There’s no accounting for chemistry. How else might we explain the fact that the charming Chihuahua-terrier soon to be known as Bingo had been twice returned to the Hawaiian Humane Society before prospective pop No. 3 Jorge Molestina walked in the door.
Molestina, a hardworking tour bus driver with a soft spot for animals, had just lost a beloved pug to a fatal bee sting. He had resisted going to HHS for fear that the sight of all those caged animals would break his heart. When he finally decided to go, it was with the determination that he would take the first dog he saw.
And, yes, Bingo was his name-o.
Molestina and his minimenagerie are well known and well liked in the Kinau Street apartment building where they live. In fact, 10th-floor neighbors Thuy Da Lam and Nolan Kim have become accustomed to impromptu visits from any manner of Molestina critter — cats, dogs, birds, even a turtle.
Thus, Lam and Kim were happy but not surprised when Molestina introduced them to his new little pal.
"We were talking about his old dog who had just died, and I started to cry a little bit," Lam remembers. "And right then Bingo jumped in my lap."
When it was time to go, Bingo scurried behind Lam and hid. After a bit of coaxing, he finally relented, but not before giving Lam a loving lick on the face.
Lam and Kim (and their 18-year-old cat Gypsy) would become well acquainted with their new neighbor over the next few years. When Molestina worked late, the couple would take Bingo for walks. When they’d go out, they’d often find Bingo waiting outside their door when they returned.
"We’d get off the elevator and Jorge would call out, ‘He’s waiting for you!’" Kim says.
Over time, Lam and Kim noticed what they believe to be signs of abuse from Bingo’s puppyhood. They also noticed the dog’s uncanny sense of empathy.
"When we go for walks, he’ll go up to certain homeless people and lie next to them or let them pet him," Lam says. "He senses when people need him."
When Bingo began having sleepovers at their apartment, Kim says, Molestina’s claim to ownership became "very tenuous" — a situation that made Kim uneasy.
"Nolan would say, ‘He’s now our dog,’" Lam says, laughing. "And I’d say, ‘He’s his own dog!’"
Then, about a year ago, Molestina handed over Bingo’s ownership papers. He knew where Bingo belonged.
Molestina has no lack of animal affection. He has his hands full with cat Momino and new dog Mona.
And Lam and Kim have Bingo — or maybe it’s the other way around.
"He chose us," Lam says. "He had three families before us. We’ll be his last."
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Check out #IncidentalLives on Twitter. Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.
