Zilla

This is Zilla, the puppy I mentioned here.

She's a pure bred German Shepherd. Bee and I got her back in August, when she was only 8 weeks old.

I fell in love with her instantly the moment I saw her. Look at that face? How can you not love that face?

This pretty little thing looks just like the mini version of a full grown German Shepherd. And her eyes, oh they simply melt my heart!

The day we took her home, Bee and I were like two excited kids who just got their new toy.

We immediately rushed out to Pet Safari in Ikano Power Center to get everything she possibly needs. We pictured ourselves bringing her out in the car for evening walks. We discussed about the tricks we're gonna teach her. We spent hours trying to come up with a name for her.

As the night fell, problems arose.

Zilla, like a typical German Shepherd puppy, is bad tempered and needs constant attention. She cried whenever we're not in her sight. And boy was she persistent! She wouldn't stop till one of us went to check on her. As soon as we walked away, she'd wake the whole street up again.

I never knew that a tiny little puppy can have such loud voice. We kept her in our front yard, and we could hear her all the way from our bedroom on the second floor! With the door closed and a pillow over our ears, that was.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Bee and I didn't get a wink of eyes for 2 days and 2 nights.

We had to order takeaways all the time because whenever we went out, Zilla made sure she brought the walls down until we got back. And of course, the neighbour started complaining.

Well, we could've kept Zilla in our bedroom at night so she doesn't feel abandoned. Problem was, she wasn't toilet trained so she poo'ed and pee'ed whenever and wherever she liked. And the worst part? She liked to roll herself in her own waste and then all over the furnitures whenever she wasn't getting enough attention. That sneaky little thing!

Now Bee and I are both cleanliness freaks, so you can imagine the kind of stress we were under. I had literally lost count of how many times we bathed Zilla and ourselves in a day.

On the third day, we couldn't take it anymore. Keeping a puppy wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, we should've known better.

After yet another sleepless night, Bee and I decided to give Zilla away to a better home. We needed our sleep and the puppy deserves an owner who can provide proper care for her.

I sat in the backseat of the car with Zilla on the way to Bridget's place. Yeap, we gave her to Bridget, who's a vet and loves dogs.

My heart felt so guilty whenever Zilla looked at me with those innocent puppy eyes. I felt as though we had betrayed her unconditional trust and affection for us with our irresponsibility.

I consoled myself by thinking that it was in the best interest of everyone. Bridget has 2 other dogs which could keep Zilla company so she'd have friends to play with instead of being left alone at home all day long. And Bee and I, well, we were in desperate need of some sleep and get out lives back to our normal routine.

Moral of the story, keeping a pet is a huge responsibility. (Duh!)

It's been recommended for couples to try keeping a puppy before they consider having a baby. I guess our little experiment clearly shows that Bee and I are NOT ready for either of them. We're two selfish people who need a carefree lifestyle and lots of personal space.

It was the closest the both of us had come to owning a pet. We still go and visit Zilla every once in a while, and I think it's best if we kept it that way for now.

At least everyone in our neighbourhood is getting a good night sleep these days.