Thanks to you...

It was a terrific Christmas...thanks to you... Ever since we've started blogging, my humans & I have really learnt from our blogger friends. We've had the chance to see how each of you live, your experiences and culture. It's a great learning experience. But best of all, at least from my point of view (you'll see why in a jiffy), my humans have learnt how to cook for me. Hurray! As a Christmas treat, my humans roasted special meatballs for my dinner. Since they were cooking meatballs for their dinner, they set aside some minced meat for my doggie version. Theirs had ingredients like onions and garlic and seasoning, which supposedly aren't good for dogs.

Human version

You can pop by mama's blog for the simple baked meatball recipe.
Naked aka doggie version

So, I had the "naked" version with breadcrumb and egg. My special meatballs were served in a bed of fragrant Jasmine rice, sprinkled liberally with my Innova kibbles.

My regular meal time routine. Sit and wait until the go ahead is given...

First, there were three meatballs.

Then, there were two...

Burp...


What a terrific treat. And with that, we think that it's appropriate for us to share this wonderful award which we received from Dughallmor Beagles with eight of our pals.


The award, which was started in Portugal states that "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!" In other clearer words, "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I really believe that blogs have brought us closer despite the distances that separate us. We have learnt so much from everyone. Thank you!

1. Amber Mae and her cool sistas from Malaysia - The champions of great food.
2. Lorenza from Mexico - The prettiest and sweetest Daschund we know.
3. Oorvi from India - Master philosopher and creator of cool doggie gadgets.
4. Ari- The Maine canine naturalist aka teacher
5. River from Georgia - who is blessed to belong to a wonderful human who loves and rescues dogs.
6. Happy from Malaysia - who really is a happy doggie and spreads happiness to all her friends.
7. Maggie & Mitch - the Conneticut brother and sister Airedales who are so well loved by everyone
8. Guiness & Shiloh from PA, the 2 big cuties!

I am I because my little dog loves me

From the desk of Kess' Mama:

It's the week of Christmas - what better time to share this quote with you.
"I am I because my little dog knows me"
Gertrude Stein

Note: Without realising it, I actually misquoted Gertrude earlier until Key West Collies pointed it out to me. Thanks Collies. I like my accidental version better too.
"I am I because my little dog loves me"
Eliza Ong

J & I came across this quote on a bench in Central Park, New York City when we were there in summer and couldn't resist taking this picture. All dog lovers can relate to this saying. Since Kess came into our lives 6 years ago, she has brought us such joy. We never fail to be amused by her idiosyncracies, laugh at her antics, sigh at her trail of destruction (only when we are away), and blessed by her unconditional love.

Kess - 4 months


Kess - 6 years


Blessed Christmas to our fellow dog lovers!

Dog logic

Mum received this in her email box a few weeks back. It's great logic so we thought that we'll share it with you. Enjoy!

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
-Anonymous


There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
-Ben Williams


A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings


The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
-Andy Rooney


Dogs love their friends & bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love & always have to mix love & hate.
-Anonymous


Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
-Franklin P. Jones


If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise
-Unknown


If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
-Mark Twain


Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
-Roger Caras


If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.
-Phil Pastoret

Early Christmas presents

The Christmas countdown continues with great cheer! I'm still receiving e-cards from our DWB friends. In contrast to my tons of cards, mum has only received one snail mail card (you can see who has more friends....) from her good pal, Ai. Of course, since Ai knows us well, she has also addressed the card to me since I am such an important family member! Thank you my dear Ai.

But it's not just cards that I've been receiving. I've been given two early Christmas presents in the form of these 2 special awards:




The above award came from Mona & the Mommy too. It is an honour for my blog to be considered a "Dog Blog Worth Begging For". Actually, I would have preferred if the doggie biscuit was edible...but hey, I'll just have to beg mum for the real thing. After all, I deserve it, don't you think?

And to continue the tradition, I would like to pass this award on to:
1. Thor
2. Boo Casonova
3. Agatha & Archie
4. Penny, Poppy & Patches




Next, my Scottish pals, Dughallmor Beagles have given an "I Love Your Blog" award to me. Christmas keeps getting better!

