It's a dog's life by Kess

Best buddies and a new winter outfit

2012-01-14T09:53:00.008+08:00

Happy New Year everyone! It's been a busy year end for my humans and me. My humans' family came over to spend Christmas with us and all the humans had fun shopping, eating and sightseeing. What about this beagle? Well, I had fun hanging out with Cutie A, my little buddy.

On a separate note, I mentioned earlier that this beagle is experiencing her first cold season. I've started growing more fur on my belly as my body adjusts to the cooler temperatures. My humans also got me a fleece blanket for my bed and I now get to sleep in my human's bedroom because it's warmer. Well, we experienced a spell of cold weather, down to the low teens (Celcius). I know that compared to my blogging pals who live on the higher latitudes, this is mild weather but for this beagle who's lived her entire life in the tropics, it's pretty cold. So, I've started to pull back to go home whenever we start going for our walks. My humans finally decide to get me a coat, not knowing if I would actually wear it. Back in Malaysia, they used to tease me by putting on an old t-shirt and I would wiggle my way out of the t-shirt. They were pleasantly surprised that I did not try to get this coat off.

Now I can enjoy my long walks even in the cold :-)

Goodbye 2011...Hello 2012

2011-12-29T18:53:00.013+08:00

2011...What a year this has been! My humans have been so busy this past few months that this blog has been neglected. Still, we're finally making some time to reflect on this momentous year.

January - Kicked off the year with an outing to BU Park with fellow beagle blogger Sapphire and her humans.

February and March - Nothing terribly exciting in the life of this beagle...the usual walks, barking at squirrels, cats, monkeys, postman...you get the picture.

April - This beagle turns 9! For my birthday treat, I had a lip-smacking yummy meal of liver on rice (hey...I'm a "Chinese" dog, so rice is one of my favourite food.) My humans torture me by making me sit whilst they photograph me...

May - My humans prepare me for our move to HK and start getting me used to the crate which I will travel from Malaysia to HK.

Meanwhile, this beagle continues to get into trouble when left home alone. Shredded paper bag...dead plants...

June - The big move to HK. My humans go first to settle things. Meanwhile, this beagle was spoilt to bits by gramps. I join my humans two weeks later. Happy reunion with my humans!

This was a month of many firsts...My first:
- Plane ride - can't say I liked it very much. Hated being crated and separated from my humans.
- Lift ride (my humans live in an apartment and are very thankful that this beagle loves the lifts. Otherwise, it would be a very long walk on the stairs as we live above 20 storeys high.)
- Stay in an apartment- we've always lived in a house with a garden so it was quite an adjustment figuring out pee schedules and the like. This beagle misses barking at the creatures that visit our garden back in Malaysia. Without these stimulus, I spend my days snoozing more than I used to back in Malaysia. To make up for it, my humans take me for longer walks where I get to socialize with fellow canines, like fellow beagle, Molly.

- Taxi ride...to the vet, of all places!
- Bath in a tub - my humans had to get me a bath mat to prevent me from slipping. Back in Malaysia, I used to have a bath on the front porch - a much bigger, non-slippery floor. I miss the space!

July - Still adjusting to living in an apartment...Couple of misses with pee accidents at home and a bad case of separation anxiety whenever I'm left at home. On the positive side, this beagle had her first outing to Sai Kung, a lovely fishing village in the New Territories as we check out DBDogsDayz for a future stay.

August - Still suffering from separation anxiety. My humans are at their wits end trying to figure out a solution for this problem. Unlike back home, we don't have any family here, so we're on our own...To make things worse, a nasty tabby attacked us as my humans and I were walking through a narrow path to go home after a walk. The cat actually scratched my ear and my human had to clean up the wound. Thankfully it wasn't too deep. As a result, I try to avoid the cat whenever I meet it on the walks, preferring to stay as far away as possible.

September - This was a good month. My human's families came to visit and there was a happy reunion. My humans also got me my own patch of grass at our balcony so I can happily go pee anytime. Aah...the simple pleasures of life.

October - My humans hire a helper so that I won't be left home alone when my humans go out or go to boarding when they travel. Everyone is happy! My humans have started travelling for work and they are relieved that I am well taken care of at home. The weather starts getting cooler and this beagle experiences her first autumn.

November - We get a car finally and this beagle gets to go on more outings. My first trip on our car was to the Aberdeen Country Park, which is now our favourite hiking spot when my humans are not travelling for work.

December - The cold of winter arrives early this year in HK. For a beagle who has lived her entire life in sunny Malaysia, it's a big change. My humans notice that I have more fur on my belly as my body adapts to the cold. I get fleece blankets on my bed and get to sleep in my human's room at night as it's warmer :-). My human's family spends Christmas here and we all have a festive time! Merry Christmas everyone (a little belated, but better than late than never, right?). Hope you had a wonderful 2011 and here's wishing everyone a terrific 2012!

Dead Grass = Success...

2011-11-22T10:06:00.011+08:00

It's a strange title for a post but it'll make sense shortly. If you remember, I wrote about my very own patch of grass a few months back. Back then, it was a lovely patch of green grass that looked like this...

A perfect place for a beagle to snooze. My humans reckon that they've supplied me with enough doggie beds and carpets around the house for catching forty winks and would prefer for me to use my patch of grass for peeing instead. Well, they got their wish and my little garden patch now looks like this...

That's right, there is a patch in the centre that's brown and dead due to the potent PH of this beagle's pee. Despite their best efforts to mitigate the effects of dog pee on grass by watering it after each pee, nature takes its course!

Of course, my humans have trained me so well that I automatically run to my food bowl, waiting to be be rewarded for peeing on the grass (that's how they got me to pee there in the first place :-)). Although, I have noticed that the treats are getting smaller each time...Sneaky humans!

Anyway, my humans reckon that having brown grass is worth the price. When we're not having typhoons or strong winds, they leave the glass door open so that I can go and pee anytime I want to. It also came in handy during the time when I had a runny tummy. I was glad I didn't have to wait to go downstairs coz I don't think I could have waited! So, all in all, humans and beagle are happy with our dead grass!

If dogs could read...

2011-10-31T17:18:00.004+08:00

I wonder which genius posted this sign at a local playground in Malaysia?
Kess' Mama

My Very Own Patch of Grass

2011-09-29T11:32:00.000+08:00

After much delay, my humans have finally got me my very own ~~garden~~ patch of grass. Can't really call it a garden when what it actualy is, is a 3 by 4 ft plastic box filled with pebbles, soil and grass. So, I thought a patch of grass is more appropriate. I have to say though, it's quite a lovely patch of grass. Our neighbours are all quite impressed that we actually got real grass. Some of them got synthetic grass for their canines. My humans thought that the real thing would suit our needs better since this beagle is used to real grass back in Malaysia. My humans are grateful to the manager at our apartment who helped them source for the custom-built box and grass supplier. Otherwise, this would not have been possible.My little patch of grass is placed at our balcony. My humans did not let me out to the balcony for 1 week after the grass was planted so that the grass can take root properly. Finally, in the second week, they decided to introduce me to the grass patch. As always, this beagle is cautious when it comes to exploring new things and I gingerly climb onto the box and sniff.

I check out the Hong Kong view from the patch of grass:

I have a snooze on the patch of grass:

I did everything but pee on the patch of grass, which was why my humans got it for me in the first place! After a few days of failure, my humans thought of an idea. When they took me down to pee, they took a leaf that I had peed on and brought it back up to transfer the pee scent onto the grass. So the next morning, they opened the glass door to the balcony, fed me breakfast so that I would have to a full bladder, and stood in the cold balcony, encouraging me to pee. (The things our humans do for us...).Their perseverance pays off!

I still don't use the grassy patch on a regular basis, preferring to go downstairs instead. So my humans still have to take me downstairs for my night pee before bedtime. However, they now don't have to take me downstairs first thing in the morning. Instead, they open the balcony door and leave the option to me to pee there whilst they have breakfast. Sometimes, I'll pee on the grass and sometimes I just wait until my morning walk. Hey, it's a beagle's choice after all :-)

Family time

2011-09-19T13:14:00.008+08:00

Now that my humans are with me again, I'm fine. No more diarrhea or vomitting. This beagle's appetite is back to normal and my tail is up again. In fact, I've had a pretty fantastic time over the last 3 weeks. We had both sets of families over in HK for a visit. My humans and I have been in HK for 3 months. Whilst we've made new friends, both humans and canines, it is wonderful to be reunited with our families, even if it's only for a few short weeks.

I've been busy hanging out with gramps whilst he catches up with the newspaper...

I've been posing for pictures for Aunty Evie...

With all the family here, my humans have also been going out more than normal. Initially, my humans thought that they would have to engage the services of a dog-sitter when they go out for dinners with their folks. One night, they were waiting for the dog-sitter before they went out for dinner but she did not turn up. Despite calls and text messages, the dog-sitter did not respond. So, my humans decided to give me special treats for dinner, a chewable treat and then hid small bits of liver treats all over the house. They left the TV on for some background noise and left quietly, hoping for the best. Well, this beagle surprised them...I was extremely well-behaved and everyhing was fine when they got back from dinner. Everyone was happy and all was well for 3 weeks.

However, this beagle recently decided that it was no longer fun being left alone and went back to my old habit of whining, shredding boxes and scratching doors.

So, we're back to square one. My humans have submitted their application for a helper and hopes that once she joins us next month, we won't have an issue with my separation anxiety anymore and my humans have more flexibility in going out.

Stress affects dogs too...

2011-08-22T20:41:00.005+08:00

From the desk of Kess' mama:

Kess has been suffering from stress-related ailments. Our beagle went to boarding for a week as both J and I were away for work. When she came back, she had no appetite and refused to eat her breakfast. which if you've been following this blog, will know it's unusual for this greedy beagle. In all her 9 years +, the only other time she refused to eat was after her surgery when we spayed her. Even after drinking water, she would vomit. It took 3-4 days after her return before she was back to normal. When we were in Malaysia, she had gone to boarding before and there were no issues. I suspect she's not fully recovered from the move or from being crated! She feels insecure because she's out of her comfort zone as clearly evidenced by her tucked down tail. Usually, her tail will be up in the air like a wavy flag.

Recently, we had to board her for 1 night at a nearby boarding place. When she came back, she had a runny tummy. In fact, when we woke up this morning, she discovered she had a poop accident in the house...we spent quite some time cleaning up her trail of runny poop! Usually, Kess is very good with regards to controlling her bowel until we take her out in the morning once we wake up. On hindsight, there were a few other times when she had a runny tummy, after a stress trigger event.

