Fourth day of Christmas

Yes, we went out today and it was to East Coast Park to join in the fun adoption event for Happy, the Maltese, and Luna, the English Cocker Spaniel. Happy looks really happy, he has a nice temperament even though he's almost as domineering as me. He dared to hump Bear even though he could only mount one of Bear's legs each time.

Luna's such a gentle lady who's well composed amidst all the activities and dogs moving about. She'll look so refined once her coat grows to its full glory.

There was another third dog that came to look for a new home. She's an older Miniature Schnauzer, called Yew Tee because she was found loitering around the Yew Tee area (I'm glad I wasn't named Seletar). After meeting up, I think her temper matches mine.

Of course, Bear and Bruno were there to host the event and ensure everything was in order.

It was more than just socializing activities for me as godpa coaxed me to dip my feet into the sea. I've done a full swim before in Sentosa's lagoon but this time the waves unnerved me a bit. They look like tsunamis to me.

Yes, it is still Christmas and well adorned Christmas trees continue to stand tall. As for me, my bed beckons me to lie flat after a tiring day walking along the coast.

Third day of Christmas

A partridge in a pear tree? It was hot and sunny today so godpa brought me out to a new area for an exercise walk. He noticed this beautiful tree perched atop a small hill. I wonder how he notices such things or maybe I'm just preoccupied with the scents on the ground. He says it reminded him of the greenery and blue skies in Australia. Wow, a piece of Australia appearing in Yishun!

The illusion is quickly broken once you see me panting in the sweltering heat. I might look happy but that's because I'm grateful for the rest break and still panting with my tongue hanging out. I've a long car ride for an excursion tomorrow if the weather stays dry. I hope it'll be fun.

Second day of Christmas

Here we go again, the Santarina hat thingy. Godpa figured out the hat has to be crumpled a certain way in order to show the cute green ribbon and cotton bob on top. As you can tell I'm not that keen unless I can get my chompers on it.

Since godpa's so free this holiday, I've asked him to type in what he submitted to Clubpets.

Nikki's Story

Nikki was adopted from another dog owner, TK. Nikki had wandered into their place near the Seletar farm area. Her fur was all tangled and she was underweight. They cleaned her up and I adopted her right after her spay operation. I believe she is a brave dog who has survived many difficulties, so I named her Nikki the Brave.

Happy Ever After

After adoption, I faced challenges such as helping her overcome her fear and anxiety with other dogs, which was probably because of her past. It's a joy to raise a mixed breed dog because it has made life more meaningful knowing I've made a difference to her life.

Christmas Gift

There are many surprises today. Godpa had been eagerly waiting for the latest CLUBPETS magazine, checking out the nearby petshop almost daily, and he finally found it today. I wondered why the excitement, afterall the cover dog wasn't me but some Chihuahua pretending to be a reindeer with twigs for antlers. Eeks.

When he turned to page 20, I was surprised to find a small feature on me! Apparently godpa had submitted my story for a special feature on "Mutts & Moggies". I'm touched that godpa's life has become even more meaningful after adopting me (someone get me a tissue).

Another surprise. I guess I mocked that Chihuahua too soon. I tried to resist but godpa bribed me with treats and insisted that I pose in a Santarina hat for my fans. Well, at least I look pretty no matter what I wear or don't wear. Godpa says I look like a Christmas elf.

Comfy

Great cool weather and what better way for me to enjoy it then to snuggle onto godpa's lap.

Besides sleep, I wish I could have more recreation like window shopping. Godpa went off with the rest of the family in the evening to a nearby shopping complex that had re-opened. It's rather spacious and there's going to be a mini water park called the Splash Park on an open level. Godpa could not find any petshops so far. He hopes there'll be dog friendly areas for drinks or dining so he can walk me over in future.

Size matters

Finally some humans have acknowledged the power that small dogs wield. Was pleased to see miniature schnauzers aren't in the statistics but then again shouldn't I fall into "mixed breed"? Heck, humans are so particular, for me the obvious information is all dogs can bite (including moi of course).