And this award goes out to:
1. King King
2. Cayman
3. Mino
4. Erin, Bubbles & Texas

These awards comes with a poem too (it seems we're on the roll with poem writing...)
To our blogger friends
We bestow this award
Your fabulous blogs
Deserves this reward

Christmas greetings

I have to say, the Dogs with Blogs Christmas Exchange Card has really spurred us to an early start to our Christmas preparation. The Christmas wreath is hanging on the door. Our table Christmas tree is up. Christmas presents are wrapped (the only present missing is mine). My humans have yet to go shopping for me - can you beat that?

We've started sending out our e-cards but have yet to keep pace with the rate of Christmas cards coming in, simply because we want to visit the blogs of our new friends, whom we've never met on-line before we reply. So, please be patient with us. Meanwhile, we also realise that some of our pals are not on the DWB card exchange program or for some who are, have opted for snail mail only. We've decided to post our Christmas card on our blog to wish all you a blessed Christmas.



And finally, a little Christmas poem we made up for all our friends:

It is Christmas time
Let's spread the cheer
We wish you all joy
and a blessed new year

With love,
Kess & Her Mama

Chrismas Mission Accomplished

Thanks to dad's photography prowess, mum's feeding techniques and my modelling skills,we have successfully completed our Christmas card mission over the weekend. My humans used 2 fool-proof techniques for dog photography:

1) Get the dog in a calm state by reducing excess energy. How? Easy...Walk the dog first
2) Use treats. For this session, I had beef bacon jerky...

Notice how both techniques are actually to my advantage? I trained them well :-)

Since outdoor photos work best, we did the photography session on our porch on a beautiful sunny evening. Out came the prop (i.e. mini Christmas tree) and the all important beef jerky treat. Dad is grateful for digital photography as he had to take tons of shots before getting the "perfect Christmas photo". After all, I can't make it too easy for them or they'll be wanting me to pose for all kinds of funny stuff all the time!

After selecting "the" shot, dad had to do some editing to get it "card-ready". We couldn't figure out how to add the fancy shmancy Christmas trimmings (would love to hear from the card experts on how to do this), so this year, you'll be getting the simple version. Mum is now in the process of emailing the cards out. She's decided to personalise the Christmas messages, so it'll take her some time to email it out. Apart from our existing pals, we've also decided that we'll be sending cards out to some "yet-to-meet" friends as well as visiting their blogs. After all, that's the whole point of the card exchange, right? So, look out for our Christmas card and our visit!

P.S. Last night, we witnessed an incredible phenomenon - A smiling moon (we kid you not!). Check out the picture on mum's blog.

Christmas Comes Early

Boy oh boy, I am so excited. Christmas is early this year. Despite it still being November, I've been receiving e-Christmas cards left, right and centre from my Dogs with Blogs pals (some whom I don't even know). And that's really the spirit of Christmas - sharing joy with loved ones and strangers. Thank you so much!

Mine is coming...soon...I promise...before Christmas. So, that gives me exactly 26 days to get it out. The first batch of Christmas photos mum took were duds. Hah...hah...I recall reading about the same experience in some of your blogs. Who said dog photography was easy??? So, she's going to attempt it again this weekend. She may even get dad to do the honours. He's the camera geek! If the weekend pics turn out well, I should be able to get my card out next week. Yay!

A "Slow" Confession

I am feeling sheepish at the moment. After all my posts protesting that beagles are not slow dogs in the realm of "intelligence", I have to make a "slow" confession...I have been slow in sharing the awards that Georgeous George and Happy have so kindly bestowed on me 2 months ago (yes, you read it right...2 whole months ago). I am so sorry George and Happy. I really do appreciate the honour. Of course, I could blame mum for it. She's been away on a business trip for a few weeks. Before that, we were preoccupied with the "slow" beagle issue. But I won't offer any excuses. Instead, I'm going to rectify it right now.

