Girls Day Out at the Dog Olympics

Mum & I had a "Girls' Day Out" yesterday. Dad had gone on a mountain bike cross country race so, we gals had our own outing at the Dog Olympics in Central Park (no, not the one in New York City) in Bandar Utama. It was a gloomy morning but that didn't stop the doggies and their dog-loving humans from turning out in full force.

Although we didn't participate in any of the Dog Olympics events, we had a gala time meeting all the other doggies. At the rate I'm going, my social calendar is going to be busier than my humans! Let me show you some of the new friends I sniffed, eer...met (Beagles,Schnauzers, Spaniels, Huskies, Terriers, etc, etc) :



















Budding photographers and professional photographers were out in full force. I lost count how many times complete strangers pointed their cameras at me. Big, expensive SLRs, compact point and shoot cameras, mobile phone cameras were all being clicked away. Luckily, I'm an "experienced" model coz my humans are forever taking photographs of me, especially since I started the blog.

I managed to dodge the photographers long enough to catch a break.
Then, as I waited for the agility event to start, mum decided to take more pictures of me...
Finally, I managed to watch the agility event. Such clever dogs! A couple of them were rather entertaining. One Jack Russell decided that he prefered to run outside the course, than inside. His poor human had to chase after him!
What a super duper outing. Even the rain didn't dampen the day!

New Pals - Chester, Sabrina and Nigel

Woohoo! Car ride! Last weekend, Mum & I went to KL Sentral to pick dad up. We also gave Dad's friends Nick & Ivor a ride back to Nick's home. Nick took the above picture of me sitting on the back of the car and checking out the other cars on the road. Then Nick took a picture of me checking Ivor out...

But, the star of the day wasn't Ivor or Nick... Sorry guys. The stars are Nick's three gorgeous dogs - Chester, Sabrina and Nigel. Chester (brown) and Sabrina (black) are labradors while Nigel (the youngest) is a golden retriever. When I first arrived at Nick's home, I was a little bit cautious coz, hey, they are BIG (relative to me, anyway). But, after some intense sniffing...all is well in the doggie kingdom. Chester, Sabrina and Nigel are super-friendly, just like their humans, the Soo family. Below, Nick's mum & dad are welcoming me to their home.

The big boys were very protective and played bodyguard to me just in case I get lost in their big big house. Here, Chester is following me as I make my way up the driveway.

Then Nigel follows me as I check out his beautiful garden. The boys were great bodyguards, I tell you. I didn't get lost at all.

I'm so happy to have met Chester, Sabrina and Nigel. They are awesome (and so are their humans)!. And in case you're wondering who Nick is...

Meet Benjy!

My human playmate, Pei Yee and her brothers have a new addition to their family. Meet Benjy, a 2-month old mixed Labrador and Husky (although I do think this handsome little doggie has some beagle-like markings - white socks on the paws and white patch of the neck - just like me).


There was so much excitement in their household on the day Benjy joined the Fong household. Pei Yee loves dogs and have been asking her parents for years to get one. They finally relented since they figured Pei Yee was responsible enough to look after the dog. My humans were so pleased that they could join our friends in welcoming Benjy. I had to stay home coz Benjy wasn't vaccinated then. But, that's OK. I don't mind. The boys were busy setting up the crate for Benjy. (OK, their dad and my dad did lend a hand with the crate..., but the boys did the finishing touches)
The kids were busy showering attention on this lucky fella.


Left to Right: Pei Yee, Benjy's original human, Pei Der and Pei Jee. Centre of attention: Benjy

After all that attention, tired Benjy settled for a snooze in a corner (he is still a wee pup after all).I hope to meet Benjy real soon coz he's got his vaccination now. He would have grown so much by now. Mum, dad, can we visit this weekend, please?

More Changes To My Blog

Friends, thanks for all your positive feedback on the new look of my blog. I really loved Mr T-Bone Beasley's suggestion on adding the scent to the blog. Some blogs have music. If someone could invent a scent for blogs, it would be very popular among dog blogs!

