Pauleth Aviles

Bantay

Bantay, in Tagalog meaning “guard” or a “guardian”. As a child, I found it humorous that it seems like everyone who owned a dog named him Bantay. It’s almost like a long-running inside joke in the country, where you hear “Bantay, sit!” and he will do just that. The joke was, no matter what, the faithful companion will follow his owner’s command. Without or without “proper” dog training. Because that’s who exactly Bantay was, an obedient dog.