Pawprints in the sand
WE CAN’T quite explain it, but there's just something so magical and enchanting about the sound of the waves as if we are under a magic spell. The glittering water lures us to come closer. The sun shines like powdered gold that brings out the magic. It cures whatever our heart requires: love or reflection.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected our lives and most of us our mental health. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful and overwhelming. The necessary precautions such as social distancing made us feel isolated that increased stress and anxiety. We were not able to see our loved ones due to international and local restrictions.
During the lockdowns dogs, cats and other animals helped relieve depression, anxiety and helped improve our mental health. Our pets have given us immediate joy through interaction.
Nabulao Beach Resort is located in Sitio Totong, Barangay Talacagay Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental, half an hour drive from Sipalay City.
Sunshine Gaitana with her daughter Rain, sister Cloud Gaitana and Erik Alamillo decided to stay for a few days and those days have left a pawprint of love and kindness in their hearts when they met the Nabulao dogs; Negi, Blackie, and the neighboring local dogs.
When they arrived at the resort Negi, a big brown happy, confident dog with a red collar on its neck welcomed them and followed them around the airy spacious restaurant, she was so gentle and well behaved reaching her paws on their leg every time and patiently waiting to be fed. Following through the health protocols there were only a limited number of guests who stayed in and Negi enjoyed welcoming the guests at every table.
She is so well fed that Manong Rico Dablo, the one who looks after Negi and has been with the owners family for a long time said that Negi was forced to be on diet at some point to lose weight and stay healthy as there was a time that she just lays in the restaurant and doesn't move anymore because she was too heavy. She's very cuddly though. She has already been spayed and fully vaccinated.
On the same day, they met Blackie, not his real name but because he has a shiny healthy coat and with a white socks-like pattern he was named Blackie immediately by the guests. He looked the same as their late pet Lulu it was not too difficult to win their hearts over. Blackie is a local neighborhood dog that became a positive entertaining dog companion at the resort.
Being an animal lover and a fur parent finding a pet-friendly resort or an establishment that allows pets is still an ongoing challenge at present. Fortunately, the resort is a pet-friendly resort. The owner and the employees are animal lovers that allow pets to stay in as guests.
She recalls how her father and her grandfather Colonel Dioscoro B. Gaitana loved animals and has instilled a shared value of love and compassion toward animals. The acts of kindness and compassion are indeed contagious and have set a good moral concrete value that can be passed on through generations.
Sunshine's family enjoyed having the dogs around playing with them at the beach, enjoying the warm grain of the sand, sitting in bleachers, swimming, sleeping relaxed while listening to the sound of the waves, giving them belly rubs, unlimited love, and attention as if they were their dogs and of course, the Nabulao dogs enjoyed the attention and the memorable instagramable photos that come along with it.
She added that the Nabulao dogs are lucky to be in a natural environment where they can run freely and enjoy the gifts of nature unlike the city dogs that are restrained inside their houses and are still used as guard dogs "Bantay."
In Bacolod City, neglected, starved, abused, and abandoned stray dogs are still rampant and some are impounded at the local city pounds due to be euthanized, unfortunately.
It was a beautiful short vacation despite the strict compliance with the health protocols to travel locally. It was indeed an escape, a good short mental breather, and a change of environment.
Though it was sad and some guests in the past for sure have shed tears to leave the Nabulao dogs Negi, Blackie, and the other neighboring dogs behind, let's give other guests the chance to meet them and share the same unforgettable memories that the other guests experienced with their family and loved once.
Many people are experiencing inner turmoil and struggle because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Nabulao Dogs without a doubt will make someone's day a little lighter and better with the realization to stop and be present, that the simple things are also the most extraordinary in life.