It Remains A Mystery

Fluffy has been the joy of the family since her arrival in March 2006. She is now two and a half years old, and she hailed from Australia. Yes, an expat! Yan and I picked her up from Pet Lovers at Holland V. Fluffy was unique, right from the start.

Till now, we aren't sure what made her stood out amongst all those puppies for sale in the shop. From the time we laid our eyes on her, she captured our hearts. Fluffy was just irresistably adorable. Perhaps it was her twinkling eyes, her high energy, curiosity and inquisitive nature that caught our attention. She fled like a runaway dog when released from her cage. When we finally got hold of her, she didn't struggle but quickly settled into my arms. It was as if she had been scheming all the while to win us over. "A thinking dog, how marvellous", we thought. And indeed she was. Before we knew what we were doing, we were at the cashier, and the next thing, she was in our car heading home.

I still remember her first night at One Balmoral. Like many first-time pet owners, we were oblivious to the pitfalls of pet owning, and had no idea of the responsibilities that came along. Little did we know that Fluffy is a little rascal (in a good way). She whined and cried every time Yan and I tried to put her into her cage. So worried that we might cause a commotion at One Balmoral, we finally yielded to her. This proved to be pitfall #1 - never yield to your pet's demand. Ever since, it was impossible to ever cage her without causing distress to our entire neighbourhood. Due to our work commitments, Fluffy had to be put in Yan's mother's care for most days and nights. Over this past year, she has grown so fond of Fluffy that the dog today is more like her pet than ours. It is hard not to like Fluffy. The entire family had a great time with her, until tragedy struck recently. It was about 2 months ago. Fluffy became strangely quiet. She wasn't her usual active self, and she looked unwell. Within days later, her hind legs were motionless. Despite hospitalization and medication, her mishap remains a mystery. Fluffy used to run all over the house after every ball, and up and down the staircase as fast as a human could. She was Maradona of the house. Watching her play was always a joy. It is heart-wrenching to see how a hyper-energetic poodle had turned into a helpless little dog. We are not sure what lies ahead for Fluffy, but one thing for certain, our lives will never be the same again.