A Blog about the life of Joey, an active JRT

Retrenched

2011-12-02T09:53:00.003+08:00

The economy must be bad....

even a dog gets retrenched :(

HC received this email from Singapore's Civil Defence - Search Platoon Team, where I have been a volunteer search and rescue dog for 8 years 10 months.

"This email is to inform you that the Saturday Volunteer Training Programme will cease. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your tremendous support for the past months/years. "

I have been doing this since I was 18 months old, and I am at a loss on what to do with my life.... now I can totally understand how the humans feel when they get retrenched. Though I am worse off as I got no retrenchment benefits. The Singapore Government should reward me with a nice steak at least, right?

(HC : I have mixed feelings when I received this email. One, I have been postponing Joey's retirement as he still has the drive despite his advancing age (he's 10). In fact, I am secretly proud that his stamina surpasses alot of younger dogs and reluctant to retire him as it is an admission to myself that he is aging. When I received this email - it is like the case of a woman waiting to break off with her boyfriend but was dumped by him before she could do so. hahaha.
On a brighter note, I now have my alternate Saturdays free!)

We'll miss the training sessions :(

Home-made Treats

2011-11-09T14:46:00.007+08:00

HC bought a new oven recently, and decided to dig out her old cookbook from "Three Dog Bakery".

After looking through all the recipes, she decided to pick out "Howl-O-Ween Tricking Treats" because she has most of the ingredients (i.e. pumpkin and flour) and it was near to Halloween then.

As she knows we are not fussy dogs, she decided to tweat the recipe and add in ingredients we love.. such as slice cheddar cheese...

She mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl. (HC was so lazy that she didn't even use a measuring cup for all the ingredients!)

The end product does not even remotely resembles the pic on the recipe book - because she was too lazy to roll the dough!

But it tasted good nevertheless. (The uneven burnt stuff on the top are slice cheddar cheese).

She also purchased some duck liver recently and decided to dry it for us.

After a day of drying... this is the end product.

We had to wait for her command before eating the treats.

See how Jack's body was tilted away from me? He was worried that I might bite his head off. LOL

Remembering Willy

2011-11-05T10:35:00.003+08:00

A few days ago, HC told us sadly that Willy has gone to 'the other side' - a place where we would like to believe is a better place than earth. It's a place where demise dogs would be free from pain and suffering, and where they would be waiting patiently for their owners to join them later.

Willy lived a miserable lonely existence in the first 12 years of his life. However in his last 3 years, his life was filled with love and care from his adopted family. If Willy could talk - he would have said to his adopted family - "thank you for your love and care, till we meet again."

The Revenge of the Clothes Peg

2011-10-02T00:10:00.012+08:00

Jack has been acting weird since last Thursday ..

He looked scared (tail down, shivering), and hid underneath tables, bed, toilets. Even when there were visitors to the home, he used less than 50% of his usual barking energy and wasn't interested in the doggie cookies (That's a big deal for greedy dogs like us).

Miserable looking

When we visited Scuba, he slept next to Scuba which was very unusual as Jack does not like to have bodily contact with any dog.

He doesn't even move from the bed when HC was leaving Scuba's place.

Our human god-sister thought it was fun to join in.

Sherylyn pretending to sleep.

Remember the previous post when I said we secretly sleep on the leather sofa when HC is not at home?
Well, Jack doesn't care about respecting HC anymore and jumped on the leather sofa when HC was home. Of course he received stern warning from HC.

(HC : as much as I wanted Jack to be comfortable since he is ill, I decided to chase him away from the sofa as I believe in being consistent with my dogs)

After 3 days of seeing Jack in a miserable state, HC made an appointment with the vet on Sunday.

Before visiting the vet, HC did a quick body check on Jack - he seems to be ok in all parts of his body, except when HC tried to pry his mouth open.

Then, HC did some investigative work at home and remembered she threw away a broken clothes peg on the table.

It was then she remembered that on Thursday, our part-time cleaner came to do some household chores. The cleaner must have dropped the clothes peg on the floor, and Jack chewed it. (HC : Jack had destroyed a few clothes peg before this).

However, this particular clothes peg that HC bought is more 'springy' and HC suspected that it must have sprung hard against Jack's mouth while he was chewing it, and hurt his mouth badly.

HC talked about her suspicious with the vet, and the vet thought that it is highly possible as well.
Due to Jack's age, they decided not to put him on sedation to check the extent of his injuries. Instead strong painkillers and inflammation pills were prescribed, and HC will see if Jack starts eating hard treats and allow HC to pry open his mouth. If he does that, it means that his injury had healed.

However, the irony is that upon returning home from the vet, Jack seems to be his usual self - walking around HC to beg for treats - even BEFORE any medication was given to him!!!!

Latest updates : Jack IS DEFINITELY back! He barked very very loudly when HC came home last night and HC joked that she should not sent him to the vet to earn a few more days of peace... HAHAHA

After Jack's consultation with the vet, I thought we could go home but HC said that since we're here, might as well get my paws checked.

I had been limping since Sat, and HC found my rear left paw swollen and there is a black growth in-between my toes.

HC applied calendula oil on my hurt paw, and I seemed to be doing better and doesn't limp as much.

The yellowed paw is due to the calendula oil applied.

After applying calendula oil, I was told to stay at this position for 2 mins !!!

Anyway, the vet took a look at my paw, did a body check and found my left rear lymph nodes slightly swollen and painted 2 scenarios:

1. An inflammation - antibiotics will be prescribed for 2 weeks. Sometimes, inflammation may cause lymph nodes to be slightly swollen.

or it could be

2. A tumor. The vet said that if the swelling and growth did not improve after 2 weeks of antibiotics, then she may have to remove the growth to check for tumor. One of my toes may have to be removed as well!

Scenario 2 sounds bad. Losing a toe may affect my balance, and I may have to quit my Saturday job as a Search and Rescue Volunteer!

My paws are crossed that I won't have to remove my toe!

Fat Jack and Skinny Willy

2011-09-26T13:26:00.002+08:00

Jack used to be double his size. He lost weight about 8 years ago, now has a lean body.

This pic was taken like 10 years ago. Beside Jack is our ex-cousin and now godbrother Willy!

New Leather Bed

2011-09-22T13:13:00.006+08:00

We have finally adapted to our new home ! (HC : it took jack and joey 10 days to start playing with their toys at the new place, and that was when I think they finally realised that this is 'home'.)

Both of us have 2 beds each. One is a day time bed like this :

This other one is for night use.

We decided two aren't enough, and went to search for more.

We found leather beds - something new to us!

One huge one in the living room!

Another hot pink one in HC's room!

Of course, we will behave when HC is at home and use only the day-time bed .. hehe
(HC : i found evidence of their fur all over the black leather seat.. and I mean 'ALL OVER'. I bet they were happy rolling around the entire L-shaped leather sofa while I am at work! Grrrrr....)

Garage Sale II

2011-09-16T09:31:00.004+08:00

We had quite a good response from our garage sale last week as HC priced her stuff really low (like $2 for her clothes, $1 for leash, $20 for a almost new YSL shoes etc...).

A neighbour asked to have another garage sale as her friends are keen to come, so we decided to have it tomorrow (17th September 2011, Sat) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m..

We added new stuff to our garage sale such as ipanima bags, branded clothes, dog related books, blankets, and.......

our Coach collar and leash (2 sets)!

I'm wearing the red coach collar in this picture.

Pictures from our garage sale last week.

I don't find this picture funny... wonder why are the humans laughing?

Garage Sale

2011-08-29T12:51:00.011+08:00

We will be doing a garage sale on Sept 11 at our walk up apartment located somewhere along Thomson Road. Do email us at twojrts@hotmail.com for the full address.

I (Joey) will be there to monitor and perhaps give you a few kisses. My grouchy brother, Jack (fortunately) will not be there as he kisses quite differently - like a vampire! .. hahaha and he gets very stress if he sees people taking away our stuff.

There were quite a bit of stuff for sale at unbelievable price - so please come.

Once upon a time, HC was very into 'handicraft' but obviously it didn't last long judging by the unopened beads pack.

Also 5 different pliers are avail. (there's only 4 in this pic). All very good condition as she only used it ONCE!

There are also 2 packets of 50 litres top up beads. Please let us know in advance cos this will not be on display during the garage sale.

and many many others...

(this microwave must be reserved in advance as it will not be on display at the garage sale)

Hope to see you come Sept 11!

- Joey -

For Sale

2011-08-22T12:53:00.000+08:00

HC will be having a garage sale next month for some of her stuff, and she decided to put one of our toys up for sale as well!

Used 3-4 times as we learnt how to use it within minutes, and after that HC became too lazy to play it with us.

But selling this away is good news for us - i.e. we do not need to work to get our treats anymore!

haha.. any takers?

(Note : HC bought this in Australia for about SG55+... and is selling it now for SG25.00!)

Smart Jack

2011-08-21T00:09:00.002+08:00

HC has been bringing us to our new home over the weekends for a couple of hours each time so that we can be familiarise with the place while she is busying packing.

We have never used a pee tray before, so HC was abit worried we won't want to use it. She left it in the toilet, placed some newspaper over the pee tray. She told Jack and I calmly that we have to pee there.

Within an hour, HC found that Jack has peed on the pee tray without any mistake!

My Birthday..

2011-08-10T09:04:00.002+08:00

I am really sad as my birthday came and went without any celebration..

In fact, my HC didn't even realised it was my birthday until facebook prompted her! (Yes, I had a facebook account as HC set it up on my behalf when she was very much addicted to facebook's game then.)

She said it slipped her mind as she is busy with the "BIG MOVE" end of this month.

Yes, she took almost 2 years to made up her mind to move from our current cozy place.

We were there last weekend as HC was doing some minor packing and waiting for the delivery of the new bed.

(HC : I noted an interesting fact about Jack, my other dog. When the workers were installing the bed, Jack was barking madly even though he was in the kitchen and the workers and I were in the room. But when I am in Jack's full view - he would calm down and stopped barking. I think Jack was worried about the intruders harming me. That's how protective Jack is)

Resting on my new bed while HC was busy packing.

HC promised she would get me a cake when she's free. I wonder when would that be?

ASD Tea Pawty

2011-07-04T12:56:00.006+08:00

Back in January, we went to ASD Charity Lunch. This time round, they organised another event - a high tea buffet.

