S finally got down to framing MY painting after procrastinating for the past few months. Now that Baby T is finally settling down, i'm up on her priority list again...tee hee hee!!! Resumed training a couple of weeks again and met so so so so many new dogs to bully and makan make friends with. Amongst them are 2 uber cute puppies (being sorta anti-puppy, i have to trust S's judgement on the cute part) - a BC named Tristan (he shares the same name as my human brother and is about the same age as him too!!) and a corgi named Yuki! These guys actually read my blog even before we met - what a nice surprise!!! Not that i can appreciate puppy play, but watching the way they romp and wrestle, i'm quite sure these 2 kiddos will be agility champs in time to come!!

Anyways, back to my framing story. The humans decided that my painting (with its bright colours and all) suits Baby T's room the most so they got it framed in white to match my l'il brother's cot! I think it looks mighty mighty nice! Don't you think so?

Uhhh....no prizes for guessing what S is saying to me to make me cock my head like that.

The painting is finally up in Baby T's room! For ONCE, i was allowed on the sofa! (I was promptly told to "hop off" once the picture was taken though...BAH!)

Oh and by the way, i turn 5 today! Hopefully i'll achieve more in the next few trials and make my humans proud! I may be older, none the wiser but definitely NOT slower..HEH! I smell a casserole brewing and a cake on the way - will blog and post pics of my big day later!

Although Tutti is always thinking of ways to annoy me (stealing my food/toys, sitting on my head, playing with my tail when i'm sleeping, running around like a totally mental cat!!!!) and i get angry with her at times when she gets too much, she never fails to run right back at me to give me a loving nuzzle whenever i sulk and refuse to play with her anymore.

It's true we share a love-hate relationship but whenever i look at her innocent little face and those sky-blue eyes, i think i actually love her much much much more than i hate her *big goofy grin*...

Isn't she such a sweet little thing? That is, IF she stays still......

Hey guys, sorry for making y'all wait for the recipe of my "Chester's Chicken Gobblers" but i have more important things on my agenda at the moment. Not that food is not important of course, but please read on.

This is Muffin, a Singapore Specials stray in the picture above. She is a road traffic accident victim and according to the kind folks that rescued her, she was hit by a car, the impact causing her to roll to the other side of the road and then was hit AGAIN by a van, causing her to roll back to the original spot she stood just minutes ago.

Nevermind the bloody drivers that didn't even stop to help her (not going to waste blogspace on total bastards, pardon my language!), thank dog for Auntie J and Auntie P who witnessed it and rescued her on the spot. To cut the long story short, Muffin was found to have a fractured hip and a dislocated front limb. At the moment, she is still pretty apprehensive and defensive but i'm sure it has to to do with the pain and trauma she is experiencing at the moment.

The kind folks who rescued her were battling with a dilemma - to put Muffin down or to give her a second chance. Today, it was finally decided that they will see Muffin through this journey no matter how tough it is going to be - a decision both S and I salute to. By the way, Auntie J is Shiro and Ryu's mummy - Shiro is a really beautiful Samoyed whom i didn't use to like but am now great, great friends with!

So now, i have been tasked to find other kind souls to help Muffin. The surgery and hospital bills alone will amount to 2 grands at the least. Then, there's also the need to find Muffin a fosterer to take care of her while she recuperates. If Muffin has to be placed in a shelter after the surgery (or while awaiting for adoption), that is going to incur more costs. Finally and most importantly, we'll also need to find a furever home for Muffin!!

For a start, i think we should take this step by step and the most logical thing to do is to raise as much money as possible to pay off Muffin's vet bills. I will be chipping in some of my pocket money (no treats and bones for awhile!) and I'm hoping that through my blog, other kind souls will come forward to donate some money towards "Operation Muffin". 

Muffin is currently at Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital awaiting surgery and if any of you can find it in your heart to help Muffin, please email me and i will give you details of how you can contribute to keeping Muffin alive and happy. Any amount will be appreciated and if you're willing to foster the dog or can help in any other way (i'd be thankful even if it's just keeping Muffin in your prayers!), please, please, please do contact me too. 

We're all lucky dogs with great humans and a furever home so let's do our part and help one of our less fortunate friends. I thank all of you in advance on behalf of Muffin!

Update: Kingsley and I have decided to make use of our humans' baking talents (if any) and we're gonna have a bake sale to raise funds for Muffin. Of course, there'll be the famous Kingsley Woofles/Biscotti and Chester Chicken Gobblers/Peanut Butter Cookies! Watch this space for details!!

ME, of course! 

