On the first day of Chinese New Year, I scrambled downstairs (in jammies and all) to my Dad’s pretty excited calls. I found my mum’s cousin, Aunty Juju, at the gate.

No she didn’t come bearing ang pow.

It was better than that.

She came bearing this.

A beautiful, two-colored, 3-month-old female Beagle!

I instantly fell in love.

My aunt found her wandering in the middle of a busy intersection, lost and afraid. She stopped the car (yes, right in the middle of the road much to the chagrin of honking drivers) and opened her arms. This little baby instantly ran to her.

She asked around at a nearby petrol station and found out that the attendants had been watching her for some time. They saw her jump out of a moving truck (yes, a moving truck) and the owner never came back to retrieve her.

So my aunt brought her over to my place.

She’s the most lovable creature in the world, always up for fun, and loves snuggling up to you. Needless to say, my animal-loving brother was instantly hooked.

Actually, my entire family is completely in love with her!

Dad, who previously was a dog-elitist and only would consider rearing German Shepards, St. Bernards or Golden Retrievers was very keen on keeping her.
Mum, who’s been pretty much anti-dog-attachment since my German Shepard passed away some 10+ years ago (with the exception of my current mongrel, Hero, who she really grew very accustomed to keeping), was totally in love.
Aunty Helen was totally into her, playing with her, setting up a mini bed for her, cleaning her

We named her Brandy (after the drink, not the singer).

Let’s just say in 2 days my entire family was super attached to her, even her tantrum throwing which involved dragging our shoes and laundry all over the house in fear of abandonment whenever we leave for a few hours.

In typical anal-ness, on the 4th day, right before I had to set for KL, I demanded we take her to the vet just in case she was sick as my older dog succumbed to a mild fever the day before. And since she was a missing dog, I figured we’d want to know more about her (e.g. age, vaccinations, etc.).

So off my mum and I went to the vet.

It was a difficult trip as Brandy was reluctant to get into the car, get out of the car, go into the clinic and even peed on me in a wave of nervousness. She hid under a ledge the entire way and refused to come out even when I coaxed her to.

Then the vet came out.

That was when he dropped the bombshell.

He’d received an email from the SPCA the day before about a lost beagle pup.. and he was quite certain it was her. He could tell from those two patches at the top of her puppy head. Instantly, he notified SPCA and when we got home, the owner called.

My aunt gave him a mini-thrashing on the phone for ultimate irresponsibility (how can anyone let a puppy loose in a car without holding it down / caging it up? or even without an identification collar? and not even noticing it was gone until he reached his destination..)

I called to ask if we could keep her and buy her off him..

But he said no, can do. She belonged to his 5-year-old son.

My first impulse was to cart her off to KL with me and dog nap her. After all, who would know any better?

When he came to pick her up at 5pm. I kind of let her go with a very, very heavy heart. And she looked so confused when we handed her over.

Honestly, I was kind of stumped, stunned, and tons sad. Sometimes I still am.

When I spoke to Khailee that night, he reminded me of how impermanent everything is. And it’s kind of true. Nothing is permanent.

Not our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, boyfriends, husbands, wives, girlfriends, friends, acquaintances.

None of them are permanent.

Permanence is an illusion of security that we allow ourselves to feel. We’d rather believe that the people we know will be that way forever, be there forever.. and will never change or leave. We delude ourselves into thinking that, things will always be this way. Why? Because it feels safe. It feels like we’re in control of the situation.

It’s why the overprotective mother smothers her child with love. It’s why she has endless rules and regulations that she cloaks with discipline — to maintain an illusion of permanence.
It’s why the insecure girlfriend clings to her boyfriend. It’s why she prohibits him from doing anything — to maintain an illusion of permanence.
It’s why governments scramble to enforce martial law, cheat at elections and lie to their constituents — to maintain an illusion of permanence.

It’s why so many people fear death. It takes away permanence.

But… one day people will leave. YOU will leave. Be it purposefully, forcefully, unwillingly, be it stolen, taken or given. One day we will all leave.

That being said, I realized one important thing from that. God is permanent. But people, things, are never permanent. But love is constant. And it can be permanent.

I loved my grandfather when he was alive. I love him now that he’s gone. And I will love him for every day of my life.
I love my parents right now. I will love them long after they’re gone. And I will love them for every day of my life.

Same goes for my grandmother, aunt, uncles, brother, cousins and for my friends.

They will not be permanent. But my love for them, is.

In this case, it’s the same with that little puppy.

Even though we only had her for 4 days, we had her for 4 pretty amazing days. And we all loved her, and still love her. We all cherish those 4 days and while it would hurt a lot less if we’d never met her, it’s really better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Because at the end of the day, we have to accept this one truth: Nothing is permanent.

And I don’t say that with bitterness either. It’s with acceptance and a wistful smile.

Your parents aren’t always going to be around. So be spiritually, emotionally present with them when they are.
Your friends aren’t always going to be around. Give it all you have. Be the best friend that you can be. So when either one of you has to leave, you both know you were the best.
Someone you love isn’t always going to be around. So live each moment with them, not against them. Appreciate each other, and take a pause in your busy life to say, “I’m here. Right now. With you. And right now, that is all that matters”.
A child will not always be a child. Cultivate that bond, that feeling and enjoy his/her young years.

Really, my lesson is this: Cherish every moment you have. Because it is ALL you have. Live for the moment and enjoy each moment. The next may not be the same. And when you look back on those moments, you know that you lived it fully, you cherished it fully, and you were there fully.

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