Wednesday Tributes: LAKI

Laki is a handsome golden-brown, golden retriever-looking aspin dog born on November 6, 2001. His name comes from the Ilonggo word “Laki” or “Lalaki” meaning someone from the male specie. He is one of the three puppies of The Bacolod Runt House’s Terry (a.k.a. Oyak, Kayo, Terrence) and their alpha papa (with your permission Ms. Keeper and Mr. Sumo—I really love your “Alfafa” name) Wolvern.

Of the 3 puppies, only he and his brother Ohm survived. Ohm is the very handsome two-faced boy, whom manong2 loves. Together they were The Runt House's first “Hug Dogs”

Laki lived in The Bacolod Runt House for a good 10 months or so. Manang never attempted to remember the date when he left because she said that she would rather remember only good memories of him and his brother Ohm.

I always believed that my manong Laki is manang’s most loved dog and I don’t mind it really. Afterall, she has so much love to give Ohm and Laki and she is sharing all that pent up love with us now.

And so here goes our Tribute for this Wednesday. This was originally written by my manang on April 20, 2004. Enjoy!

Tributes XI: An Ode to Laki
By Aki Mitsui

For the one man-dog, who, for more than a decade, never failed to alleviate our spirits…

In your eyes, I found unfathomable happiness
You were perhaps the most beautiful being
That this world has descried;
So perfect, in fact, that the Earth was itching
To take you back

In those elegant golden brown locks
I found uninterrupted serenity;
You were the bearer of comfort,
The mere sight of your burnt sienna
Gleaming against the tropical heat
Foretells of a ready and loyal companion

In your big hugs I found pure joy,
An obscure kind of ecstasy;
Tears evaporate at your sight;

Your soothing hugs clouds all other deliberations;
Leaving me with pleasant memories of only you

Your sweet serene voice rings in my head
Like a sea siren’s melody;
Transporting me to a distant place-
Into a landscape laden with dandelions and daises,
Freshly cut grass and cold morning dew

In your big kisses I found myself engulfed
In an unsupperable surge of emotions;
My morale shoots forth,
Extending further than the peaks of Everest

You are indeed every being’s vagary,
The epitome of elegance and humility;
You are the insurmountable example of perfection-
The yardstick that determines all

How sad to think that all these
Are now only in the mind;
That those sounds of your gentle footsteps
Lays buried only in the recesses
Of my barren being;

With you, however, I believe that love
Never stops recurring;
Like a forest fire before a rainfall,
One day the wick of your life will be ignited,
Until then, I will endure the tarry;

Heaven knows, I have, and will always love you;
Despondently, even after you have breathed
The last of your life;

My most beloved friend,
Goodbye exists only when love ceases to have faith;
And it is this faith that leads me to believe in ‘someday’

I miss you so much, my sweet boy.

Note from The Inu Ogler: I will post pictures of Laki once I go home (to Bacolod City). All his pictures were taken using a non-digital camera and so I still need to have it scanned.