Premio Dardos


“Com o Prêmio Dardos, se reconhecem os valores que cada blogueiro mostra cada dia em seu empenho por transmitir valores culturais, éticos, literários, pessoais etc. que, em suma, demonstram sua criatividade através do pensamento vivo que permanece intacto entre suas letras e suas palavras.“Este selo implica duas regras:a primeira, linkar o blog do qual recebeu o prêmio. A segunda – escolher blogs para entregar o prêmio.

"With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words. "

I would like to share this award with the fellow bloggers who in my humble opinion demonstrates these values:
1) Sugar - Rane & Sugar have unlimited love for all creatures, big and small.
2) Xsara - Barbie & Xsara share great insights on topics close to our hearts!
3) Nottie Scottie - Mum & I totally understand your predicament of finding time to blog, esp. since we're in the same boat! It is great that you commit to blog and visit other blogs whenever you can.
4) Lois Lane - Thanks for sharing the dog seat-belt safety tip. You look so cute in that picture!

Gold Paw Award



This sparkly award goes to...
1) Mr T-Bone Beasley - hardworking organiser of the Christmas Card Exchange. Thanks for spreading Christmas cheer among doggie bloggers!
2)Genassus Pappilons - I love hearing your Scottish tales. Mum would love to go there someday.
3) The Little Brown Dog - Human and canine with hearts of gold
4) Dughallmor Beagles - My new pals from Scotland - Such great beagle adventure tales!

In Defence of Beagles

I have received overwhelming support from the dog bloggers community over the newspaper article on "Slow Dogs - Meet the World's 10 least intelligent dogs", which listed beagles in the list. Thank you dear friends for your comments and support for beagles.

I decided that it wasn't enough to voice my indignation about the article on my blog. So, last weekend, I sent the following e-mail to the Editor of the Weekender to present our views. Hopefully, this gets published so that readers of the paper do not get the wrong impression about beagles.


Dear Weekender Editor,
I refer to your article “Slow Dogs -Meet the world’s 10 least intelligent dogs” published on 11 October 2008. The article lists the Beagle as one of the “slow dogs”. As a beagle, I have a duty to defend my breed from being wrongly identified as a “slow dog”. The following points are my views and that of my fellow dog bloggers.

The criterion of “hardest to train” which was used to rank a dog’s intelligence is faulty. A dog that is hard to train does not mean that the dog is not intelligent. Yes, beagles are challenging to train. By nature, beagles are hunting dogs. This means that we are strongly governed by our nose and are easily distracted by scents. Unlike some breeds which are bred to work one-on-one with humans and have a strong desire to please their handlers, beagles are bred to work in a pack with other dogs. Hence, the desire to please our human handlers is a lot less. This leads to the perception that beagles are stubborn.

The challenge in training a beagle is using the right motivation tool. Beagle owners know that the one thing that never fails to motivate us is food. Beagles are intelligent and learn quickly when motivated. In fact, airports around the world use beagles as sniffer dogs to prevent illegal items from being smuggled into the country. This shows that beagles can be trained to provide service, if humans know how to motivate us. Of course, our intelligence can be a bane to our humans. Beagles are notorious for being escape artists because we are able to figure out how to get out from our enclosures - this requires both intelligence and agility. (I have escaped from my garden many times by scaling the fence, much to my humans’ chagrin.)

The article certainly does not do justice to beagles. Whilst I can understand that the title “Slow Dogs - Meet the world’s 10 least intelligent dogs” is certainly more catchy than “Meet the world’s 10 most difficult to train dogs”, it is incorrect and irresponsible to equate "difficulty to train" with "intelligence".

By Kess, the Beagle











P.S. My humans didn't have to teach me to carry my leash when going for walks. I learnt it myself.

Oops...I Did It Again

Inspired by Sophia's amazing stunt, and determined to prove that beagles are NOT slow dogs, I did it again...Yes, I managed to escape this morning when my mum went to town to run some errands. It is still a mystery to my humans how I did it.

