"MILO the Singing Pooch"

One million trial shots on the couch amidst stuffed animals, inside a giant antique vase, the piano plus a severely disoriented puppy with almost one broken leg for hopping off the couch in disgust and "antsy-ness" two hours later, I came up with one that I liked and I gave it to my sister to enter the Photography Contest featuring pets called "Furry Tales".

Lo and behold, it won Second Place amongst hundreds of entries! My sister and I agreed to pass it off as her shot since she's the one who bought Milo anyway (for a bargain price, really -- he's the real clearance puppy) and brought a totally different kind of love into our family. I'm cool with that. It didn't matter who got the credits, what mattered was that the photo won and we brought home a lot of prizes.

Milo received gift packages, Dog Grooming gift certificates, Dog Food, and other treats like Dog Toys. The best part was the gift certificates to "people" restaurants that he also received which he'll never use, of course, since he's a dog and which are meant for the family. So we all had several outings as a family, eating to our heart's delight for free, courtesy of our pet. How cool is that!?! How often in life do you get that?

One great thing too that came out of Milo being on the spotlight and the little darling of the crowd when "he" claimed the prizes during the awarding ceremony, was Daddy -- an official and certified cynophobic-- falling in love with him realizing his cuteness, appreciating all his funny antics and overcoming his fear and avoidance of canines altogether. Milo, after all, really possesses heart-warming characteristics that endears him to everyone.

Milo's a little old now. When I came home to visit last year, he seemed to have forgotten who I was -- his adoptive mom, the one who walked and ran with him, played fetch, and the one he guarded during those late nights I stayed up to finish some work at the computer. I think he's mad at me for leaving. Or because he is just different, a mixed breed of sorts: terrier, lhasa apso and a hodge-podge of untraced canine ancestors. Through the years he had turned territorial, selective, possessive of his masters, and sometimes just plain eccentric.

It's okay. My affectionate relationship with him might be over but I'll never forget the lessons that he taught me about unconditional love and loyalty. To cut to the chase, Milo became my dad's bestfriend through the years. I remember that day I was about to leave home, I cried and wept and told Milo to watch over my parents while I'm gone to a far away place. Eversince I left, he never left daddy's side. And for that I am so grateful. He's still there, keeping him company. And Daddy also spoils him to bits (wonderful leashes and collars to make anyone drool!). My mom loves him too but he's more loyal to Daddy if you know what I mean. It's a great relationship. I hope Milo lives long to fulfill his promise to me even longer.

It's as if this "SPECIAL" pooch heard my request that day. Even if, the truth is, Milo had been diagnosed clinically deaf since birth. HE LISTENED WITH HIS HEART.

We, humans, are supposed to teach dogs. But can you imagine how much this dog has taught me instead?

Milo and I in 2006