Birthday Celebrations - Bailey

Yesterday was Bailey's first birthday. His parents were very happy that hehad finally 'grown up' and had decorated the park with balloons and birthday banner. Bailey's mum even spent 3 hours baking his birthday cakes. What a lucky dog!

There were food for dogs and humans, and of course, Bailey - the drink was being served too! Too bad HC declined to have a cup of Bailey as she cannot hold her drink well. She should have taken it and let me drink!

Well, we didn't exactly joined the party as HC knew that there was at least 1 dog there that I may not be able to get along with. This dog will growl and snatch away my ball and if I am in a bad mood, I may fight back. The worse thing is this dog's owner is not able to control him. And HC secretly made a pact with me that should I have to fight for the ball (my own ball, mind you), she will not stopped me. Instead, she will probably helped me to pin the dog down. hehehehe.. that's what a leader is for, isn't it.

But I think I wouldn't fight yesterday over the ball because with the galore of food, who cares about balls??? But then again, HC is worried that either I fight over food or I start barking at the humans to feed me. (nonsense, I must say..... )

Anyway, Bailey's parents are really nice and give us a goody bag each.















Beautiful bowls! We have already started using one this morning!
I probably can't use the bag cos I cannot bend my arms to carry it. I will let HC have the bag then.

Feed Me

Thanks to my previous post as well as readers' comments that I must let HC know I am hungry, she finally took notice and commented to her friends that I've lost weight again, and my ribs are showing.

Despite her recent increase in my food intake, I am still losing weight, perhaps due to my high exercise level. So last night, she fed us a slice of bread each to Jack and I. Of course, we had to work for it - such as shake paw, roll over, nose nose (Jack knows how to balance the food on his nose until HC 'releases' him), speak (usually I whine instead).

Tough work for a slice of bread, I must say.

I think if I had a wish, I would like to be like my other friends where they get fed readily by their humans without doing any silly tricks.

HC said that she will go supermarket tonight to buy more meat for us.. YAY!!!

What I ate a week ago.

A week ago, Auntie V celebrated her 3rd year anniversary with Scuba, and invited the humans for a steamboat dinner.

What the humans had for dinner.... they were so greedy that they only remembered to take a picture when they were almost done.















So what did we dogs do when the humans were eating?

We were busy begging... and when I did not get what I begged for... I ate this
.
.
.
.
.















Well, not exactly this. But a similar one in green color.

HC bought two of these balls for me and brought the green one over to Auntie V's home for me to play. When they were busy having steamboat, I decided that I am too hungry and ate up the entire green one. The humans didn't notice it, but Tommy (the GR) did. He kept barking to tell the humans that I was eating something I shouldn't, but they ignored it thinking he was barking cos he wanna play with my ball.

So how did HC found out?

Well, today, exactly one week later, I started to poo out (3x) funny greenish stuff with little spikes. At first the spikes looked like worms and she was horrified. But she 'poked' around my poo and was sorta relieved to find out they were not worms. And it took her half a day, and after confirmation with Auntie V that the ball was nowhere to be found at her home that she realised I ate up the entire ball.


Tommy, the only dog who realised that I was eating something that I shouldn't have...














Joey to Tommy: Stop telling on me, will ya??

(P.S. You readers are lucky that HC forgot to take a picture of the "ball-poo". Otherwise, you will lose your appetite!!)

Jack's No. 1 Fan

Jack is starting a fan club. And right now, there is only 1 member (hehehe)

She is HC's little niece - just passed her one-year birthday celebration. She started calling Jack when she is about 10 months, and up till now, Jack is the only name that she will call readily. She doesn't even want to call her own daddy and mummy.
















Jack usually dislikes children, but surprisingly, he does not get angry if this little girl slap him lightly. In fact, I caught Jack kissing her a couple of times. But what he really really likes to do is to sniff at her diapers!















Immediately after this shot was taken. the little girl moved towards Jack and wanted to plant a kiss on him. Alas, she missed his head and ended up kissing the couch. heheheh

Me? I usually ran away when she comes near me. Cos she kicked me a couple of times!!!!