Based on our neighbour (and my occassional sitter) Aunty C's account, I was found in the arms of a "good samaritan"heading towards my home. It appears that this gentle lady found me roaming down the street and carried me back. Aunty C did not recognise her but was very thankful (as are my humans).

As it turns out, Aunty C found our gate open. Now, mum is certain she closed the auto gate when she left in the morning. Upon closer inspection when she returned home, she saw patches of dirty paw prints (it has been raining cats and dogs everyday!) on the wooden gate. So, their theory is that I have somehow managed to bulldoze the autogate open. Further checks on the gate revealed that the latch is now somewhat loose.

Anyway, mum has called the technician to come and inspect the gate to prevent further escapes. She is also contemplating installing a CCTV to capture my escapades. Until then, I'm not telling how I did it. Who says beagles are slow?

P.S. I am still peeved at the allegation that beagles are slow dogs, so I have decided to do a poll to seek the views of my fellow dog bloggers. So, do take part. Terima kasih (Thank you in Malay).

Beagles...Slow Dogs???

I AM PEEVED! My humans came across an article on the Star last Saturday on "Slow Dogs...Meet the world's 10 least intelligent dogs".

1. Afghan Hound
2. Basenji
3. Bulldog
4. Chow Chow
5. Borzoi
6. Bloodhound
7. Pekinese
8. Mastiff and Beagle
9. Basset Hound
10. Shi Tzu

Apparently, this list is according to international kennel clubs, after a survey on 80 established breeds. The criteria for intelligence, get ready for this...is "how difficult to train the dog"! Duh! The article states "Snoopy, from the Peanuts comic strip will never recover from this rankinig, for beagles are happy-go-lucky and merry, and enjoy the company of humans and other dogs. Curious and comic, they follow their noses and often end up in mischief and hilarious situations."

If you have seen the video on Sophia, the ultimate beagle escape artist, you would know that beagles not only possess extraordinary agility abilities (beagle owners can attest to that!) but also great intelligence. How else do you think, we, beagles are able to figure out a fail-proof escape route?

Obviously, the training criteria used to define "intelligence" is faulty. We beagles are governed by our nose, which means we are easily distracted by scents. We are also an independent lot, This may make it more challenging to train us, it is by no means an indication of our "low intelligence". In fact, I constantly amaze my fans (i.e neighbours, family and friends) with my clever escapes and tricks for treats, of course. Apart from cleverly providing home entertainment, beagles have important jobs to protect security as sniffer dogs at airports and borders.

If you ask me, it is not us beagles that are slow dogs. The author of the article, while human, may fall into this category coz he/she can't count. There are 11 dogs on the list. Duh!

The Ultimate Beagle Escape Artist

My humans have always wondered how I managed to scale the 6-foot fence in our garden. Now, they know how. No, they didn't catch me in action. Instead, their Thai friend sent them this video. My humans were so intrigued, the googled it on Facebook and found the original video of Sofia's escape caught on tape. Way to go Sofia! Beagle power!

Check it out now. Do persevere with the download. It is worth watching!

Lost and Found

We had a lil' excitement over the 2 days Hari Raya (Muslims celebrate the end of fasting during Ramadhan month) holidays last week. On Thursday evening, Mrs. T, a dog lover (who adopted 2 street dogs) was chasing after a dog who appeared to be lost. This dog was seen wandering around for a few days. She enlisted the help of my human dad. So, he went on his bike and tried to catch the lil' lost dog. It took about 30 minutes before they finally managed to corner the dog. With the help of another neighbour, Mr. C, they coaxed the frightened dog from her hiding place behind a commercial garbage bin.

Mrs T agreed to temporarily keep the dog whilst the owner is being located. Mr. C, who owns a pet shop donated some kibbles for the dog. Dad took photographs of the dog and printed posters. When dad went over to Mrs. T's home to photograph the dog, the shy Girl Dog immediately hid under the car. So, dad had to crawl on all fours to photograph her.

