Tail Tales: Sigfreid Barros Sanchez

I named our 4-month-old Labrador pup Muning. I’ve always wanted to have a dog with a cat’s name. Years from now, when I call her, guests will expect a small cat, but then a big dog will run out of the house. She was given to us by my wife’s friend Kaye. Muning is very playful. Hyper. She likes to chew on our stuff. She ate my favorite slippers. We got Muning to teach our kids responsibility. My three older boys Sebastian, Szackobe and Kubrick are tasked to feed Muning. Sebastian and Kubrick clean her cage, too. Our youngest Seth’s job is to play with her in the garage. She’s the only girl in the family. My wife treats Muning like the daughter we never had.

I named our cat Bantay—a dog’s name for a cat. She’s not afraid of the dog. We don’t know how old she is because she just appeared on our doorstep one day and never left. She’s very friendly. The kids love her because she’s gentle and sweet. Bantay is no ordinary pusakal (pusang kalye or street cat). We don’t know her breed but she looks like those cats in TV commercials for imported pet food. Bayani San Diego Jr.