Typhoon Ketsana hits Manila

Today, typhoon Ketsana had already left the country, but not without leaving our countrymen an experience, and perhaps, a painful lesson, we will never forget.

As sourced from www.abs-cbnnews.com, tropical storm Ondoy (typhoon Ketsana) hit a great part of Luzon, leaving 27 provinces and the National Capital Region in the state of calamity.

As of today, death tolls have now reached 73, with more than 300,000 people affected by the onslaught of strong winds, huge rainfalls and flash floods within the metro.

According to PAG-ASA, about 34.1 cm of rain fell on Metro Manila in just six hours, close to the 39.2 cm. average for the entire month of September. The previous record was 33.4 cm. recorded during a 24-hour period in June 1967.

We heard that Pasig, where our Mommy Lilli and the Animal Doctor, together with our buddies, MoyMoy, Scarlet, Jappy and Trudis live, is also affected by the flood. We did try to call Mommy Lilli this morning, but all phone lines were dead. We are just glad, though, that auntie Jenny informed us that Mommy Lilli and co. are doing well. Thank goodness!!

However, in some areas, other people are not so fortunate. Some even had to go to the rooftops of their houses because the water level had already risen so high that they needed to be rescued by pump boats.

We even read that San Miguel Corp. is willing to buy 50 pump boats to help hasten the rescues. If only, I could give them Capt. Jack Sparrow’s boat, it would have helped save more people. Alas, I could only hope and pray for better days... or maybe exchange my kibbles for some pesos for donation.

We are sad to note that a lot of people and animals are still out there, waiting for rescuers to get to them. In some video clips that we saw, we had seen numerous dogs being rescued together with their hoomans. Some, however, were not so fortunate- it breaks our hearts.

Today is a day of major concern. We are one with those who had lost family members and those who had lost their properties and sources of living. We can all continue to hope that the sun continues to shine in the coming days (esp. that manang is supposed to go to Manila tomorrow night).

To the rescuers, volunteers, businessmen and media personalities who had given their time, money and service to help our fellowmen and keep all of us continually informed, our hats go off to all of you! The selflessness of rescuers and continued outpouring of assistance and donations are so overwhelming it inspires us. It gives us hope, that indeed, we can work as one nation.

In my young Labrador life, no day makes me more proud to be a Filipino.

Godspeed everyone and may this new day, though difficult, be a new start for all of us.

Be safe everyone and keep dry!

Drooly kisses,

Aki

Thank you and Batista Update

To those who left sweet messages on our earlier post Thank You So So Much!!!! Your words of encouragement and prayers means a lot to us.

We have already started with Bat-Bat's medication and tomorrow, I will be sending over his meds for Ehrilichia treatment so they can start giving it when needed. For the meantime, we will be working on his liver since his SGPT level was at 300+! :( After a week's treatment, we can decide whether to start with Doxycycline or to continue further with liver treatment.

For now, we are are taking things in stride. My conversation with Doc Geoff (Aki's Mommy Lilli's husband) was enlightening. Although, I must admit that it broke my heart when he said that my dear boy 'might' not recover. Nevertheless, we will not give up without a fight. And for as long as my brothers tell me that he is active, happy and appears to be well, we will do everything that we can to help him recover.

Despite the clouds of doubt on what lies ahead of us, I am still happy and thankful- for every day that the Lord gives my little brown barky brother.

To all our DWB friends, to those who left inspiring words and encouraging messages, again, Thank you so much. It sure makes us feel a whole lot better. I know our little boy would be very happy to know that a lot of doggies and hoomans are praying for him.

We love you all so much!!

Manang

Power of the Paw Needed

It has been a rough two weeks.

The hoomans are still somehow in denial over the loss of George, who went missing on August 30, while they were in Hongkong. Somehow, we still hope that one day George will turn up. Every time a bird chirps, they would always look up, hoping that it would be our fat, avocado-colored brother. But it never had been. And we don’t know if it will ever be.

Poopie and I wanted to make this post the moment the hoomans came back last September 4. But we never could. Doing so would make things final. We still hoped that he would turn up. Although the reality is, George didn’t stand much of a chance since his wings were clipped. He was a hopping parrot, not a flying one. And with Gring Gring and a gazillion other cats in the neighborhood, I shudder to think at the 2 hours that my other hoomans failed to realize that he was already missing.

Every night I would dream bad dreams. Really really bad dreams about George. Maybe that is why when manang first learned that George was gone, she asked Poopie to comfort her. Who wouldn’t need comforting? Knowing that your brother, even if for two months, had gone missing and you don’t even know if he is alive, well or already at the Rainbow Bridge.

Last Sunday manang saw a black butterfly continually swooping down on a certain spot near my day time kennel and she was almost already convinced that it was George, it was still difficult to accept that he was gone. But each time a bird chirps and we can hear the fluttering of wings, a spark of hope flickers within us.

I never knew until then that there were so many birds around us. Beautiful birds. Lively birds. Living birds.

But that was not the end of it. We had delayed this post intentionally because we didn’t really know how to start, or where to start. Learning what happened and how it happened was not easy. But we choose not to think about it. But now we had to, because apart from George, another brother needs your help. And it breaks our heart into tinier pieces everyday.

My brother Batista is sick.

Batista was with Poopie when manang bought her Pet Taxi as they prepared to travel from Bacolod to here. He was this little tan mini pinscher boy with a big bark but an even bigger heart.

Last Thursday manang’s brother brought him to the vet for a check-up because Bat-Bat was not behaving like his normal self. His blood test results were very low. :(( He failed in all categories except for his WBC.

The vet said he had blood parasites or ehrlichia. Poopie and I searched it over the internet and it didn’t sound too good. Mommy Lilli said that if both RBC and platelets were low, he might already be in stage 3 if he does not respond to his medicines.

By some divine intervention manang will be going to Manila today for work. She would then be able to buy his medicines there since they were out of stock where Batista is.

Please everypup, please please pray for our dear brother Batista. He needs your help. Poopie still needs him. She will be going home again on December and she wants to see him and Kim Tzi there.

My sister loves him so much, and even if I had not spend any time with him, I also love him. He makes my sister happy and knowing that alone makes me happy as well.

Please Dear Lord, make my brother Batista well again.

In all fours and paws,

Aki and Poopie