It's a dog's life in Delhi

I had started off my blog this year with a post on "It's a dog's life". There are 2 schools of thought as to the meaning of this phrase. The older definition which dates back to the 16th century- "a miserable, unhappy existence" refers to the terrible life of working dogs during this era. The second meaning, which seems to have evolved over time is in direct contrast to the first -"A life of indolence where the individual may do as he or she pleases, just like a pampered dog."

Well, mum is in India at the moment, her first trip to this country and she says that for the strays in Delhi, the first definition seems to apply. During her 5-hour car journey to Agra to visit the majestic Taj Mahal, she had her first encounter with one aspect of Indian rural life. Her heart broke when she saw the strays rummaging through rubbish, some with limps from being hit by a vehicle. It's not just the dogs that have a 16th century dog's life. The cows and horses do too. Admittedly, the humans themselves are poor, some of them living on the sidewalks. Of course, when she saw the strays, she can't help thinking about one very lucky Indian dog - Oorvi. It only takes one human to make a difference to a dog's life!

A Dog's Breakfast

Coming off my last post on "Sick as a Dog", I thought I'll continue on the theme of eating and food - my all-time favourite hobby! This is my breakfast...


At 1/2 cup a meal, it only takes me seconds to finish my breakfast.

See what I mean???


Strangely though, the phrase "A dog's breakfast" doesn't really refer to the kibbles my humans feed me every morning. It also doesn't refer to the special "hot dog" treat I get on my birthday.


Instead the phrase "A dog's breakfast" means "something bad, a mess or a muddle". How did the human coin this term beats me...but it dates back to the 1930's. I doubt any modern day doggie logic was applied. Anyway, there is also a 2006Canadian comedy independent film called "A Dog's Breakfast" where the main character makes a mess out of everything. More recently, there was a Forbes article in June 2009 by a professor of economics called "A Dog's Breakfast. In regulatory reform, politics trumps economic logic". I guess the author didn't quite agree with President O's policies.

So once again, we have a very strange dog phrase which doesn't really match doggie reality. I think I'll stick to the plain old version of "A dog's breakfast" - food! What did you have for breakfast this morning?

"Please mum, can I have some more?"

Tilly - the Goldy

I'm back! It's 2am and mum can't sleep (thanks to jet lag!). So, that's why we're blogging at this unearthly hour when most normal people are asleep. Still I'm not complaining coz it's high time she devoted some time to my blog after neglecting it for so long. I promised to introduce you to Tilly, a special Goldy friend from Down Under.

Like me, Tilly loves...

A tummy rub


A car ride


A good run in the park (and boy oh boy, she's like speedy Gonzales!)


She also does tricks for treats - See how intently she is staring at the treat?


Given her "beagle-like" qualities (even though she's a golden retriever), is it surprising that my humans fell in love with her?


But Tilly is more than just an adorable, lovable Goldy. She is a miracle dog...It all started at a leash free park a couple of months back.


Her humans often take Tilly to the park for a game of fetch. It was late and dark. Unbeknown to her humans, Tilly found some rubber rings at the park, about the size of a 50 cent coin and ate it, thinking it was food. She fell violently ill and had to undergo surgery, which was when they found the deadly rubber rings. All in all, she swallowed about 4 rings.

Remember my previous post titled "Sick as a dog"? Well, Tilly is the classic example of the reason why the phrase came about. The explanation given was "Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it's fitting to describe someone who is not feeling well as being "sick as a dog." In this case,the rubber rings almost killed her. It didn't help that there were complications arising from the surgery and she had to undergo two other surgeries after that. It was a traumatic experience for Tilly and her humans. Needless to say, her surgeries were expensive but when you're a dog lover, there is no cost too great for your beloved dog. Her humans are considering getting dog medical insurance (first time I've ever heard of it) but apparently that's available in Australia.

It truly is a miracle that Tilly lives today - a testimony to the love her humans have for her. She continues to live life to the fullest, running like the wind!


P.S. If you want to do a reading experiment, pop over to mum's blog and read the post "Can you read this?"

MIA for a while - still...

I know I've been missing in action for 3 weeks. And I'll continue to be MIA for another 2-3 weeks (no thanks to mum!). There is so much for me to share with you and so much for me to catch up on your blogs, but it'll have to wait. My humans were away on their annual holiday, this time to Melbourne, Australia or Down Under as it is sometimes known. As usual I was left behind at gramps. I didn't mind that much as it gave me the opportunity to catch up with my fellow canines in that neighbourhood. Now, mum is going away again, this time for work. Hence, continued MIA status.