To show our support, both Jack and myself went to the event. It was held in Klapson Hotel's rooftop - it was breezy.. but super hot in the late afternoon.

We were there late as HC was caught in a horrible horrible traffic jam and poor Helios had to take a cab there with his M.

The perpetually drooling Helios...

Billyjean was there too with her owner.

And us, begging for food.

We also met a new friend- Homer there. He's a big sized handsome GR although Jack did yell at him a couple of times when he gets too close for comfort! haha.. but that's so typical of Jack - he's forever rude.

My friends - Billyjean, Helios and Homer all joined some doggy contest, and won some edible biscuit medals. We didn't enter any contest tho as my HC was too lazy and tired to do anything other than eat. LOL.

We did steal a biscuit medal though at the end of the event cos there's leftovers!

Birthday and Presents

2011-06-28T12:47:00.010+08:00

We celebrated Scuba's birthday last Saturday.

A home-made cake for the 8 year old birthday boy.

There is also a figurine of him on the cake! The expression was so like him - when he's staring at the human's food.

Sometimes I forgot my manners when presented with such yummy food.

I just had to sit close to the cake. (note : birthday boy is on the far left side)

The human kids got all excited and started singing the birthday song. My human god-sister - Sherylyn took after me - we are both love attention!

Again, I had to squeeze in front and sat on Auntie Viv's lap when she was trying to take a picture with the birthday boy.

Since Scuba loves to sleep, we gave him a bed!

Of course we got ourselves new beds too - in 3 different colors!

Pink/white checks

Red/Green checks

and a green.

2011-06-02T16:09:00.005+08:00

HC went overseas recently and we holidayed at Scuba's place.

We had fun swopping beds with Scuba and his feline sibling - Pepper.
Pepper would take over Jack's bed, and Jack will take over Scuba's. etc.. its like playing musical chairs.

Jack on Scuba's bed when HC went to pick us up.

Jack had the 'unfortunate' luck of having Helios stayed over for 2 nights (Helios' family were holidaying overseas too). I am fine with Helios - but Jack doesn't like him as Helios is a stalker!

Se how Helios stalked?

Jack was actually guarding Scuba's house because.....

Scuba sleeps on his job.

After we left, Bully the bull terrier also came by for a stay as her owner went overseas too.

I think Scuba's place is really 'hot'. Hope we don't need to ballot to stay there in future.. haha

Jack's teeth and ears

2011-04-27T10:48:00.003+08:00

Jack is an avid chewer, and one of his favourite toy is called "Puppy Keys" - basically a bunch of plastic keys. He likes to bring it around and chews the ring.

This is probably the 3rd or 4th replacement.

This old one is to be discarded.

Noticed how he managed to chew through the ring and bend it?

Searching through this blog, HC realised that it took Jack 11 months to do such damage.

Jack is about 13-15 years old now.... HC doesn't know exactly how old as Jack was an abandoned dog.

Recently, HC finds that Jack respond to her command slower than normal. She's not sure if it was selective listening or he really can't hear.

But the other day, we were at the park at night. HC moved away from her usual spot to find a seat to rest on. Jack, who was wandering around came back to HC's usual spot, and couldn't find HC. It was dark, and HC could tell Jack was a bit worried as he looked left, right for HC (HC was wayyyy behind him). HC started calling Jack.... and she can tell that he could hear her - but doesn't know which direction.

So I think Jack's hearing has deteriorated. Perhaps, HC will send him for an ear check soon.

How can a dog with such big ears have problems hearing?

(Jack smiling for once)

Thunderstorm and a Birthday

2011-04-18T11:50:00.011+08:00

The weather these days have been very stormy, and I get abit scared whenever there's thunderstorm. Luckily, HC was at home the other day. I sat as close to her as possible. As the thunderstorm progresses, I decided HC had to carry me. *begging to be carried* *please, please??* When HC ignores my pleading, I got more demanding. Jack does not care about the thunderstorm and slept throught it. It's was also his birthday last Saturday. The Birthday Boy (looks good for a 14 years old, eh?) HC didn't have time to get us a cake. So she decided to pamper us with an extra serving of chicken thigh. We usually eat our meat raw, but as a treat - HC decided to fry it as it is more fragrant. Removing the oil. Cut into smaller pieces for us. Birthday boy gets to eat his chicken first.

Night-time Snacks

2011-04-07T13:46:00.002+08:00

We have 1 proper meal of raw meat in the morning, and a night-time snack before bed. The night-time snacks are usually steamed pumpkin, which will 'end up' in a nice, firm poop the next day :) The other day, HC was buying pumpkin for us. While she was looking at which pumpkin to pick, a middle-aged aunty saw and told HC how to choose sweeter pumpkin. She passed HC one and said "this is sweet!" and proceeded to lecture HC on how to cook it. HC then replied that it was for her dogs. Upon hearing it, the aunty grabbed the pumpkin from HC's hand and pushed another smaller (not so fresh looking one) and said, "ah for dogs? take this smaller one then. Dogs do not need to eat so good pumpkins!!". The aunty then walked away as if she couldn't be bothered about this 'crazy' woman buying pumpkins for her dogs. HC was dumbfounded for a while at her reaction - and then secretly laughed at the aunty's ignorance and stupidity. .......... ........... Here's how HC prepares our pumpkin - fuss free. She buys quarter-cut pumpkin about twice a week. Put the pumpkin in a deep bowl and steamed it for 1/2 an hour. When it's done, HC discard the middle portion with its seeds. The pumpkin will then stored into a container. Once cooled, it is stored in the fridge and would usually be able to last us for a few days.

SCDF assisting in Japan quake

2011-03-14T13:41:00.004+08:00

HC has been glued to the news since last Friday... sadly watching grim pictures of a tsunami-swept Japan.

There were also news of Singapore Search & Rescue dog team....

From CNA:
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has sent five search specialists and five search dogs to Japan to assist in the rescue operations following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake which hit northeast Japan on Friday.The SCDF officers are from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) contingent, codenamed Operation Lionheart.The team is led by Search Platoon Commander, Major Tan Loo Ping. Read more HERE

The officers that are in Japan now are regularly train us in our voluntary SAR - S.S. Lean, S.S. Jega, S.Kelvin,.. and another one whom I couldn't catch the name fast enough. I think some of them just came back from New Zealand quake mission - and barely 2 weeks later, they are in Japan.

It's a rough few weeks for people of NZ, China and Japan.. and I am sure the dogs are suffering too as they may have lost their owners. Most of these dogs are so domesticated that they would have a rough time in the ruins, esp in Japan when the temperature is freezing.

For the dogs that have perished in the quake and tsunami... rest in peace.

I hope the humanitarian societies there assisting in relief work will not forget to look after the homeless dogs and cats.

I feel so blessed to have a nice warm blanket to sleep in.

UK Soldier, Loyal Dog die on same day

2011-03-12T12:14:00.002+08:00

In recent canine related news - a UK Soldier was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province and his bomb-sniffing dog suffered a fatal seizure hours later at a British army base, likely brought about by stress.... read link here

The dog, who is very young (22 months) probably died from a broken heart after knowing his handler was dead. Dogs who worked with their handlers usually formed a very close bond.

Even though HC has two dogs - Jack and I, she has to admit that I bonded with her alot more.

She has attended Search & Rescue training with me for the last 8 years (I started SAR training when I was18 months old), and through these many many sessions - both of us have learned alot. She has learnt to read my body language and I have learnt to work with her seamlessly.
For example, when my SAR vest come loose while working, I would pause midway through my sniffing work and let her tighten my vest.
Once, she saw from far (usually she is about a few metres away from me) that there is a big gaping hole below where I was standing, and said "careful". I look down to see what she is talking about and moved away from the site. One of the officers was there to witness it, and was impressed with how I could understand what she meant.

I have always love going to the dog park and play fetch. But once, a friend brought us there instead.. and no matter how he enticed me with the ball, I wasn't in a mood to play fetch, and would stand by the entrance waiting for HC to appear.

Dogs are loyal beings... but sad to say, not all humans are.

Water Purifier

2011-03-12T11:47:00.002+08:00

HC recently bought a water purifier with a 3 stage filtration process - for all of us to share at home.

The water is great tasting, and HC noticed that we seem to enjoy the water and drink abit more compared to before.

Putting a dog to sleep? Kindness?

2011-03-06T15:53:00.003+08:00

We (human and canine) were trying to take a Sunday afternoon nap when HC received a call from a friend.

Apparently, this friend's brother is going through a divorce with his wife, and the wife demanded him to remove their blind dog as she does not want him anymore. The friend's brother is also at a loss, as he does not have his own apartment for now, and is lodging in somewhere elses' home. So the question made to HC's friend was... " is it kinder to put the dog to sleep?".

HC was really pissed off with the attitude of such owners. They are fighting over a list of assets and child custody.. but the dog is not in the 'wanted' list.

She has came across so many of such owners over the years. Lovey dovey new couples get together and decides to get a dog with reasons like "it completes the family" or "seal their committment to future lives together." blah blah blah. A few years down the road, when their relationship breaks down, or they have a new baby - the once coveted dog is now cast aside. If the dog is lucky, he probably still get fed and short 5 min walk, if not the dog may be abandoned or rehomed.

For this case, HC truthfully told her friend (not the dog's owner) that it is not easy to rehome a blind dog. After much persuasion, she sorta managed to advise this friend to offer to temporarily take care of this dog, and when his brother finds his own apartment - he could returned the dog to him.

I am not sure what future the dog will have, but I sincerely wished him the best. (HC has offered to help in anyway she could, except to take this dog in!)

There are lots of dogs who are in such situation, and I hope that potential dog owners think twice before getting a dog cos having a dog is a lifetime committment!

There goes our afternoon nap - HC simply couldn't sleep after hearing this case.

SAD....

Chinese New Year Holidays

2011-02-03T22:00:00.014+08:00

It's the Chinese New Year and we are enjoying a quality 5-day long holiday with HC.

On the first day itself, HC gave us a red packet filled with treats.

We had to do a obligatory pose with the oranges and red packets.

I am usually very accommodating to pose for pictures, but Jack kept his head away.

(HC : Jack usually reacts at this when he is near Joey and treats. He knew from experience that Joey gets very possessive with treats.)

After posing, we get to tear open our red packets.

I was very enthusiatic with mine.

However, Jack was too polite so HC had to open it for him.