Thanks to my All Systems Whitening Shampoo (for unbeatable glossy, sparkling white fur!), my coconut/jojoba shampoo and conditioner set and last but not least, my doggy cologne to increase my manly charms, i've got a bevy of babes surrounding me!

What do you think of all my human girlfriends!? Wheeeeeee-weeeeeeet!

For my birthday this year (in less than 2 weeks' time!), i've decided to do something meaningful and be a giver instead of a taker.

S and I were so touched and inspired by Fei and Eve's effort in gathering donations for shelters/rescue groups around the world that together with 24 other DWB members, we've joined their pledge too!!

After some deliberation, we decided that part of S's salary this month will go to sponsoring a dog at NANAS (Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary). S visited NANAS (then "Noah's Ark") at Jalan Kayu a couple of years back and was seriously moved by everything Uncle Raymond has done for all the animals there. S described that place as a paradise for strays, abandoned animals and basically all creatures great and small! I heard there's even a horse, an albino python, iguanas and even monkeys there!!!!

S has longed to visit the relocated NANAS (now in Pekan Nanas, Johor) and i think she might be planning a visit there sometime in August! Anyway, a cheque will make its way to NANAS very soon and although it's not a big sum of money, we still hope that one (if not more) of God's creatures will benefit from our little donation!

Initially, i wanted to find a Border Collie rescue group to donate to, preferably from Western Australia (since that's where i was born and raised as a puppy). But since i couldn't find a suitable one, i've decided (well, i decide and S pays!!!!) that we should do our part for the racing Greyhounds there since these dogs like race horses, have a limited career and are mostly left owner-less (well, not that they even have a proper owner to begin with!) and homeless after they are past their "use period". 

S has a soft spot for these gentle creatures and was a Greyhound "walker" during her time in Murdoch. The Greyhounds kept in her school compound were retired race dogs and were used by the students for dog handling classes. When these dogs were not "working" (i.e. having babes fawning over them, petting them and being offered treats), the students will bring them out for walks and exercise them to prevent them from getting too bored! What a life man!

So there, we've also donated a small sum to the Greyhound Angels of Western Australia too and hopefully good karma befalls on me and i'll run as fast as a Greyhound very soon!!! I'm guessing S might want me to inherit some angelic, docile genes from this breed but no way man, i think i'd rather remain a speed demon!  Tee hee hee!

Anyhow, a BIG thank you to Fei and Eve who tirelessly "campaigned" for their pledge! S and I are proud to have friends like you!!! Good job babes!

p.s. Fei, i wanna kisssshhhhhh youuuuu for being such a dear......muaccckkkkkkssss!

Ain't this little monkey the cutest? Even macho me can't help but go "Awwwwwwww" whenever he grins at me.

Anyway folks, this is Baby Bailey (whom i went to Sentosa with last weekend) and i uhm...love him like a son (it's true!) even though his father is SuperBill, whom i don't see eye to eye with. The enmity and feud possibly stems from the fact that we're both prety talented and like all talented dogs (and MEN), we both like to be the only one that impresses the bitches (or chicks, or both!).

Baby Bailey has been a very good pup so far and i've tried to be a good "Uncle Chester" to him too. Well, except for once when he tried to steal food from the human's mat at Sentosa! When it happened, all the humans starting barking and growling and naturally, i too, stood up tall and growled at Baby Bailey. For ONCE in my entire existence, the humans actually praised me for disciplining the pup - i still can't believe i got praised for ticking a puppy off! I usually get yanked off from "the scene" so it's great that someone else gets yanked off! Baby Bailey deserved it for being naughty! Tee hee hee!!

Baby Bailey is also a good boy because he is true to his name. I wonder which cuckoo tried offering him a cheap can of Heineken. But of course, the pup didn't even give a hoot about the beer. Why do you think his name is BAILEY?!

Check out how hard Bailey was staring at me when i caught the frisbee! He's watching and learning, that pup. Thought i'd give him a few tips on mastering the art of Frisbee since he looked so keen to learn but that boy ended up sleeping!!! KIDS NOWADAYS!!!! GRRRRR.

Talk is cheap so i showed him the moves. THIS, my padawan is how you do it in style, BORDER COLLIE style!

I've got more photos from my Sentosa trip. Photos of my supermodel girlfriend, Kerry will be up soon so watch this space!