Now that I'm on the roll, I decided to make more changes to my blog. I discovered that Blogger has recently released a new page element called Blog List. The Blog List improves on the Link List page element by using blogs’ RSS and Atom feeds to show update times, post titles, and snippets. Isn't that cool? I opted to arrange my blog list with the latest update on top. Now, with 1 quick glance, I can click on the latest updates by my paw pals. Of course, it does take up more space compared to the Link List. But then, now that my blog is 3-columns, I can afford to do that.

I would also like to share with you the "before" picture which I used for my new header. Dad painstakingly cropped my picture out so I can use it on my blog header. He is a sweetheart!

P.S. The reason my tongue was sticking out was because we had just completed a very long walk on the hill. It was a gorgeous day for an outing.

Upgraded My Blog

Mum & I have been experimenting with our blogs. We discovered a cool website called "Tips for New Bloggers" which is right up our alley coz we're new bloggers! We initially tried it out earlier on by adding the "Recent Comments" page element to enable us to quickly glance at our friends' comments on our posts.

We then decided to upgrade to 3 columns so that we could have more flexibiliy with adding page elements. Mum upgraded her blog "Life is A Journey. Enjoy It" last Friday. After her success, she decided to try it on mine too. It took us a lot longer as we had some problems with the margins on my template. We finally figured it out today. All this HTML business is foreign jargon to us. But, I must say that "Tips for New Bloggers" website made it pretty easy for novices to make changes to our blogs.

I also changed my title header. Dad took this picture of me during our walk at the hill. Still testing out the background. Haven't quite decided if I should maintain my previous background ocre colour. Work-in-progress still...

Excellent Award

Wow! 2 awards in 1 month. I am so honoured that Uncle Bok Jae has given me an "Excellent Award" for my blog. Mum & I have learnt so much from this man of wisdom.

And because all good things are meant to be shared, I would like to pass this award to:

Sweet Jasmine - for her excellent recipes
Amber - for her excellent "makan and makan angin" (which means eating and vacation in the Malay language) recommendations
Jazz & Dixie - for their excellent relationship

Xsara - for her excellent agility

Cancer-Sniffing Dog

This morning we saw a program on CNN about a Korean firm which has succeded in cloning 4 labrador puppies from cloned foetuses of Marine, a six-and-a-half-year-old dog trained in Japan to detect cancer patients by smell. We've seen other programs on Discovery Channel on dogs that can sniff cancer out. Looks like doggie noses can sniff out more than just food!

Since it was an interesting feature, we did a google search and found the article on Yahoo to share with you.

These handout pictures released by Yuji Satoh of the St. Sugar Cancer Sniffing Dog Training Centre show Marine, the black labrador retriever said to have a cancer-sniffing ability. .(AFP/HO)

Extract of article:
Mon Jun 16, 12:20 PM ET
SEOUL (AFP) - A South Korean firm said Monday it has successfully cloned four dogs capable of sniffing out human cancers by using tissue from a retriever in Japan.The four black retrievers were born last month from cloned foetuses of Marine, a six-and-a-half-year-old dog trained in Japan to detect cancer patients by smell, RNL Bio said in a statement.

The cloning, requested by the Japanese stemcell company Seems, was conducted by a team led by Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-Chun and verified by the medical school, it said. Seems wanted to clone the dogs because Marine could not give birth to siblings following an operation to have her womb removed, it said.

Researchers in several countries are investigating whether dogs have the ability to detect lung, breast, prostate and skin cancer at an early and treatable stage. They believe cancer cells create a scent not present in healthy cells, which can theoretically be picked up by dogs in breath or urine samples.

Power of the Beagle Nose

Whenever my humans take me for a walk, they cannot afford to day-dream. They know the power of the beagle NOSE. That's right, I have the ability to sniff out the smelliest, moldiest food stuff tucked in between leaves, grass, you name it...

Just this evening, I managed to snatch a piece of bone on the road. Mum didn't even know what hit her until she heard me chomping the bone. She immediately put her hand into my mouth and attempted to take it. Hah...I managed to outwit her and she only got half it. I tell you she was not happy judging from the exclamations of "YUCKS, EEWW..." and "NAUGHTY GIRL"! A few weeks back, I found the remains of a corn cob and was happily carrying it in my mouth for a couple of seconds before mum finally realised what was in my mouth. She made me drop it...Shucks...

