The Yellow Baron

The pack with our humans live in this very big piece of land. It's lined with jackfruit trees in the
front and cashew trees in the side. At the back is a neglected vegetable patch with lots of weeds, ferns and mushrooms growing on dead logs. I don't know how the Master grows vegetables there but sometimes he harvests leafy vegetables he cooks in stews and broths. Mistress often grows plants with very strong smells. Mother identified some of them as sage, cinnamon, mugwort, vervain and patchouli. Mistress puts them in pots of clay but we can sniff on them when they're put on the ground to catch morning sunlight. Mother cautions us not to nip the leaves because some of them are poisonous to us canines. We have a concrete fence with metal
spikes. Mother loves to climb this fence to get over to the other side which is full of sweet smelling flowers like jasmine, ylang-ylang, frangipani and dama de noche. She rubs her fur on the flowers which gives her a weird smell that makes us sneeze. I guess Mistress must've
loved smelling mother's fur because of that. Mother lives under a rectangular plastic table that has a jagged hole in the center. She has a small, warm and furry mat where we all sleep especially on cold nights. Her water and food bowl is placed outside. We puppies love drinking at her water bowl because Mistress often places ice cubes especially on hot afternoons. On top of that table, Mistress places our supplies. I can tell because it smells like food upstairs. I have yet to grow up and get there to find out if it's true. Mother often told us that Mistress' house is much better than ours. She has a couch in front of a moving picture box where Mother and Mistress would watch and eat chips together. She often told us about Mistress' big box with a swinging
door that has food and cold water and ice. This gate of dog heaven has been opened to Mother one too many times, I think. She would rave about it especially in between meal times. "Have you ever seen where Mistress and Master sleeps?" Inday asked mother one time "Oh yes." Mother quickly replied, "It had a big soft mat that was slightly raised from the floor. I have often slept under it especially when Master is out." "Have you tried sleeping on Mistress' mat?" asked Pangga dreamily. "Mistress has often invited me, pup, but I declined. Master sleeps there and I think he will mind having my fur on his side. Besides, decent dogs with breeding don't step over
that boundary."she lectured. "Is Mistress' house as big inside as on the outside?" Bunso asked,
"Yes. There are many rooms. Mistress and Master sleeps on the biggest room to the left, nearest to the corner. The Baron sleeps on the big room on the right. The smaller room
used to be the sleeping area of my former human. The smallest room contains Mistress' papers and paints." I think I forgot to mention that in our pack, another human takes care of us aside from the Mistress and Master. Mother calls him the "Baron". This Baron is Mistress'
sibling. Mother said he used to live there with his family but after Mistress and Master got married, the Baron's family left him and moved out. The Baron stayed with Mistress and Master, occasionally visiting his family. Mother does not know his real name. He is called by many different names so we dogs often refer to him as the
Baron. He is not as kind as our Mistress because punishment is swift with this human. He does not talk to us and instead uses motions to make us do what he wants. A little mistake will cause pain - as Mama Meha has often experienced. He hates it when Mama Meha's poop is all over
the garage where we stay. He hits her with a stick, barely missing her
puppies.
Despite the dislike, Mother does not give up on the Baron. She welcomes him with a loving bark when he arrives but gets a snort or a gruff greeting in return. She tries to
lick his feet when he gets near her, especially when giving us food. She gets a smart blow, instead. He does not take us out for walks nor does he even look at us. I wonder how Mistress could ever put up with this obnoxious sibling. I wonder, is he this bad on Mistress? Is this dislike targeted on dogs only? What had dogs done that made him that brutal? Many questions run in my head...but I guess, I'd rather imitate my
mother's kindness. Maybe the Baron heart's will melt.