Last weekend Sushi was at my parents house, so we made a trip there.

I finally got to meet Sushi again after more than a year. He is now living with my mom’s cousin because he can’t stay in my condo, and my parents are not at home most of the time.

As I stepped in the door, I could see he wasn’t as active as before. Sushi will be seven years old in a few months time so I guess this is a sign of his maturity and aging.

Previously he would be jumping up to greet me, and will be running around in excitement. Now, he just wags his tail going round in circles smelling everything.

The first thing I did was to kneel down and pet him, and he kept smelling me.

Rachel was so excited she keep shouting his name through the evening, “Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!”

She was so curious but afraid at the same time.

My father carried Daryl and he was much braver. He just looked at Sushi and kept smiling, wanting to touch Sushi.

The funny thing is, Sushi is much more obedient than my kids.

Physically he looks the same but I could see he has grown older, more stable.

He no longer followed me around, maybe I am not his master any more but just someone in his past.

One habit he still has, is to sit at the feet of anyone who sat down at the dining table. I was eating some desserts when he came over and gave me this familiar look.

“Give me a biscuit please”

After I ignored him a while, he resumed lying down on the floor but kept an eye on me, in case I changed my mind.

It was nice to see him again, it was the same feeling you get when you see an old friend.

Always at the back of my mind, there was this regret and sadness that he could no longer be with me.

I feel so sad to remember how, after I got married and moved out of my parents home, he kept waiting in the front door for me to come home every evening.

We’ve had so many wonderful memories together, I hope he still remembers me in his doggy dreams.

Now he has a new home with more people to pamper and play with him, so I know he is in a good place.

I miss him so much.

Happy Birthday Sushi!

Today you are five years old. It seems like yesterday when you came into my life.

I remember meeting you for the first time at the pet store. You were a curious bundle of fur eager to come smell our feet and explore any corner you could find.

I remember taking you home and watching this bundle of fur slowly exploring the house, smelling anything you could reach.

Do you remember how you loved hiding under the sofa? It became your cave for a while until we built you a temporary cave using some cushions.

I still feel the joy of having you follow me around the house, and how happy you made our family. For the first time in many years, we actually spent more time together and laughed together.

I feel so bad each day, that I am no longer living with you. My heart breaks when I picture you waiting at the door each evening for me. Good boy.

Ko ko will buy a special treat for you the next time I visit ok?

P/S: Your niece Rachel sends hugs and kisses. She says, “I want to play with your tail again Sushi suk suk”

I was having some sad dreams about my dog, and I realized that I needed to meet him.

Last night I went home to have dinner with my parents, and also to visit Sushi my lonely Shih Tzu.

Me and Sushi reunited again! Pardon my messy look. This is how I look most of the time at home.

The first thing he did was to go and get his toy fish to play with me.

Meow meow… I mean… woof woof!

You can hear the squeek squeek squeeks of joy. He kept chewing the toy out of excitement.

Don’t try to snatch my toy from me… I’m watching you mister!

Not so successful close-up, because he refuses to sit still.

Sushi looking at baby Rachel. He was really excited to see her and wanted to go near and check her out, but we kept him away. I continued to sayang and love Sushi so he won’t feel jealous.

Thanks for a wonderful night, everybody! Thanks to daddy, mummy, Lydia, Poey Chin, Rachel and of course Sushi!

I’m feeling really sad these past two days.

I’ve not had a good night sleep, because I’ve been having sad dreams.

Two nights ago, I dreamt that Sushi my loyal Shih Tzu died by turning into a piece of ham.

Last night I dreamt that he died.

I’m really depressed. Last night my wife told me that my sister told her that Sushi is still waiting for me to come home every night.

A new neighbour moved in next to my parent’s house, and they have the same car as me.

My heart breaks when I think of Sushi being disappointed day after day.

I think dogs don’t have memories and can’t reason. So imagine him waking up every day wondering where I am, and then day after day, evening after evening having his poor little heart broken when I don’t turn up.

I really miss my doggy. Now I realize that I’ve been pouring quite a lot of effort in my Facebook Pet Pupz to compensate for this feeling of guilt.

Poey Chin thinks I’m being silly of course. But I guess you won’t understand if you’ve never owned a dog.

I’m going back to see Sushi this weekend. I miss him terribly.

Hang in there Sushi, ko ko (elder brother) is coming home soon!

It has been almost three weeks since I’ve seen Sushi my adorable Shih Tzu.

Somehow or other, I did not have the chance to go back to Kota Kemuning, so my puppy and I have not had the chance to meet.

I miss seeing him wait for me at the front door when I come home from work.

I miss his excited bark asking my mother to open the door quickly.

I miss his turbo-wagging tail as he waits for me to put down my stuff and give him attention. He will then come charging towards me and jump on my lap as I give him a complete body rub.

Then when he is satisfied with my massage, I feel that he is tensed up, waiting for the command…

I say “Where’s your toy?” and he takes off at the speed of puppy and retrieves his favourite toy back to me, and we spend some time playing together until I get bored.

Sushi’s probably quite lonely nowadays. During thunderstorms he gets so scared that he comes to hide under my legs. Now he has no one, and has to hide under the dining table or crawl into the space between the sofas. I feel sad that I can’t be there for him.

My mom tells me that he continues to wait for me every evening. It breaks my heart picturing him being disappointed day after day.

I’m sorry Sushi.