Diary of Joey and Oreo

This is the story of Joey and Oreo


Those who personally know me know that these two names refer to a pig and a dog that we had been keeping as pets in our house. Yes, a pig, you read right... And those who are connected to me on Facebook have also witnessed the growing and heartmelting affection engendered between these two animals as their life happened... (Perhaps you caught a glimpse of the pig in a pic in a previous post).


Unfortunately, the story already has an ending, and it is a sad ending... An ending that underscores the lurking ugly side of city life in Ho Chi Minh...

But to keep the memory positive, let me take you through their lovely story, which all began when my housemate Thu brought home a little piggie which she had randomly bought from a vendor in the streets, one fine day...

May 6, 2013 - Welcome little Joey to our house!

She was frightened at first...

 

Joey's first few weeks...

 Her sleeping basket / shower... Strawberry love... Mirror reflection... and Bicycle-basket training!

May 24, 2013 - Introducing our new puppy Oreo! 

 

 

Starting off as partners-in-crime ...

... and quickly becoming attached...

House Duties...

  Oreo gets a bath...  Meanwhile, Joey does some vacuum cleaning...

June 7, 2013 - Joey and Oreo's first road trip!

Riding out to Vung Tau... Pit stop on the way... Deep sleep in the hotel after a 2.5 hour drive... Oreo gets sick in the morning (constipation) and gets admitted to the vet... Meanwhile, Joey gets to go to the beach... as well as a top-notch Italian restaurant... And we pick up Oreo at the vet, happy and healthy... and make our long ride home in the rain (can you spot Oreo on the bike?)

Growing up together...

  Fighting with each other for goodies... but finding comfort in each other's company... 

July 1, 2013 - Happy Canada Day!

Joey and Oreo show their support!

 

 

 

July 6, 2013 - Puberty hits...

It all started when I was enjoying my morning cup of coffee... Yup, even cross-species, believe it or not... (Oreo was the wanter... Joey just lay there without a care but eventually fought him off)

 

 

July & August 2013 - Life as they knew it...

Like two peas in a pod...  Joey loves her massages...  And the duo become well-known in the neighborhood and draw lots of visitors...

August 24, 2013 - Oreo falls ill...

Lethargic, depressed, and loss of appetite, Oreo becomes severely ill... but his wifey Joey sticks by his side... Eventually, Oreo had to be hospitalized at the vet for several days... All alone at home, Joey misses Oreo like crazy and becomes increasingly depressed... and comes closer to the humans for much needed consolation and companionship... (At the end, I find a way to multitask and do my work while rubbing Joey at the same time teehee)

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...  Joey is an international star!

She made it as a poster on the fridge of the corporate office of my sister in Montreal... 

 

 

Oreo returns home!

Healthier and happier than ever!!

 

 

Winning him back...

When Oreo first came home, he had to be quarantined inside the house for a bit so that he wouldn't pass on the disease to any other animals (he had contracted parvovirus)... During that time, he became attached to the humans and forgot about Joey... which made Joey incredibly depressed. He just ignored her and ditched her to the favour of the humans... But over time, Joey won his affection again... and at the end, they rekindled their relationship... Now, Joey is glowing again... Happy wife, happy life!

September 2013 - Back to normal life...

Joey, being the pig that she is, always trying to get at the food... Hmm.. I wonder who was messing in the plant soil? ... She always loves her body massages though!

 

September 21, 2013 - One fateful day...

I took Oreo on a special day outing to District 7 to see some friends...

The nightmare unfolds itself...

When we got home from our day outing... Joey was missing from the courtyard... A small period of panicking confusion ensued before we realized she had been kidnapped...

 

Post-Analysis

My housemates and I couldn't believe what had happened. In the small time window that I was away with Oreo, the kidnapper must have been aware that Joey was alone at the courtyard and took the opportunity to execute the kidnapping, as Oreo wouldn't be there to bark. In other words, Oreo wasn't there to protect his wifey Joey :(. We suspect that the kidnapper had his eyes on the little piggie for a while- she had been the talk of the neighborhood, and we had also heard rumours from people that there was somebody out to get her, freaky as that is. The only way they could have taken her is if they climbed up our gates and into our courtyard, and perhaps lugged her into a sack or backpack and carried her back over. The freaky part is that a couple of days prior to the incident, as I opened the gate to go out and Joey ran out down the alleyway to sniff around as she usually did, an old lady with a conical hat riding on her bicycle murmured to be in an ever-so-ominous tone in Vietnamese "You better watch out! They'll get her." and kept on riding down. 

There are two possible motives for the kidnapping. The more positive prospect is that the kidnapper wanted to raise a piggie himself, and had resolved to steal this pig that our house was known to be keeping as it is relatively difficult to find pet piglets to buy in the city. The negative and unthinkable prospect is that Joey was stolen to be sold for meat. My housemate strongly believes the former prospect is more likely because of the extent to which the kidnapper went to get our pig, reasoning that selling Joey's meat at her current size would not even be profitable. 

 

Afterthought

This event underscores the reality of thefts that pervade Ho Chi Minh City, and that anything of any value, whether we realize it or not, is a very probabilistic target for thieves. In the ensuing weeks, Oreo was expectedly sad - his lover was gone out of his life. Today (two months after the incident) he's fine though, as happy as a house dog can be. We just hope that wherever Joey is, under the assumption that she IS alive, she is being very well taken care of, as, as our house and countless people have witnessed, she is a being with its own soul, full of personality, feelings, and an ability to love.