We also get desserts... I think it is called a mini-pear?

It's really MINI.

Again we had to pose for pictures.

and again... Jack turned his head away as I was on his left.

We also get to see my little cousin.

He's a 7 month old maltese, and about 1/3 of my size. He's less than 2 kg.

HC couldn't get a good picture of him with us as he is crazily obsessed with licking our lips and ears.

We also get to go to the park for a good fetch game.

On the back home, Jack was so tired although he doesn't do much except sit by the fence.

He was totally knocked out and didn't mind smelling my butt throughout the car ride. haha

2011-01-18T13:06:00.004+08:00

In my last blog - I mentioned that we won a car seat at the Dogs Charity Lunch?

Well, me the hunk gets to enjoy the seat! The uglier one - Jack has to sit on the floor board hahahaha

We also got to taste Scuba's new treat from Japan.

Horse Tendons!

Trust me... they are really yummy. HC is trying to find out how to get hold of these in Japan.

Dogs Charity Lunch

2011-01-10T14:42:00.008+08:00

Yesterday we went to a very interesting Dogs' Charity Lunch.

This is the first (and last??) time a dogs' charity lunch was held in a hotel and dogs were of course included.

HC expected some rundown hotel..howevee, we were at the hotel unexpectedly earlier and walked around and saw through the glass windows that the boutique hotel, Klapsons is very classy. As hotels in Singapore generally does not allow dogs' admission, we had to take the fireman's lift to go up to our designated function room on the 29th floor.

The view from roof garden is amazing!

The dining area.

The humans were treated to a buffet lunch, and dogs were given a huge lunch box containing pasta, tuna, potatoes and carrots.

As it was a huge serving, HC made us share 1 box, and brought the other back to give it to our neighbour's dog.

Luckily HC brought our own bowls so we do not need to eat from the lunch box cover like billyjean (the black dog behind) hahahaha

To live up to her shopholic's nature, HC had to buy something from the charity organisations...

She bought an umbrella (we had dozens of umbrellas at home), a watch and a hair clip.

The rest came from our goody bags. All the sample kibbles pack were given away to my very lucky neighbour's dog.

Best of all, we were lucky enough to win a car seat cover! This is a front seat passenger cover which is perfect so HC has no excuse not to let us sit beside her.

We also engaged the organiser's photographer to take photos of us.

Unfortunately, softcopies of the photos were not given, so these were captured via HC's phone - so that quality wasn't as good.

What was Jack doing??

Jack had to be held by HC as he kept trying to get away from the camera. And look at how handsome I am!!!

Again, Jack squinted his eyes and looked ugly.

I am sure you can tell that I am the hunk in the family, right?

Blinkers

2011-01-01T15:52:00.002+08:00

We got our Xmas presents from HC!

We used to have pet blinkers a while back, but somehow both were lost along the way.

So HC ordered from ebay.

This new type of blinkers are better as they have a push button on the side for ease of switching it on/off.

These are great for our walks, so that cars can see us afar!

Have a Happy New Year!

Domineering Me

2010-12-21T21:47:00.008+08:00

Jack and I have different characters and most times, we complement each other. There were days where I will give in (by looking away to avoid confrontation) when Jack growls at me. But when it comes to HC's affection and food - I am usually the more domineering one.

Today, I did a really naughty deed and I hope Santa is not reading this.

The source of confrontation...

Big, red juicy 'rose' apples that HC bought for all the humans to share at Scuba's place.

Both Jack and I were running around HC so that she will notice and feed us, when I heard a voice in my head saying "bite Jack so I have all the apples to myself!!"

So I did what I was told... turned around and bit Jack on the face.

Fortunately, HC shouting "hey!" stopped the evil demon invading my thoughts...

but the damage was bloody apparent..

Jack had a cut just above his eye and was bleeding slightly.

We quickly returned home so that HC can wash his wounds. Luckily for Jack - HC has a anti-bacterial ointment that is safe to apply on/around the eye.

Jack had to wear the lampshade so that the ointment can work its magic.

HC doesn't think that Jack's eye is hurt - but she will continue to monitor closely the next few days due to the last incident.

(HC : Jack and Joey both tore their cornea before on 2 separate fights. But I am lucky in that they do not fight often, and one usually gives way to the other, plus they will stop their nonsense whenever I reprimand them. And they do not bear grudges - they could fight/squabble now, and within a minute, quietly sleep near to each other.)

Willy is here

2010-11-24T12:58:00.013+08:00

Willy is here for a short vacation as his parents were out of town.

His fur has grown longer and more beautiful. However, having a longer fur is not good news for HC, as on the second day, Willy had wet poop, and HC has to use a whole package of wet wipes to clean his bum and the surrounding fur... eek.

(His wet poop was probably due to over eating LOL. Thank goodness it cleared up after eating some slippery elm.)

Jack, the goldilocks trying out Willy's bed. He found the bed not right, and promptly went back to his own.

Peacefully napping on a rainy afternoon.

Although Willy brought his own bed, he asked to sleep with us on the big bed every night.

So I graciously allowed him to use my sleeping bag.

He slept like a pig every night.... only woke HC up once when he felt the need to poop (again, over eating!)

Me? I slept on my very own laura-ashley sheet.

We also prepared sumptuous meals for Willy.

Boring chicken breast on day 1.

Duck on day 2.

Venison on day 3

Day 4 onwards - lamb meat.

We fed Willy raw too, as he has eaten it while HC was looking after him for a couple of months 2 years ago before his adoption. So we know he can handle raw meat with no problems. However, as he has little teeth left, HC will cut the meat to smaller pieces so that he can eat with ease. HC had the funny experience whereby Willy screamed when the meat was not cut small enough (***brat... hahahaha**)

There's also pumpkin in the evenings.

And rabbit snacks!

yes, HC bought rabbit meat sticks from Australia.

I wonder how our cousin bunbun feels about us eating her own kind.

Bun bun : RABBIT MEAT???

Another injury + the anti-water bottle

2010-11-11T14:37:00.004+08:00

Last year, I had an eye injury after HC slammed her door on my face.

This time, I had a small cut right underneath my eye. Thank god it didn't hurt my eye.

HC believed that the cut was due to me jumping up to the car when the door was not yet fully opened, and I hit the side of the door. I didn't yelp so she thought it was no big deal. It was only a day later, when the cut formed into a scab that she realised it was that close to my eye.

We were also excited to receive these from USA.

Can you believe how bad a shopaholic HC is? She bought 12 of these bottles as she said buying more would save her money! Really??? what kind of logic is that?

It's called Vapur - the environmentally friendly anti-water bottle.

K9 Dog Run

2010-11-01T12:39:00.006+08:00

We went to meet up with Willy and his family recently.

My late morning exercises... HC is pleased to know that I still remembered how to use the agility equipments - the see-saw, weaving pole, jumping bar, jumping tyre....

Me posing on the agility see-saw.

Jack minding his own business. He is very greedy and hangs around the cafe - and HC had to keep calling him back.

Willy waiting for food.

One of his siblings - Marvy.. another greedy dog.. hahaha

We had good fun meeting them for about 2 hours. I heard Willy might come over for a short holiday!

Our Diet

2010-10-25T11:23:00.006+08:00

We have been taking raw diet for the last 7-8 years. Twice a month, HCwill drive to our preferred wet market to get our fresh supplies of lamb and chicken meat, and occasional fish, too.

However, HC was told recently that the wet market will be closed for a year for upgrading! That is a major problem as there are very few wet markets that sells lamb meat. Of course that's still a nice (read "expensive") butchery within 5 mins drive from our place, but that will cost HC an arm and a leg to feed us.

HC had also tried ordering frozen meat that does delivery - but the quality of the meat is less than desirable.

Anyway, here's a picture of how she prepares our food.

The lamb is weighed (yup, we are on a strict diet - although if I exercise alot that day, I get more dried natural treats).

And packed in individual containers.
Here's mine - and it says "Joey 160 g" (of meat)

And carefully stored in the freezer.

Mine are stored in square containers on the right, while Jack's stored in round containers on the left. Jack takes about 100-120g of meat per day as he is not as active as I am.

Chicken meat and chicken necks on the bottom layer of the freezer.

HC gets only a pathetic space in the freezer. Haha.. now you know who's the boss at home, right?

Oh, we get fed only once a day in the morning. Most nights, we do get fed a tablespoon of steamed pumpkin - which gives us nice round poop the next day.

Bishan Dog Run - Updates II

2010-10-14T13:31:00.003+08:00

Oh… we are getting so mad with Nparks.

First, it was closure of dog run for 10 days (13 – 23 Sep), then 1 month (13 Sept – 15 Oct), and the latest news is that they will extend the closure till 10 Nov which is a total duration of 2 months! Of course they added a disclaimer that dates is subject to site conditions, which means that the closure may be further extended till god-knows-when.

We were there 2 days ago, and were pleased to see that the new dog run is done up, with pavement and fenced up properly. The only construction works we saw were outside the new dog run. We were then quite sure it will be re-opened by this week. So you can guess how upset HC is upon receiving the email notification from Nparks.

HC also received news from another regular via email that he was told by a supervisor there that they have to wait for all the grass to grow back!

WHAT????? How can the grass grow properly without our nutrients??

HC had written to them again to expedite the opening of dog run as there was no reason not to as the construction were done outside. Even partial opening of the run will be greatly appreciated by all dogs, for sure.

To all regular visitors to dog run – do drop an email NPARKS_MAILBOX@NPARKS.GOV.SG
Or LIM-CHENG_Siew_Lee@nparks.gov.sg

I am not getting any younger. 2 months to me is equivalent to 14 months for a human!

We almost died...

2010-10-10T17:57:00.002+08:00

yup... HC said we almost died due to her carelessness.

As usual, we had our morning meal routine. Jack will be fed first in the kitchen, while I am kept away in the living area as HC said I steal Jack's food.

While Jack was having his meal and I was whining impatiently to be fed - HC went out of the house with the garbage. This is nothing new as she will come back within a minute. But I waited, and waited and waited.. and HC only came back 20mins later. When we finally saw her, her face was pale and panting and we barked at her for taking such a long time to come back.