We've decided to hire a full-time helper to provide more stability for Kess. Hopefully, things will improve once we get full-time help and she won't need to go for boarding when we travel. It'll also give us flexibility to go out without worrying about her separation anxiety.

Cat attack

2011-08-01T12:15:00.003+08:00

The phrase "Fighting like cats and dogs" has new meaning for this beagle. My humans and I were walking back home after our long evening walk yesterday. We took a short cut home and saw a stray cat sitting in the middle of the pavement. Now, we were just minding our own business, walking by the side to pass this cat. I was very well behaved and did not even try to sniff at the cat.

As we were passing by, the cat suddenly lunged at us, hissing and swiping its claws. We immediately retreated. I was terrified! My human quickly grabbed a fallen palm leaf on the ground and using that as a "shield", managed to get the cat to move to the side. We then quickly walked pass, with my humans keeping an eye out to make sure the cat did not come after us. Once we were safely away from the cat, my humans examined me and found that my ear was bleeding. The cat had managed to swipe my ear. Luckily my humans had a pack of wet wipes in their doggie bag, so they did their best to clean up the blood and stop the bleeding. When we got home, they used some mild antiseptic solution to clean it further. Thankfully, my rabies jab is up to date...Anyway, here I am recovering from the unprovoked attack. The wound didn't look so bad after the blood was wiped off.

This morning, my human recounted the story of the cat attack to some of the regular dog-walkers during our walk. It turns out that this nasty cat has tried to attack other dogs that have walked past as well. Looks like we have to be more careful if we encounter the cat again.

Cats and this beagle just don't get along. I got swiped on my cheek by a cat before when I was on border patrol. However, that was perhaps understandable since it was a confrontational situation. This time, it was totally unprovoked. I think I'm going to stay clear of cats from now on...

Separation anxiety

2011-07-18T21:08:00.004+08:00

Beagles are pack animals. We don't like being alone. Now back home in Malaysia, I didn't like being left home alone. I've climbed over 7-foot fences, killed plants and dug the garden when left in the garden. During the rainy season, when left indoors, I would scratch the grill, shoe cabinet, shred paper bags....you get the picture...

My humans used to accept it in their stride. Sure, they got frustrated from time to time. But they knew that it's part and parcel of having a dog. Then of course, my humans had a network of family and friends whom they could rely on to keep an eye on me. We had the best neighbors, Aunty C and family absolutely adored me and I was equally at home at their place as I was at my own. Aunty C would usually bring me over to her place when my humans went out. If my humans had to travel, I would usually go over to gramps homes on both sides of the family.

Now that we're in Hong Kong, away from family and neighbours, my humans are faced with the predicament of having to deal with this beagle's separation anxiety. The first few times they went out, they put me in my crate, with a special bone treat. They even left the radio on so that there would be sounds at home. When they came home, they would find this beagle in a state of anxiety, wet from water spillage from the water bottle on the crate door because I had been "bouncing" my crate, as if I was trying to move the crate closer to the door. Looks like I never did adjust to being in a crate.
Because we live in a rented apartment, they don't dare to let me roam freely in the house due to fear of damage to the property. What they've resorted to doing now is getting in helpers cum dog-sitters when they want to go out. So each time they go out, they always have to watch the time coz they have to be home by a certain time. They've also tried a doggie day care once when they ouldn't get someone to come in. But they know that this beagle is more comfortable at home. It's been pretty challenging for my humans as it means they can't be spontaneous. They are now considering a full time helper, which is very common in HK so that there will be someone home with me whenever they go out. The trade off is loss of privacy. It's a real dilemma and they're still trying to find the best solution for our family.

A Beagle's First Outing in Sai Kung

2011-07-12T17:25:00.012+08:00

My last trip to the vet doesn't count as a proper outing. So, this beagle was quite excited to actually go on a proper outing. We live on HK island - highly populated and densely built up. On my first outing, my humans and I went over to the mainland, past Kowloon, to a beautiful place called Sai Kung, a country park in the New Territories, about an hour's drive from HK island.

Since we don't have a car yet, my humans hired a van to take us there. As always, this beagle loves a car ride and took in the city sights, which gradually changed to countryside as we travelled away from the island.

The main purpose of our trip to Sai Kung was actually to visit a dog boarding place there. Since my humans had to travel for work, they had to find a place for me to stay when they are away. Now, there are boarding places on HK island, but most of them require the dogs to be in a kennel of some sort. But at DBDogsDayz in Sai Kung, the dogs are allowed to roam free in a home environment, with a back garden (which is a real treat in HK) and indoor air conditioned room to chill out in. The owner, Andrew requires a pre-boarding visit to ensure that the dogs can adjust to living with other dogs, which my humans thought was a good idea.

On the day of our visit, DBDogsDayz was at full capacity. Initially, I was a little apprehensive entering into the garden with a pack of 20 canines - large and small. But, after the customary butt sniffing, I finally settled down in a corner, whilst my humans chatted with Andrew. All went well with the pack.

After the visit, we headed into Sai Kung town. My humans had a dim sum brunch at a seafood restaurant by the pier, whilst this beagle sat patiently by the table (In Malaysia, it is rare for restaurants to allow dogs. In HK, some restaurants allow dogs at their outdoor seating area).

I tell you the seafood doesn't get any fresher than this.

After a very delicious lunch (unfortunately, there were no dim sum treats for this beagle, although my human did give me a liver treat for sitting so patiently), we took a walk by the pier and checked out the vendors selling fresh seafood from their boats.

All in all, it was a pretty good outing indeed, as can be seen by my happy face.

Note from Kess' Mama: Whilst it has been challenging adjusting to living in such a busy city, it really is lovely to be able to go to the country side with Kess and take her openly to a town or a pier. In Malaysia, we would not have been able to do so because dogs just wouldn't have been allowed. At the Sai Kung pier, people were walking their dogs, enjoying time together on a weekend. It's such a treat for us to be able to experience this with Kess.

A taxi ride and a visit to the vet...already???

2011-06-28T20:26:00.006+08:00

First, the ride...
This beagle had my first taxi ride in Hong Kong yesterday. Now, in Malaysia, dogs are not allowed in taxis. Not so in HK. Animals are allowed in taxis with a surcharge payment of 5 HKD (around 60 US cents). I suppose in a country where most of its residents rely on public transportation, it makes sense that taxis carry canine passengers as well. However, not all taxi drivers like to carry canine passengers as mum and I found out when we tried to hail a taxi. Although the taxis had the "For Hire" sign, some did not stop for us. However, the fourth taxi driver that did not stop for us was a really nice chap. Mum and him were happily chatting about the plant on his dashboard in the limited Malaysian cantonese that mum could speak.

Meanwhile, I wasn't pleased that mum didn't allow me to get on the seat. She said that it's not our car and other passengers may not appreciate sitting on dog fur. So, she made me sit on the floor. Naturally, I tried to get onto the seat. So mum gave me the sit command and as reward for good behavior, I got to eat doggie treats. So that kept me happy throughout the journey.

Then, the vet...
Which brings me to the purpose of this beagle's taxi ride in the first place. My humans decided that a visit to the vet is required due to a couple of pee incidents. The first happened whilst I was staying with gramps before I joined my humans. Gramps had given me a wonderful bath that evening and this beagle was so comfortable that I fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, gramps discovered that I had wet my bed during sleep. The second incident happened in HK. I was sitting in the kitchen watching my humans eat dinner. When I got up, my humans discovered a small pee puddle where I was sitting.

Their conclusion - possible case of incontinence. After all, this beagle is 9 years old. So, that's how we ended up visiting the vet at the HK SPCA. My vet, Dr. Laurie is a very nice German gentleman and immediately put me to ease. Mum told him that I did not like going on the steel table so he examined me on the floor instead. He gave me a clean bill of health on the physical examination. Then he went away to test my urine sample. Fortunately, it was clear too. No case of infection. So, he concluded as my humans did that it was urinary incontinence. He said it was a common issue among female dogs that were spayed when young. So, I'm now on Propalin syrup which mum injects into my food twice a day. I 'm supposed to take it for two weeks to see if that helps me. Chances are I may have to take it for life. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is loose stool. So my humans have been monitoring me to see if I need to "go". They are getting a lot better at reading my body language. When they see me pacing around, they now know that I need to pee/poo.

By the way, thanks for the suggestions and prayers about our situation. My humans is seriously considering gettting a patch of real grass in a box to put on our balcony. They now have to do some research on where to source for that in Hong Kong. Until then, my humans will have to take me down often to relieve myself. Meanwhile they are relying on Urine Off to get rid of the pee odor when I do have accidents (which apart from the Typhoon 3 incident, has been kept to a minimal).

Hits and misses

2011-06-22T14:18:00.003+08:00

It's Kess' fourth day in HK. It's great having her here with us. She is adjusting well in most respects. She enjoys meeting new canine and human friends on our walks. She loves going on the lift to go down for a walk. The staff at our apartment love her. She'll perform tricks for treats for them and all parties benefit! Those are our hits...

And now for the misses...from house to apartment. Back home, we used to leave the door open for her to go to the garden to pee. But we can't do that anymore coz we don't have a garden! So, our biggest miss is Kess having pee accidents in the apartment. On her first day, she had 2 accidents. We learnt from that and adjusted our pee walks. In a day, we take her downstairs 7 times. First thing in the morning, after breakfast (which is also her long walk), mid-morning, mid-afternoon,evening (second long walk), after dinner and before bed time. The schedule worked fine for 2 days, until typhoon 3 signal hit HK today. Strong winds and showers put a halt to our pee schedule. I did take her out around noon despite the wind and rain but she was more interested to sniff than pee. After a small branch falls from a tree, I decided to head back before a bigger branch fell! Well, lo and behold, pee accident no. 3 happened in the apartment, followed by pee acccident no. 4 an hour later.

I had followed some tips on the internet about soaking some pee and transferring that to a section in the back room where we had laid newspapers where we had intended for her indoor pee place. Somehow, it's just not working...Sigh...Maybe I just need to keep at it. I'm frustrated and I'm sure she's confused too... We welcome any suggestions to help Kess live happily in our apartment.

The beagle has landed

2011-06-18T12:05:00.011+08:00

From the desk of Kess' mama:

The long-awaited call came at midnight, "Kess has arrived. She's fine. We'll have her delivered to your home in an hour's time."

Finally, the beagle has landed. She survived the journey fairly well, with the exception of a little tantrum spell where she tore a rug we had put in her crate for her comfort.

The first thing we did when we were reunited was to take her for a walk. The pet relocation agent had let her out to stretch her legs and pee after she arrived at the airport but she needed a little reward for being such a good traveller. Here is a picture journal of her first 18 hours in Hong Kong:

Kess'first ride on the lift. She enjoyed checking out her reflection in the mirror.

