Puppy love in a bedroom

Puppy love in a bedroom

SINGAPORE - There was no way you would suspect that my daughter was hiding a dog in her bedroom.

No barking, not a single sound, to give the illegal immigrant away.

Cheryl, 26, had secretly brought home a chihuahua. She had wanted to have a dog for a long time but I was afraid of dogs and had expressly told her there was no way I could tolerate one in the house.

She had gone to a pet shop with a friend who had wanted to buy a dog. But my daughter ended up falling for the chihuahua and bought it.

It was days, or perhaps a week - I'm not sure really - before I found out about Chloe's existence. I had become suspicious when Cheryl started closing her bedroom door when she went out. She had always left the door open.

Cheryl loves dogs but knew that I was terrified of them. My fears stemmed from an incident in my childhood when I was chased by a dog in a park. Since then, I have been afraid of canines.

I would not get into a lift if there was a dog inside. If I saw a dog coming towards me, I would take great pains to avoid it.

A kind neighbour used to push his dog inside his flat whenever he spotted me coming down the corridor. He saw how frightened I was when his dog dashed out one day and came running after me. That was a few months ago.

Back to the fugitive in my house. At first, I did not tell my daughter that I knew about her secret pet. I was not sure how to handle the situation. I was upset with her for disobeying me - I had previously threatened to get rid of any dog in the house ("throw down the rubbish chute" was my favourite threat) - but should I force her to get rid of the dog and strain our relationship?

While I pondered over what to do, I could not resist taking a peek at Chloe whenever my daughter was not at home. My daily clandestine visits must have forged some sort of bond with Chloe, and before I knew it, I was reaching out tentatively to stroke it and it would reciprocate, licking my hand so lovingly. It had wormed its way into my heart.

How could I harden my heart against the hapless creature when, each time I sneaked into Cheryl's room to take a look, it would jump for joy just to see me?

I felt bad harbouring any evil thoughts of getting rid of the innocent little thing.

As it turned out, my daughter soon cottoned on to the fact that I knew about the dog's existence. Today, Chloe is no longer confined to my daughter's room. It gets free rein of the flat.

The way it welcomes me home each day - barking furiously and running excitedly around the house to show its happiness - makes me forget the stresses of the day. I look forward to going home each day.

I never thought I would ever get to love a dog but Chloe has taught me about unconditional love and helped me overcome my lifelong fear of dogs.

Since my daughter usually comes home later than me, I am the one who feeds Chloe every day and takes it for walks in the park near our flat.

I have also ended up getting to know more people living in the neighbourhood as many people would inevitably stop to pat Chloe when the two of us are out.

And best of all, the small dog has brought a big change in the relationship between my daughter and me. The demands of our separate work lives mean we seldom get to see or talk to each other, even though we live under the same roof.

But constantly sharing news of how the dog is doing has brought us closer. In fact, my daughter now complains that I spoil the dog.

Recently, Chloe and I met a couple who have a silky terrier at the lift landing. The husband looked at me, looked at the dog, and looked at me again.

He said in a disbelieving tone: "Thought you are scared of dogs?"

It was not too long ago that I had refused to get into the lift with the couple and their dog.

The husband smiled when I told him how I found Chloe hidden in the bedroom and how I grew to love the dog.

" I can't throw it out, can I?" I joked.

layteen@sph.com.sg

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