I went for my first SKC Jumpers Trials, which was held at the Singapore Expo yesterday! We trained hard for the past few months and even had last minute tuition sessions last week. The weather wasn't forgiving at all so i was basically in and out of the mud during our training sessions. I'm not complaining though because i love mud spas but the humans weren't very impressed with me dirtying the car and the house - had to be scrubbed a coupla times before i was my handsome self again (before that, i looked like Oscar from Sesame Street and resembled someone who had lived in a trash can all his life).

Here's evidence of me hard at work:

Auntie S says i look very dashing in the pictures and my humans can't agree more!! All thanks to Uncle CK who took these pictures - i think he's the bestest dog photographer in the world, so if any of you doggies out there want your glamour shots to be taken, contact him!

Okay, so back to the trials proper.

I think i suffered some stage fright when i was in the ring and screwed up from the very beginning! Even when we were standing by waiting for my turn, my spirit was up and down. According to S, one moment i had that gleam in my eyes, and the next moment, i looked spaced out and frightened (and even had my tail tightly tucked between my legs...how embarrassing!!!).

At the starting line, i was nervous and just wanted to go to where S was walking to. I conveniently skipped the first jump and ran straight to her the moment she gave me the "over" command. However, after some coaxing from S, we continued with the circuit even though we missed jumps and were already out of the game. I think it was only during the last leg of the circuit that i sorta realised what was expected of me and both S and I wasted no time and sprinted all the way to the last jump!

Even though we screwed up, the humans and Mr. Smartdoggy said it was a good attempt for a first-timer - we tried our best and had a great time and that's the most important part! Lotssssa room for improvement but we'll definitely work on it! I must say that we did witness some amazing performances from some of our fellow triallers. Kaiser (and K) and Prince (and Jazz) were deserving winners of the Maxi Jumpers and Mini Jumpers respectively. We saw speed, agility and great human-dog coordination.....*wee-weet*....BIG BIG congratulations to them!

Anyways, i met sooooo many nice humans and doggies at the show too. Compared to the last SKC show i went in October where i was super stressed out, i was much more polite and waggy-tailed yesterday. Hung out with Kerry my favourite bitch who was doing her usual super-modelling, said a big hello to Shiro my new best friend and Ryu her brother whom i was cordial to, bumped into Coral and Bless whom i was just as happy to see and finally got to meet up with Cody and his brother Chester too! Little Chester the Corgi and big Chester the Border Collie (c'est moi!)....maybe we might even get to compete in the same ring in future!

Oh, and i got to meet Auntie J (Luna and Suria's mummy) who came up to me and gave me a nice pat-pat. Got introduced to Auntie M who was showing her very handsome Rough Collie and she started fawning all over me! Auntie E (Cody's mummy) bought me some beef jerky as promised and i gobbled up a few as soon as i laid my grubby paws on them! Sweeeeeet.

Besides the trials proper, S also entered me for the fun events too. I got first placing for "Best of Breed" segment of the companion dog show part and it was only because there were just TWO Border Collies competing......muahahahaha! However, i didn't stand a chance at all when the Pastoral Group was being judged because Shiro, the very pretty Samoyed stole all the limelight. Shiro bagged both the "Champion For A Day" and "Best Kept Dog" award and i'm awfully happy for her! My best friend Kingsley won the "Speediest 4-legs" award and it's a second time win for him too! Way to go, buddies! 

I didn't leave empty-handed either and  won 3rd place for the "Best Trick In The House" award and no prize for guessing what trick we did! Frisbee is fun fun fun fun FUN! We won a plaque, Carrefour shopping vouchers and some dog food - will post the video and pictures soon!

Ended the fun day with more frisbee at Siglap park - i just never seem to get enough, do i?! Hung out with Kerry after that and then ended the night with a scrumptious, yummilicious dinner. For the hardwork i put in, Mr. Smartdoggy also gave me new tug toys to play with! Okay actually, i'm supposed to use those to practice dropping on command because i'm still atrocious at it....hahaha!

Alritey, i'm off to have a break before i resume training again. Sentosa - the sea, the sand and the babes, HERE I COME! Wheeeeee!

I am no sex-pert but i shall attempt to do some sex education here today. This post will be slightly wordy but i hope that blog readers bear with me and take time to read this entry carefully because this is written for the benefit of owners with unsterilised bitches. 

Yesterday, S was awfully upset because one of the owners at our training class brought their female dog down to our training grounds, knowing that she was still in heat. Firstly, it is the owner's responsibility to keep his/her bitch in season away from situations where entire, hot-blooded males are around to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Secondly, it is just common courtesy for owners to avoid training grounds and competitive trials because bitches in heat can prove to be a real distraction and it really is a bummer, especially when S and I are trying to do some serious work. Just like how there shouldn't be any hanky-panky in the office, no orgies should be allowed on the training grounds too!!!

