Let me start off with the story of my two dogs Bobby and Shaggy whom i got from my sister in law when they were just puppies.....they came in February of last year when we had just moved houses and with a new compound i thought oh heck we need a dog to complete the picture.We had a huge compound,lots of fresh air and space around and with a daughter who was just about to turn four into a few months i thought she could learn from the experience of having a pet to take care of.
So i got the two puppies,they were the cutest little things you ever saw,large brown eyes,lots of furs,one was brown and i decided to call him Bobby Brown and the other with the black shaggy fur i call Shaggy of course.Now the first day they ran all over the place we couldn't get them on a leash and they only came to the house late in the evening to eat,and this little things could gobble food like crazy.I made them rice,pasta,ugali practically everything and i made sure they ate three times a day-i did not want them to starve.
I have never been fond of dogs and on more than one occasion i have taken to the hills whenever dogs showed a sign of being too friendly.We used to live in a residential estate in Nairobi where a couple of guys had dogs and i would ensure i avoided those gates like the plague lest this monsters jumped at me.One day my mum sent me to the shops with my little sister and being the responsible girl that I am, I made sure I held her hand as we walked,we took a short cut since she could not walk far and silly me I forgot the particular route chosen had a vicious dog that though chained used to let out the loudest bark whenever anyone passed by.So there i am with my 3 year old sister walking happily along and just as we passed by that orange gate i heard the loudest bark that i had ever heard in my 7 year life on this planet.I took off and left my little sister behind(sorry Lena)she tells me she is still traumatized to date.Thankfully for me i overcame my fears and so here i was with two dogs!
The dogs followed me everywhere maybe because i was the one feeding them or maybe because they sensed my good vibes but we became fast friends after a few initial hiccups where i would run to the house when they became too playful and i thought they were running after me.The first few days i must confess i cooked for them and found out they especially loved pasta and hated ugali.So we would buy for them food from a restaurant that specialized in nyama choma and they must have been the happiest dogs on that side of the Rift Valley.
We would let the dogs out of their chains at night and Shaggy especially loved running after cars,i guess She was dazzled by their bright lights at night.That day She went and never came back and it was only at 10am when she hadn't showed up for breakfast that we went looking for her.She was found by the side of the road gone to doggy heaven when some motorist hit her,i could not bring myself to look at her and when on being told about it,i just lost it and cried my heart out.
This month marks an year since it all happened and since then Bobby has grown and became a mother of four puppies last year. Sometimes though i find myself missing Shaggy,and i hope there is a doggy heaven up there in the clouds where she is eating tonnes of pasta,meat sauce and chasing butterflies.She was such a faithful dog and followed me everywhere,we were literally joined at the hip.Dogs have to be the most faithful friends humans can have and i like to think of myself like that.Dogs have saved the lives of their masters,protected their human owners,are relied on to detect bombs or drugs that there is even a dog industry in much of Europe and Northern America that literally makes millions of dollars out of this pet industry.There i everything from dog outfits to doggy hotels to doggy adornments and even dog spas on offer,that is how much people love their dogs.
On most days when i ask myself what kind of a friend i am,i like to think that i am like Shaggy,faithful,loyal and someone you can depend on.I may have moments when i run off after the bright lights chasing some adventure or other and go silent but in the final end i think i am someone who is as faithful as a dog.I have had friends like that over the years,people i have known since i was in primary and whom we became fast friends but there are also those i have met in my later years who have just been as good and to all of them i say i hope in me you see a friend who watches your backs,cheers you on,listens and thinks you are the best thing after Baileys......(just kidding)
In memory of Shaggy here are some great stories about the worlds most faithful dogs.
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