HC version of story is here:
What happened was that I went downstairs to throw away the garbage, but accidentally shut the door and left my house keys inside the house. I quickly looked for my neighbour who has my spare key. But alas, she was not at home. Luckily I had my mobile phone with me and tried to call her. By then, I was frantic as I remembered that I was steaming some food in the kitchen! My neighbour finally picked up on my second call - and said she was in a nearby hospital visiting her husband, and fortunately she had my house keys in her bag.

It was fortunately that it's a Sunday morning and taxis were readily available. I pleaded with the taxi driver to speed as I told him I was steaming some food, and my two dogs were stucked at home. I can imagine either the pot boiling over and scald Jack, or it might just explode! All horrible thoughts were running in my mind as the taxi sped along.

It took the taxi about 20 mins to finally sent me back home. By then I was experiencing cold sweat and shaky hands.. haha..

Thank goodness my neighbour wasn't too far away.. else god knows what will happen!

Good neighbours

2010-10-08T13:27:00.002+08:00

We lived in a place where the neighbours are friendly and kind.

When it rains and HC is not at home, neighbours will help to collect her laundry back into their home (yes, we lived in a place where laundry are hang outside our unit - like those kampong style!).

HC regularly receives home-cooked dishes from another nice neighbour.

The neighbours tolerate my barking while playing ball. Sometimes, they would stop and watch me play.

Just the other day, HC was contemplating driving out to all her friends' place to collect newspapers for our poop/urine as our supplies were running low. Lo and behold, she opened her door and saw this...

A precious gift of newspapers from a kind neighbour. She had carried this all the way up 3 storeys just to give it to us.

The neighbours are so nice that HC couldn't bear to leave this place.

A Good Day

2010-10-04T11:52:00.008+08:00

Yesterday was a good day for us.

HC bought us new toys again.

Jack's favourite key ring had fallen apart, and HC bought another one to replace it.

He's happy with the new ring. But I think secretly he still preferred the old, dirty one but HC had thrown it away.

I had a new ball (HC : Joey has a new ball like every week!)

After a long time, we were all tired from playing the toys and went to sleep.

Look at Jack's disgusting sleeping position?

Another position of Jack with his head hanging. I wasn't sleeping.. but just meditating.

(Jack was sleeping a bed named "Joey" while I was sleeping on one that says "Jack". But he likes round bed and I accommodated him on that)

Later in the afternoon, we met some doggy friends at a cafe. It's a really cool place as we get to sit on the couch.

We also had yummy chicken pasta. No pictures as we gobbled it up too fast.

It's a good day, but would have been better if we have a chicken pasta each instead of sharing it among 4 dogs!

Bishan Dog Run - updates

2010-09-27T16:57:00.004+08:00

Nparks replied to HC regarding the operation of Bishan Dog Run. They even sent HC a picture of the new notice (I think they must secretly think my HC is a nosy bitch! LOL).

Obviously, they had a lousy camera or maybe just shaky hands from too much manual work - but the sign actually says "Turf Establishment 23/9/2010 - 15/10/2010".

Does this mean the new dog run is ready by 15/10/2010? For the sake of HC's sanity, I hope it does!

They also told HC that the new dog run will have two new taps but will only be ready in Dec 2010, due to phasing of works.

Fine, good.. that they are prompt with replying emails...

But why then does the fence of the old dog run needs to be removed?? I mean, the new dog run is at a different site, it is currently already blocked up (as seen in pictures)... why the hell do they need to remove the fence from the old dog run?? I still see the old fences lying on the ground for more than 10 days! They actually had no use for the fences! Why Why Why??

Bishan Dog Run

2010-09-25T11:16:00.004+08:00

If you have read my friend Helio's blog, you would know about the closure of bishan dog run. It was supposed to be re-open yesterday - 24th Sept 2010. So HC drove us there even though it had rained heavily - hoping that we would be the first few to see the new/old dog run.

Can you see the old dog run behind whereby its fences have been removed?
Looks like nothing has been done since they removed the old fences on 13 Sept. And the new dog run does not look like it can be completed anytime soon. The pictures can be found on Helio's blog.

Well, since we are already there - I demanded to play ball even though the dog run is technically closed and it is MUDDY.

I got my wish.

Can you see my muddy legs and belly? I loveeeeee mud bath.

Thank goodness Jack and I are reliable offleash - else we probably have to go home straightaway.

HC had already written to Nparks - who is the authority-in-charge of the revamp. Hopefully we will receive good news soon.

Please ask your humans to write to Nparks too! The more emails they receive, the likelihood of them moving their butts are quicker.

Jack's new toy

2010-09-12T21:45:00.000+08:00

Jack found a new toy.

It took HC about less than a minute to realise that her shades had dropped on the floor and Jack had claimed it as his 'toy'.

This is how he looked when HC exclaimed, "Hey, stupid Jack.. .what are u doing?"

The damages....

This is HC's new shades that she bought last month while holidaying overseas. She was very sure Jack took less than a minute to create this damage, as we had just came back from a walk and HC left her shades on top of the cabinet (which then fell off to the floor - cos Jack and I do not steal things which is above our height). She went to rinse our feet towel, and when she came back to the room - the damage was done.

Luckily she didn't punish Jack cos she knew that our policy is.. "whatever on the floor is OURS". She could only blame her own carelessness.

A Long Walk

2010-09-10T11:32:00.000+08:00

We took a long walk recently at Macritchie Reservoir.

Of course I had to mark my presence.

Then I spotted something weird...

water sprouting out from the sewage system???

HC had to drag me away from the water fountain to continue our walk.

We had to stop once in a while to take some pictures.

Can we go now??

After an hour walk, Jack was too tired and laid down to have his picture taken.

Me? I am still energetic... can we play ball now?

The Chick and the Lighting Ball

2010-09-07T09:35:00.000+08:00

Introducing ..... our new chick

Ms. September - Henrietta!

Jack said she is beautiful, but I have my eyes on the lighting ball below.

See how the ball glows? cool!

Jack prefers Henrietta and is tickling her toes now

Then he tickles her head.

Desperate

2010-08-19T12:08:00.000+08:00

It has been raining so much that I couldn't go to the dog park to play fetch game.

I got desperate..... and insisted on bringing my ball out even if it is visiting friends' for dinnner.

At the stairwell, I looked hopefully at HC and said, "play ball, please?"

(HC : Joey was really desperate for a game of ball. He carried the ball all the way from house to the car. When we reached my friend's place, he wanted to carry the ball out but I took it away as I didn't want him to fight with my friend's dog. So the ball was left in the car.
Upon returning back home, he dutifully carried the ball back to the house. So the ball actually took a car ride that day!)

Home Sweet Home

2010-08-12T11:47:00.012+08:00

We're back home and OMG.. HC bought us alot of stuff!

I think there's easily 4-5 kg of treats here.

We also got a new drink bowl and a throw for me.

New collars and tags.

And a new treat game.

There's two part to this game.

Part 1 (bottom) - Slide the two round thing to reveal treats in it. This is easy and we learnt it within minutes.

Part 2 (top) - flip of the 'wheel' so that the flap comes up is not so easy. I managed to open the flap by pawing it vigorously instead of flipping the 'wheel'. Oh well, whatever, as long as I get the treats out.

Here's a video of how Jack and I solve part 1 puzzle. HC didn't managed to take a video of part 2 puzzle though.

Jack - is a little bit more gentle than me.

Here's a video of me - you can see that I am a bit more aggressive than Jack.

Bleah!

2010-08-04T14:22:00.000+08:00

Jack did this to me when he was lying on his royal bed...

Close-up

Don't you agree he is such an ass?

Preparation

2010-08-02T09:15:00.011+08:00

I dunno what HC is up to again, but she's making us very nervous

Jack decided not to see the 'thing'.

When it gets too much for him, he hid underneath the chair.

I am averting my face away from 'IT'.

This is 'IT'.
.
.
.

HC said it is called a Smart Bag, and with these.. she can buy loads of stuff to fit into her tiny luggage.
(HC : this smart bag is great. Jack and Joey hates it cos I had to roll it so that air comes out - and they hated that air popping sound)

You call this tiny??

Whenever this thing comes out of its hiding place, it means Jack and I will go for our vacation soon.

We will be bringing our new beds to our vacation home - but HC wanted us to get used to the beds so she let us slept on it for 1 night.

Jack and his royalty-like plush bed.

The bed is really comfortable and luxurious.

The above bed is Jack's.

Mine???

...

sigh...

It's like a bed for pauper :(

It's so not fair!

P.S. It's an irony that I am wearing a tee shirt that says, "PRINCE".

I love Stuffies

2010-07-29T12:42:00.000+08:00

Besides my rubber balls, I also love stuffies.

In my 9 years with HC - I had destroyed countless stuffies. When I was a puppy, all stuffies exploded within 5 mins!

Nowadays, as I aged, I learnt how to treasure my stuffies more. Their lifeline has extended to a couple of months.

I loved them so much that I sleep on them.

Here's when I was five years old. The stuffies had RIP!
You noticed that missing feet? hahaha

This was taken a few months back. The gecko is still alive, by the way.

HC was at a crazy kids' toy fair recently and saw these cute stuffies. These can make funny noises when you squeezed the stomach.

The green one is hiding inside my unreachable-and-longingly looked-toy-box.

The black one goes "MA MA KO KO KE KE".

Anyone knows what it means? Is that penguin-talk?

The penguin can still emit noise despite being with me for the past week. HC has praised me for letting the penguin talk way beyond her expectations... hahahaha

Rainy days

2010-07-18T00:07:00.004+08:00

It's raining season - what's better to do than to hang out with my friends at their home?

The master of the house - Scuba.

Scuba is always in his little dreamworld.. see the below picture.

There's also an obliging helios - who lets Jack steal the bone that he was chewing earlier.

And here's me - who tried my best to squeeze in when Scuba was snuggling with his mom.

I am glad to have friends to visit. At least I have their company when the weather's too wet to play fetch.

Begging + new treats

2010-07-12T16:58:00.003+08:00

Look at how I begged for food?

I was trying to get as near as possible to the food source - I could've eaten it if not for that arm blocking my way.

Of course it didnt help that my HC was opposite us and giving me stern warnings not to steal food!

We were visiting friends for a reason - to pick up our roo sticks all the way from Australia!

Yummy.... can I have more please??

Scuba's birthday

2010-06-27T20:52:00.014+08:00

It was Scuba, the bull terrier birthday last Friday.