I know S really wants to do this whole training thing for me and herself and i know she reaaaaally wants to maximise whatever potentials i have left in my Border Collie doghood before she retires me in about 2 years' time. It's no wonder why she showed her face of fury when our training plans were thwarted. That aside, it is also pure irresponsible for any owners to bring a bitch in season to a place where you're fully aware that entire male dogs will be running loose, because of the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy.

Anyway to reiterate my point, dog owners should be responsible enough to keep their bitches in heat away from circumstances where entire male dogs are running amok (e.g. dog runs, off-leash dog parks, hashing etc). Even if there is intention to breed from the bitch, mating should be planned and that's assuming the owners are breeding to improve the breed and not just to get cute puppies which have totally lost the unique traits a certain breed should possess because of improper breeding. 

If this were to happen where i came from (remember i'm from Down Under?), such behaviour will not be condoned and will be greatly frowned upon. Owners who turn up at training sessions with bitches in season will automatically be bumped out of class and of course, if the same thing happened during an agility or obedience trial, both owner and dog will be denied entry. I just don't understand why we cannot have this common understanding here! 

I wonder if it's Apathy or Ignorance?

I hope it's the latter because ignorance is not a crime and can definitely be overcome through proper education. If it's pure apathy, then i suppose it's a lost cause.

Anyway, here's just some stuff i have to share about a bitch's estrus cycle and hopefully after reading this, dog owners will gain a better understand of this whole "heat thing" and exercise some responsibility when their bitches are in season.

It's really quite hard to determine which stage of estrus cycle a bitch is in without doing vaginal cytology (don't ask me, i'm just a dog). A bitch's oestrus cycle can be divided into 4 stages - proestrus, estrus, diestrus, anestrus. Proestrus and estrus is what we commonly refer to as "heat" or "season". The average duration of both proestrus and estrus is about 18 days BUT proestrus can last as long as 17 days and estrus, 21 days!!! In short, a bitch can be on heat for as short as 18 days but it can also extend up to 38 days!!!! 

Take home point is there's really no set number of days a bitch will be in season so always observe other signs rather than assuming that your bitch's heat will only last for 3 weeks.

During the proestrus:

The bitch's vulva will be swollen and a bloody and mucussy vulvar discharge will be seen. Bitches will be attracted to males and receptivity will increase gradually. This phase can go on from 9-17 days. 

Then comes the proestrus period (where the bitch will be ready to accept the male):

This is not a 100%-guaranteed method but occasionally, if you stroke the perineum (roughly, it's the area where the anus and vulva is) of a bitch in proestrus, its tail will deviate to the side and this is known as "flagging" - which means the bitch is ready to mate with a dog. During this phase, vulva will still be swollen but lesser than it is compared to the estrus phase. It is not uncommon for vulvar discharge to become less bloody. In some cases, discharge becomes straw-coloured or clear and may not be noticeable hence do keep in mind that no discharge doesn't equate to a bitch being out of heat!

Generally, if the bitch's vulva is no longer swollen and puffy, it does not show interest in males (and vice versa), it is probably safe to let it resume its normal social activities. However, in the event where you're unsure and notice entire males giving your bitch more attention that they normally would, please do your part and bring your bitch away for all the reasons i've stated above!

I hope i haven't bore you guys too much but i think this is an important point for me to make. I am not a perfect dog and S is far from being a perfect owner. I know i can be obnoxious at times, but S does her best to be responsible and keep me under control (yes, other owners get warned all the time  that i am a macho boy and hate getting chased and being disturbed when i work) so i don't inconvenience other dogs and their humans. In the same way, we hope other dog owners will try to be more responsible towards their pets and most importantly, learn from their mistakes and become better dog owners in future! 

Edit: 

"Not only the issue of the bitch getting pregnant, also can cause dog fight because female on heat really distracting many male dogs. Some of them tends to be very possessive and aggressive. Suria brother was bitten split his ear because a female on heat (although the heat already dry up) hanging around near him more than the dominant male. "

This comment was left by Luna, whose brother, Suria (another handsome BC just like me! muahahah!) got bitten by a possessive, dominant male dog because a bitch on heat was hanging around him. Indeed, entire male dogs can get into serious fights over a bitch in season because of their instincts to mate and defend what they deem as theirs! You know, "the best dog gets the bitch" kinda thing? 

An excellent point raised and another good reason why bitches on heat should best be kept away from situations where entire male dogs are present. Thank you, Luna!

