish in Alabang and she only buys vegetables in Divisoria or Quiapo. Why? I don’t know. It boggles me too. Anyhow, she brought home fresh kuhol one day and Balong asked for a few pieces and made it his pet, he fed them with bread and vegetable every day. He loved them with all his little heart could give and when they died, he was heartbroken. He told me so.

Tilapia
My mother only buys live tilapia so he gave one to Balong but the poor fish lasted only a day.

An egg
He wanted to have a chick so he asked me to buy him an extra large egg from the market. I told him he had to sit on it softly so the chick inside won’t get cold just like any hen would do. And he did! Ha-ha-ha!!! But he got tired of it after two days so he asked me to cook the egg na lang.

Hermit Crab
He brought it home from school.

Chick
He bought it for five pesos from school. I hated it that chick. He would not stop chirping, then, one day it disappeared. I had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t even at home when it disappeared. But we all imagined that it jumped from the terrace and died or some cat might have ate it. Poor chick.

After watching Ratatouille last week from Disney channel, he’s now super obsessed with having a mouse for a pet! “HINDI PWEDE!!!” I cried and screamed, “Alam nyo naman na sobrang takot ako sa daga, hindi pwede. Maglalayas ako ng bahay pag nag-uwi kayo ng daga ha, kahit puti pa yan! Hindi joke yan!”

Knowing Balong, I know that he’s going to buy one from school. He really is torturing me. He really wanted that puppy and he’ll do anything just to get me to buy him one. So, yesterday we went to Cartimar, it wasn’t planned, I had no intention of going there since it was so hot yesterday I wanted to stay home and watch TV instead but I was afraid he’d bring home a mouse so I guess it’s better that we went out to buy him a pet bird or something instead.

He wanted to scream when we got there, he couldn’t believe his eyes, “Para tayong nasa zoo, nanay!” he yelled. We saw snakes and lizards. “Wag sana yun ang mapili nya.” I secretly wished.

He was thrilled to see and touch rabbits for the first time after that a little puppy caught his eye, he approached and they played, the dog and my son were instantly friends, they connected. They played and my son laughed like he’s never laughed before. I’ve never heard him laugh like that before, it was pure happiness (I wished I brought my camera), I almost cried.

And for a few seconds I thought about giving up, just let go. Be spontaneous and actually do what I feel like doing. Don’t think just… let go… and buy the puppy. However, upon learning that the puppy is worth about eleven thousand pesos… the thought of being impulsive… letting go… and buying the puppy doesn’t seem like a good idea all of a sudden. “Balong. say goodbye to your friend na and let’s buy fish na lang.” I said. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to leave his friend behind but he’s a good boy, he does what I tell him to do.

He was so confused, he didn’t know what to choose, he wanted to take home all the fishes. The folks from the pet shop suggested that since it’s his first fish, we should start with one that does not need oxygen. It’s cheaper that way so I liked it. We ended up buying three fighting fishes (one for him, one for his ate Gillian and one for Aki) in three separate bowls, of course, they weren’t called fighting fish for nothing.

On the way home, he suddenly hugged me and said, “Thank you, nanay! I love you forever!”

For now, his obsession for puppy is over and done. I could sleep well anytime of the day knowing that no Ratatouille will be running around the house.