In the end, we managed to locate Girl Dog's owner from her red dog DBKL (KL municipal)licence tag on Monday (Due to the Raya holidays and the weekend, DBKL was closed). Mrs T's friend went to the DBKL office on Monday and was able to track the owner's address from the licence form. It really is so important to have a tag. Girl Dog may have been reunited with her owners a lot earlier if she had a tag. Read my earlier post on this. As it turns out, Girl Dog actually lives near my gramps place, just on the next street. Which also means, she had to cross over the very busy main road which I used when I went off to visit gramps on my own. Read about my adventure here . Girl Dog, whose name is Missy was happily reunited with her humans. So, there was a happy ending to this Lost and Found story.

Remember to always wear your tag!

Mooncake - Yum...

Hi everyone! I can't believe I haven't blogged for 2 weeks... You guessed it - It's my human's fault of course! (isn't it always THEIR fault?). Anyway, I'm back again and will try to catch up with all your blogs soon.

Dad brought home a colourful box home one fine day last month. Of course, as the official sniffer in the household, it was my doggie duty to thoroughly check it out first.

I could smell something familiar...something I've tasted before. I tried to recall what it was...but to no avail. I couldn't open the box with my paws. Sigh...

Mum opened the box. It contained 4 mooncakes. Turns out that it was the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival last month. In Malaysia, it's also called the Mooncake festival. There are many stories behind the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mum remembers growing up hearing about the legend of the Jade Rabbit. She reckons if you stare at the moon, you can make out the shape of a rabbit... Of course, we all know that there are no rabbits in the moon! If you are interested, pop by Wikepedia to read about the festival and mooncakes.

Whilst my humans don't really celebrate the Mooncake festival, they can never resist buying a couple of mooncakes during the festival. Check out the beautiful floral design on the mooncake. It's traditionally made of lotus seed paste, although innovative chefs have used other fillings such as bean paste, jujube, taro and even ice cream (Yes - Haagen Daz Malaysia sells mooncake ice cream!). Traditionally, mooncake contains a duck egg yolk in the middle which symbolises the moon. For health reasons, many people opt for the plain mooncakes without the yolk.Mooncakes are yummy. How do I know that? I've tasted it before! No, my humans didn't feed me mooncakes. They reckon it's not good for dogs...I reckon they want the mooncakes for themself! A couple of years back, before they wised up to my tricks, my humans accidentally left a slice of mooncake on the living room table. Naturally, I did what all dogs would have done - I chomped it down!

For the purpose of this post, we have re-enacted the scene of the crime for our readers. Of course, back when it happened, my humans weren't around, so I chomped it down in seconds. This time, my human kept an eagle eye on me and gave me the "Leave" command. Sigh...such temptation! It's cruel, I tell you.

For the love of a dog

In the midst of tragic news of hurricanes, floods, tainted milk and collapse of giant financial institutions, it is heartening to read some good news. The Star, a local Malaysian paper, published this article "Meet spunky Snoopy, the handicapped dog in a wheelchair" yesterday on the third page (I suppose the editors thought we all needed to be cheered up).

Snoopy, a terrier mix was injured in an accident when he was a puppy and was brought to a vet. He was still able to walk but had a stiff hind leg. Snoopy stayed at the vet clinic for 4 years before Marjan Sipsma adopted him. Marjan, a dog lover has four other dogs.

Spinal complications later resulted in Snoopy being unable to walk. Marjan was determined to give Snoopy a chance to live life fully. She ordered a squad car wheelchair (RM1500, approximately USD500) and shoes (RM150, approximately USD50) from America for Snoopy . The plucky dog is now able to walk with aid of the wheelchair, thanks to his human who loved him unconditionally. In fact, he even charged at another dog who started charging at Snoopy and his siblings. (read about this amusing tale in the article). Marjan said "I don’t quite know how dogs think, but to Snoopy, I think he believes he’s still alpha male. I don’t think he knows he’s paralysed,”

What an encouraging story. A little dog who overcomes his limitations, with help from his human who refused to give up!