Let's all play our part in being responsible both to our own pet and someone else's pet!

The past weekend was a blast because there was feasting, frisbee and friends (yes, i do have some friends, albeit my whole badboy, obnoxious image, thank you)! There's so much to blog i don't think i can finish in one single post!

Anyways, here are some of the human and doggy friends i met over the weekend!

This is my favourite biaaaatcccch - Carrie! Isn't she babelicious? We were just hanging out at her place, eating dinner and watching dvds (no, i didn't do anything naughty to her because i'm a gentleman..muahahaha!!). Because it's still the lunar new year period, we were allowed to just binge on junk food - both of us were basically just stuffing ourselves silly with bah kwas (sliced barbecued pork) and kfc!! 

That's Coral on the extreme left and her new sibling, Baby Baron in the middle! The baby was really cute and i didn't lose my temper at him even when he tried to play with my tail and stuck his nose into S's bag to steal my frisbee. I think i kinda like him...or maybe i'm just getting better at this whole anger management thing! 

Me and young Archie. This boy's great at obedience and is superb with his heelwork - something i try but will probably never excel in! Archie and I don't necessarily see eye to eye with each other but we haven't had any major scuffle before too. I like him because he's a respectful young dog and we both have a common understanding not to invade each other's territory! I have a feeling he'll grow up to be a great dog and achieve even greater things!

Besides all my doggy pals, S's friends (they were ex-interns at her workplace so she calls them "the kids from work") came over for a visit too and boy, did we have a fun! They were all vivacious and full of energy - chasing after me while i was chasing the ball! I was starting to wonder who was having more fun - me or them! Oh, and they brought along lotsa yummy treats for me and the cats too!

Rui, Alice and I. Don't we look like a happy family or something? Initially, Rui was worried i won't like him (after hearing stories of how i can be oblivious to certain people and totally ignoring them) but when i saw him, i couldn't help but pounce on him to give him a warm welcome! I hope he knows i like him!

Feed me feed me!!! The treats weren't the only reason why i love these guys. REALLY!!!

Doesn't this picture look like an advertisement for the chicken jerky treats? Hee hee!!

Oh and meet Juvena (another big big animal lover!) on the extreme right. I know she has a pomeranian named Jeffrey and if the opportunity ever arise, i'd like to meet Mr. Jeffrey in person dog! That girl certainly has the potential to be a dog trainer because she was happily making me do my sit-down-stand-sit-down-stand-down-stand-sit-stand routine! I was happy to obliged, but of course, because she was uber generous with the treats and praises!

The kids made me balance the bag of treats on my head and i didn't mind at all. Uhh...actually, i was too full and tired to move my furry ass. After all that yummy treats and playing ball, i suppose i should just entertain them and let them do whatever they want to me!!

AND before i forget, i also found this old photo of Kings and I. See, we both see butt to butt with other! Not such bad boys after all, right?! Tee hee hee!!

 

(picture from Kingsley's)

Molly is looking for a home. For details, see Kingsley's blog. 

I've only met Molly once and even thoughshe's barely an adult, she was really sweet, NOT boisterous and irritating like alot of puppies i've met. Hey, we got along pretty fine too!!! That girl even tried to play with my frisbee even though she had no clue how to! I reckoned she'll be a lean, mean frisbee player in the future. And who knows? Maybe one day you'd see both of us performing frisbee tricks as a duo!! Hee hee hee!!

Molly is a Border Collie with very, very unique markings (S loves this girl to death). As you all know, us BCs are not very suitable for first-time dog owners (plus Molly already had bad experiences with irresponsible owners), hence i hope someone with a kind, kind heart who's had dogs before will come forward and give her a furever home. 

Oh Molly! I wish she can come home with me!!!!! :(

S came home the other day smelling like a biaaatch. NO, i don't mean it that way but yeah she smelt reaaaaaallllly sexy and i just had to ask her where she had been.

It was then that she showed me this picture: 

Such a babe, right??! She's Abby, a female Border Collie, 3 years-old and has australian red/white (recessive yellow/white) tresses! Perfect match for a red/white hunk like me! I think i have a crush on her!!!!! Who cares if she's Fido's girlfriend? I've never saw eye-to-eye with Fido before so it's not gonna hurt our friendship even if i fancy his girl!

I wish her human will bring her down to our training ground sometime soooooooon so i can get to know her and tell her what a gorgeous babe she is! I wonder if she likes flowers? I wouldn't mind getting her a lovely rose bouquet if only she'd be my valentine.............sigh.

 
You know what? I think i'm in love. Help!!!