HC brought us to celebrate his birthday with him. (read : eat his cake! lol)

Our presents to him (HC: ya right... Joey tried to steal the presents back from Scuba a couple of times, luckily I managed to remind him it was supposed to be a 'present' and you can't take it back. lol)

Scuba's mum bought him some cookies and a cake (see later pic).

Since it was his birthday, HC decided to do something unheard of... she encouraged Scuba to take the dog cookies from the human table! That was a NO-NO for all of us.

But Scuba, being the most gentle and s-l-o-w (as in movement.. not intellect, ok?) dog need lots of physical encouragement.

(Note from HC : Scuba is unlike any bull terrier, or any other dog for that matter. He's very gentle, has a good temperament, sleeps alot (like 22hrs a day), walks a little, He spend whatever little waking moments in a trance-like state.... he's a really sweet but peculiar dog)

HC formed a 'bridge' for him to cross to the table.

It took him like 5 long mins and baits to get him to cross the 'bridge'. LOL

Finally... he's m-o-v-i-n-g.... s-l-o-w-l-y to the target.

Can u see Jack waiting patiently behind the table? I was actually right beside Scuba, like a jumping kangaroo!

Can you save some crumbs for me, Scubs?

Finally his cake!

Front view

Side view

Scuba thinking if he should eat it?

Then he decided to slowly lick the cream off!

We got so impatient with Scuba that we were screaming our lungs off. It took a long time before the humans decided to do him (and us) a favor and cut it into smaller pieces.

We had fun that night. Who's birthday next? MINE! And I want a double storey house, with an extra attic, ok? oh.. and maybe a large garden?

Random

2010-06-24T15:47:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, we found a secluded spot to walk off-leash. This area is out of bounds for cars and almost deserted! Thanks to BJ & Cookie's owners for bringing us there.

A few weeks ago, HC bought us a huge water-filled pad as the weather was very hot. However, we refused to sleep on it cos it is not as comfortable as our 6 inch thick bed. So HC had to resort on putting the pad on our bed.

Jack enjoying his new cool pad.

HC also received a gift from Auntie SK - my late girlfriend's mum.

It is a very heartwarming book! Go get one and read it!

Cob Corn

2010-06-07T12:08:00.000+08:00

This is possibly my cob corn #4.. or is it #5?? oh.. I can't remember but is my favorite chew toy.

I have to wait patiently for HC to remove the packaging and her mini-training (sit, stay, wait, speak etc.. OMG.. can I have it NOW?).

I love my cob corn.

Role reversal

2010-05-31T14:53:00.003+08:00

There are dogs who sleeps like human...

And human who like to sleep on dog's bed.

HAHAHAHA

Visitor

2010-05-25T17:22:00.000+08:00

We had a little visitor the other day - HC's 4 year old niece.

She came specially to see me as she loved me lots (only me, not Jack!)

See how happy she was to see me?

She laid on my bed to watch me chew my toy.

Jack Rejuvenated

2010-05-22T11:28:00.000+08:00

Jack is an avid chew. See how he chewed through the key ring?

Just a month after his 13th birthday, (HC's guess)

HC found a strand of black hair on Jack.

She's surprised cos she had never seen this black hair before.

Is he getting younger or what? HC wished Jack could share his secret with her? hahaha.. I bet alot of women wants to know his secret too!

Gifts

2010-05-05T11:26:00.004+08:00

We received some gifts from Willy's mummy.

A tight-tight tee-shirt for me! Can you see my muscles?

Jack received a raincoat.

HC likes the color combination very much. She said the orange make Jack look younger and more vibrant. Haha - ya, good old boring Jack.

There is 1 more raincoat - unfortunately HC said she have to chop off our legs to fit it in. So, she said to wait and let 'puppy' wear it! (what 'puppy'?????)

Thank you, Willy's mummy!

Dogs for adoption

2010-05-01T15:09:00.003+08:00

Jack and I have a very happy and enviable life. But I know there are alot of homeless dogs out there looking for love and a place to call home. Do look at this site for dogs for adoption.

Happy News

2010-04-23T15:03:00.006+08:00

It was a very happy week for all of us.

Remember Jack was due for his cornea operation last Saturday?

On the day of op, HC had wanted to just drop Jack off at the clinic. But the vet told HC he wants to do a pre-op check. During the check, the vet was very surprised to find that the cornea had healed. It was a miracle as the cornea didn't heal at all for the last 3 weeks, and just before the op - it healed! (The last review was 5 days before the op, and the wound was still quite big).... so really it is a miracle.

Then Billyjean and Cookie visited us at our place. Both Cookie and I had a 'bad experience' with each other many years back. But surprisingly, we were all cordial and well-behaved. I am sure looking forward to more visits from them.
(sorry - no photo as the humans were more preoccupied with eating and yakking)

Yesterday, Jack had a belated cake as HC didn't buy him 1 last week for fear of upsetting his stomach before surgery.

He had a 'shou tou' - peach that usually for older people as it symbolises longevity. HC said only dogs who are about 100 yrs old will get it.

Jack also had a choir to sing him a birthday song. Although one of them keep singing "happy birthday to JOEYYYY"... hahahaha.. it was funny.

Jack likes to call them N.L.B. - nasty little things ... hahahahaha.. now I know why.

Bad news and more rain

2010-04-14T12:17:00.000+08:00

After the last vet review, it is confirmed that Jack's cornea has still not healed. So surgery is the only option for him - and is on this Saturday! Poor Jack - knowing that Sat was the day after his birthday.

There are more rainfall this week, and the infuriating thing is that it usually happens in the evening - when we were due for our walks! Grrr....

To make up for it, HC bought more deer tendon for us.

Here's 1 kg worth of deer tendons!

The lady at the shop was surprised and asked HC : "Woah.. your doggies ate the deer tendons so fast?" as the last time she bought it were about a month or two ago!

Jack enjoying his deer tendon. His eye seems ok, and don't squint as much. But still didn't heal well enough.

I tried all angles to get a better bite.

After an hour of wrestling with the deer tendon, I am still full of energy and wants to play. So HC gave me a new toy : Eggplant Giggle!

I like it so much that I took it to bed with me last night!

Can the rain please go away?

News on Jacks....

2010-04-05T13:43:00.000+08:00

Firstly - updates about the 'abandoned' JRT (DIDI) found by Auntie S.

Auntie S decided to walk around the Kovan estate - hoping to see if any one recognises DIDI. At one particular house, 2 young girls were very excited upon seeing DIDI - and after much 'interrogation' by Auntie S - it was found that DIDI was NOT abandoned by the owners. In fact, the family (grandfather and 2 young girls) spent the afternoon combing the estate for DIDI. When Auntie S told them what she saw in the morning (a mother and son pair with DIDI) - they concluded that these two are their tenants from China. The grandparents were very upset that the tenants didn't care to return the dog safely back home in the morning nor took the effort to inform them.

The family was really happy and grateful that Auntie S found DIDI and took the effort to walk around the estate to look for the owners. By the way, the dog's real name is DAISY!

Second - updates about the "JACK" at home.

He had his third review a couple of days ago, and the vet suggested surgery since it has been two weeks and the cornea ulcer is still there. So HC decided that Jack will have to go for the surgery if the eye didn't heal by this week. Let's hope his corner heal fast. *fingers crosssed*

As for me - I was utterly bored at home cos it has been raining non-stop. The only good thing is that we are given daily deer tendon to chew to keep us occupied. Cos, HC know that I will be up to no good if I am too bored....

oops... caught in the act

I stole HC's socks and decided to play tug when she tried to retrieve it.

Abandoned Dog

2010-04-01T13:47:00.002+08:00

HC received an email from Auntie S (Alfie's and Happy's owner )

To cut a long story short, Auntie S saw this unleashed dog with a woman and a boy about 6a.m.. The unleashed dog came to Happy - and Auntie S asked the owner why her dog was not leashed. The owner ignored the question and the boy called the dog "DiDi" which the dog responded. However, Auntie S noticed that the woman had her arm on the boy's shoulder as if to stop him from calling the dog back.

Auntie S continued to walked on home, but felt that something wasn't right as the woman was in working clothes, the boy in school uniform and the dog was not leashed. She turned back to Kovan MRT - and true enough, only the dog was nearby pacing up and down looking for the owner.

Obviously the poor dog was abandoned by both the woman and her son. Auntie S had no choice but to bring the JRT home first even though Happy was not happy about it.

Personally I hate these people. Why buy dogs and abandoned them? If life situation is so bad that you can't have the dog - at least have the decency to rehome the dog properly. And what values isa the mother trying to teach her son? That abandonment is ok? So years to come, can the son abandoned the mum when she's no longer needed in his life?

There are alot of parents feel that the school is not doing enough to teach the child right moral education such as filial peity, family values, intergrity....even sex education. However, how much can the authorities do? Ultimately, it all boils them to the right upbringing by the parents. There is a saying " the apple never falls far from the tree".

(Joey : ok, the last 2 para not written by me. Obviously, I have never been abandoned and am also too preoccupied with playing balls than to pay any attention to human(not-so)kind.

Jack was the angry one here as he was abandoned too! unlucky for him - he had to wait for his owner at the same place for 3-4 days, even when its raining, before an acquaintance of HC lured Jack back to her home.)

Picture of the female JRT. She must be thinking "is this an April Fools' Joke? Is my mum and human brother coming to pick me up soon?"

One eye Jack

2010-03-23T09:31:00.004+08:00

Since last Friday, HC noticed that Jack was squinting his left eye. His squinting got worse on Sat, and HC feared that he had (again) tore his cornea and sent him to the vet.

True enough, the vet said that Jack had tore his cornea. This was like the 3-4th time he did it for the last 10 years. The most serious was back in 2001, whereby the eye specialist - Dr Stanley did a surgery on him - and sewed his third eyelid shut for a week. Ya.. during that week, he was a one-eyed Jack.. hahaha

This time, the tear was not that bad - and he only requires to administered eye drops 3-4 times before the next review tomorrow.

How he looked this morning after putting the eye drop. He squinted very badly at home, but when he is out - he hardly squint. Perhaps Mr. Cool wants to look good when he's out.

There are 3 types of eye drop. The red one has to be administered in a dark environment as it will make his eye very sensitive to light. So HC applied it on Jack before bedtime.

As there is no one at home during the day, Jack couldn't have his eye drop. Let's hope he heal before tomorrow's medical review.

