Alicia gets a new friend!

Despite the previous puppy setbacks, I brought home a puppy friend last week, and, after that tumultuous week, think we’re finally going to be alright! I chose a little brown puppy with a white patch of fur around his neck and white front legs to come home with me- he’s very sweet, loves playing with people, and follows people everywhere. For this reason, I named him “Muimui” which means “to follow” in Tongan. We had a lovely first few days together, but then, Muimui disappeared. I walked around the compound calling for him, until one of my neighbors told me he had seen a boy from a nearby house take the puppy that morning. I walked over, told the boy to give me back my puppy, and we were good to go. However, the next day, he went missing again. This time, some boys at the high school dormitory across the rugby field from my house found him and returned him to me, mostly in hopes of making a good impression on the pelangi. Still, I was so happy to have my dog back. Two days later, he went missing again, from inside my closed fence, meaning someone had taken him. He was gone for two days, and I was very sad and thought he was gone for good, and that I should give up on the idea of even having a puppy.

However, when Brett went to school that morning, which is just down the road from my school, he saw him in the school yard: a little boy had taken him and brought him to school with him. As soon as Muimui saw Brett, he came running up, so excited to see him again. Kate brought him back to their house, fed him (he was starving), and I took him back home on Friday. Since then, we’ve been having a wonderful time. He came out with us when we hung out at the one restaurant/bar in town with all the other expats; he ran following me on my bike when I went to the market; and he’s generally just an adorable little puppy, liking to sleep a lot and play and explore. Currently, I’m working on house-training him, as he’s developed a fondness for peeing on my rugs, and making him bit and scratch a little less hard. But, he’s a fun little puppy, and it’s so nice to have a friend at home when it gets lonely here.