Jack and I are tagged

We are tagged by Huskee and Scuba - to list 5 things that make a true doggie friend.

As you noticed, we were tagged a couple of days ago, but waited till now to post this. You see, Jack and I were pondering what to list and realised sadly that both of us are not a true doggie friend to anyone.

Nevertheless, here's the 5 things :
1. Be generous with food, toys, bed and all material stuff. As you can see from my past posts, I do not share toys, food, bed, HC.... In fact, I am vey materialistic and loves to pamper myself with lots of balls and an expensive bedroom set. Unluckily for me, I have a poor HC. (Do you think Paris Hilton want to swop her CHH with a JRT?)
Oh.. just the other day, I 'kidnapped' a piece of meat that Herbie's MM is holding - meant for Herbie.

2. Loved all breeds of dogs, regardless of their pedigree. Mmmmmm... actually, Jack and I do not enjoy other dogs' company. I prefer to play with human, and Jack prefers to be left alone.

3. Do not bark at my doggie friends. Jack failed badly in this aspect. He barks at ALL his friends, even in their own home. As for me, I will bark and nip my friends if they come too near to my balls, or paw my head.

4. Welcome friends to our home. Ok... we are not doing so badly here. We don't really care if any of my friends sleep over, as long as we get fed first. (hiak hiak hiak). Oh... HC caught Jack once slowly picking his toys from his toy box one at a time and hid the toys in the bedroom (doggie friend was in living room where the toy box is)

5. Be nice to doggie friends if they need a car ride. We are ok as long as our friends don't push us off the seat (like Herbie), or use his tail to swing at our face (like Scuba). Actually, we prefer friends like Tommy who sit very still esp after some scolding from Jack.


As you can see, Jack and I have a long way to go before we can be anyone's true doggie friend. So out of shame, we are not going to tag any dogs.

My Xmas wish

I want my own bedroom set!

I WANT! I WANT! I WANT!











Isn't it cool????? Imagine having my own human-looking bed, a toy box and a wardrobe (ok.. I know my clothes are all old and dirty from my romp at the park.. but if I have a proper wardrobe, I will surely take care not to dirty my clothes. My 'wardrobe' now is actually HC's car boot) .

oooohhhh.... I wish .... I wish.... I wish......
And, it is ONLY U$249.97!!!! What a good deal, right? Emmm.... by the way, I am not too good with money, how much is it really? in terms of chickens - 10? 20? 30?????

Any nice uncles and aunties wanna sponsor?

if i write to the manufacturer and offer to be a 'sleeping model'.. u guys think he will give me the set for free?

Party anyone?

There is a party for dogs!

Uncle Paul of Petartists and a cafe known as Worlds Apart are organising this event for dogs and their owners. I heard there will be plenty of activities and food/drinks will be served. It's only $10 per human, and you can stand to win prizes too!

Sigh... but I am not sure if HC will bring Jack and I cos she says that she is busy on Saturdays.....*prays hard*

Toto

This is Toto
















He is not fantastic looking and also as timid as a rat. He had his eye on the humans even when he is eating, and if they even make a movement such as taking out their camera, he immediately ran away. HC had to stand 3m away to take this lousy shot.

We met.. or rather smell him last Sunday. HC drove us to her workplace (damn far, I tell you) and fed him some food. She also brought us out to meet him. Unfortunately he went into hiding and refuse to meet us. Stupid dog!

AMD

This is a very serious post.

AMD stands for Advance Medical Directive (a.k.a. living will). In summary, it is a legal document that you sign in advance to inform the doctor treating you (in the event you become terminally ill and unconscious) that you do not want any extraordinary life-sustaining treatment to be used to prolong your life. If you wanna know more in details - look here.

Why did I blog about something so serious? Well, HC is in discussion with some people over this. After much thoughts, she decided that AMD is the way to go. This is because without a living will, how a person in coma should be treated has led to bitter family squabbles and splits as everyone's view are so different. The most famous case is that of Terri Schiavo. I think if Terri knew the heartbreak experienced by her family and friends, she would have set a living will in advance. Sometimes, when one is healthy you don't think about death. But shit does happen...