Other presents

2010-03-13T12:15:00.009+08:00

The other presents that we received from HC's recent overseas trip.

Personalised collars. HC's mobile number is embroidered on the underside of the collar in case we ever get lost.

T-shirts for me.

Jumper - cos I like to jump up to catch my ball. I am almost 99% accurate in ball catching. I'm also a good agility dog many many years ago :)

Another t-shirt. I am chewing a deer tendon in both pic.

These t-shirts are to protect my belly from the grass area. So since Jack doesn't roll on the grass - he didn't get any t-shirt from HC. And he didn't get any balls too ... hiak hiak hiak

On a separate note :
I love playing with my rubber squeaky balls. My favourite is the small spiky ones ..

I don't know if anyone has seen this report about toys having phthalates added in to increase its flexibility and durability.

http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/pressreleases.aspx?id=23926

The effects of phthalates caused vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

Now, HC is worried that the balls I played with - has this ingredient in it.

However, she can't stop me from playing with such toys as my life (and happiness) revolved around the balls!!!

P.S. We did something really naughty while HC was away... will update later!

Back from a short trip

2010-03-08T23:46:00.001+08:00

We went for a 4N5D trip at Scuba's place recently.

It was really fun but I missed my HC alot. When HC picked us up at Scuba's place - we whined non-stop - for about 5 mins or more.

When we went home, we saw what HC bought for us:

We have like 4-5 beds at home - but a dog can never have 'too many beds', right? heehee

I am most pleased with these presents...

BALLS!

I will post up my other presents another day. Too busy killing my rubber ball now :)

Skinny me

2010-02-22T17:17:00.003+08:00

We have always been on the lean side as HC was worried overweight will do us more harm than good, esp for Jack since he had joint ligament surgery and was diagnosed with arthritis and spondolysis many years back.

And you know how usually one doesn’t notice the other when they see each other too often?

So, she was taken aback when she saw this photo of us.

See how skinny I am?

The culprit was my granny’s new domestic helper!

As we don’t live near any wet market, HC would place a phone order with the butcher near my granny’s place and asked the domestic helper to collect. She also taught the domestic helper how to weigh our portions and even gave her written detailed instructions on packing. HC couldn’t do the packing herself as she feels that it is fresher to immediately repack and freeze the meat.

So the other day, HC went to granny’s place and personally supervised the packing. To her horror, the domestic helper actually weighed our meat portion including the bowl! So a 160g portion only consists of 120g meat as the bowl was about 40g!!

HC finally realized we were underfed for the past month, and she made up for it by overfeeding us this weekend. (HC: which explains the amount of shit I had to clear!!)

Monkey Business

2010-02-16T14:36:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, HC was in the shower when she heard us barking our heads off. She stuck out her head from the bathroom and saw us barking at the living room window. She reprimanded us and thought nothing of it……

Later in the day when she was closing the window, she saw some orange peel on the window ledge. Puzzled, she then checked on her oranges and realized there were 2 missing oranges! She concluded that the monkey at our estate must have came in to steal them, and that he only managed to steal 2 as we were barking at them earlier!

(HC : I was glad my dogs were there to warn the monkey away, cos I had my breakfast on the table that morning. If they had not barked, the monkeys would have helped themselves to my breakfast and more oranges!)

Jack and I are really good guard dogs – don’t you think we deserved to be fed some oranges too?

Blissful life?

2010-02-15T14:46:00.005+08:00

I have not been blogging as regular as I am enjoying my blissful life of eating, sleeping or playing. Blissful until my crazy HC did something to us...

Geez..... how blissful is life in a tiny net?

(HC : before anyone accuses me of abusing my dogs - they were only in the laundry bag long enough for me to take some shots. :) )

Sentosa Trip

2010-01-11T16:48:00.002+08:00

We went to Sentosa recently after a long hiatus. We were there before dawn breaks and the whole beach was quiet and peaceful... until I came along and barked non-stop during my ball game. heehee.

As usual, bored Jack waited patiently for us to get home. The only activity he did was to sniff around for food, hence the sand on his nose.

Happy New Year

2010-01-08T12:56:00.000+08:00

I'm back!

From my little holiday at Scuba's place. I had a fun time, but unfortunately I didn't eat enough to gain weight. (HC : good for them both. Fat dogs = unhealthy dogs!..lol)

I would also like to complain that Jack received alot more tender, loving care from Scuba's mum... cos she said Jack's her favorite.. bleah.

Nevertheless, I did have lots of fun at Scuba's place cos there's always someone around or some activities happening.

Both Jack and I received X'mas presents but HC forgot to take a picture of them. Luckily she remembered to take a picture of our largest Xmas present.

A wooden bed from Willy's mum.

Jack enjoys sleeping on it. He also found a new way to chew his paws better!

Going Away

2009-12-23T10:47:00.004+08:00

Jack and I are going away for a week's holiday at our favourite campsite - "SPCA" (a.k.a. Scuba's Pet Care Assoc.) . Poor HC will be alone while we party away with the doggy gang.. hahahaha...
More updates later !

Willy's here - Part II

2009-12-02T13:16:00.006+08:00

Besides the Emu and french duck, HC also bought a packet labelled as "Meat Dust for Pets" at the butchery. The packet weighed about 500g and cost only $2!!! According to the butcher, these are balances from their regular meat for humans - and there is a mix of 4 kinds of meat (Chicken, Pork, Beef, Lamb). As HC does not like to feed raw pork, she decided to steam it for me and Willy. Obviously, Jack does not get to eat it as he is allergic to beef and pork.

(HC : the meat dust seems like a really good deal. I don't see any fats in it, and the dogs poop was very nicely formed after. ok... I don't know why but we humans seem to have a fetish over dog poop examination.. lol)

See how big a bowl Willy get to eat? Small dog, big appetite..

Willy told me although he misses his mum and dad, he is enjoying his stay here as he goes out with us every day. In fact, he is the first one to dash out of the house whenever we are going out.

Besides going to the dog park, he also get to visit my friends.

Helios and Willy. I don't know why Helios looked so worried.

Scuba, Helios' human sister (baby S) and Willy. It was a blurred image cos Scuba was shaking his head, baby S was trying to 'sayang' Willy by gently laying her head on Willy. haha

HC wanted another clearer shot but baby S didn't have the patience... thus the sobbing face.

Willy's here for a holiday

2009-11-30T14:49:00.007+08:00

Willy's parents went for an overseas trip and decided Willy also need a short holiday from his other siblings and sent him to my home.

Before long, he decided to make himself comfy on Jack's bed even though his parents bring along his bed.

Small dog on a big bed. What a waste of space!

Jack had no choice but to squeeze into Willy's tiny bed. Can you see how unhappy he is?

At night, Willy get to sleep on the human's bed with us.

To celebrate his arrival, HC bought french duck...

and Emu meat!

The emu meat is delicious, and I gobbled it raw without hesitation. But Jack couldn't get used to the taste and keep spitting out the raw meat. So HC had to steam it as Jack prefers the steam version. What a waste, HC should have just given Jack's share to me. I don't mind if it was spitted out by Jack. I am not a fussy dog!

Great News

2009-11-07T09:11:00.006+08:00

I have great news to share - I do not have Cushing disease!

The vet called and shared the good news with HC. However, this mean that she doesn't have the answer to my skin problem. She suggested that perhaps I could go for a skin biopsy and/or a skin patch test.

HC said that my skin has improved tremendously.. and for the moment - she doesn't think I should go for any tests as Jack had done a skin biopsy years ago and the result was non-conclusive. In addition, the skin patch test is only available at a clinic that HC doesn't have a good impression of, and thus she is not keen to let me go there. Which to me.. is GREAT NEWS. No more needles!!

In fact, HC suspected that the calcinosis cuties (calcium-like deposits) on my belly area was caused by the prolonged use of steriod cream which had helped with my grass allergies, which then created 'artificial cushing's' . She had stopped using the steriod cream after the initial failed blood test 6 weeks ago, and perhaps my body has time to dispose of these steriods.

So, it may be a blessing in disguise that the first blood test failed, otherwise, I may be wrongly diagnosed and had to take lifelong medication??

Anyways... I am happy. And the calcinosis cuties on my belly seem to have lessen alot!
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Remember I posted the pic of a petedge box in my previous posts?

Well, HC distributed the items accordingly and packed them secretly in her office into several big red plastic bag - hoping I wouldn't know these are toys for dogs!

I am not stupid, ok.

HC walked away for a while - I tore opened the plastic bag and managed to take out half of a toy before she came back and reprimanded me.

(HC : I don't know how Joey knew the bag is filled with dog toys? He doesn't have the habit of tearing up plastic bags at home, and I am amused by the sight of this. A friend said that these toys must have a 'PETEDGE - DOG TOYS' scent on them. I also hereby apologise to HERSHEY as the gecko belongs to him..haha)

HC decided that Jack and I deserved to enjoy a new toy each.

see how I tried to bite off the gecko's head? heehee

Happiness is.....

2009-11-02T13:00:00.002+08:00

this!

Calling Huskee/Hershey, Helios, Happy and Willy. Please contact me for collection!
hahahahah.... happy happy

I would also like to update on my suspected Cushing Disease. Well, after waiting for 6 long weeks, I finally did the second LDDS blood test.

It was an eventful day - HC took a day off to personally be in the clinic with me for the 'supposedly' 3 blood tests. She knew that I would be calm and won't struggle if she is around.

True enough, the blood tests went well. I didn't struggle at all, and there was NO bruising. The vet said that there were various reasons why the first blood tests 6 weeks ago couldn't be processed by the lab that day i.e, I struggled too much / too stressed / skill of the vet ( vet not talking about herself, obviously) / blood was not sent to the lab quick enough.

If you noticed, I highlighted the word 'supposedly' 3 blood tests. Well I had 4 blood tests!

I had the first blood drawn at 920a.m., and the vet said to come back at 12.20a.m and 4.20 a.m.

Just before 12noon, HC recalculated the time interval and realised it should be 920a.m, 1.20p.m and 5.20 p.m. So she called the clinic to verify as it should be a 4 hour interval. The vet nurse said "yes... Dr. XX confimed the next test is at 12.20." HC then heed the nurse's advice and took me down for the 2nd test at 12.20 p.m.

After we left the clinic - the nurse called and apologised that they had made a mistake. The 2nd test was at 1.20pm!

