Homeless but not Hopeless

When we moved into our present home exactly one year ago, it became clear to my husband and me that we were definitely not in Metro Manila any more. Our quaint little house is tucked away in the forested hills of Catalunan Grande, a 30-minute ride away from downtown Davao. There were only four houses on our street. In the morning, the place looks more like some eerie deserted subdivision but in the evening, the symphony of crickets, fruit bats, and lizards, the disco-dancing of fireflies, our own version of Van Gogh’s starry night, and the cool mountain breeze will tell you otherwise. Indeed life is here in Davao! 

But one particular “life” that caught our attention was this native dog that has taken residency in our street. She looked like any typical stray – thin and covered with mange, thus prompting us to give her the nickname Gally, derived from galis. 

Gally was the neighbourhood’s dog. Other strays would grace our street but Gally was the only fixture. When it rained, she would seek shelter in an abandoned half-constructed house just a roof away from ours. She had these eyes that looked perpetually sad yet sweet. I guess that helped her way into all of our hearts. During the day, our three neighbours would feed her by dumping some leftovers on the ground right outside their gates and driveways. My husband and I however took a step further by making sure that she eats from a dog bowl every night, with some fresh water to drink. She would drink for a straight 5 minutes – proof that it was her only liquid intake for the day. And to cure her skin disease, my husband, who is a veterinarian, would regularly sneak some medicine into her food. 

For the first few months, Gally would eat from her bowl outside our gate. Though she was really docile, Gally like any other stray dog naturally has some trust issues so it took us some considerable time before we finally got her to come inside our carport to eat. We preferred to feed her inside because there were many times before when she got bullied by the larger stray dogs who would visit the street. We believe that Gally used to have a home and probably was abandoned. She isn’t like the usual strays that are belligerent and fearful. She wouldn’t gobble up her food like any starving animal. She would eat daintily, looking up bashfully once in a while, as if asking with her eyes, “Is it okay to finish all these grub?”

Finally, we saw the positive results of the medication that we’ve been giving her. Her mange was now gone, except for a few scabs. And her coat was now thicker and brighter. But the best development was that Gringa, our own little diva dog, has finally become friends with her Ate Gally. Whenever my husband would take Gringa out for her routine evening walk, Gally would literally tail them. They have become a pack!

Although Gally still refused to let us pet her, we were thrilled enough to see her gallop towards us whenever our car would arrive at night. It was like coming home to a grand welcome; like a parent being greeted with warm hugs by the kids.  This dog has certainly translated our presence into something positive. Every night while my husband fed her in our carport, I would hear my husband talk to her; coaxing her to come near so that he could further check her up. Gally took baby steps toward him as the months passed by. 

Ever since Gally showed such enthusiasm and openness, my husband and I started to toy with the idea of adopting her. But seeing that our neighbours have also grown a fondness for the adorable stray, we thought that it would be quite unfair for Gally, and probably even traumatic, if we keep her inside the house the whole day while my husband and I are at work. We knew that her life is practically in danger if she continues to live on the street, but for the meantime we had to settle with doting on her during evenings and weekends. As long as we were assured that she was fed during the day then we saw no immediate need to take her in officially. And besides, she’s been living on this street unharmed for quite some time already. If our street had been in the middle of the city then we would have taken a more aggressive stride towards rescuing her. But Gally was relatively happy and content house-hopping among us neighbours – all four of us. Neverthless, we still looked forward for the right time. My husband and I were hopeful that a perfect prompt to adopt her would happen soon.

But yesterday morning as my husband and I walked towards our car to get to work, the sky was gray and giving off a drizzle. As if the weather wasn’t forlorn enough, our hearts sank at an unbelievable sight. Gally was lying on her side in the middle of the road – lifeless. I wailed the moment I realized that it wasn’t a bad dream. I was awake. But Gally was now in an endless sleep. 

My husband’s frown slowly turned into a face of weeping little boy as he bent towards her. At this point, our other neighbour had already stepped out with a large sack to carry Gally’s dead body. He told us that she was hit by a car last night. Our neighbour also wore a miserable face as he gingerly placed Gally’s body inside the sack. “Ilubong nako ni didto banda.” He said he’ll bury the body as he pointed to a piece of land near his backyard. We nodded and thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

The ride to the office felt like a slow funeral procession as heavy traffic jammed the highway. Why do drivers move slow in the rain? To avoid accidents? Or is it simply to avoid dents on their cars? And yet last night during the rain one stupid, heartless maniac of a driver just didn’t mind putting a fatal dent on a living creature’s body. 

My husband and I were silent during the ride. I knew we were thinking of the same thing but we were too guilty and heartbroken to verbalize it – we should have had taken her in earlier than we had planned. But it’s too late now. Gally won’t be greeting us tonight anymore. No more of those sweet sad eyes looking at us. I may not have a photo of her but her image is tattooed on my mind.

We will forever remember our darling Gally. She has definitely inspired us to become more conscientious about strays, especially those roaming in our area. But my husband and I can’t save all the Gallys in our midst. We hope though that more Davaoeños will grow a bigger heart and open their homes for the other Gallys out there. At the same time, we pray that more people will have the compassion for the Aspins (Asong Pinoy or native dog) and refrain from being breed-conscious.  The say it takes a village to raise a child. But for us and our neighbors, it only took a street with only four houses to make a stray dog feel at home. 

In 2010, my husband and I designed this logo for a local animal rescue group
here in Davao City. We hope that more stray dogs will find loving new homes.