I Love Your Blog

It really is awards season! 2 in a row. My biggest human fan, Uncle Bok Jae, who has a soft spot for dogs, has told me that He Loves My Blog! Isn't he a sweetie? I love his blog too (and I'm not saying it just because he has given me this award). He always has a nugget of wisdom, (he has many, many years of human experience), a word of encouragement and heartfelt sharing on his blog called Listening, Learning Living.

Naturally,every award has its rules:

***start copy***

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you have nominated.

Previous awardees: Mabelle, Prily, Ate Norma, I Love Philippines Too, Shenga, Nova, WebbieStuffs, Nancy, Webloglearner, Pinay Wahm, and My So Called Life, Let's Spice Things Up, Beauty and Shop, Idealpinkrose, allin, kimchiland, Korean Food, The Paper Vision, Embrace Simplicity, Me and Mine, A Window To Our World, A Grateful Heart, Can of Thoughts, A Mother's Stuff, http://housewifeatwork.blogspot.com/, MommyAllehs Up-Close and Personal, Glossa~licious, The Spirit of Blogging, Help my novel save the world..., A Great Pleasure, Listening, Learning, Living, Brittany E; ECL; Emmaalvarez; Kess; Clonic; Rainbow; Azly Rahman; Wahseh; Wokkingmom; Tricia's Musings; The Insane Writer.

ADD YOUR LINKS HERE.
***end copy***

Whose blogs do I love?

1. Amber Mae and her talented sisters, Chloe and Faith


2. Key West Collies


3. Happy


4. Cocoa & Barley


5. George


6. Jazz & Dixie


7. Pacco

Its Awards Season

My dear friend, Uncle Bok Jae has given me another award. I am honoured that he thinks I'm a "Kick Ass Blogger". I've had such an awesome time since I started blogging on 27 March 08. Now, 71 posts later, I've made so many new on-line friends from all over the world. Isn't blogging amazing?

The award rules are simple:

Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are "Kick Ass Bloggers"
Let 'em know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to http://www.mammadawg.com/

I want to pass this award to my fellow "Kick Ass Bloggers"...

• Oorvi
• Thor
• Maggie & Mitch
• Mr T-Bone Beasley
• Biggie-Z

Congratulations!

Kitty on our roof...

Our back alley is littered with stray cats, literally! They love to walk on the ledge of our back garden walls and occasionally, even dare to spend the night in our back garden! Grr...Don't they know there is a dog in this house??? Despite my loud bark warnings, they continue to taunt me from the their place on the ledge. I get so upset!

Last Sunday, one kitty found its way up to the airwell on our roof. The silly thing couldn't get out. It was bad enough when they were loitering in the back garden wall, now, a cat is in my house? That's it! I've had enough. Time to call in for reinforcement! I would have loved to call my neighbourhood doggie pals but mum vetoed that suggestion as all it would have done was cause a din. Instead, she called the fire department! And to add salt to the injury, she wouldn't allow me stay at home whilst the kitty removal took place! I was banished to Aunty C's home next door. My hurt feelings were soothed a little by the treats that Aunty C gave me...only a little. I was still upset that I couldn't be there to tell the kitty off and show it "who's the boss!".

I had to spend a couple of hours at Aunty C's home. Mum had to clean the floor with disinfectant as the frightened kitty left a trail of poo during the rescue (Mum was not happy!). Then she called the pest control to fumigate the roof against fleas and ticks. One of our neighbour's home was infested with fleas when a cat gave birth to kittens on their roof (why are cats so fascinated with roofs?), so mum didn't want to take the risk. More than half a day was wasted dealing with the kitty problem. Another problem we have with stray cats is the prolific multiplication of these cats who rummage through rubbish bins, cause a mess and poo indiscriminately in other people's houses! Now you know why I'm upset!

P.S. If you want to read mum's account of the story, read her blog.

How to say "Thank you". The tally is now 21!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for sharing how to say "Thank You" in other languages. The tally is now 21!