Pardon the poor quality of the picture but hey, it's me with my new tie!!! Do i look dashing enough to be the president of the BBC? I figured out we'll need a well-dressed member (to attract and recruit more bad boys and bitchy babes into our club) even though deep down we're all angsty. So there, my new, goody-two-shoesimage....hee hee hee! Dya like it?

Anyway i was supposed to go out with my humans for their wedding shoot yesterday but damn the bad weather!!!! It's been raining endlessly for the past 2 days and i haven't been able to go out at all. What a bummer!!! :(

Please pray that Mister Sun will resume duty soon!!!!!!

(I stole this picture from Miss Sunshade's blog!! All credits go to this gorgeous girl and her mummy!)

It was my bad for sending the DWB x'mas cards soooooo late but i'm glad they arrived at all my doggy friends' home just in time for x'mas! I wanna thank Miss Sunshade for setting us (doggies from all over the world) up for this card exchange thingy! The humans that visited my house during our biiiiiggg turkey feast were amazed by the number of cards i received! I bet they've never seen so many cards in their entire (pathetic and miserable) lives...hee hee!!!

I didn't expect to see my card on any dog blogs because most of 'em already posted pictures of the many cards they received (and yes yes, mine was super super late BUT in time, thank goodness!), but yes, i actually spotted my card on Miss Sunshade's so that came as a pleasant surprise! 

Okay, so here's a task for all of you. Spot my x'mas card in the picture above (Hint: My big face is obviously plastered on the damn card)!!!! Now boys, don't get distracted just because Miss Sunshade is in the picture. FOCUS and see if you can find me! And after that, you can look for handsome Kingsley too!! Get started now!! 

Sorry about being abit tardy with updating my blog this week. S and I have been playing so much frisbee these days that i'm zapped most days! Yes, even Border Collies get tired, you know?

It may come as a surprise to many, but yes, i have a faithful bunny reader (no, i'm not the kind who'd eat my friends) named Lulu! I've always followed Lulu's mantra: "All lucky bunnies look abit round", up till recently when S decided that round bunnies are cute but round dogs aren't! Talk about being discriminating!! Anyway, when Lulu heard that i was looking for rescued animals to interview, she very gladly volunteered to share her story and I thought that was really courageous for a little bunny! Well i suppose her time in SPCA moulded her into a stronger bunny!

By the way, do you know that Lulu's human is currently studying in Perth, at the same university S went to? Perth is my homeland if you didn't know and i still remember so many friends that i made there, especially Shadow the Border Collie and Zeus the Ridgeback. Well i do know another Shadow (also a Border Collie) but that boy squeals even before i sniff him. Then there's a Ridgeback that i met at the hash.......er, i don't think he wants to befriend me though (feeling is mutual).

Okay okay, forgive me for sidetracking!!! I get carried away when i reminisce about childhood! Anyhoo, I now present my second guest interviewee - Lulu the Lop! 

Oooooooh lala, ain't she a babe? 


- Start of Interview -

A couple of weeks ago, there was talk about getting a doggy brother for me. The humans discussed this for the longest time ever and finally decided to bring me to meet my potential brother. See the picture above? That's Shaggy! He's a Jack-Russell "Terror" x Shih-Tzu and Kingsley calls him a "Jack-Shit". I prefer to call him a "Jack-S" because i am not supposed to say bad words like "shit". Jack-S is not a bad word, is it?

Hello butt!! That's my initial greeting when i first met Shaggy. He seems to like all that butt-attention though - look how straight he's standing while i inspect his butt!

We got along pretty well and i think we forged some sorta brotherhood in a couple of hours. I was very protective of him (he's still a baby you know!) and forbade any dogs from sniffing him out. When Archilles came too close to Shaggy, i snapped threateningly at him and made sure he knew i was around to protect baby Shaggy. In return, Shaggy showed where his loyalty belonged and growled dangerously at SuperBill (my nemesis) when that dog invaded our turf! All this while, i thought Shaggy was a timid pushover! I was seriously impressed. 

Tag team - Shaggy and me!

Don't we look like real brothers or something?

Even though Shaggy and I got along fine and the humans loved him, D and S finally decided that they should wait till their new place is up (that's in 2 years' time, holy tennis ball!!) before getting a new sibiling for me. We were all upset at the end of the day when we took Shaggy back to his foster home but we prayed that he would soon find a furever home and be rid of this homeless life soon.

"Dear God, if you're listening. Please help Shaggy find his furever home soon. I will give up playing ball if you answer my prayer."

I hope God knows i meant that i'll give up playing ball for just one minute.