Enjoying a liver treat (courtesy of Evie) after her journey

After checking out every nook and corner of our new home, Kess does what she usually does - groom herself. That's how we know she's totally settled down.

This morning, after breakfast, Kess checks out the Hong Kong city view from our balcony.

Kess' first experience with the muzzle, due to the cases of dog poisoining on Bowen Road...As expected she did not like it at all. In the end, we took it off because she was unable to pant in this nylon muzzle. In this balmy summer weather, we will have to look for another option. We've seen other dogs with a plastic muzzle with breathing holes. We'll have to look for that in the pet shops here. Meanwhile, we just have to be super vigilant during our walks.

Walking on Bowen Road trail, a lovely green oasis in the midst of tall Hong Kong skyscrapers.

A happy beagle after her walk!

Time for a snooze...

As Cesar Millan says, dogs really do live in the moment!

Missing Kess

2011-06-15T18:00:00.003+08:00

From the desk of Kess' mama:

I miss my little beagle. Thankfully, we'll be reunited in a few short days. Kess has gone to the govt vet for her physical examination and all her paperwork is now in order. She is happily staying with my parents, probably being spoilt to bits! Every morning, she will wait at the stairs for my mum to wake up and take her for a walk. No doubt dad will give her a piece of bread for tea (she never gets tea time when she's with me).

J and I have been in HK for close to a week now. Apart from putting our human affairs in order and setting up home, we've been busy exploring where to take Kess for walks. We found a great trail nearby, the Bowen Road trail, a popular walkway with joggers and dogs. When I go for a walk in the morning, I see lots of dogs, some walked by their humans, others by the domestic helpers. The one downside to this lovely trail is that there is a serial killer on the loose - dog serial killer! Since 1989, there has been more than 70 cases of dog poisoning and more than 20 deaths as a result of it. The most recent case took place just before Christmas last year. The killer leaves cooked chicken, laced with powerful insecticides. Who knows what posseses a human to do such a cruel thing? The police have offered a hefty reward for information on the killer but there has been no progress so far.

Anyway, to be on the safe side, we've bought a muzzle for Kess. She'll probably hate it but this beagle is a champion sniffer and super greedy. Back home in Malaysia, I've lost track of the number of times she has picked up food from the ground before we can stop her. So, we just can't risk her being poisoned. All throughout the trail, warning signs have been posted to alert dog owners to be careful. With a bit of precaution, I'm sure Kess will enjoy walking on this trail. For starters, she'll definitely meet a lot more dogs than back in Malaysia. So she'll have an active social life.

Counting the days till she arrives....

Busy, busy, busy

2011-06-01T09:04:00.003+08:00

As the move date draws closer, life in our household is chaotic, to say the least. My humans have been busy spring-cleaning, deciding what to bring over to Hong Kong, what to leave at home, what to recycle/give away and what to throw. Not surprisingly, our home is pretty messy at the moment, with boxes and bags scattered all over.

At the same time, my humans have been busy trying to sell the car, close accounts and the 101 things in their "when we have to move overseas to-do-list". To top it off, they also have been busy catching up with all their friends before they go, which equals quite a fair bit of farewell lunches and dinners. Me, I am quite happy to go over to our neighbour, Aunty C's home when my humans are out. I will definitely miss our awesome neighbours!

My humans have decided to send for me 1 week after they leave. In the meantime, I will stay with gramps. They figured that the 1 week will give them time to run their errands and sort out all the stuff they need to do in their "when we arrive overseas to-do-list". Then, when this beagle finally joins them, my humans, or at least mum, will be able to spend some quality time at home with me to help me settle to condo living in a new country.

Mum continues to worry how I will cope with the travel and being in a crate for long periods. Although the flight to HK is only 4 hours, pick-up to the airport, will take place 6 hours before flight time. I will spend a couple of hours at the KLIA Animal Hotel where mum has requested for me to be let out of the crate until preparation for departure takes place, approximately 2 hours before. Upon arrival at HK Airport, it will be another 4-6 hours before I can be reunited with my humans as I would have to clear Customs Inspections, get my 2nd rabies jab and get a HK microchip, which is of a different standard from my existing chip.

So, as you can see, we are really quite busy. So, this would be it for now. My next post will be from HK. Until then, take care.

P.S. The mess below was created by a beagle who didn't like to be left home alone and has nothing to do with the move...

Preparing for the Big Move - The Crate

2011-05-16T09:26:00.007+08:00

Cinnamon and Honey guessed correctly! We are moving to Hong Kong. Exciting right? Anyone who's moved will know the challenges humans and canines face when they have to cross borders.

My humans have been busy finding out about the procedures to bring me along to Hong Kong. Based on a friend's recommendation, they settled on a Hong Kong pet moving company. So, the logistics was sorted out. Next - the paperwork. The requirements to bring a dog into Hong Kong were pretty straight forward. Unfortunately, it required a visit to the vet and a couple of jabs - vaccination and rabies. Shudder...I'll need a visit to the govt vet in Malaysia a couple of days before departure for a health check and certification of fit for travel. Definitely not looking forward to that! To top it off, I'll get another rabies jab on arrival in Hong Kong. Yikes! The good thing is, as long as my paperwork is in order, I don't have to be quarantined and can be reunited with my humans 4-6 hours after I land in Hong Kong. Hurray!

One of the key things that I needed was to get used to my travel crate. My humans know that this beagle does not like being locked in a crate. They tried crate training when I was a wee pup and I used to whine! So, that was a big headache for them. But, as you all know, this beagle has a major weakness - FOOD! My humans capitalized on that by placing liver treats strategically deep in my crate. The result?

Day 1 - This beagle had 3/4 of her body in the crate to get to the food.

Day 3 - Add my day bed and this beagle is happy to have her snooze in the crate.

My humans have added back the door to the crate now and am experimenting with closing the gate for short periods. When they first did it, I was rather anxious. I would get up, and look mournfully at my humans. Now, I'm getting used to it, which is a relief to my humans.

More to come on my big move!

P.S. Honey, My human recalls reading your comment on her phone one day and the next day, it had disappeared. Strange...

The Big Move

2011-05-08T05:53:00.002+08:00

My humans travel very often, for work and pleasure. More often than not...actually it's all the time...this beagle stays behind when my humans go away. A few years ago, my humans moved to Bangkok for 1.5 years. I stayed back in Malaysia with gramps due to rabies concern in Thailand. Well, my humans are relocating to another country for a few years and I am finally going to join them on our "Big Move". Where are we going?

It's a busy city with a population of around 7 million people in approximately 1,000 sq kilometres. It has lots of skyscrapers, yet despite the many buildings, it does have quite a lot of parks and greenery in the fringes of the city.

From KL...

To...Take a look at this picture and guess where this beagle is moving to.

More on my big move later.

This beagle turns 9!

2011-04-29T18:53:00.006+08:00

This beagle is 9 years old today. A year older, a year wiser, perhaps? Don't know about that, but I can confirm that this beagle has more white fur - especially on my face and brows.

So, what did this beagle do today? Well, my day started with rain - and lots of it from the wee hours in the morning. No matter, this beagle was nicely snuggled in my bed right outside my humans' bedroom (yeah...my humans have given up on letting me sleep outside). My normal morning walk was out of the question but I did get a mid-morning walk when the rain stopped. Snoozed during the day. Walked again in the evening. Dad took the day off work so it was nice to be able to walk with both my humans today.

But, being a typical beagle, my highlight of the day was dinner! Every year on my birthday, my human prepares a special dinner treat. This year, I had succulent slices of liver, served on a bed of fluffy white rice, with sprinkles of doggie kibble. Typical mum, despite it being my special day, she makes me sit and wait before allowing me to eat. I have to look elsewhere to resist the temptation!

When she finally gives me the OK, I was in such a hurry that my ears flopped in the air.

The meal was so delicious that a little fly decided to join me. See the little black dot on the top right side of my head - that's the fly...

All too soon, my birthday meal was gone. Let's see if some bits fell to the side. Nope...no such luck.

It was a pretty good birthday all in all. I wonder if I can "con"vince my human to give me another liver treat for dinner tomorrow...

Spot the Beagle

2011-04-21T16:58:00.005+08:00

Did you find me? I'm hidden beneath the bamboo on the right hand side by the wall.

Every couple of months, my human has to trim the bamboo plant in our backyard. Naturally, this beagle loves to help out, although my humans think that I actually get in the way...Hmmph! That't the thanks I get for being helpful...

Fence - 0; Kess -1

2011-04-14T12:11:00.009+08:00

A few weeks back, my humans went away for a short break at Cameron Highlands. This beagle also had my own getaway at Puppy Cottage. Now, if you recall, last month, I wrote a post about being "Fenced Down" at home. Well, my humans are not the only ones who use the dog fences to keep doggies in or down. Puppy Cottage also uses the dog fences to cordon off an area at the front of the shop for their canine guests to roam freely. This was a picture taken last year during my stay there:

Did you notice the fence at the front, to keep us canines safe within the roaming area? This is the picture of me at Puppy Cottage this recent trip.

Notice the difference? This beagle is actually being walked down the corridor. Why? Well, a certain wily beagle (no names named), have figured out how to jump/climb over the fence. That's right...1 point to the beagle! Anyway, as a result, R from Puppy Cottage had to put me in one of the back rooms with another Goldie...I must say though I did miss the excitement about being in the front of the shop as there is lots of entertainment with people walking by the shop and customers coming in to buy stuff. So, maybe the fence won this round after all...

And what were my humans doing at Cameron Highlands while this beagle was busy outwitting the fence? Apart from their usual stuffing their faces, they also went on a hiking tour to see the giant Rafflesia flower. They endured a bone-jarring jeep ride into the jungle, followed by a hike through some fairly steep muddy terrain - all to see this giant flower. Once, it has bloomed, the flower only lasts for 7 days. This Rafflesia was already 4 days old and had started to wilt.

The domed centre of the Rafflesia is made up a spongy material. The Rafflesia, which is also called a corpse flower because it emits a foul smell of dead animal, attracts flies and flesh eating beetles. The pollen which is in the centre, then gets stuck to these insects, which will then carry on the pollenation of this flower. Surprisingly though, this species of Rafflesia which was in Cameron Highlands did not have any noticeable smell to my humans. However, there were flies around the flower, so it must emit some kind of odour.

No one really knows for sure, but it is estimated that the Rafflesia takes 10 months to grow from this ball of cabbage to a full grown flower, which can be up to 1 metre wide.