But I do want to introduce a new friend from Down Under. Her name is Tilly and she's a golden retriever. My humans stayed with Tilly and her humans in Melbourne and got their dog fix through Tilly. I'll share a tale about Tilly when I'm off the MIA status but for now, here's a picture of sweet Tilly first.



I'll sign off with a quote from the Terminator "I'll be back!"

Sick as a Dog

I sometimes wonder about how humans come up with some of these strange expressions. Now, I've been fortunate enough in my seven years on this earth to not have been very sick. From time to time, I have unexplained short wheezing-like spells. When it first happened when I was younger, my humans thought it may be caused by my pulling during walking. Apparently beagles have weak tracheas, so upon the vet's recommendation, they used a harness for my walks instead. However, it continues to occur occassionally, usually when I'm resting, with each bout lasting for a couple of minutes and then I'm fine. My humans have taken me to the vet who suspects it may be due to excessive flap or excessive tissue in my nose. They've also done research on the internet and discovered that this problem is common among beagles.

Having said that, my bouts of wheezing spells still doesn't explain this dog phrase "Sick as a Dog" which is generally understood to mean "very ill". After all, dogs are generally healthy. It's true that each dog breed has predispositions to certain health problems, but I doubt that we are "sicker" than other types of animals on this planet.

This explanation was posted on a Kid's Health website - "If you've ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it's fitting to describe someone who is not feeling well as being "sick as a dog."

Now this sounds fairly logical, especially if you're a beagle. My mum and dad can testify to that. They know that when they walk me, they have to be super vigilant as I have been known to be able to sniff out buried bones and food from miles aways (must be the same excessive tissues that trigger the wheezing). Before you can say "Geronimo", I would have chomped down the food, much to my humans's disgust since most of the food found on the street and parks aren't really edible from a human perspective. My list includes discarded bread, bones, rice and even a corn cob (I didn't really eat it - just carried it in my mouth). From time to time, they've tried to open my mouth to try to remove the offending food but not often successful. Hah! The beagle outsmarts them!

So, with that, I am proud to accept the award that the 2 Mighty Beans bestowed on me last month:


"When accepting this award, you must blog about the food you have stolen when your humans were not watching. If you have never stolen any food, you must have been a really good pup! You can accept this yummy tray of cookies as your reward! Next add the logo of this award to your blog (optional), then nominate at least 5 other furry blogs and let them know by leaving a message on their blogs."

Since I am so late in posting this award and quite a few of you already have this award, I am leaving this award open for any dog blogger who have not received this and would like to share their tale of stolen food.

Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog

Three cheers to Martha and Bailey, the two basset hounds who were the first to correctly guess the title of the song by Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll! Well done to the rest of the musical bloggers who also hit the spot with their guesses. Martha & Bailey wins the Dog Series award.



Technically, "Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog" isn't really a doggie phrase or an idiom. It's just a song written in 1952 by a couple of kids on the back of a paper bag. If you take a look at the nonsensical lyrics below, you can tell that it was written by kids on the back of a paper bag!

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time
Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit
And you ain't no friend of mine

The song was first sung by Wille Mae "Big Mama" Thornton who had the band bark and howl like hound dogs at the end of the song. This song was later made popular by Elvis Presley in 1956. While Mr Presley didn't end the song with howling (I took some poetic licence with the rhyming. Sorry, Oorvi), he did add his signature "pelvic gyrations". The Hound Dog sold over 4 million copies in the US and spent a record 11 weeks at #1. Not bad for a song about a hound dog!

Key West Collies also beat me to another dog song "Who Let the Dogs Out" released by the Baha Men in 2000. It reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and #2 on the UK Singles Chart. The catchy chorus essentially comprise of repeats of:

"Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who? who?"

Strangely, this song became a sports anthem at stadiums and arenas worldwide. Mum remembers attending a rugby match a few years back where this song was played and enthusiastically chanted by the fans. I guess it added to the atmosphere and excitement of the game.

So there you have it, two fun nonsensical dog songs which achieved fame and glory. Hmm...I wonder if we dogs should charge them royalty?

Pop quiz

It's been a while since I've posted a doggie quiz, so here's a "pop quiz" for music fans:

The lyrics of this dog song
Is a catchy sing along
It ends with lots of howling
By the famous Rock and Roll King


Kess, the dancing beagle

The first doggie/human blogger to guess correctly wins the "It's a Dog's Life Dog Series Award".