The cover page depicted Jackson. He was my best friend and my pet dog. He is a medium sized wolf-like Siberian husky dog. His distinctive facial features allowed him to be recognized easily. He had a thick furry body and two upright triangular ears. Jackson’s face is typical. He had two grey heart-shaped patches on the outer area of his eyes and an inimitable colour of eyes. He had almond-like shape eyes, with his left eye in sky blue tone and the right one in light brown. He wore a black handmade leather dog collar with his name tag on. His tag was white and had his name “JACKSON” engraved on.
I turned to the first page of the album and the photograph displayed my father placing Jackson in his wooden kennel at the corner of the room. This happened when I was seven years old when a special one entered my life. It was a Siberian husky puppy about two months old. Jackson was given to me by an American couple who lived four blocks away from my house. Their dog gave birth to ten puppies but their terrace house was not able to accommodate all the pets. Hence, they had to give away some of their new-born puppies and my parents agreed on adopting one of them. The next day, my father brought me to my neighbour's house to retrieve Jackson. I promptly embraced Jackson when he was handed over to me. He was light in weight and his fur was pleasingly enjoyable to cuddle. I noticed a blue collar on his neck. I asked my neighbour what his name was and he said it was the owner's responsibility in naming it. The person giving the name meant development of love for their pet. I looked up to my father and he said that I should give him a name. I was trying very hard to think of a name when I saw a Michael Jackson concert DVD on the table in front of me. I decided to name my new treasure Jackson. I carefully carried him home with my two arms wrapped around him. When I arrived at my house gate, my father latched opens the gate and asked me to hand Jackson over to him. He was afraid that I might drop Jackson on the ground while climbing up the stairs to reach the second door of our mansion. I gently handed Jackson to my father. Then I rushed up the stairs to spread the news of Jackson's arrival to everyone. Jackson was warmly welcomed. My father transported Jackson to the wooden black kennel which was bought specially for him. He was sized at approximately 20 centimetres. The kennel was too huge for him to accommodate. As the result, he jumped around the kennel with full of enthusiasm.
The next page in my photo album displayed the room that Jackson was accommodated at. This was taken when Jackson was 10 months old. I had a vacant room on the second floor left exclusively for Jackson which is near to the staircase. From the doorstep, the kennel is placed at the top right corner. Beside the kennel, there is two shelves placed with full of dog toys. A pee tray was placed at the right bottom corner for Jackson to clear his bowels. This is also for easy clearing of Jackson’s urine and poops. There was a white furry oval-shape mat on the centre of the floor. A dog feeder is situated approximately 50cm away from the kennel. There were multiples of grey furs from Jackson scattered around the room.
The next page of the photograph depicted Jackson wearing a vest harness jumping over a hurdle assisted by my maid. Jackson had turned 1 year old and we thought it was the right time to provide him training. Jackson joined a course entitled “Obedience & Agility Training” organized by Singapore Kennel Club. In Obedience Training class, Jackson learned to bond a relationship with me. He learned how to maximize his instincts to understand all the basic commands and he gradually progressed to be well-behaved at home and in public places. Jackson is quick-witted. He learned everything rapidly. In the Agility Training class, Jackson was trained to go through obstacles course. To prevent Jackson from hurting, I gave him a vest harness suit to protect himself. He was taught to agility training equipment like A-frame, dog walk, see-saw, crossover, tunnels, weave poles and hurdles.
The subsequent page of the albums had Jackson and I posing in front of a banner written “SKC’s Companion Dog Show” at the Suntec Convention Hall. Jackson had five medals, one silver and four golds hanging over his neck. While I was holding five certificates that Jackson had won. Jackson entered the competition when he was 7 years old. The event was “Singapore Kennel Club’s Companion Dog Show” He participated in four categories of the competition. The first competition was “Best Kept Dog”. Jackson emerged the first place. This event is to judge the style of living that Jackson had experience with me. The second competition is “Speediest 4 legs”. This course involved with the agility training equipment. The stage is the same as the one Jackson had trained in practice, thus he is well familiar with the setting. He emerged the first place again with a timing of 29.25 seconds. The next competition was “Last Doggie Sitting”. The objective of the competition is endurance. Jackson was the last dog sitting. The last competition for the day was “Best trick in the House”. This was to showcase the talent that the dog has. I played a video of Jackson tidying my bed and covering the blanket for my parents while they were asleep. The video even screened Jackson carrying their briefcase and handbag when they were leaving for work. In the convention hall, Jackson bit a cloth and mopped the pile of furs that was on the ground. Sadly, with this trick the judges did not give Jackson a first placing but a second placing. The winner of the best trick was to count mathematics and identifying shapes. Jackson was also awarded the first dog who won three gold medals in the grand event.
The last photo shows the sickly side of Jackson. The very first time he was sick when he was around 4 years old. My maid noticed his stools have about 6 inches spaghetti-like appearance and he was whimpering and shivering in his kennel. Hence, my maid and I immediately took him to the nearest vet. The veterinarian said he contracted a disease called “roundworms” and it is the most common type of dog worm which affects the intestines. Roundworms can be found in dog’s stool or vomit. They can grow up to seven inches in length and have a spaghetti-like appearance. The veterinarian cured him by inject injecting Pyrantel Pamoate substance into Jackson. My tears started dripping down. Ten years later, he got sick again. I noticed him aging, the time taken to climb up and down the stairs gradually slowed down. The amount of food he ate also reduced as compared formerly. The next consecutive day, he refused to eat for the whole day. I was so worried about him I even begged him to eat, but He would rather stay inside his kennel. My parents immediately brought him to the vet clinic that night. The veterinarian found out he has contradicted the third stage of gastric disease. There was no cure. The moment those words came into my head, my tears start falling down and my heart was in a great pain. I cannot believe it. My best friend is dying. The veterinarian gave us some moments with Jackson. I immediately went over to embrace him. I howled loudly. Jackson slowly put his feet on my head. I can feel him touching my head. My tears start dripping on Jackson’s furry body. When the time is up, my parents pulled me away from my best friend. The veterinarian then injected Naphthalene to end his life. It was so nerve wrecking that I bit my lips so badly that my blood oozes out from my lips upon seeing Jackson’s eyes closing gradually. His heart was pumping at a snail's pace until it stops. Jackson was gone forever. We make the essential cremation arrangements at the Pets Cremation Centre in Pasir Ris Farmway. I was able to visit Jackson when I am depressed.
The photo album portrayed the time that I had spend with Jackson. It illustrates the most exulting moment I shared with Jackson. After his demise, I felt that a next kin of mine has left me. I closed the album and my tears started bursting out. Next, the telephone rang. It snaps me out of my thoughts. I immediately wiped away my tears and when ran forward to get the telephone.
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