You may have noticed the captions under my awards section. The beautiful aspect about living in a multi-cultural society is that a lot of Malaysians are multi-lingual. My humans can speak English (international language), Bahasa Malaysia (national language) and Cantonese (Chinese dialect - mother tongue). They also picked up some basic Thai language when they lived in Bangkok. I only speak doggie and sign language, but my humans understand what my barks, whines, facial expressions and gestures mean.

Well, in case you're wondering what some of the words in the captions mean, I thought I'll give you some quick lessons on how to say "Thank You" in...

From Kess' Mama:
1) Bahasa Malaysia - Terima Kasih
2) Mandarin - Sieh Sieh
3) Cantonese - Toh Che
4) Thai - Kop Khun Kah (if you're a female) and Kop Khun Kap (if you're a male)
From Oorvi:
5) Urdu - Shukriya
6) Hindi -Dhanyawad
From Georgeous George Headley:
7) Italian - Grazie
8) Greek - Efkhareesto
From Thor:
9) Brazilian - Obrigada (if you're a girl) and Obrigado (if you're a boy)
From Sweet Jasmine:
10) Hokkien (another Chinese dialect) - Kam Siah Lu
From Amber Mae & River:
11) German - Danke
From Key West Collies:
12)Korean (Hangul) - Kamsahapnida
13) Hungarian (Magyar) - Köszönöm
14) Czech - Dĕkuju
From Maggie and Mitch:
15) French - Merci
From River:
16) Russian - Spasibo
From Lorenza:
17) Spanish - Gracias
From Happy & LS:
18) Japanese - Domo Arigato
19) Doggie - Wet licks (All dogs can relate to that!)
From Booker:
20) Northern England - Ta (Kess: Mum remembers this short form for "Thanks" fondly from her university days in Australia as the Aussies use this too.)
From CC:
21) Maori (New Zealand) - Tēnā rāwā atu koe

The dreaded visit...with a happy ending!

"Kess, it's time to go for a car ride" mum said one sunny Saturday afternoon. My ears perked up. My tail did a boogie woo "left-to-right-and-back-again" wag. I rushed to grab my leash from the top of the shoe cabinet. Car rides are on my list of favourite "To Dos"! Little did I know...

It was actually the car ride to X@#*! (This is a child-friendly blog after all). We were going to the VET! Aargh...It's every doggie's nightmare (I know coz I've read your blogs). Apparently, it was time for my annual check-up and vaccination, which is actually top of my"Don't Do" list, but do my humans take that into account? No, of course not! They say it's for my own good. Huh? How does having a vet prod my anatonomy, peer into my ears and mouth, put me on a weighing scale (I don't need a vet telling me I'm fat!) and stick a needle on my butt helpful?

But, no amount of pleading eyes and whining could change their minds. They say that the vet needs to examine me to make sure I'm in good health. In fact, after my last check up, the vet recommended that I take glucosamine because of my weak hind leg (my humans reckon it's from all the climbing and jumping off fences when I pretended to be Houdini, the famous escape artist...If you're new to my blog, read about my escapades and adventures).

Well, I wasn't about to cooperate with the vet. Plus I really detest the slippery metal table they put me on!. So I struggle to get off...

After a long while, I got tired and succumbed to the vet's stethoscope. Kess - 0, Vet -1.

Check out the size of the needle! And I got jabbed twice - once for the core vaccination and once for heartworm. Kess - 0; Vet - 2.Heartworm disease, which is carried by mosquitoes can cause serious harm to the heart, lungs and other vital organs of dogs. If untreated, heartworm disease can result in death. Read more about it on American Veterinary Medical Association's ("AVMA") and American Heartworm Society's websites. Pretty serious! However, I much preferred when my humans fed me the Heartgard tablets every month. But since mum and dad suffer from bouts of forgetfulness, they opted for the annual injection to minimise the risk. The AVMA website also has a section of vaccination, if you're interested to read up about it.

After the trauma of the slippery table and needles, mum gave me some treats to make up for my suffering! Sigh...bribery works all the time with me. Finally, dad lifts me off the table and I could just kiss the floor! Suddenly, a strange dog comes bounding into the examination room through the back door. Now mind you, I was already traumatised at this point, so I wasn't my usual friendly, docile self. I growled at this strange canine and my humans had to quickly remove the newcomer before things got ugly.