Oh well, us beagles are partial to food, you know. So, no day-dreaming when walking us, OK?

My very first award - Daily Blogger Award

It's been 3 months since I ventured into the exciting world of blogging. I've made new friends. both of the 4-legged and 2-legged variety from all over the world. It really is great fun. To top it off, my good buddy, Sweet Jasmine has just awarded my blog a Daily Blogger Award. Woo hoo! I get to make friends, have fun and get rewarded with an award. It's a doggie's life indeed. Thanks Sweet Jasmine.

The Daily Blogger Award is given out to a blog that has at least 3 blogs per week. Now, this is incentive to keep blogging regularly. And now, to share this awards to my pals who are daily bloggers too (at least in the last 2 weeks)... Lorenza; River; Mona & The Mommy; Agatha & Archie; Booker.

Keep blogging everyone!

Doggie-robics by Kess, the Beagle

Bet you’ve never heard of doggie-robics...Well, it's aerobics for dogs. I never took lessons, but as it turns out, I seem to be a natural. Come and join me for a special Kess doggie-robics workout... Turn on the music and let's groove!

Let’s start with head movement. Look up and reach to the sky. Next, let’s do the side stretch - move your body all the way until you touch your tail. While you're at it, might as well do some grooming.

Time to exercise the paws...Lift your left paw and scratch (eer...I mean stretch)

Now, lift your right paw and stretch again.

Finish off with the back paw boogie woogie move... That's it for today folks. Hope you enjoyed the workout as much as I did.

Name Tag May Prevent Heartache

Mum & I came across this notice when we went for our walk. For dog lovers, losing a dog is traumatic as the dog is very much part of the family. As you know, I like to go on little adventures when my humans are not home. Read about it on Sit, Look Left, Look Right, OK and Rainy Day Adventures. So, my humans worry all the time about me getting lost.

Let me also share with you a story about another lost dog. A few years ago, we rescued a Daschund which was wondering around the suburb. We were out in the garden, enjoying a lazy evening when we saw a Chocolate-coloured Daschund roaming the street. My humans thought that it was Kit, a dog that lived on the next street. So, dad decided to get hold of Kit and return him to his human. Of course, Kit ran away and dad had to chase him. Since dad had longer legs, he managed to out-run Kit and caught hold of him. When we brought Kit back to his human, we discovered the real Kit in his house. So, the Daschund we thought was Kit, wasn't Kit after all! (Pretty confusing, huh?)

What do we do next? The Daschund had no tag. We were fairly certain that there were no other Daschunds living nearby coz we know all the dogs around our street (we walk around the neighbourhood a lot). My humans made some "Found Dog" signs and posted it around the neighbourhood. That night, "Kit who wasn't Kit" spent the night with us. He was a jealous chap and used to nudge his way forward to get attention from my humans. I didn't like him one bit but for the sake of my humans tolerated him. Plus, he kept peeing all over the front porch (coz he's a boy dog), so my humans had to keep cleaning it. (I've been trained to pee in the garden).

We continued to ask around. Finally, a neighbour saw a Lost Dog sign in the park and figured that our found dog and the lost dog could be one and the same. It was! That night, there was a happy reunion between "Kit who wasn't Kit" and his human. Turned out that the Daschund lived about 4 kms away and would have crossed the very busy 4-lane road (the same one I used to go to gramps' house) to get to where we lived. This little wanderer Daschund loves to roam around (sounds like me!) and it wasn't the first time he went missing.

Anyway, after that incident, my humans immediately got me a name tag and inscribed their phone numbers. They figured that if I ever go on my adventures (despite the precautions taken to prevent me from climbing out of our house), at least if some kind soul found me, they would be able to contact my humans. Of course, it doesn't prevent me from being stolen or kept for themselves. But, you know, there are enough good people in this world who would do the right thing. So humans, get a tag for your doggies. Better to be safe than sorry.

