I was worried that Drago wouldn’t remember me. Even if I was his First Human, I had only spent a few days with him and two whole months had gone by since then.

Nicolas warned me that Drago wasn’t friendly with everyone. He often growled at Benny, our building manager, and at the construction workers.

So I was apprehensive when I arrived back in Siargao two weeks ago. What if Drago didn’t remember me or, worse, what if he didn’t like me?

I alighted from the car and, when I saw that the dogs weren’t around, I didn’t bother to look for them and went into our room to unpack.

Then the door swung open and Nicolas let Drago in and left us to get reacquainted.

Drago looked confused at first, and then he was all over me. He practically knocked me over as he tried to burrow his face into my neck.

I wrote before that “[Drago] is nervous and needy but, unlike Apollo, who may have been a cat in a past life, Drago is overly affectionate, which can be either suffocating or endearing, depending on one’s mood.”

All of that is still true. Drago is still as loving and affectionate as he was when I got him. Even when he’s with Nicolas, he watches me all the time and then ends up making his way towards me for a cuddle.

Apollo was happy to see me too, but he’s very rough in his affection and turns cold and aloof very quickly.

He’s a very independent dog and Nicolas often questions his loyalty. It’s because of this that Apollo now spends less and less time with us in the room. With Drago around, we don’t insist that Apollo spend more time with us.

By “we”, I mean Nicolas.

Because the truth is that I don’t want either of them in the room. When they’re with us, we are constantly covered in drool and sand. They take up all the space on the bed and – I swear – they’re giving me fleas!

We’re no angels. (This picture was taken about a month ago, and sent to me when I was in India. Drago is still wearing his baby collar which no longer fits him today.)

There is also a lot of sibling rivalry between the two, which is Nicolas’ reason for wanting only one dog in the room at a time. They are always jealous of each other and play-fight often.

(I dislike playing favorites so, if Drago is in the room, then I will let Apollo in too, although it does get rather chaotic and messy and Apollo ends up wanting to be let out anyway.)

Drago is, obviously, the Alpha Male. He will definitely be heftier (although not necessarily taller) than Apollo when they are fully grown. Right now, weighing 54 kilos at only 11 months, Apollo is already bigger than Napo ever was (proving that he isn’t a giant Jack Russell) and, although he isn’t exactly a dwarf Great Dane either, he’s still a Filipino Great Dane and doesn’t come up to the standards stipulated on the internet.

Lawrence, our dogs’ guardian, and Apollo.

Unlike Drago who, at six months, is in the heaviest range for his age group, at 44 kilos, which Nicolas is very happy about.

Needless to say, Drago is Nicolas’ favored son. By default, Apollo has become sort of mine. But, in reality, they are both Nicolas’ dogs and I’m a poor surrogate when he is not around.

My giant, crazy family.