I was more than happy to say goodbye to the vet and left the room before my humans changed their minds and decided to have a 2nd session with the vet. Out at the waiting room, I saw the new dog again. By now, I was back to my normal self. After taking turns butt-sniffing, I became pals with QQ, a beautiful retriever. Unlike me, QQ was very excited to see the vet (so much so she couldn't wait for her turn and sneaked into the examination room before her turn!)

Anyway, both QQ's and my humans were glad that we became friends.
So, there was a happy ending after all! I gained a new friend.

Better late than never...

Cocoa gave me this award last month (Thanks Cocoa!). But, with all the excitement of the New York trip, I haven't had the chance to put this up. So, this is a month late, but better late than never.

Here are the rules to this award:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you

3) Nominate 7 other blogs

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

As most of you already have this award (this is what happens when I procrastinate...), I'm going to nominate:

1. Dory

2. Gus

3. Fei

4. Ben Ben

5. The Stoutino Inn & Foster Kennel

It All Started With One Brave Dog Named Rex

We were inspired by Oorvi's post on Pawlee - A Pup Prodigy to share this Malaysian news article with you. But first, let us provide some cultural background. In Malaysia, there is a general belief that Muslims are not allowed to touch dogs (or is it just wet dogs? We don't have exact details.) As a result, a large population of Muslims do not like dogs, with some even fearing dogs, which explains why dogs here don't enjoy the same access to public places as our counterparts in US and other parts of the world.

That's why this article entitled "A rare breed in society" which was published in the New Straits Times yesterday is so heartening. The article features Datin Nariza, a Muslim who loves dogs. In the Q&A for the article she recounts how she was saved from a python by her mum's alsatian. "When I was a baby, my parents were living in a rubber plantation. My mum had an alsatian named Rex. One day, my mum and dad were outside the house and when mom stepped back inside, her dog's face was stained with blood.My mum ran frantically to my room and found me still asleep, but there was a dead python near my bed. The dog saved my life! But unfortunately, the following year, a cobra bit him and he died. My mother vowed never to take another dog again because she felt no dog or cat could replace him."

Now, Datin Nariza is a lobbyist for the SPCA. And it all started with one brave dog, named Rex.

Ginger and Beef

Mum's Chinese Stir Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion

No, I'm not doing a post on the Chinese stir-fried beef with ginger (although we have the recipe on Mum's blog if you are interested).

This is Part 2 of my post on my humans' trip to New York. When they were in the Adirondacks, they hired mountain bikes and hit the trails there. After 18 miles of cycling, they took a break at a park before returning the bikes. That's where they met Ginger (the first part of the heading), a Chinese Shar Pei dog. My humans have never seen a Shar Pei before and were intrigued by Ginger's deep wrinkly feature. They struck a conversation with Gingers' humans, the Furinas, who were most gracious and allowed Ginger to be photographed.

With its origins as a guard dog, the Shar Pei a loving, devoted family dog. Ginger had no problem when her human carried her like a baby. In fact, she looked like she enjoyed it! Besides pictures and stories of new friends, mum & dad also brought me back some treats - Beef Jerky (which is the second part of my heading) and Doggie Bacon. Woo Hoo! I mean, it's nice to meet new friends but hey, I'm a beagle. Nothing beats food!

I check out the Beef Jerky first. It's made with American beef and smells soooo yummy.

Then, I sniff the Doggie Bacon. Oh man, I'm salivating....

Can't resist...Gotta get this package open...

Mum, can I have some help please???Typical mum. She tortures me with the "Sit down" command with the oh so tempting beef jerky treat in my "Feed Me" bowl! How much more can a beagle take???Finally, she relents when she sees my mournful look and gives me the long awaited "OK"It tasted just as good as it looked!

Thanks mum & dad for the new friends and doggielicious treats from New York!