Curtain Attack

Ok...You must be wondering how I managed to tear the curtains when I was home alone. Like I said before, it was during a thunderstorm. Here's what happened. The wind blew the curtains. It looked like it was about to attack (See the simulated picture below). So, I launched a pre-attack on the curtains first. Lo and behold, it resulted in a huge tear. Anyway, the picture below is my human's replacement sheers. They now tie up the sheers when they leave me home.
I'm also permanently banned from attacking the curtains again. Hey, what am I supposed to do with the time on my paws then?

Bloggerwave

What does a dog have to with Bloggerwave? Well, I've been putting on my thinking cap on how to make money. Why do I need pocket money? Well, my humans recently had to fork out $100 to replace the sheer curtains (which I tore) in our living room. It's a long story but it has to do with my being left alone at home during a thunderstorm one evening. I feel bad about this. So, since I've started a blog, I thought that blogging is one skill I could get paid for. I considered offering my gardening services (digging, chewing plants) but I don't think humans appreciate this type of services coz my humans are always upset after I've done some gardening at home. Anyway, I've decided to join Bloggerwave, a company that targets to be Europe's biggest advertising media on blogs. I'm excited to see where this takes me.

Update - 29th Oct 08
Bloggerwave has not paid me for this post despite many months and follow-ups. Looks like this didn't take me anywhere! This is a case of bloggers beware!

Clever ChokChai Farm Dogs

When my humans lived in Bangkok, they paid a visit to ChokChai Farm. It is located at Khao Yai, a national park around 1.5 hours drive from Bangkok. ChokChai is a working farm which produces beef and milk for local consumption. The farm is also open to the public as an agro tour spot to give tourists an opportunity to experience farm life. I will introduce the Chok Chai doggies to you. If you are interested to read about the rest of Chok Chai farm animals and tour, drop by my mama's blog "Life is A Journey. Enjoy It."

First off, the working farm dog. Every farmer appreciates the role the dog plays to keep the farm going smoothly. In ChokChai, they showcased the dog (I'll call him Lassie for simplicity") herding the sheep into the truck. It started off smoothly as Lassie expertly herded the sheep towards the pen. Then, disaster! Lassie fell off the plank in the chaos of the sheep rushing up. You could hear the visitors gasping (No, I don't think it was part of the performance) as Lassie yelped in pain. Lassie had injured his paw. But, a sheep dog being a sheep dog, he got up and with a limp continued to instruct the sheep to get into the truck. Brave Lassie. (Dad didn't take a picture of the fall as he was so concerned for Lassie).

The start of the plank walk

Sheep chaos

Brave Lassie finishing the herding

Next, mama Golden Retriever feeds a bottle of milk to orphan calf...

Last, but not least, the hoops and skipping rope poodles

Bravo to the clever ChokChai Farm Dogs!

Sit, Look Left, Look Right, OK!

Safety is paramount. So, road rules are very important for suburban doggies. My humans always makes me sit and stay before we cross a major road. They then look left, look right, and left again to ensure the road is clear before releasing me with the "OK" command. Initially, they tried to follow this rule at every road crossing, but because there were so many little roads, I would have ended up sitting every 5 minutes or so! So, now, it applies to major roads only.

The picture that mum took of me and dad, whilst not planned, shows me looking to the left, and dad looking to the right which fits in perfectly with look left and right before crossing! Aahh...it's one of those Kodak moments!

Back to the road, let me tell you about a little adventure of mine. As you can see from the picture, this is a 4-lane road. Buses use this route and the road is busy during peak hours in the mornings and evenings. A couple of years ago, I decided to visit grandma and grandpa who live about 5km from our home. To get there, we have to cross this road. Now, mum & dad walk me to their place very often so I know the route by my "pee markings". So, one rainy afternoon, when mum & dad were at work, I wanted some company and climbed over the fence to make my way to gramps' home, which included crossing this busy road by myself. I arrived at gramps' home wet, but safe. They were pretty surprised to see me, to say the least. Until today, when we share this story, people are amazed that I made it without being injured in an accident or getting lost or dog-napped. Mum & dad are so thankful that God and His angels had their eye on me the whole journey. It was a lovely adventure for me, but I think I almost gave mum, dad, grandpa and grandma a heart attack! Pups, don't try this at home...