So in the end I had 4 tests - 9.20 a.m, 12.20 a.m, 1.20 pm. and 5.20pm.

The vet was very apologetic and was aghast to hear that HC had called and was told she (the vet) confirmed the wrong timing. In reality, the vet received no such message.

*&%&^^%^$$) whoever who handled the call really deserved to be nipped in the butt!

The day my bed got hijacked....

2009-10-28T10:00:00.006+08:00

... was the day Scuba came over for daycare.

Scuba's mum was out of town and his caregiver took a day off. So HC was his nanny for the day.

He came in, sniffed around for a minute, and continue his usual all-time activity, "SLEEP".

He found our comfy bed and immediately slept on one of our bed.

After a while he decided he needed to sleep on BOTH beds.
Head on one, body on another's bed. He's such a selfish dog ... grrrr....

Jack, the master of the house asked him to make way, and Scuba relented a little.

Jack found a corner to snooze.

Then I had to find a subsitute, right?
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Folded carton box (we are planning a little move the next few days, thus needed carton boxes, will update later)

HC pitied me and took out one of our temporary beds.

I still look pitiful, right ?

Much much later, Scuba fell so deep asleep and forgot to hog my bed.
And I quickly went to reclaim it.

Other than eat, sleep, scratch - HC said Scuba is an easy dog to take care. The only slight problem she had was to force him out of his deep sleep for pee break.

I have to say Scuba really can sleep... all day long....

Greed

2009-10-20T14:55:00.000+08:00

HC said I do not need to write anything for this post. Just the title tells it all.......

Mooncake

2009-10-14T14:53:00.000+08:00

ok, I know mooncake festival has come and gone....

This is a belated picture of our own doggie mooncake!

The ingredients are "dog friendly" - none of the sweetened white lotus paste that humans had. And the best part - it comes with lamb/chicken!

I hope we have this again next year.

Baby Jack

2009-09-25T03:07:00.000+08:00

Friends who have seen Jack knows what he is like - uptight, grumbly and don't-mess-with-me character.

At home - he is quite different; loving and attention seeking most times. Sometimes, he will act babyish and wants HC to carry him. However, the carrying does not last long, as he is always sits very stiff - and is uncomfortable for both HC and him.

In very very rare occasions (HC : I think less than 5-6 times for the past 9 years!) - he does this...

and soon fell asleep in HC's arm.

I think that particular day, he was feeling really close to HC as she had spent a long weekend with us - and brought us out to wherever she went.

He was acting so babyish that when HC put him back to bed, he quickly went back to her asking to sleep on her arm.

aarghhh..... I cannot stand his babyish ways. Can he behave normally again?

(HC : Joey was jealous and keep giving us irritated glance many times .. hehe)

Long Weekend

2009-09-22T16:01:00.003+08:00

We had a wonderful long weekend.

On Sunday, we went to petmovers to replenish our treats and balls! We also met up with Willy - who is getting more and more handsome looking :)

His mum bought me 'recovery' presents ( - recovery from the bruises) - 2 spikey balls and a Cob Corn! Thank you, Willy's pretty mummy!

The next day, HC brought us to a cafe and a pet bakery to get these yummy biscuits!

There is also a shepard pie that was not in the picture cos it is already in our stomach.. hahaha

Updates on Cushing's LDDS test :
The vet called and said to wait for 6 weeks before doing LDDS test again, as they had injected some stuff in my body and it will take 6 weeks for the effects to go off... sigh.. another 6 worrying weeks to go.
P.S. my bruising healed completely.

#%$^@#%

2009-09-15T09:21:00.002+08:00

..........

The clinic assistant called and said my blood samples from Sunday cannot be processed by the lab (*&@#@ something to do with hardened blood)! They told me to come by again for the full blood test... which means another 3 rounds of blood drawn every 4 hourly, and I will be stuck in the clinic for an entire day!!!

I cannot believe I have to relive Sunday's traumatic events all over again!!! Arrggghhh....

Day 2 - the bruise area had spread. I wonder if it will be more painful to do blood test on bruise skin?

I need love, kisses and treats now..... sob....

Cushing LDDS Test

2009-09-13T21:30:00.001+08:00

HC left us at the clinic early this morning as I had to undergo the Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test (LDDS) for Cushing's disease. In addition, both Jack and I will also have comprehensive blood test to check on our general well-being.

Needless to say, we were abit nervous about being left alone. At 8.45 a.m, I was sent to the 'slaughter table'. I struggled and tried to bite the doc and nurses but was sadly overpowered. A huge vial of blood was taken from my neck region :( . I also had an injection - which I think is called Colvasone. (HC : I remembered the vet said that with this injection, a normal dog will not produce cortisol. That's why blood samples are taken every 4th and 8th hour to check if the body produces cortisol)

At 12.45 p.m. and 4.45 p.m., I was again sent to 'slaughter table' for blood to be drawn. Resigned to my fate, I co-operated and let the humans do whatever they wanted. (HC : the doc said Joey was very co-operative on the next 2 rounds and simply lift up his head so that the vet could have easy access to his neck region. hahaha..)

HC picked us up right after my last blood sample was drawn. We were esctatic to see her.

The vet updated HC on our health status based on the comprehensive blood test:.

Jack - very healthy but dehydrated due to lack of water intake. However, he has very dirty ears. (HC : I went home to check on his ears, even shone a touch light into the ear. I see very little ear wax, and am perplexed why the vet said Jack's ears are dirty. Could he mistake Jack for Joey? mmmm.... )

Joey - that's me - very healthy but dehydrated due to lack of water intake. Ear infection and swollen eye - due to this incident! (HC : I was aware Joey has slight ear infection the night before, but as for the eye - I thought he had recovered.)

As for the LDDS test for Cushing's - vet said it will take about 10 days. *fingers crossed*

The financial damage for this day trip to the vet? Almost $700!!!

After a nerve wrecking day - HC bought us yummy lamb meal from a nearby doggie cafe.

I also have swollen, bruised neck from the countless needle poking.

These two pictures show my calcinosis cuties on my belly region. I have no such skin problem on the rest of my body.

Cushing's ??

2009-09-11T14:27:00.003+08:00

For the last 1-2 years, I’ve had some skin problems on my belly area – pimples, blackheads and whiteheads. I’ve been to a few vets, and the advices were usually ‘stay away from grass area’, ‘food allergy’ and sent home with a course of antibiotics. As my skin does not itch, HC usually use natural remedies instead of relying on antibiotics.

Some natural remedies that she has tried included: marigold/yarrow rinse, nettle extract, licorice extract, homeopathy meds, neem cream etc.

To a certain extent, my skin does improved from these herbal remedies but I would still get bouts of pimply breakouts. :(

Yesterday – HC sent us to the vet for a check up and showed the vet my skin condition. The lady vet suspects that I could have Cushing’s Disease – due to the presence of calcinosis cutis and my age.

HC decided to make an appointment for me to undergo LDDS (Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression) test in 3 days time. It will be an 8-hour stay at the vet as I would have to have 1 injection plus 3 blood samples every 4 hour interval. Aarrggghhh….I think I might just die from the loss of blood!!!!

To make me feel better, Jack will come along as well for a blood profile work done – to see how healthy he is.

Please pray for me! I don’t want to have Cushing’s! I don’t want to have blood tests done!

(HC : I’ve read up on Cushing’s disease before, and I’ve never thought Joey might have it. Because besides calcinosis cutis, he does not display the classic symptoms of Cushing's. Ok, he does seem hungry all the time – but he has been like this since puppyhood, and most dogs are greedy, right? Haha..
In any case, it will set my mind at ease (but my pocket empty) to have the LDDS test done. I’ve already sort of decided to let him have homeopathy treatment instead of conventional ones if he does have Cushing’s. But again, it depends on the severity of his condition. But let’s hope it’s just a case of bacterial infection.)

On a happier note -
Old, grumpy Jack has some good news to share from the vet. From his physical examination – the vet exclaimed that she cannot believe he is more than 11 years old as he looks good. There are no signs of cataract and he has good dental health. Jack was diagnosed of having a slight heart murmur 2 years back. But during this examination, the vet said she cannot hear any heart murmur at all!

(HC : I don’t know if the heart supplements helped. But I am happy to hear that Jack does not / no longer has heart murmur.Yay!)

Doggy Couture

2009-08-31T09:31:00.004+08:00

.. Doggy Couture "for nice dogs who like stuff".

After sulking for the longest time since HC bought Jack a new collar, she finally find the time to visit Juicy Couture and get me a nice leather collar.

I think green is the new "in" colour. Right?

Death

2009-08-24T15:48:00.001+08:00

My human grandpa passed away almost 2 weeks ago. It took the entire family by surprise as he was perfectly healthy. He was only feeling slight unwell and tired the day before, and passed away while taking an afternoon nap the next day. Everyone was sad, but on the other hand they were glad that he passed away peacefully. Everyone in the funeral said that my human grandpa had led a good life, and a good death.

HC was kept busy the past week, and we were sent to the FAT FARM (a.k.a. Scuba’s home) for some love, tender and FOOD. HC claimed that our stomach were bloated when she fetched us home. We’re not telling what Scuba’s human fed us.

Two days ago, we went back to grandpa’s home for a family meal. And, I did something that sorta freaked my human aunt (HC’s sister) out…. heehee

(HC : While the humans gathered in the living room chatting and watching t.v., my sister saw Joey took his ball to my dead dad’s room. She saw Joey playing the ball, and after a while, he put the ball in front of him and laid down on the floor, looking expectedly. She said it is the same way Joey behaved when he wants us to throw the ball for him to fetch. She felt as though my dad’s spirit was in the room, and Joey was asking him to play fetch with him. *goosebumps*)

Happy Birthday

2009-08-03T12:51:00.005+08:00

We had a joint birthday celebration last Sat - Auntie V (Scuba's mum), Uncle M (Tommy's dad), Tommy and myself.

Auntie V was holding me otherwise I would have jumped on the table and ate up the human's and dog's cake.

(sometime after this shot, I actually turned and nipped Tommy's face! HC said I was being overly food possessive.)

Auntie V was saying it's not fair that the humans' cake was so much smaller than the dogs! hahaha.

Close-up shot of Tommy's and my cake - made with love from Auntie V and Auntie Sam.
Tommy is 7 years and I'm 8 this year. We both love balls, so Auntie V added 4 balls for us.