After 7 days or so, the Rafflesia turns black and wilts, a shadow of its former glory. Sadly, due to the delicate nature of this flower, and the the length of time it takes to grow, the Rafflesia is becoming extremely rare. In Cameron Highlands, the loss of its natural habitat and use of pesticides due to increased farming has resulted in much smaller numbers of the Rafflesia. Who knows if this unique flower will be around in the next few years...

Yummy...Three rotis!

2011-04-04T20:45:00.012+08:00

"Dear, where did you put the roti canai*?" mum asks dad over dinner.

Dad looks at mum, jumps up from the dining chair and immediately rushes outside to look for the Malaysian pancake* he had brought home for breakfast the next day. Too late...he sees a packet of curry on the floor by the shoe rack, follows the trail to the garden where he sees shredded brown paper with a packet of dahl. No rotis... That's what happens when my humans leave any food on the top of the shoe rack, within the reach of a wily beagle.

Guess who had the 3 rotis for dinner? That's right. This beagle hit the jackpot tonight. Not only did I score my usual 1/2 cup kibble for dinner. I also ate the 3 roti canai with eggs (yeap...that's 3 eggs)! After that heavy meal, I could hardly move. Well, I wasn't going anywhere... My humans sent me to jail and banished me outside.

As further punishment, my humans debated whether I should forego my two meals tomorrow, i.e., my morning and evening meals or just breakfast. What do you think? Post your comment here or vote on the poll on the top right of this blog.

* Roti canai is a fried Indian Muslim pancake which is a favorite for breakfast or tea among food-loving Malaysians. Even so, my humans thinks that 3 rotis for 1 normal person is way too much...let alone for a canine...

Fenced Down

2011-03-25T20:00:00.001+08:00

This beagle is turning 9 next month. I suppose I'm considered a senior citizen, although in some countries, you have to be 60 to be eligible for senior citizen's discount - I'm 6 months in doggie years, or about 3 human years short of that. My humans certainly think I'm a senior canine. Since last year, they've started restricting my climbing up and down the stairs of our double-storey house during the day due to concerns about my hip. In my youth, I've climbed 7 foot fences, which also means, I've had to jump off 7 foot fences. No wonder, my vet recommended that I take glucosamine!

My human mum's home office is in one of the rooms upstairs. This means that she goes up and down quite a few times during the day. Naturally, this beagle, whom she calls "Her Little Shadow" tends to follow her. Well, since they've put up the darn doggie fence, I'm now fenced down during the day and am only allowed to go up during bedtime. However, this wily beagle sometimes outsmarts them. Since this is a mobile fence, made up of two doggie fences hooked together, my humans sometimes forget to put the fence by the stairs in the morning. So, right after they have the breakfast, I anticipate when they'll be going upstairs to get ready for work, and quickly run up the stairs before they can blink. Hah!

So, every morning, it's a battle of wits - my human's forgetful memory vs. this beagle's determination. At some stage during the day, my human will remember to put up the fence. This is what you see when that happens...

The Monkey and the Dog

2011-03-15T22:27:00.004+08:00

The reckless monkey

The hunting dog

Kess was so upset with the monkey, she did not stop barking until the monkey was out of sight!

The Many Faces of a Beagle

2011-02-14T15:45:00.002+08:00

My humans and their friends came across this picture of a smiling pig on the wall of a restaurant.

The conversation went something like this:
"I wonder if the picture was doctored to make the pig smile"
"Well, I don't know know much about pigs, but I can assure you that beagles do smile. In fact, they have expressions pretty much like humans do."

And that is how this post about the many faces of this beagle came about...

The happy face

The serious face

The embarrased face

The sad face

The anxious face

The sleepy face

The "I'm thinking" face

The "Do Not Disturb" face

The "get out of my" face aka guard dog face

Last but not least...the "I'm stuffing my face" face...

Which one is your favourite face?

Happy Valentines Day everyone. Be sure to give your humans a slurpy lick to show them your love.

The Beagle That Should Have Been Named Hoover

2011-02-07T21:23:00.005+08:00

My humans think that I should have been named Hoover instead of Kess. Why? Well, this beagle's favorite household chore is to "vacuum" any food bits that may have dropped onto the floor from our dining table (during lunch/dinner), sofa (breakfast or snack times) and kitchen (meal preparation). My humans make it a point not to feed me when they are having their meals, so I've never learnt to beg for food when they eat. Instead, I am contented to sit at their feet whilst they enjoy their food. But, the moment they finish eating and start clearing the dishes, this beagle immediately goes into "Hoover" mode, nose to the ground, ready to slurp any tidbits left behind.

In fact, I would have been happy to lick their plates clean, thus saving them the hassle of washing the dishes. Unfortunately, my humans did not agree with this beagle's point of view... They reckon that if I want to lend a paw around the house, I should learn to operate a real "Hoover" and vacuum the fur that I shed instead! That's not going to happen anytime soon...so it looks like my human is stuck with that household chore. I'll stick to the food removal!

P.S. My humans also think that I should have been named Socks. Although they call me Kess, my given name at birth is actually something else.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare)

The White Dog That (Almost) Followed Me Home

2011-02-01T13:46:00.003+08:00

This morning, my human and I went for a nice long walk around the neighbourhood. Just before we crossed a major road to head back towards our home, a young white dog came bounding up to greet us. This friendly canine kept wanting to smell my butt (it's a dog thing) and inviting me to play with him, pawing me gently and running circles around us.

After a couple of minutes, my human decided that it was time to say goodbye as we had to head home. The young dog obviously did not get the message as he tried to follow us as we crossed the road. Now my human was rather worried that this dog would follow us home or even worst, get knocked down by a car as he crossed the busy road. She also figured his humans would worry if this dog went missing (this dog had humans because he had a leather collar on but no ID). So, my human and I crossed back to where we first encountered this young canine. We walked around the row of houses trying to find our new friend's humans. But no one seemed to be missing a dog.

Despite attempts to tell him to go home (his home...not ours...), the young dog just did not seem to listen. Personally, I think he was rather enamoured with me. Finally, my human decided to carry me across the road, whilst telling the other dog to stay. Fortunately, he did not follow us across this time. We walked away quickly, stopping to look back to ensure that the white male did not try to cross the busy road. Thankfully, he didn't.

Hopefully, the young white dog had enough adventure for the day and decided to return home to his humans. This beagle had enough adventure for the morning and went home for a well deserved snooze!

See the lions dance

2011-01-21T18:30:00.001+08:00

It's that time of the year again...In about 2 weeks time, Chinese all over the world welcome the Lunar New Year. One of the traditions that accompany this celebration is the lion dance - a traditional dance where two performers mimic's a lion's movements in an elaborate lion costume. One performer would hold up the head and be the front "paws" of the lion, while the other would be the hind "paws" of the lion. The performers would dance and perform acrobatic acts on poles, whilst the musicians play Chinese drums and cymbals.

The story behind the lion dance dates back to ancient China. Apparently, a monk dreamt that sorrows and evils would plague the land. The monk prayed and asked the gods how he could prevent these evils from occurring. The gods told him that a lion would protect them and fight back the evils. Since the Chinese people had never seen a lion before, but had heard stories that the lion was the king of all the other animals, the monk combined all the lucky or magical animals he could think of and made a lion. (Source: Wikepedia)

Anyway, my human was at a local shopping mall (without her favourite beagle, as dogs aren't allowed in malls), when she stumbled on the lion dance performance.

This first 1 minute+ video shows the lion dancing on poles, after a short suspenseful pause at the start... These performers' have amazing dexterity and agility!

The second short video shows two playful lions playing "football".

Enjoy!

The "F" word...

2011-01-15T10:32:00.004+08:00

Before you gasp and wonder if Kess' blog has gone to the dogs (idiom meaning: it has gone badly wrong and lost all the good things it had), this four-letter "F" word is not a bad word that humans sometimes use when they are angry...

It all began with a car ride. My humans and I had gone to visit her sister for a family get together. Now, mum's sister lives about an hour away. That's not a problem for me as I've gone on car journeys as long as 4 hours. Usually, I would peer out of the car window and check out my surroundings. Once I'm satisfied that all is well, I'll settle down for a snooze. This trip, my human even brought along my bed to put into the trunk/boot of our SUV. So, I was very comfortable.

On our return journey, my humans suddenly smelled something foul. Oh oh...they thought, Kess has done it again...and they quickly rolled down the windows. If you haven't guessed by now, I FARTed, or to use the correct term, "flatulence". Now, in a small enclosed area, such as a car, the combination of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen gas (scientific term: flatus) can be quite potent. So my humans, weighing their options of inhaling exhaust fumes from the other travelling cars or inhaling my "flatus", the choice is the lesser of two evils...So the windows came down until the odour was dispelled.

Honestly, I don't know what the big deal is...It's not like dogs are the only ones who fart. Humans do too!

Kess & Her Mama

2011-01-08T13:03:00.000+08:00

From the desk of Kess' Mama:

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am."
~Author Unknown

The Beagles' Day Out

2011-01-03T13:59:00.001+08:00

This beagle could not ask for a better way to start off 1.1.11, than a doggie outing to Central Park, in BU. What made this outing even more special - I will meet my fellow beagle blogger, Sapphire and her humans for the very first time.

As with all canine encounters, introductions took place in the form of butt-sniffing. Humans think it's disgusting, but we canines know better...

Since we were so well-behaved, both Sapphire and I got a liver treat each, after the customary sit and wait.

Of course, after one miserly treat, both beagles were still hungry and went scavenging for food during our walk. We were in for a treat as there was a New Year's party the night before at the park and some kind humans had left satay sticks around the grounds for us. How thoughtful of them! Unfortunately, our humans did not agree and each time Sapphire and I found a stick and started chomping on it, our humans would remove it. Spoil sports!

Sapphire impressed us all with her "peek-a-boo" trick... Isn't she cute? I hope my humans don't get ideas about getting this old dog (I turn 9 this May) to learn this new trick...

Alas, all good things come to an end. Oh well, we'll be back, won't we Sapphire?

The Bone from Christmas

2010-12-31T15:01:00.015+08:00

My humans got me a two-in-one Christmas gift - A Chew N Kleen Knot Bone. You can tell from its name that it serves dual purpose - not only is it for a beagle's enjoyment, it cleans my teeth at the same time!

Naturally, before I was able to indulge in my doggie treat, I had to sit and wait until my humans gave the "OK" command.

So on Christmas evening, whilst my humans were pigging out on mum's homemade chinese barbeque pork (char siu) and Aunty Pat's fried calamari...

...this beagle was busy trying to "unknot" my bone.

This continued to Boxing Day...

On December 27th...At this stage, this beagle was not making a lot of progress. I hate to admit it but my mouth just isn't big enough for this bone. My human took pity on me and decided to "unknot" one end to help me out. My goal was to get to the yummy chicken strip sandwiched between the hide.