I like the second newspaper article coz I can see uncle Patrick! He's such an interesting human, respected by all dogs in class regardless of size and bark. I wonder if godpa will enroll me in next year's classes. I continue to benefit from refresher training by godpa and recently conquered a fear I have of a nasty neighborhood JRT. I didn't bother to even look at her when we met this morning. I guess you could call that 目中无狗 :)

Weather's been good so far and godpa managed to bring me out of the estate for a leisure walk. He's pretty proud of my confidence when crossing traffic junctions, and like any Singaporean I'm very law abiding and sit looking at all sides of the road while waiting for the green man (why no dog?).

Yes, obedience training is great.

Spiritus

Godpa came home feeling a bit dejected today. He had arranged a special evening program to attend some performance but was turned away because his confirmed reservation could not be found. No apologies were offered though he was advised to obtain walk-in admission for standing space ... for a two hour performance. I'm sure I would have bitched about it in such a situation.

Perhaps godpa tries too hard to be angelic at times ... I'm just the way I am

Zoom zoom!

Godpa watched Bolt in 3D recently. He tells me it's a great movie, not just funny but also touching at times. There's this scene where Mittens teaches Bolt how to beg for food. Imagine a cat teaching a dog its tricks of the trade, I could have shown him my classic pathetic weak and hungry look. It always causes godpa's mum to get concerned over how famished I am (well, I am usually a bit hungry).

We went to the dogrun today amidst perfect weather, the grass was dry and the sunshine moderate. As usual I took a long time to warm up to other dogs, say an hour. Poor godpa then starts to worry about his expired parking coupon.


Look at that giant poodle! She was prancing about like some puffy marshmallow. Lucky for me she was only interested in the big dogs. There was this senior Sheltie dog that was rather friendly to me and often approached me politely. Later I got a bit naughty and bullied a teacup sized Maltese.


There was also this prancing queen in the dogrun that got everyone into circles. I wonder why they call them Cavalier King Charles spaniels when they don't behave like royalty.


Bear's pa got information on another abandoned dog. This time it's a cute Maltese. Godpa wonders whether it's a cruel part of the spring cleaning for Chinese New Year. Some humans "zoom zoom" their dogs in from petshops and similarly "zoom zoom" them out the main door. It's certainly much better to "zoom zoom" in the dogruns.

I'll be home for Christmas

I have a home for Christmas, a safe place to laze under the sunshine after nourishing meals. It comes with the warmth of companions who provide both tender care and guidance.

But not every dog is as fortunate. Give Luna a home. She's an 11 month old English Cocker Spaniel. She has nice floppy ears just like me, but much bigger.

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow
And mistletoe
And presents 'neath the tree

Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams

Creative play

Godpa has been playing these days with new computing power and a bigger screen. It sort of re-ignited his interest in alien stuff like HTML coding for blogs. He's also jazzed up the graphics to my blog site :)

As for me I've also been playing indoors these days because of the lousy gloomy wet weather.

Maybe the play got a bit rough coz the next thing I knew, my nail fell off during a visit to Uncle Leon's house. The weird thing is, godpa couldn't figure out which toe it came off from. Everything was intact, even the dew claws. Somehow it seemed like a layer of nail just dropped off.

With the cool weather it's also great for cuddling indoors with family and for lazing around after meals. Is this how Christmas feels like?

Cheer blooms

Well, weather was good on Tuesday but godpa couldn't bring me out in the evening coz he had a wedding banquet to attend. He did bring me some flowers (just the pictures) from an ikebana exhibition while window shopping at Liang Court on Monday. They look pretty but I can't smell them so they're rather useless to me.

I much prefer a walk or run outdoors where I can hear the birds sing and see the fish swim. The fish do look delicious.

While godpa was returning from the banquet last night, he walked past a grand old hotel that looked kind of happy :)

'Tis the season

Christmas seemed early this year and it's not just about the decorations coming up in the malls or the myriad of sales going on.

I got my first gift, a can of Addiction special dog food. The ingredients do sound enticing when godpa read the marketing blurb to me.

Addiction Introduces KING SALMON & POTATOES Entrée to the canned dog food family. From the pristine waters of New Zealand, Addiction brings to you the New Zealand King Salmon. Rich in Omega-3 and Vitamin E for healthy skin and coat. King Salmon is as nutritious as it is delectable! This hypoallergenic formula is designed as a low allergy and healthier alternative to diets made from chicken, beef or lamb. Lovingly prepared with Hoki, a prized New Zealand fish, as well as a medley of lemons and oranges, your dog will surely enjoy this gourmet recipe!

