This is such a good story! Just hope I can tell it right. It's the kind of thing that warms my heart even as it exasperates me when I think of the economic aspects of it! But you can judge for yourself. Read on:
The story began a couple of months ago when I found a puppy, and Anto and Moni returned from their caribbean trip with a puppy they'd bought. Both puppies got incredibly sick; we spent zillions of pesos to try to get them better. This phase, which we dubbed the 'animal hospital phase' lasted about a month, and in the end, the puppy I had found, Ione, survived, while the puppy Anto and Moni had brought back with them, Zula, didn't. They buried little Zula in our backyard, and then, on Moni's b'day a week later, she received a dalmation puppy from one of her professors, who knew the sad tale of Zula's demise. This puppy, pure white with faint brown dots, they named Negro, which is akin to the name Blackie I suppose; at at any rate, it has no discriminatory or racial associations attached to it in Mexico, as far as I know!
Once again we went through the breaking-in period with a new puppy - shots, sickness, cleaning up poop and pee... Clo had been taking most of the responsibility for Ione, and I looked after Bella, so now, Sam pitched in too, by being good about helping out Anto and Moni with Negrito.
Then CLo got so busy with work and school, that I found myself taking over the feeding and tending of Ione. While CLo had been keeping her in check, things had been fine. I was so impressed with the puppy. She seemed so good and obedient, and since she slept in CLo's room, I could get up at my usual pre-dawn time and not have anything to do with her. But the day inevitably arrived when CLo said she didn't want the puppy sleeping in her room anymore, and I had to keep her downstairs. I soon discovered, to my dismay, that the puppy had a mind of her own. She knew what I was telling her to do or not do, but she would just look at me and ignore the command. It really started to irk me, so I started making her stay outside.
Meanwhile, Anto was training his little dog, and I saw that he was doing a great job; he had so much patience! I think the original plan was to keep him at Moni's house, but since she really has no space for a dog there, he ended up staying here. Anto did quite well as a dog-caregiver, and only asked Sam to give him his medicine or feed him when he himself couldn't be here because of work or school. The puppy stayed in his room because Moni didn't want him outside too much since the Vet had told them he was too little to be out all the time. But when the puppy started getting more active and Anto saw that Ione was now staying outside, he decided to put Negrito outside too when he was away. That practice started on Monday of last week.
On Wednesday night, there was a huge dogfight outside our fence in the middle of the night. I don't know which of those night-wandering trouble-making dogs tore a hole in the fence, but since we all leave before it really gets light, none of us noticed the hole the next morning. Anto left his puppy outside when he went to school, and when he got home, he discovered not only the hole, but also the fact that Bella and Negrito were missing. Moni was at her place, recovering from tooth surgery, but Anto was beside himself with guilt and anxiety over the missing puppy. When Bella didn't return by the end of the next day, I began to worry too. She's gotten out before, but always come back a few hours later to eat, drink and sleep off whatever mischief she may have gotten into. But this time, she didn't come back!
Sam and I started going around from house to house, township to township, looking for the dogs, but no luck. Thursday night and Friday, you could feel the air of expectation and hope at our place. We all gave Ione more attention than usual, but all the while, our ears were tuned for a bark, or a whine, signifying the return of the dogs. We went out and whistled, clapped, and shouted every once in awhile... and every time we walked by a window, we looked out to see if they were outside the gate wanting to come in... but no dogs showed up, until late Friday evening, when Bella suddenly appeared at the gate, wagging her tail, wet and muddy, but looking quite well! Sam immediately took her out again on a leash, hoping she could lead him to Negro, but it was raining quite steadily, and they didn't get far.
Saturday morning found Anto up early, busily working on a poster that he subsequently had printed and made into 50 copies!! While CLo saw to the veterinary needs of Ione and Bella (typical Saturday happenings), he then took the poster (see below) all over the three townships we live between, to tack on telephone poles and give to storeowners, etc. I told him the best thing to do would be to go out looking for the puppy ourselves. He agreed to go on a trek with me and we hiked through all the hills and overgrown paths around here, but ended up with nothing except some spectacular pictures we took along the way. (Couldn't help it; it was a gorgeous day!)
Anto's poster:
¡ATENCIÓN!
SE BUSCA.
RESPONDE AL NOMBRE DE “NEGRO” TIENE ALGUNAS MANCHAS CAFES EN EL CUERPO, SE EXTRAVIÓ EL JUEVES 8 DE OCTUBRE, EN LA LOCALIDAD DE xxxxxxxx; A LA PERSONA QUE PUEDA DAR INFORMES SOBRE SU PARADERO, O LO ENCUENTRE FAVOR DE LLAMAR AL TELÉFONO: xxxxxxx O CEL: xxxxxxxxxx. SE LE GRATIFICARÁ CON:
$500 PESOS.
Refusing to leave it at that, Anto went out and got 100 more copies of his poster made. And then - before he could tack these new ones up, he actually got a call!
Someone had seen the pup and told him where. He went to the construction site they'd told him, and sure enough, the construction workers there told him that both dogs had appeared on Thursday. The men had fed them for a couple of days, after which the big one (Bella)left. One of the guys really took to the little pup, and decided to keep him. Since it was Saturday, he'd taken the puppy with him to his family's house for the weekend, to a town about 4 hours away by bus. The other guys assured Anto that he'd be back on Monday.
Monday morning, as I was just preparing to start my class, Anto called me on my cell to ask me how to get to Cuetzalan. Now, I've been there, but I don't really know the way. I just know it's a looooong drive over narrow, curvy roads. I asked him why he needed to go there, and he said he was going to get Negro back! Turns out the construction worker had dutifully returned to work on Monday, but of course he didn't bring the pup with him! He promised Anto he'd go home the next weekend and bring the pup back the next Monday, but Anto would have none of that! He offered to pay the guy his daily wage, take him to his hometown, pick up the pup, and drive the guy back so he could be at work the next day! Now he was ready to go, with his combi gassed up and Moni riding shotgun (she later told me she wouldn't let him go without her), and the construction worker in the back seat.
I confess I was at a loss for words when he told me the plan! Was this really happening???? All this over a little puppy you've had for about 3 weeks????? True, in view of the fact that he'd already tried and failed to nurse one puppy back to health, not to mention that this puppy is technically Moni's and was under his care when it got lost, I could understand his need to finally have something turn out right. Still, when I thought about the long drive, gas money, toll money, the wages paid to the guy, the reward paid to the girl who gave him the original information, the posters he'd had made... all I could do was shake my head in a mixture of disbelief and admiration!
The upshot of all of this is that, yes, Anto and Moni returned that night - very late - with their puppy in Anto's arms. Both came into the house full of stories about the adventure, and the experience of meeting that construction guy, how he told them about the life of a bricklayer, seeing the tiny tiny town where he lives... They were tickled about everything, eyes shining with genuine happiness! They were relieved and relaxed, in spite of the long journey. They didn't care about the money, they were glad they had seen it through... and all of us were really impressed with Anto's perseverance. One thing's for sure: if Anto ever decides to have kids, he'll be an excellent father!