On December 28th... I was only halfway through.

On December 29th... I was still at it.

On December 31st... Gnawing this knotted bone sure is tiring!

I hope your Christmas treats kept you as busy as mine did! Happy 2011 everyone!

Pre-Christmas bath

2010-12-24T14:01:00.001+08:00

"Kess girl, you need a bath. You need to look good for your Christmas photo..." This beagle's reaction's to my human's dreaded "BATH" word was...

That's right...Crawl underneath the car to escape bath time.

Unfortunately my humans are wise to this beagle's trick and has their own trick up their sleeve. They lure me out with a yummy liver treat. Now you tell me, which beagle, actually let me rephrase that...which canine can resist a liver treat?

Once I was out from under the car, I trodded slowly towards the bath area. Sigh...Outwitted again.

Once I'm in the bath area, I'm a model of good behavior as my humans thoroughly clean me.

Towel time is my favourite part of bath time coz I get to play tug of war with my humans. For some strange reason, my humans think it's funny to drape the towel over me me so that I look like Emperor Nero!

Anyway, after I was nice and clean, it was Christmas photo time. Oh well, a bath is a small price to pay. After all, it's the season for giving, right? Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!Save some turkey for me.

A Typical Day in A Beagle's Life

2010-12-12T14:36:00.014+08:00

AM

Go for a walk and scavenge for pre-breakfast tit bits

Eat breakfast - 1/2 cup kibble (now you know why I have to supplement my meals with scavenging!)

Dig a hole to China - very little progress so far...

Check for pesky squirrels and cats who hide out in our bamboo tree

Scratch an itch - aahh...feels so good

PM
Laze around in the cool of the house on a hot balmy afternoon

Bark at pesky junk mail delivery boys who clog up our mailbox

Walk again - I wonder what new scents I'll sniff out in the evening...

Eat again - another measly 1/2 cup of kibble

Good night!

The Beagle That Should Have Been Named "Socks"

2010-11-27T10:55:00.006+08:00

We all know beagles have white paws, which resembles socks.

But, that's not the only reason my humans should have named this beagle "Socks" instead of Kess. They just cannot figure out my socks fetish. Whenever I see socks, I just have to grab it in my mouth and take it with me. I don't chew it or anything like that, I just like to grab it and when I'm done, I just leave it lying around. I especially like worn socks. Since my human likes to leave his socks in his shoes, that is my prime target. Of course, after all that beagle slobber, the socks has to go to the wash, even if it's a fresh pair. Speaking of fresh pair, I'm not a fussy beagle, socks fresh from the wash waiting to be put away in the cupboard is fair game, in my humble opinion. Of course, after I'm done with them, the socks need to be laundered again!

Anyway, my humans have given up on trying to cure me from my socks fetish. So, they figured, if you can't beat them, join them...No, they haven't developed a need to grab socks in their mouths....Instead, they've just turned their old socks into a toy for me. Stuff some old socks in another sock, and have a game of tug of war with their favourite beagle.

"Is that the best you can do? I can beat you lying down..."

"That's more like it! Now we can have a good game of tug of war."

"Hey...where did you go? Is the game over? Sore loser..."

"Socks in a sock" also make a good game of fetch as it does have good flying mobility. Do be careful if you're flinging it in the house! Anyway, I reckon my humans are quite lucky that my taste in toys are not expensive. I don't need fancy Kong toys. Just give me socks any day!

Beagle Walk

2010-11-02T19:36:00.006+08:00

This is how a beagle walks...

...with the nose to the ground 99% of the time!

I hit the jackpot today. I found a piece of bone during my walk, sneaked it into my mouth and brought it back home to chomp. Mum was not pleased!

Squat or Lift???

2010-10-12T12:46:00.005+08:00

You may think from the title of this post that this beagle has decided to go to the gym to do some exercises - squats and lifts. Far from it... In fact, this post is all about answering the call of nature - peeing!

My humans have always been perplexed about how I pee. Like the humans, female and male dogs have different pee positions. Female dogs "squat" to pee, whilst male dogs "lift" their hind paw to pee. In my puppy days, I used to squat whenever I peed. However, my humans noticed that as I grew older, I started to lift my hind paw, the same way male dogs do.

This happens regulary when we go for walks...

Trees and plants are my favourite pee-marking stops

But from time to time, I surprise my humans with a lady-like pee squat. This usually happens at home.

Some people say that a female dog who pees like a male may be exhibiting signs of dominance. However, my humans reckon that I am actually a submissive canine. In fact, whenever I meet other dogs, I tend to sit quietly and let the other dogs sniff me first, a far cry from dominant behaviour. So, my humans continue to remain puzzled by me. Personally I don't see what the big deal is. I just think that I'm a versatile female beagle that can do leg lifts, just as well as a male dog :-) What do you think?

Deep in thought...

2010-09-26T13:04:00.003+08:00

What is this beagle thinking? Tell us what you think...

Beagle Escapes...Again

2010-09-12T18:30:00.007+08:00

In my last post, one of the things I shared about myself is that I'm an expert escape artist. Now, my humans thought that with old age, this beagle has mellowed, along with the urge and instinct to escape. After all, my last successful escape was way back in October 2008. Back then, my humans thought that a faulty automatic gate may have been my escape route...

Two days after that post, I proved my humans wrong. Despite being 8 years old (approximately 56 human years), this beagle still has the moves of an agile escape artist. My humans went out for dinner, leaving me home for an hour and a half. What kind of trouble can a beagle get into in 1.5 hours?

Well, the first thing my humans saw when they opened the automatic gate was shredded grass blades on the porch floor. "To be expected", they thought. The next thing they expected to see was a beagle running out to greet the car. Usually, they can tell if our neighbour has taken me over to their house because Aunty C leaves her wooden door open so I can look out for my humans' return. Since her wooden door was closed, they expected their little beagle to be home. Their heart sank when no beagle came out. They quickly rushed next door to check with Aunty C.

There were lots of confusion as to where this beagle had disappeared to. As it turns out, at the very moment my humans returned home, Aunty C heard the sound of dog tags (I wear a tag with my name and my humans's phone number as well as my dog licence) tinkling on the back lane. Since she is very in-tuned with this beagle, she decides to check out the sound and pops out back where she found this very beagle sitting outside her house! Aunty C rescues me from the backlane, and brings me to the front for a happy reunion with my humans! My escapade left me exhausted!

The next day, my humans check out my potential escape routes. Despite reinforcing our wooden fence with extra dog fence to increase the height of the fence, they think I may have managed to climbed over the fencing, in between our house and Aunty C's house. This area had new muddy paw prints and fresh broken leaves from the potted plant next door.

A second possible escape route may be where our post box is. Either way, my humans continue to be perplexed at how a medium-sized, 8 year-old canine managed to climb over 6 to 7 foot fencing...

Can anyone enlighten them please?

Versatile Blogger - Better late than never?

2010-09-08T10:00:00.001+08:00

I received this award way back in August from Happy and Oscar & Ruby. It's Sept now. There are no excuses for tardiness, so I'll just extend my sincere apologies to Happy, Oscar & Ruby. As the saying goes.. "better late than never"... so here goes:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award

Happy, Oscar & Ruby - Thanks heaps!

2. Share 7 things about yourself

1. This beagle is an expert scavenger - My humans have to be on high alert whenever we go for walks as I am prone to sniff out any bits of food, tucked away among the grass blades or buried under soil.
2. This beagle doesn't like to be left home alone. When I am home alone, I get the urge to be "productive". I especially like gardening (Kess' Mama: Digging and chewing off plants is a more apt description. Kess is currently in her digging mode so our garden is now patchy with holes)
3. My humans call me their little shadow as I follow them wherever they go. Sometimes I'm faced with a dilemma as mum and dad may be in different parts of the house. I try to be fair and divide my time equally between them both. But it can be tiring as I have to move around the house a fair bit!
4. When the mood strikes me, I can totally ignore my humans. It doesn't matter how many times they call, I am too comfortable in my spot to respond to them. So my humans have to look for me around the house - kind of like hide and seek :-)
5. This beagle is an expert escape artist. My humans are very glad that in my older age, I have mellowed. In my younger years, I've climbed over 7 foot fences and found my way to gramps' house which is at least 5-6 kms away.
6. This beagle is afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks. Just yesterday, I barked frantically at the fireworks that was being let loose in the night sky. I fear that I will be in for a very unpleasant weekend ahead as there will be more fireworks to celebrate the end of Ramadhan.
7. This beagle is well-loved. Despite my many trangressions, my humans love me - pure and simple. What more can I ask for?

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic. Note: Mine is a mixture of new and old blogging pals.
1. The Thundering Herd
2. Home of Team Beaglebratz
3. Khyra's Korner
4. Sapphire the Beagle
5. Terrier Fun with Molly and Taffy
6. Elbow and Hauwii
7. Beagle Diary
8. River
9. The Stoutino Inn and Foster Kennel
10. Beagles Lenni and Vekku
11. Fred's Follies
12. Key West Collies
13. Nottie Scottie
14, The Barkalotx Boyz
15. Mango the Maltese Kiddo

4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

I've been so slack with blogging so some of the awardees may have already been given this award earlier. For those of you who already have this award, just know that you are truly a versatile blogger! Please realize that you are under no obligation to accept this award and that it is done in the spirit of recognizing and acknowledging really great blogging!

A Pet's Ten Commandments

2010-08-24T09:34:00.005+08:00

I know this beagle has been MIA for 5 weeks... As always it's my human's fault. She claims it can't be helped because of work commitments...that's what the humans always say. Anyway, my human received this in her email and thought that it was worth posting to remind all humans to treat us right.

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

~Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them.
Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without God's creatures.

A Beagle's Perpective of Humans

2010-07-17T12:09:00.011+08:00

Apart from my human extended family and friends, this beagle encounters many kinds of humans on my daily walks.

1) The humans with dogs
a) The best kind of humans with dogs are the well-balanced breed. I love this breed of humans as this beagle has the time to sniff out my fellow canine as our humans stop to chat. The funny thing is our humans generally don't know each other's names, but they all know our names!

b) Although I would have thought that humans with dogs are a friendly lot, that's not the case all the time. Some humans tend to avoid contact, prefering to cross the street when they see other dog-walking humans. Now, to be fair, there may be valid reasons for their behavior. Not all dogs get along with other canines so it may be possible that their humans may be wanting to avoid any unpleasant confrontation between canines. One particular human with a collie and a little terrier smile apologetically at us from afar as the little terror, oops... I meant terrier barks ferociously at us for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the collie is as calm as can be. Go figure!

c) Then of course there is the paid domestic helper who has to walk their employer's dog. Often, the human owners delegate the responsibility of owning a canine to their maids. This begs the question of when the humans actually have the time to bond with their canines if the maid looks after their dog?