So HC decided that she will sign AMD on her next trip to the doctor. Her opinion is that she wants to have the final say (and not leave the awful and heartbreaking decision to others) and to die with dignity.

Actually, to be honest she will rather be euthanized if the quality of life is compromised. But then euthanasia is illegal here and in many other countries.

But lucky for us dogs, euthanasia is not illegal. However, that said, I do not agree with how some people/authorities use that as a way to kill dogs who still deserved a second chance in life.

HC had serious thoughts about euthanization when Jack was first diagnosed with some health problems. She promised Jack that she will euthanized him if no treatments were available and he suffers from prolong pain unnecessarily. But of course luckily, Jack is doing well now as his condition is manageable.

So, touch wood, if any one of us is suffering and no longer has the drive to live, HC will say her good-bye to us and let us go with dignity. She promised that the going will be painless and we will be in her arms when that happens. And most importantly, she told us to wait for her in doggy heaven - 'till we meet again.

A final say, should anyone of you human had to make a decision to euthanized your dog.. dun be guilty. Your dog is probably waiting for you over the rainbow.

His name is .......

Finally... the stray dog has a name.
Not Hercules, not tyson, not hero as suggested in the earlier post.

Since he is a true blue Singaporean, HC decided his name should be ---------
-
-
-
-

TOTO!!!!!!

(arrghhh.. what a obiang name!)

HC said that with this new name, she hopes TOTO will bless her to win the $1 million toto draw. If she wins that money, she promised to take care of him for life. Yes... for his entire lifetime.

So.... Toto, if you want to have someone to love you and take care of you for life, start praying, okay??

Not so lucky

Some readers commented that HC is lucky to have dogs in her workplace, but she said it is more sad then lucky. Because there were so many skinny looking strays around, and it is not possible to save them all. She has seen/heard of strays esp puppies being run over by trains (yes.. trains), trucks, cars, and also being picked up by AVA officers. And sometimes, only the fittest strays survived.

Back in her previous working location in the east, there were a litter of puppies born in the workshop. HC sorta adopted 1 of them. He is black all over, with a tiny clump of white fur in the chest. HC used to share her lunch with him daily. When HC decided to quit the job, she was worried about the dog as it is not possible for her to adopt him. Just a week before she left the office, he had an accident and was knocked down by a forklift in the early morning. A worker just put him inside a gunny sack and left him in a deserted area. HC forced the worker to bring her to the site just to make sure he is truly dead and not struggling. I don't know if it is fate that he passes on when she is leaving.

As HC is feeding this current stray with dog food, she heard her colleagues commenting that the dog is lucky. Lucky to be a stray???? I seriously don't think so. I think my friends and I are the truly lucky ones - we get a roof over our head, eat the best food, clothed in disney themed costumes (well, some of us), and has endless amount of toys to play with.

Darn, I am feeling really teary now...
Can someone pass me the tissue? sniff sniff...

Dog names?

HC is thinking of a name for the stray dog.

She heard that a dog usually lives up to his name, and wants to find a name to let the timid dog grow up to be brave, loyal, smart and strong! Preferably Strong cos her next door office neighbour has 2 rottweilers.

Any suggestions?
Hercules?
Strong?
Hero?
Tyson?

people..... please suggest!!


p.s. luckily she didn't name me Rascal. (*jack 'rascal'*)

No longer a stray dog

HC has a new dog... well, sorta... this puppy stray came over to where HC works and decided to make himself at home. According to HC, he looks to be about 7-8 months and will probably grow bigger cos his paws and head is big and not in proportion to his small body. The staff in the office took pity on him cos he is really skinny with ribs showing.

And guess what? A few of the office ladies have started to feed him, so much so that he has leftover rice on his plate every day. And just the other day, HC gave him OUR portion of fresh chicken breast and tulang. What a lucky dog!

He is still quite nervous being with humans and will hide whenever they came over to feed him. Which is actually a good thing, because we wouldn't want him to wag his tail at the AVA officers. The men in uniform are bad news...