Last week, S received an email from Kingsley's S, saying that Shaggy has found a furever home!!! Also, i heard that he will be castrated before heading to his new home....hee hee!! All of us are elated at the good news and I hope i'll get the chance to play with him again! Oh well,  i suppose i'll just have to wait awhile more before i get a new doggy sibling.

All the best, Shaggy! We hope you find happiness in your furever home!!

The first time S saw Herbie's picture, she found him really familiar looking and thought she had seen him at one of the local vet hospitals.  After reading more about him, S soon found out that Herbie was an adopted dog and has been passed from one owner to another, till he found his furever home with his current owners now! Anyway, whether this Herbie was that other Herbie she knew before, it doesn't really matter. What's most important is that Herbie is the first doggie i interviewed for my Happy Tails series!

Remember how i spoke about wanting to do a series on rescued animals and their happy tails? Here's it! Presenting.....handsome Herbie!

 - Start of Interview -

Hello Herbie, it's my pleasure to be here with you. Can you briefly tell us why you were put up for adoption and if you don't mind, tell us abit more about yourself.

Herbie: "Well, as my M likes to say, I'm a 3rd hand dog.  The owner whom she got me from (my 2nd owner), only had me for a week before giving me up.  So according to her, my 1st owner gave me up coz there were too many dogs.

My 2nd owner gave me up coz they claim that they're afraid I would jump and scratch their kids when they come home.  You see, they go out all day and come back only late at night, and to show my happiness and welcome, I tend to jump up for a cuddle.  But my M will tell you that I'm a gentle jumper, because I don't push, I will still support my own weight on my hind legs and just place my front paws on the human for balance, so all the talk about me scratching is phish!  Besides, they had no time for me.  I wasn't allowed into the house, I was bathed everyday, fed chicken cooked with a little salt for seasoning (not that I'm complaining), and only given a 15 min walk the whole week I was with them.

You know what? I found this photo on S's flickr account and it was dated last Sunday! That girl said that she had to work and hence we most probably wouldn't be able to go out that day. Being an understanding dog, i was nice about it until i saw this picture! What the chicken-liver was she doing with Kingsley and his mummy on Sunday?!?!

I can't believe they're out together having fun while i was alone at home! Pfffffffffft. I am so gonna ignore S when she gets home. No wonder the humans had such a long frisbee session with me on Sunday night. Guilty humans. Bah!

That aside, i had a doggedly greaaaat Saturday though. It was Kingsley's barkday celebration and we all went hashing together. I tried to convey the most civil barkday greetings to Kings, but it came out really wrong and we ended up going for each other's throats.....twice! But it was all good in the end and we had so much fun!

Here's some (Border Collie) eye candy:

 

The grinning birthday boy and his lovely humans!

 

That's me, hyperventilating and dog-damn thirsty after the hash!

 

Still panting - check out my tongue! (p.s. sorry for being a l'il obscene here and exposing my weeny!)

 

Now beat this! Does anyone have a longer tongue than me?



 

(Picture taken by CK)
Lucas and Kingsley were contenders for the "longest tongue" award, but failed. Next better challenger, please! 



 

Anyway, i left Kingsley's barkday celebration with a goodie bag which contained lotsa dog treats and this little toy. Kings reckons it looks like me, especially the floppy ears! I shall adopt this little thing as my brother (i am naming it Floppy, or Fluffy, or something stupid) since i only have 2 feline sister - one of which is a crazy 1-year-old and the other an 18-year-old grandmama, so you can imagine.  

Oh, and the humans might be bringing some puppy named Shaggy (who is he?!) and me out to the park sometime this week. I like well-mannered puppies....well okay, that's an oxymoron. I am generally nice to puppies unless they piss me off by trying to dominate me or climb on me. What do they think i am? Some automated machine that they can slot 20-cents in and get a free ride?! 

Anyways, I hope me and Shaggy have a good time playing together. Apparently, Kingsley has already taught him some basic dog etiquette so he should be a good kid, methinks.

No, not me! I don't even have a date yet. SIGH.

No, not D and S! Well at least not till next year and till then, i'll be their "illegitimate son". SIGH.

On a lighter note, the humans' friends, Gary and E-wen tied the knot last Friday and these cutesy bears are wedding favours from the wedding dinner itself! According to S, the newlyweds are fans of my blog and would religiously check for updates now and then. How cool is that! My very first FANS! Well actually, i do have another fan - the electric one sitting outside in the living room, but S assured me that in no way do Gary and E-wen resemble that fan! Anyway, i was told I'll get to meet them next Saturday! Time i found some new humans friends!