2) The dog-loving human
Some of these humans may not have their own dogs but love canines just the same. They will stop and chat with my humans, often asking to pat this beagle. Sometimes, parents will slow down or stop their cars just so their kids can take a look at this beagle or wave at us. After all, who can resist a beagle, right? Wrong! See the next two human breeds...

3) The fear-inducing human
We once met a father who was walking his young child. The father was having trouble keeping up with his energetic kid who had run ahead. When the father saw us approaching, he pointed to us and told his son "Look, dog!" Now, we thought that this father was teaching his son what a dog looked like. After all, this beagle is used to being an object lesson for little children. We could not believe the words that came out of this father's mouth next "If you don't behave, the dog will bite you!". My human wanted to let me loose to bite him for saying such an untrue thing to his impressionable child! This leads me to the next breed of humans.

4) The dog-fearing human
I come across this breed fairly often. For reasons of ignorance, wrong teaching (see above), bad past experience or "religious" reasons, this breed of humans are afraid of dogs. Some will show their fear openly, preferring to avoid us or sometimes even calling out "Anjing" (dog) to warn their fellow dog-fearing humans. My humans realize that there's not much they can do about humans who fear dogs, so out of respect, we generally try to walk quickly past them.

And there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly...What type of humans do you encounter on your walks?

Beagle thievery???

2010-07-08T14:36:00.008+08:00

This morning, this beagle spent time in the garden after breakfast whilst my human holed up in her home office working away on her computer. Since I had some free time on my paws, I decided to help out around the house. Now, my human has all my supplies in this little basket on the shoe rack. I was going to surprise my human by transforming my messy basket which holds an assortment of beagle supplies -leash, harness, ear cleaning medicines, tea tree oil spray, etc.

To this beagle's pleasant surprise, I found my pack of treats from Japan. Some of you may recall that my humans brought back 2 packets of Japanese doggie treats for their favourite beagle. You saw the first treat - some crispy skins.
The second was a packet of succulent bacon strips. My human typically tears up the strips of bacon into smaller bits as treats when they clean my ear.

It doesn't take a genius to guess what happened next...When it comes to food, beagles have a one-track mind - EAT IT! This was all that was left when my human finally came out.

My human says I'm a bad beagle for stealing food. But hey, this treat was mine anyway. So, how can it be thievery? Instead of waiting for measly rations of bacon strips in the future, I just claimed it all in one go. Of course, after consuming about a dozen or so bacon strips, this beagle was too full to do much else but sleep it off.

As punishment for bad behaviour, there's no dinner for me tonight!

Postscript from Kess' mama:
With beagles in the home, I've learnt my lesson. All food must be kept safely away from the sniffing nose and eagle eye of a forever hungry beagle. This breed will do anything for food, including climb up furniture!

Tutti Frutti for a Beagle

2010-06-30T16:04:00.009+08:00

It was a weeknight errand outing for this beagle and my humans. On the way home, my humans decided to stop by Tutti Frutti, a new yoghurt ice cream parlor. Unfortunately, like most eating places in Malaysia, canines are not allowed so I had to wait in the car whilst my humans enjoyed a tub of delicious Berri Tutti Frutti in the shop. My patience was rewarded! Because I was so well-behaved and did not bark at anyone, my humans decided to save me some Tutti Frutti yoghurt ice cream for me to eat at home.

"Hurry up mum...it's my turn to have some Tutti Frutti..."

"Sigh...OK. I know the drill. I have to sit first"

"Finally...Sweet"

Beagle on Board

2010-06-22T09:20:00.004+08:00

One of my favourite past times is going on car rides. I have to say that I don't get enough of it on a daily basis. I really should accompany dad in the car when he goes to work but then who would look after mum at home? Sigh, sometimes a beagle has to do what a beagle has to do! So, I sacrificed daily car rides and volunteered to stay at home with my work-at-home mum.

On weekends though, I sometimes get a treat and get to go on car rides with my humans. Sometimes we go off to visit gramps, or I tag along in the car when my humans have to run some quick errands at the nearby shops. Occassionally when my humans head out for a roti canai breakfast(Indian Muslim cuisine - fried pancake bread served with dahl or curry) or a quick "tai chau" dinner (literally translated from Chinese as 'big fry', it means servings of a variety of dishes served with rice), I get to ride in the car if they're certain they can find a car park near the restaurant. Lunch time is a no no for car rides because it's too hot for me to stay in the car when they're away. I'm very well trained to just sit patiently in the car whilst my humans buy stuff or stuff their faces.

This beagle waiting eagerly for mum & dad to get in the car and start the engine...

But a beagle on board doesn't mean that this beagle is off-duty. Beagle patrol takes place, even in the car. There are times, my human needs ear plugs as this beagle barks frantically at a motor cyclist that stopped too close to our car at a traffic light! What can I say? A beagle's job is never-ending.

A good-natured beagle

2010-06-13T11:06:00.003+08:00

From the desk of Kess' Mama:

It's been 8 years since Kess joined our family. Despite the heartaches this beagle has given us, especially in the earlier years with her escapades and destruction to our property and garden, I have to say that our beagle is one good-natured canine. As long as she is with her pack (aka, us, her humans), she is contented.

Any beagle's human will attest that this little hound dog very much has a mind of their own. According to her mood, Kess will be my shadow, following me every where I go in our home.

Kess lying by my work desk

Just as easily, this beagle would ignore me, despite me calling out her name. This means I'll have to search out which corner of our home she's comfortably lying in.

Despite her little idiosyncracies, she is very good-natured, winning the hearts of those who interacts with her. She single-pawedly transformed our "we don't like dogs" neighbour into a dog-loving human, who is now more than happy to dog-sit her. In fact, when we were away and Kess was staying at the Puppy Cottage, our neighbour actually went to visit her at the Cottage, bringing a loaf of bread for our bread-loving canine.

Recently, I was unable to exert myself physically, which meant that I could not take her for walks or feed her. These tasks which are usually done by me had to be taken over by J. Whilst the morning walks and feed are on schedule, her evening routine had to be delayed. Since J works late, our beagle has to wait for him to come back for her evening walk and meal. So, instead of going out for a walk at 6 pm, more often than not, she goes out at 9 pm instead. Now, I've heard about dogs that whine or bark when their routine is disrupted. Not this beagle. She happily hangs out with me, or by herself depending on her mood.

Another classic example: the other day I was busy working in my home office. I heard a door slam shut due to the wind but did not think twice about it. When I had finished for the day, I went looking for my beagle. I opened my bedroom door and there she was sitting patiently near the door entrance. She probably was in the room for an hour or so. She knew that eventually her human would come to the rescue and she waited. Not a bark or a whine from her.

How can I not love my little beagle?

Beagle quirkiness or unintended consequences?

2010-06-06T16:04:00.005+08:00

From the desk of Kess' Mama:

Since puppyhood, we have always practiced feeding Kess just before we leave for work in the morning. This way, we reckoned we would reduce the anxiety of being separated (I'm quite sure we must have read it somewhere). Anyway, inevitably, there are times when we forgot to take something and would have to open the gate again. During those times, we would take away her feeding bowl, took whatever it was we forgot and give her back her bowl for her to finish her meal.

Just the other day, I again fed Kess just before I left home.After I realized I forgot my car keys, I went back in. My beagle, upon hearing the gate opened, started eating even more quickly (for those of you who have beagles, will know how quickly they eat under normal circumstances)!

The question is this - Is it beagle quirkiness - a love for food gene imbuilt into this perpetually hungry breed, or is it unintended consequences from her humans taking away her food bowl in the middle of a meal during her puppy days? What do you think?

Beagle Patrol hits a Jackpot!

2010-05-28T08:31:00.007+08:00

What's with the animals in my neighbourhood? First, it was the cat and the kitten who decided to make the bamboo tree in my backyard their home. Now, this beagle has spotted another intruder in our front yard. A tree shrew or what it's known as "tupai" in Malaysia decided to occupy our benjamin fig tree in our front yard. I tell you between patrolling the front and back yard, this beagle needs reinforcement against the neighbourhood pests.

In one of those rare moments, my human managed to record this beagle in action and even managed to catch the shrew in action. Be warned though, you really need to have sharp eyes to spot that conniving shrew jumping across the branches midway through the one-minute video.

Unfortunately, this beagle was not successful in hunting down the shrew. It started to drizzle shortly after this video was shot. Whilst, I wasn't about the let the shrew off the hook so easily (after all what's rain but a little water???), my human decided to carry me back into the house, muddy paws and all. I can't believe I had to suffer such indignity!

A treat for a beagle from Japan

2010-05-23T16:54:00.015+08:00

My fellow bloggers will know that my humans have a travelling bug. Apart from this beagle, travelling the world is one of their passions in life. Luckily for me, they come home with treats for me, well, most of the time anyway. They recently came back from Japan with a suitcase full of delicious treats...of which only, two packets are for me. The rest, they say are for human consumption. Such piggies!

In the midst of the souvenier and delectable food stores, my humans stumbled across this lovely pet store at the Nakamise Market in Tokyo. I reckon, I've trained them well to spot pet stores. The pet store is the one on the right.

They also have lovely dog figurines. Did you see the beagle? Sure looks like me.

Anyway, this beagle was able to sniff that the packages contains treats that this beagle loves. So, in my excitement...

My humans said that that jumping on the treat was unacceptable behaviour for a lady beagle. Who wants to be a lady? I just want the food! Still, house rules are house rules...

Finally, after one suspenseful minute of sitting, I was rewarded for good behaviour. It took me less than 2 seconds to tear the wrapping apart.

My humans got me tasty pig ear treat, at least that's what they think they bought. My humans don't speak Japanese, and the Japanese shop owner doesn't speak English...Still, from the packaging it sure looks like a treat for a beagle, don't you think?

Gotta go, got myself a pig ear to chew on for a while...

P.S. My humans say due to my recent weight gain from my stay at the Puppy Cottage, they're rationing my treats. Not only do I get one pig ear today, I only get to open the second package at a time to be determined later. Sigh!

Casualty of Border Patrol

2010-05-16T18:13:00.008+08:00

We have a lovely bamboo tree in our back garden. For reasons beyond this beagle's comprehension, other animals seem to love this bamboo tree. Remember my January post about the pesky squirrel that hid in the tree? Anyway, this beagle always checks this tree out every time I do border patrol.