This is one of my presents from Helios' mum. A conjoined twin dog!

I was actually rolling on the toy. Not sleeping :)

Charity Doggieshoot

2009-07-19T21:21:00.007+08:00

A couple of weeks back, HC booked us a slot for Charity Doggieshoot organised by Helios' M.

Jack and I were excited yet anxious as we were in a strange place with lots of funny smell and hundreds of legs (HC : there were like 20 humans and 4-5 dogs actually!)

Here's me anxiously waiting for the shoot to begin.

(HC : Joey often lift up 1 leg when he is excited or very focus on something. A friend of mine said this is a pointing stance. )

Mirror Image.

Joey: I'm getting a bit worried on a high table, and lots of strange stuff and smell.
Look carefully, and you'll see a tiny eye bag on my left eye. Think it was due to the accident I had.

(HC : All of Joey's pic had him looking like a frightened dog. This is the less frighten look)

Jack pictures came out a lot nicer than mine :(

Handsome Jack *puke* (according to HC)

Bones

2009-07-10T10:30:00.000+08:00

Alfie's mum bought bones for us during her trip to Australia some months back. It has been sitting in the fridge until HC finally remembered to let us have it.

See.. the bone is almost as long as my leg!

Jack is enjoying his too.

Thanks for your generosity, Auntie SK!

By the way, we loved the goat tendons too!

Happy Anniversary Willy

2009-07-08T10:33:00.000+08:00

We went to Willy's 1st Anniversary to his new home and his brother's Fido's birthday 2 Saturdays ago.

It was quite a distance from the car park to the park, and I had to carry my own bag ***grumbles...***

Willy and us.

Jack and Willy wasn't very co-operative in photo taking.

We wanted to take more pics, esp of the birthday boy - Fido. But HC's camera battery went flat as usual. You can visit their blog here www.willythechihuahua.blogspot.com

Abused Dog - Updates

2009-06-24T20:50:00.007+08:00

Day Two

I could open my eyes better now... but the bruising is starting to show.

Poor poor me..... :(

Abused Dog

2009-06-24T12:30:00.003+08:00

Not only do I not have a new leash/collar set like Jack, I am also badly 'abused' at home!

Look at my swollen right eye! I could barely opened my right eye.
(This pic was taken about 12 hrs later, and it was not as bad as how I initially looked!)

HC had slammed her door on my right face!

(HC : Joey woke up on Tue morning with his right eye barely opening. I thought he had scratched himself at night, but after much monitoring - I realised that he wasn't itching at all. It took me half a day to remember that I had accidentally slammed my door on his right face on Mon night as he had followed me too closely.*sniggers*)

Great Singapore Sale

2009-06-23T13:21:00.006+08:00

I hate the Great Singapore Sale!

Because of this stupid sale, Jack received this....

A very happy Jack..

And an unhappy me cos I've got nothing!

New Toy(s) for me

2009-06-06T14:35:00.001+08:00

HC bought us toys recently. The orange ball was for me, and the corncob was "supposedly" for Jack.

I said "supposedly" because it didn't happen.. hiak hiak

Poor Jack sulked at a corner cos he knew I wouldn't let him have any of the toys!

Recent pics during Search & Rescue Training

2009-05-28T14:26:00.001+08:00

Here's some pictures taken during my search & rescue training.

I was made to pose beside this huge machine.

Heroic pose

Did you notice my 'superman cape' beside me? Well, I'm only allowed to wear it when 'working'.

Here's me trying my best to sniff out the victim.

Erm.. HC said the victim is definitely not hidden in the drain. Rats, maybe.. but not human victims!

Maybe the victim is hidden underneath the rubble?

Yup! I got it. I am actually barking in the bottom pic.

The training session was usually between 10mins to 30mins. But each time, it really tires me out as I got to 'think' like mad.

(HC : Joey is very 'careful' during his search. He will try to find the best way to reach the victim before indication. In a way, this is good as it narrows down the area. But he takes longer to indicate - meaning more tiring for both of us. Esp me since I hate the sun! haha)

Lost another tooth

2009-05-20T14:18:00.004+08:00

4 yrs ago, I had a surgery to remove my right largest pre-molar .

Recently, both Jack and I lost one of our front tooth.

HC thinks that Jack's lost was due to decay as his front had more tartar as it is not used to chewing bone (note : chewing bones help to lessen tartar.)

However, mine was lost due to too vigorous chewing! HC knew it was chipped instead of dropped off as part of my tooth is still embedded in the gum. However, she doesn't think surgery is required as it doesn't look swollen or infected.

My former glorious teeth

Less 1 tooth... sob..

(HC : I guess this is part of aging process. ..sigh.. but luckily, their teeth are still generally clean and healthy for their age. )

My favourite game with humans

2009-05-11T11:02:00.000+08:00

HC was asked numerous times by strangers how she taught me to play fetch. Alot of humans told her that their dog either ran away with the ball, or chase after it but didn't retrieve the ball back to the owner.

This article might help : The Peeing Post - Trick or Treat?

Of course it is important that we - the dog have an interest in the toy. If your dog doesn't like ball, try playing the fetch game with other types of toy.

There are also some that said their dogs only play fetch at home but not when they're outside - in fact the owners said their dogs go crazy at dog park and not listen to any commands! I think it got to do with the fact that the dog enjoys other dogs' company better than with their humans. Some humans don't mind the fact that their dog's best friend is "some other dog" and not them. Well... this article sums it all.

Anyway.. I love playing ball with humans so much that I like to train babies to throw ball for me. Here's the video from Helios' blog.

Happy 9th Adoption Anniversary

2009-04-16T09:17:00.002+08:00

Time really flies. This is the 9th year since Jack came to live with HC.

Jack was a mean terror 9 years ago. He bit humans whenever things were not to his liking i.e. time for shower, training,being touched or when he's just unhappy that someone walked pass when he's asleep. Well, actually almost everything were not to his liking then.

HC remembered that during his first training class - he sat with his bum facing the trainer no matter how HC tried to push him to sit facing trainer. hahaha..

Now, he is so much better behaved. I guess it has to do with love, security, patience and training. He no longer has to worry about being abandoned... (HC added : when something is not to his liking nowadays - he just grumbled.. ALOT.. hahaha)

Happy 9th Anniversary, Jack. (7.5 yrs with me since I came later)

Jack is the not-as-handsome dog, on the left side.

An Old Photo

2009-04-03T16:29:00.001+08:00

Auntie V sent HC an old photo she took of me when we last stayed over while HC went for an overseas trip.

Me, Scuba (bull terrier) and Pepper the cat was made to stay inside a chest.

I think Auntie V put me there cos I was being a busybody - following her everywhere while she was packing her room..... so she decided to put me in the chest. Of course, she had to put her own pets - Scuba and Pepper to fill up the empty chest.

HC asked Auntie V why Jack wasn't in the picture. The answer was, "Do you think anyone of us dared to carry Jack into the chest?"

Darn, I should have been as fierce as Jack - then I won't have to stay in the chest!

Search & Rescue Demo + Inhales Food

2009-03-29T13:08:00.007+08:00

Today is a special day.

HC brought me to Parkway Parade for a pet event as the SCDF's search team were conducting a demo.

During the demo, which is a simplified version of our actual training, they placed 4 large boxes and hid a young kid in 1 of them. Luckily, I didn't disappoint HC - and were able to find the victim very quickly. Just a few barks and seconds - the demo ended.

After the demo, I was rewarded with humans'ICE CREAM! Woah - this is better than normal training as I usually only get ball as a reward.

We walked around abit, and just before HC decided to bring me home - she heard that there is a HUNGRIEST DOG CONTEST. She knew I would do very well as I am a very greedy dog who "inhales" food.

Before the start of contest - food was laid down about a metre away from us. See how much I was straining against the leash to try to get closer to the food? (HC: this is embarrassing - but the other dogs were calmly waiting! Others might think I starved Joey for days!)

Look at how I "inhale" food?

There were 4 other dogs participating - I was too busy to look at them , but I think I might be the smallest dog as I think I saw a mini schnauzer, german shephard, lab...

and needless to say, I won the contest paws down... hahahahaha...

(HC: big dogs were given 2 portions of food - but I seriously don't think I've see any dogs that eat as fast as Joey.. hahaha)

Busy with new toy

2009-03-26T20:10:00.005+08:00

I am so busy with my new toy!

I tried to kill it so many times but aren't successsful!

Reason being that it was made for tough love and to be pulled apart into 3 pieces.

darn! please teach me how to kill it properly.

For you information, I had one exactly the same only it's dressed as a clown. It's so well stitched that it had maintained intact despite being with me for a couple of years. HC bought me a new one simply because it's starting to show signs of wear and tear due to age.

I can't believe how difficult it is to kill them! *shake head*

Hot hot day

2009-03-20T03:36:00.000+08:00

It was a crazily hot few days recently.... too hot for me to go out to play.
So I tried to nap, but someone keep taking pictures of me.
I know, I know - it's tough to be this handsome!

Bull terrier wanna be

2009-03-06T04:11:00.000+08:00

Many people have commented that my brother Jack look like a bull terrier...

and he decided to do weird things with his eye to achieve the bull-terrier-beady-eyes look.

This is how a real bull terrier looked like (My friend Scuba)

haha.. do you think Jack look like Scuba?

(HC : Jack had a small problem (literally) with his eyes recently. It's like he can barely opened them and he couldn't focus at all ! Luckily he recovered within 2 days...)

Robi - HC's New Best Friend

2009-03-03T07:24:00.000+08:00

HC brought home her new best friend - Robi.

He's round, loud and plain looking....

Jack didn't like him - he kept shouting at Robi "WHo are you? what do you want? you're loud.. but I can be LOUDER!!!"

Me? Since he is HC's new best friend - I wagged my tail but looked a bit worried as he sure is noisy and runs around fast like a little mouse. Should I play catch with him?

Security blanket

2009-02-28T03:31:00.000+08:00

I totally hate the thunderstorm!!!

One - I can't go out to play when it's raining... and two - well I have to admit I am scared of the loud thunder... :(

If I am lucky and HC is home, this is what I would do..

I would demand to sit on HC's lap and rest my head on her arm to seek security. She complained that by putting my head on her arm - she can't use the laptop!

After a while of not being able to surf the net, I was pushed back to my own bed.
So I seek solace with my dearest beary.