So yeah there i was getting all excited about having two new fans but wait, why wasn't i invited to the wedding dinner if these folks like me? And the humans didn't even bring home any table scraps for me! *rolls eyes*

But you know what? I have a feeling i'll like this couple even before i get to meet them. Reason being, their wedding dinner was a sharks-fin free one! For an environment-conscious dog like me (who 'waters' plants and shrubs with my nutritious pee whenever i go for walks), i'll give them two tongues up!

I have more to blog but am too tired out by the frisbee game i just had with the humans! Those two are getting better at throwing the frisbee and hence i'm getting better at catching too! I'll catch you guys later - more pictures coming up soon!

Just that day, S was chatting with SuperBill's owner and was told that ever since his puppy days, SuperBill has almost exclusively been called "handsome" (by people who meet him) instead of "cute", "adorable" or other fluffy-pansy terms.

But me? I've always been known as "cute"!!!! Very, very rarely do people come up to me and say that i'm handsome!! I think it has to do with the fact that i grin all the time and wear a laughable expression on my face (refer to picture above).

Japanese girls are especially attracted to me and this has been proven time and again whenever i visit the Botanic Garden. Hordes of these Japanese chicks swarm around me and often engage in high-pitched conversations which really hurt my ear. Often, i'd hear them say "Kawaaaaiii ne! Kawaaaiiiii ne! Kawaaiiiii ne! Nose pinku pinku!!" - which roughly means that i'm cute and i have a pink nose, or something along that line. 

I know a lot of human men would love to be in my shoes, being the centre of attraction with girls (what's more, Japanese chicks!). But man, i really don't swing that way and i just wish i was handsome enough to hook up with a hot Border Collie bitch nice Border Collie girl (preferably with red hair like mine, please). 

Sometimes i wonder if hanging out too much with the cats is detrimental to my looks and i'm slowly morphing me into a cute hello-kitty lookalike that makes these Japanese girls go ga-ga over. Somehow, being "handsome" seems like a better deal and you get to retain your dignity instead of being prodded and poked on the pretext that you're a cute dog. The woes of being too cute...BAH.

Now that the IMF is over, i shall endeavour to smile less, appear more garang (read: fierce) and perhaps earn a few "handsome" compliments.

p.s. A couple of SPCA events are coming up and my human is involved with the pet care seminars! Please come along and support the SPCA and their cause. :) Details will be up soon.

Edit: Out of sheer pity (i think),  staralfurr has relented and called me "hamsum"! Oh and Tin Tin also referred to me as "handsome Chester" here. I'm a happy dog now!!! *booooooooiinnnnngggg gummy bear bounce*

I've been tagged by a new friend, Bear (he's an uber cute and apparently fearsome Rottie puppy!!) to do this: list 5 things that make a true doggie friend.  


1. A true doggie friend is.....easy going, approachable and allows some good ol' crotch sniffing when necessary!

2. A true doggie friend.....accepts you for who you are, flaws and faults.

(Even though you suspiciously resemble an oversized black cottonpuff with no eyes to speak of whatsoever when the humans take pictures of you! Tee hee hee!!!)


3. A true doggie friend......shares fun and laughter with you. 

Given a chance, he will tag-team with you to come up with silly antics, like shaking your head to see if you can beat the camera's shutter speed. And then having a good laugh together seeing how exasperated the humans are with something as trivial as a blur picture! There're more bones to fret about than blurry pictures, mum!! Get a dog life!

Oh, and sometimes we do the male thing and check out babes together, too! (S has banned me from using the word equivalent to "female dogs" because my blog is supposed to be a family blog. Again, whatever man.)

 

4. A true doggie friend.....stays by your side, rain and shine, through thick and thin. 

I saw Tutti through from being a scrawny kitten to a fat cat. Talk about going through thick and thin!

Well, with everything there's always a trade-off. In exchange for Tutti's friendship, i have to put up with her unbridled (and unwanted) affection....

Sometimes, she even thinks i should share my bone with her! But being the true doggie friend i am, i always try to tell her off "nicely".

Okay to be fair, sometimes she lets me play with her toy mouse. So we're quits, i suppose!

5. A true doggie friend is.....gentle to a child...

...and respectful to the elderly!

If you didn't know, Sophie is  a 18-years-old senior citizen by feline standard. I don't engage in rough play with her because of her age (i don't want her to break her bones). Also, it's because she has bad breath.

I shall tag Kingsley, Tin Tin, Charlie, Pippin and  piglet_2005 to do this!