1998 was the year we got Cognac.

She was a toy poodle given by the family of my cousin’s wife.

I still remember it clearly because I was in 2^nd year high school at that time.

The name Cognac was derived from one of Dad’s display wines in the dining area. Cognac died at the age of approximately 10 human years old. She died from a second bite wound that was caused by Mushu, my brother’s pitbull.

This is the second time I cried for a dog, the first one was for Blackie.

I always loved dogs, maybe because I grew up around so many dogs in the old house. There was Ranger, Dinggo, Mac2x and crazy Dumbo.

Cognac was a fun dog, always energetic, always hyper, and gullible sometimes but despite all that, still a very lovable dog. You see, even though Cognac liked to bark a lot, especially at strangers, she never bit people. Maybe she never had the guts or maybe she’s just too kind. I’ll always remember every time we let Cognac out of her cage and she just starts scratching the floor (carpets are her favorite) using her razor sharp claws. Yes, she had claws because Mom and I never had the strength or patience to clip her claws. She always whimpers anyway when you try to clip them. We also trained Cognac to pooh on designated newspapers as well. But unfortunately when I went to Manila for college, the maids no longer put newspapers on the floor and Cognac suddenly had a thing for peeing and poohing on the Carpets, which drove mom crazy. Cognac is always full of energy, one time Apollo and I tried to tire her out by jogging around the subdivision but instead we got tired first before she did (lol). And I’ll always cherish the nights when I try to sneak her into our room at night and let her sleep with us. Whenever I lower my foot or my hand she would always lick it because she was just underneath my bed. Cognac is also very famous among my high school friends because they thought she was a stuffed toy the first time they saw her. Cognac is funny and stupid at times because she always takes a very long time to find me whenever we play hide and seek. She also had a hard time learning how to go down the stairs. But she overcame her fears and learned how to go down using her two front paws. During my high school years I was the one who bathed and groomed Cognac. She was always shivering when she just got out of the bath and she always looked so afraid when the first blast of cold water hits her.

Cognac will always be special to me and no other dog in the world can replace her. I’m going to stop blaming other people for her death because I know I had no right to. I don’t live in Cagayan de Oro anymore so it really is out of my control if my father or brother or maids did not care enough for Cognac. So goodbye to Cognac, you will always be a part of my life. I just wish I spent most of my time with her on my last trip to Cagayan de Oro, I think that’s the part where it hurts the most.