Guess, what I found one morning? A cat and her kitten, hidden behind the bamboo tree! Naturally, I barked loudly to alert my humans about the intruders. Before they could run to the back yard, the mommy cat made a dash across the pathway with this beagle in frantic pursuit. In her panic, she could not climb the wall in time and there was a confrontation between this beagle and a hissing she-cat. She finally made her escape, leaving muddied prints on the wall.

Knowing that this beagle would not be able to resist checking out the poor kitty, my human dad decided to remove the kitten, careful to avoid leaving a human scent on the little one. He placed the kitten in a box filled with newspapers and left it on the back alley for the mommy to rescue. Thankfully, the mommy cat did come back for her kitten.

And what about this beagle? Naturally, I had to check out the area again and again. My humans placed a plastic pot to prevent any univited guests of the feline breed from making a home there.

That's not the end of the story. Later, my humans discovered a wound on my cheek. The angry she-cat had scratched my face during our encounter. Well, a beagle has to do what a beagle has to do. Even if it means suffering a nasty wound from a hissing she-cat during border patrol. It's been 2 weeks since that incident. There is still a mark on my cheek. My humans hope that the scar will completely fade away with time.

P.S. Remember my last post on which did treat I ate first? It's baguette, followed by beef pattie and carrots. Looks like Martha and Bailey, as well as Honey share my taste bud!

A birthday feast fit for Kess the Beagle

2010-05-02T12:54:00.009+08:00

There is a saying that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The same is true for a beagle. My humans, knowing this beagle's heart, decided that the best birthday treat for my eighth birthday is food, food and more food.

Note: this post comprises of lots of pictures of food. So, my fellow dog bloggers, proceed at your own risk if you haven't eaten. This beagle will not be responsible for any damage to computer keyboards as a result of excessive drool!

To kick off the celebration on Thursday, instead of my usual 1/2 cup of Innova kibbles for breakfast, I had a hard-boiled egg, with half a yolk. Mum said yolks are high in calorie, so she removed half.

Unfortunately, mum had a project due on that day and could not make the special home-made dog treat for dinner . But she made up for it the next day with a homemade beef burger pattie. Mum says it is unbelievably simple and can be combined with the makings of a human dinner and muttered something about killing two birds with one stone (I don't think she meant it literally!).

Kess' birthday dog burger pattie recipe:
300 - 500 gm lean minced beef
1 egg, beaten
1 slice of bread, crumbed
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to about 375 degree fahrenheit (190 degree celcius).

Mix the ingredients above. Use a tablespoon to scoop a large portion of the mixed minced beef. Flatten to a pattie. Repeat for as many as you wish to give your dog.

Kess' mama's meatball recipe
For human dinner, season the balance of the minced beef with salt, pepper and herbs. Scoop into meatballs/patties, as desired.

Lay the doggie home-made treat and the meatball for human dinner on a lightly-oiled tray. Bake for about 20 minutes. Let it cool before serving this healthy and delicious treat to your very excited dog. This beagle had her beef pattie served on a bed of sliced raw carrots and a slice of freshly-baked wholemeal baguette.

For humans, cook some pasta and serve with a classic tomato sauce.

The results:

Dessert was also very healthy - an apple, de-seeded. Apparently, an apple a day keeps the doctor (our in this beagle's case - the VET) away.

Burrrppp..this is one happy beagle! What a great way to turn eight years old.

A birthday quiz - Which did Kess eat first?:
1) Beef pattie
2) Wholemeal baguette
3) Carrots

Leave a comment or select your answer in the poll posted on the top left corner of my blog.

A beagle's weekend at Puppy Cottage

2010-04-27T15:06:00.010+08:00

Last weekend, my humans went away for a short break. Now usually, I get to stay at one of my two gramps' homes but this time, my humans were going away with both sets of gramps. Mum had done lots of research on canine boarding before deciding on Puppy Cottage. The major plus factor is that the dogs get to roam around freely in a secured area, instead of being kept in a cage the entire time. The only time the dogs are caged is at night during bedtime.

It really was quite a fun experience. I've never been let off-leash with so many other dogs before. Most of my fellow canine boarders were small dogs, mainly terriers. When there is a pack of dogs, you can be assured of lots of excited barking dogs zooming around. Dad's camera can't cope with the speed of canine movements. Hence, you get an almost surreal effect.

R, from Puppy Cottage commented that I was one of the most well-behaved beagles they've boarded. When my humans related that comment to gramps and the rest of the family, they laughed. I guess they were surprised given the mischief I get into when I stay at gramps place.

Did I enjoy my stay at the Puppy Cottage? The smile on my face says it all.

Despite the fun time I had at Puppy Cottage, I was ready to go home with my humans.

See ya fella boarders. Be good!

Hop on to the car to go back home. Woohoo!

Followed by a nice long walk

All in all, this beagle had a pretty fun weekend. Despite being away from my humans, I made lots of new friends at Puppy Cottage. My humans are glad to have found a safe place where I can be boarded without being caged up whenever they travel. So, it's a solution that works out well for all of us. Humans and beagle are happy!

Kess' Top 5 Sunny Day Activities + 1

2010-04-11T16:49:00.010+08:00

Living in a tropical country sure is fun. In my last post, "The Creative Beagle", I talked about how thunderstorms inspire this beagle's inner creativity (a.k.a. destructive behaviour much to my humans' chagrin). Now, sunny days are a whole different story altogether. Sunny days are for indulging in:

1. Sleeping - A beagle's favourite pasttime!

2. Eating - If possible, this beagle would be snacking the whole day. Unfortunately, my humans don't agree...Sigh!

3. Stretching and scratching - A good stretch to loosen the limbs and a good scratch to ease the itch!

4. Playing - I love to play tug of war over my leash with my human.

5. Walking - Which beagle doesn't like to go for long walks on a sunny day?

There you have it - this beagle's top 5 sunny day activities. What's the "+1" you ask?

6. Posing (Mum snuck this in. It's more of mum's favourite activity rather than mine...From what I can tell, the obsession with posing and picture taking of their favourite canine is a human thing. My fellow bloggers seem to share this in common with me)

The "Creative" Beagle

2010-04-04T16:34:00.012+08:00

I'm not sure what it is about thunderstorms, but I always get inspired to be "creative", especially, when my humans are not at home. (Kess' mama: If you read between the lines, "creative" = "mischief"). There was that one time, I decided to help mama with some gardening and cut down the red palm. I don't know why she didn't appreciate my efforts. It was a lot of hard work for a little beagle like me to trim the large red palm. Of course, this beagle never would have thought that my human didn't want it cut down!

There was another time, I decided to help bring down the curtain for a wash. Of course, I couldn't reach the top, so I ended up tearing the bottom part instead...Whoops! Then there was one time when I wanted to refinish the shoe cabinet, so I scratched the side of the door to strip out the laminate...I guess you get the picture by now...

Anyway, last weekend, my humans were out for dinner. As it happens, it rained cats and dogs that night, complete with thunder and lightning. During dinner, the entire family speculated on what mischief this beagle would be up to. With fear and trepidation, my humans returned home. What would they come across? They stepped into the house gingerly, eyeing the living and dining room carefully. Everything looks normal. Phew! Mum called gramps to report that all is well...until dad entered the kitchen and came across this scene...

This beagle had decided to bake some bread. After all, I have seen my humans bake bread on their nifty bread machine all the time. I figured it would be really easy. The bread flour was on the lower rack, within my reach. I'll just get it out and measure it carefully before putting it into the bread machine. I kinda forgot that the bread machine was kept away in the pantry cupboard.

My humans thought that since this beagle made the mess, this beagle should clean it up...

Three guesses as to who ended cleaning up the spilled flour?

Anyway, mama, don't cry over spilled flour (eer...) I mean milk (To cry over spilled milk is to remain upset about a past loss). Needless to say, our household did not have any bread for breakfast the next day.

A Dog, A Cat and A Rat

2010-03-27T16:21:00.003+08:00

It was a day like any other. Mum opened the back door to hang out the laundry. As usual, she gave this beagle the "Sit" command before allowing me to go out. I waited patiently for the "OK" signal so that I could dash out to the backyard to sniff out any intruders since this beagle last patrolled the perimeter. The release command never came. Instead, mum shrieked with horror and quickly closed the door.

"What on earth is wrong with this woman?", I thought. I see her sending an sms to dad. Then she's on the phone with grandma. Shortly thereafter, grandpa and grandma arrive. Now, usually, I get to hang out with gramps when they come. But not this morning. Instead, mum locks me out from the house as she and gramps go into the house and head towards the backyard. I strained my short beagle neck to see what they're up to...

It was not a pretty sight and mum wanted to spare me. It was like a scene out of CSI Vegas. The mangled remains of a body laid on the backyard floor. The guts were spilled out and the severed head laid inches away from the bloodied body. The victim was...

....A RAT! No wonder mum shrieked with horror. She is squeamish (she can't even watch when the doctor gives her a jab, but is a big fan of CSI Vegas ...go figure!). That's why she enlisted gramps' help to clear up the crime scene. There was no way in the world she was going to touch the dead, mangled rat. Why, she couldn't even bear to see the rat again! To cut a gory story short, gramps, supplied with gloves, a make-shift spade, lots of newspapers and a bag, cleared the rat and its remains. The body was gone but the bloody trail of the foul crime remained. Mum summoned all her courage, got out the broom and a big bottle of disinfectant to wash away the remaining evidence.

It doesn't take a Grissom (even though he's no longer on the show) to figure out who the perpetrator is. It was the CAT! It's bad enough that the cat poops in our back garden from time to time. But this was really too much! Leaving a mangled rat in our backyard after such a savage attack is despicable. Unfortunately, we'll never know which cat did it as there are quite a lot of them hanging out in the back alley. So, it looks like this will be one of those unsolved cold crime cases.

Mum is now very cautious whenever she needs to go the backyard. But, she is thankful that she made me sit that day before letting me dash out. She knows that I won't be able to resist sniffing at the rat. It would have been a disaster. But, this beagle thinks "Darn, I missed out on a chance to investigate a real life crime scene!"

Kess' Guide on "How to Enjoy a Bone"

2010-03-21T14:56:00.008+08:00

When I'm good, I sometimes get a Pedigree Jumbone as a reward.

Unfortunately, this isn't available in Malaysia, so it means that it's rationed...sigh... Fortunately, my humans had stocked up on their recent trip to Bangkok, so my doggie pantry has quite a nice supply of Jumbones (how many visitors to Bangkok actually buy Jumbones instead of tom yam paste???).

So, how does a beagle enjoy a bone? Well, let me count the ways...

1) Always bite off more than you can chew...A beagle mouth may look small, but when it comes to biting off the bone, it can bite off a lot more than it looks!