Godpa tells me it came from the human companion of the scandalous JRT sisters. I tell godpa we must select a gift for them too. I've some ideas but got to keep it a secret first.

The next thing I received yesterday wasn't exactly a gift but given the cheery packaging and sweet scent it could easily have been mistaken as some gift that humans get for those office gift exchanges.

It's Hari Raya Haji tomorrow, another human holiday. I suspect godpa may bring parents out window shoppping, fortunately he's at home the following day so there's chance I'll be having an excursion too.

Gloom run

The humans have financial gloom to worry about, and we dogs have the weather to be gloomy about. Godpa took time to bring me to the dogrun yesterday, hoping to meet the nice crowd there from last week. I miss the shy retriever boy, Beanie. He's such a pushover :)

I frowned as we drove to the park. The rain persisted and became a drizzle as we reached the park. Though it was rather nice to see sparkling raindrops resting on pine leaves, sadly I was the only dog appreciating it. No one turned up at the dogrun.



We spent time loitering around in the dog run, just the two of us. Godpa tried to get me to play fetch but I'm just not in the mood.

Since we were getting a bit too wet, godpa decided we should spend time sitting in the shelter of a pavilion. It was rather boring so I created my own entertainment barking at selected joggers.

Amidst the gloom, godpa is trying to groom me with a new set of nail clipper and file. So far he has no luck convincing me that he can do a good paw-dicure.

Eight months!

Today marks my eight months with godpa. He decided to "decorate" my blog with colourful pictures of food. Not very original but it's something of a common interest between us.

Godpa's getting adventurous again and will add asparagus to my diet though I'm not sure if it tastes better than sweet peas. Capsicums look nice but they taste weird to me.


While in town, godpa tried this nice pasta from the basement foodcourt of Orchard Cineleisure. It's his second time patronising them and he says the pasta is always well prepared and comes in a substantial portion. I've only taken rice, can I try pasta?

I got into my cute cuddly princess pose for this photo. It contrasts with my warrior princess attitude at the dogrun the other day doesn't it.

Making friends

It was a pleasant afternoon at the Bishan Park Dog Run yesterday.

Step 1: Trust no dog. Stay close to godpa and other humans. I'm a princess, let them come to me.

Step 2: Unsure. I'm not sure, they seem harmless, especially that boy wearing a harness. He seems genuinely interested to play.

Step 3: Warming up. Alright, I'll just let loose a bit since he's such a respectful boy. Hope he doesn't mind my temper.

Step 4: Confidence. Here I go romping around away from godpa. It's much more fun zooming around with dog friends.

Handsome Bolt

While godpa is reading his comics about Superman, Batman, and the Fantastic Four, I have recently found a handsome comic book hero of my own. His name is Bolt. Even godpa finds his videos cool. Looks like Christmas is going to be exciting with all the dog and animal movies.

忘忧草

Godpa's work is kind of unique, it's a balance of indoor and outdoor work. He tells me it's neither easy nor stressful, sometimes he just listens and at other times he asks a lot of questions. I'm pretty good at listening too.

His work brings him to corners of Singapore that he wouldn't likely visit on his own. Today he happened to be around Eunos Crescent so he had lunch there. Again, his meals are much more colourful than mine.

It's rather picturesque if one paused to look. He enjoyed the food and the laid back feel of an old estate. It's also a very cat friendly place coz godpa saw many street cats lazing and loitering about. Well, some dogs are more privileged, we laze around in the cool comfort of human homes and gnaw on bones.

I hope all dogs (and humans too), find a "good place" to be in even though the world is full of worries, stress, and strife.

<<忘忧草>>
让软弱的我们懂得残忍
狠狠面对人生每次寒冷
依依不舍的爱过的人
往往有缘没有份
谁把谁真的当真
谁为谁心疼 谁是唯一谁的人
伤痕累累的天真的灵魂
早已不承认还有什么神
美丽的人生 善良的人
心痛心酸心事太微不足道
来来往往的你我遇到
相识不如相望淡淡一笑
忘忧草忘了就好 梦里知多少
某天涯海角 某个小岛
某年某月某日某一次拥抱
轻轻河畔草 静静等天荒地老

作词：周华健
作曲：周华健
原唱：周华健