And this dog is actually quite timid. While he was having his meals, HC will stand further away to look else he will not come out to eat. Some strangers walk past, and he started barking very ferociously. But guess what, he actually went into hiding while barking!! What a timid dog. I probably will have to send my 'bark master' - Mr. Jack to teach him how to look and sound fierce.

Just yesterday, HC drove us to a petshop, and we were ecstatic at the prospect of treats and toys. Alas, HC walked out with a packet of dog food and two cans of wet food. And I am sure it they were not meant for us as HC don't feed us with commercial pet food.

Maybe I will go visit him one of these days. In the meantime, HC will try to snap a picture of him when he is not hiding.

When Animals Attack

We were watching this show on television, about animals attacking humans.

The show talks about how wild animals - lions, deers etc who have been domesticated revert to their wild side and attacked humans. One particular scene was about a lion trainer who brought his lion for some publicity show. The lion freaked out at the strange and new environment and turned against his trainer and bit his legs refusing to let go. After the attack, the lion was shown dragging his trainer back to his 'den' - a place behind the backstage, away from the crowd. Frankly speaking, I don't blame the lion at all.

There were also scenes on dogs - rottweilers who were allowed loose in the neighbourhood and attacked a jogger. Again, I think it is the owner's fault. Rotties are breed to protect, and their prey drive is very strong. So, I think any owners who want to keep such breed have the responsibility to train them, and make sure the dog is under control at all times.

While watching the show, it reminded me of something that happened last night.

HC brought us along to her dinner appointment, and leashed us to her chair. There were a group of noisy and excitable caucasian kids around and they gathered near to pet us. HC and her friends warned the kids several times to stay away from Jack as he will bite. The kids said 'ok' but still continue to hang around Jack.

As you know, Jack has been 'domesticated' by HC long ago, and he has mellowed tremendously in the last few years. In fact, nowadays, he will allow strangers to pet him gently and likes to sit near humans. Also, HC is always on the alert and warned strangers not to pet Jack unneccessarily and be gentle when approaching him.

During the dinner last night, the kids continue to make a lot of noise, and I felt many many hands patting my head and touching my body. I am ok with it, but I wished I had the chance to run away. However, I can sense Jack feeling a bit cornered. Suddenly, one of the kids make a sudden movement towards Jack. Jack got angry, make a growling noise and tried to lunge at the kid. Luckily, the kid moved quickly away and Jack's leash was too short to reach her.

And HC's response? She merely said, "I told you so". And she didn't even reprimand Jack.

HC said she was getting pissed at the kids hovering around at our tables yelling non-stop, and that they didn't heed her advice about leaving us alone. Anyway, she said Jack has developed a bite inhibition nowadays and won't bite hard : he will only nip lightly and growl as a warning.

I wished humans should just let animals be. Do not disturb them unnecessarily and allow the animals their own space.

For a good read, I would like to recommend this article.

Stupid Nightmare

For the past few nights, I have been waking up at about 3-4a.m. to poo and pee. HC is puzzled as she had already converted our meals to once a day in the morning, and is surprised that I still got poo almost 20 hours after my meals. And the most amazing thing is that I had already poo like 3-4 times in the day, with the latest at 10p.m. before bed. Auntie S said that there is a chinese saying, "lazy people have more shit" and it applies to me *roll eyes*...

Last night, again I woke up wanting to poo. As usual, I stood near to the closed bedroom door, as I am very sure HC will automatically wake up to bring me to the papers(she is a very light sleeper, and can sense when I leave my bed). I heard her tossing and turning, and was thinking, "oh goody.. she is waking up now...". I waited, and waited, and waited.. but she refused to get up the bed. In fact, I saw her hiding under the bed covers. Finally, I gave up and told my poo to wait till morning to be discharged.

The next morning, she explained that she was having a nightmare that she was able to 'summon' ghosts and they were all surrounding her. I think she watched too many episodes of Ghost Whisperer *roll eyes*. HC even said she was prepared to let me soil the bedroom floor than to wake up, in case the ghosts are still lurking around!

Damn stupid nightmare!
And Ghost Whisperer is on tonight. I better find a way to switch the t.v. off, otherwise she will have more silly nightmares.