2)Make sure you chew your bone, and chew it well!

3) Don't forget to keep an eye and ear out for any surprise attacks for your prized bone!

4) All is well...Let's get back to gnawing!

And that my canine friends, is how this beagle enjoys her bone!

Actions...and consequences...

2010-03-07T13:30:00.011+08:00

This is the beagle in action...

Digging the muddy garden when my humans are out. Hey, this beagle only wanted to have some fun

Trying to climb the wall when my humans are out. Check out the muddy beagle paw prints on my humans' newly painted garden wall.

This is the beagle facing the consequences of her actions...

Check out the mournful look on my face as I face bath time to get rid of the mud mask on my nose and mouth (my humans didn't buy the facial argument - but hey, human ladies pay good money for mud masks and I get it free from the garden...)

This is the beagle trying to undo the effects of the bath by rolling on the floor (my humans were not pleased!)

Having a game of tug of war over the bath towel with my human. Probably the most fun part of bath time. Check out those paw prints on the wooden gate. Yeah...part of my high jump actions when my humans are out.

Finally, a happy and mud-free beagle (at least until my humans go out next!)

"No beagle ever did, or ever will escape the consequences of her choices" (at least not if she belongs to my humans)
paraphrased from a quote by Alfred A. Montapert

Dog Day followed by An Evening of Cats and Dogs

2010-02-24T12:44:00.007+08:00

It's a strange title for a post. No, this beagle hasn't gone bonkers. Let me explain. It'a actually a description of the weather we had in KL yesterday. During the day, it was incredibly hot and balmy! Even with all the windows and doors closed, curtains drawn, we felt like a turkey roasting in an oven, hence the phrase "Dog Day" (which means hottest time of the year). Thankfully, mum works from home. So, we were both holed up in her air-conditioned home office. She was busy working (which explains my long absence from the blogging sphere), and as usual, this beagle was busy doing what beagles do best...ZZZ!

As hot as it was during the day, the fickle weather brought us a major thunderstorm with the full works in the evening - howling winds, spears of lightning and roars of thunders, hence the second part of my title "An Evening of Cats and Dogs, or more accurately "Raining cats and dogs". Once again, we were safe from the elements of Mother Nature as we were still holed up in mum's home office (Yes, mum was still busy meeting her deadline). I spoke too soon. Without any warning, we lost power. (We found out later that a tree branch had fallen onto the power line). The lights went off and the fan stopped spinning. Luckily, mum was working on her lap top so it went on battery mode when the electricity was cut off. Otherwise, she would have lost some work.

Humans are so reliant on power. Last night, we went for 4 hours without any. What? No TV, no internet, no lights, no fan, no air-conditioning...How do they survive? What do they do to pass time? Well, they lit some candles in the house (This beagle thought it was quite romantic), took out the deck chairs and sat outside for some cool night air to watch the world go by. Not a bad way to spend the night, if you ask me.

Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

2010-02-09T09:43:00.006+08:00

Who could believe the gall of this young cat? It actually came into MY back yard. Initially mum let me out to chase the cat thinking that this cat would be smart enough to quickly climb out of my garden. I don't know who was sillier, mum or the cat, coz the cat did not leave. And so, there we were, a beagle barking frantically at the cat, and the feline intruder trying to "make" itself bigger and hissing away.

Finally mum had to drag a very unhappy beagle into the house and closed the gate, hoping that the cat would finally go away. When she didn't see the cat, she let me out the second time. The silly cat still had not climbed out. Instead, it was hiding behind a flower pot. Duh! It didn't even take this beagle a nano second to sniff it out. At this stage, mum finally clued in that this cat was probably too frightened to climb out. So, she secured me in the house again (but why?), opened the door leading to the back alley, and prodded the cat so that it would emerge from the hiding place and leave via the open door. It worked!

That cat had better not come back again coz this beagle is on fence patrol from now on.

P.S. Now you know why the phrase "Fighting like cats and dogs" is so apt!

Home Improvement

2010-01-30T10:53:00.008+08:00

My humans decided that our house needed some sprucing up for the new year. They claim that the tropical weather and a certain active beagle has taken its toll on the walls and fencing. (I have no idea where the scratches and paw marks came from mum, honest!) Since, they're not exactly in the same league as "Tim the Toolman Taylor" of the Home Improvement sitcom, they decided to hire some painters to help give our home a new look. Mum was designated chief supervisor by default since she works from home. This beagle was naturally her second-in-command. My job description:

1) Sniff out the equipment (Beagles do this best)

This vacumn cleaner looking machine is actually a high powered spraying machine to clear off the old paint, dust and grime from the exterior walls and roofs.

2) Check out the workers during their break

3) Take a break when the workers are working - Hey, it's exhausting being the second-in-command.

All in all, it took two weeks for the job to be done. Things are back to normal now. No more workers, paint cans, buckets, newspapers, ladders all over the house and garden. No one is happier than mum! No more cleaning up after the workers leave each day...

So here's a sample of the before (bright orange zest feature wall)...

...and after (subtle O'Keefe Grey colour)

Aah...home sweet home

Mirror mirror on the wall

2010-01-19T08:17:00.001+08:00

Mirror mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all?

Kess in A Tree

2010-01-11T08:55:00.002+08:00

I did say I wanted some excitement in my beagle life in my last post. Well, I got some. My sharply-honed beagle nose sniffed out an intruder in our backyard. Now mum believes "Why keep a dog and bark yourself" (literally! It actually means you should not do something you hired some one else to do). So she gave me free reign to chase off the intruder, aka the pesky squirrel.

I tell you, these squirrels are the bane of my existence. Despite my clearly marked territory, they insist on scampering on MY ledges, MY trees and MY garden. In fact, there are days when they sit on the wall ledge and stare into my house, saying "Na na na na...you cannot catch me" (if squirrels could talk that is). Of course, they only do that when our glass door is closed and I can't get to them. Grr...It makes me so mad. "Let me at em, mum!" So, it was with great satisfaction that I was able to scare this pesky intruder off, even if it means I have to climb a tree and chase them off! Watch out squirrels, this watchdog is hard at work.

Check out my leg muscles... My incredible balancing act... "And don't you dare come back, you pesky squirrel!" Check out the video on this beagle hard at work.

P.S. Mum took these action shots on her IPhone. We're pretty impressed by how they turned out.

Hard at Work

2010-01-07T18:20:00.006+08:00

2010 - We're now on the 7th day of a brand new year. Happy New Year everyone! Don't let the title of the post mislead you. This beagle is not the one who's hard at work. In fact, this is how I spend my days...

That's right...lazing around at my mum's home office whilst she's busy doing research on the computer and doing stuff for some database. If you're wondering about my "grumps" look, mum interrupted me from my ZZZs when she tried to take a photo. You would wake up too if you had a flashy thing in front of your face!

In fact, my humans love to take pictures of me whilst I'm sleeping. Do your humans do that too?

So far, it's been a pretty uneventful start to the year. Come on mum - time to add some excitement to my canine life! I'll be coming by to catch up with everyone soon. Cheers!

Love Me, Love My Dog

2009-12-22T18:28:00.006+08:00

The year sure has flown by! I started the year with the Dog Series and it's been so much fun discovering the various dog phrases and idioms. I thought it would be fitting to end the year with an uplifting dog phrase - "Love Me, Love My Dog". This is one of the rare phrases that actually derives its meaning from the words that make up the phrase. It simply means this - if you love somebody, you should accept everything and everyone that person loves. Simple yet powerful! All our humans can understand that coz we all know that's how they feel about us, their beloved canines.

And so, this Christmas, here's spreading the message of true love - "Love Me, Love My Dog"! Have a blessed Christmas everyone!

Dog and Pony Show

2009-12-15T08:35:00.008+08:00

What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the word "Dog and Pony Show"?

Perhaps it's the clever poodle jumping through a series of hoops...

Or a pony ride that all kids love to go on...

Note: Photos taken at the Chok Chai Farm, Bangkok, Thailand

Well, you wouldn't be wrong. The slang "Dog and Pony Show" is a colloquial term used in the United States to refer to the small travelling circuses that toured the small towns. The name was derived from the performing dogs and ponies that were the main attractions of the circus.

Today, the slang "Dog and Pony Show" refers to "An elaborate presentation orchestrated to gain approval for a policy or product" [From the razzle-dazzle of the trained animal acts.] I guess we see a lot of "Dog and Pony Shows" in politics! In fact, some of these acts are so well orchestrated that they beat the real animal shows hands down.

The Taj Mahal - A Dog's Dinner

2009-11-30T12:58:00.000+08:00

"A Dog's Dinner" is another one of those dog phrases that has nothing to do with the words that make up the phrase. I'm a simple beagle. I think that phrases should mean what they say. If it's a dog's dinner, then it really should be what a dog eats for dinner.

But, as we've discovered through the entire "Dog Series" this year, dog phrases aren't as simple as it seems. In this case, "A Dog's Dinner" means "Dressed or displayed in an ostentatiously smart manner". Since mum was in India recently, we thought that a good example of this phrase is the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world. Located in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years to complete. Mum says the Taj is more that just a smart display, it is a magnificent architecture showcasing Persian, Indian and Islamic elements. I'll have to take her word for it since I wasn't there in India with her. As always, I get left behind when my humans travel. My only consolation is that dad was left behind this time too...

Anyway, if you're interested in reading a bit more about the Taj and viewing some more photos, pop by mum's blog and read her post on "The Taj Mahal - Seven Wonders of the World"

It's a dog's life in Delhi

2009-11-16T01:37:00.004+08:00

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

2009-10-31T12:20:00.003+08:00

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

2009-10-21T01:51:00.013+08:00

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...

2009-10-03T12:20:00.004+08:00

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

2009-09-12T04:50:00.001+08:00

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

2009-09-02T15:40:00.000+08:00

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

2009-08-30T13:49:00.005+08:00

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".

Sad as a hound dog's eye

2009-08-24T16:47:00.013+08:00

Some say, the eyes are the reflection of the soul. So, does this saying "Sad as a hound dog's eye" mean that beagles are sad souls? You would think so based on the two pictures below...

This saying is fairly self-explanatory and means "sad or pitiful". Apparently, this simile arose because the droopiness of the hound's eye. Whilst beagles belong to the hound family, you can see from my pictures that I don't have droopy eyes unlike my cousin, the bloodhound (also known as the St. Hubert hound).

There is another school of thought that the droopy structure of the hound dog's eyes does not actually reflect that the dog is in a state of emotional sadness. Hence, this saying is thought to imply a state of "pretend" sadness. Let me share with you a secret. Beagles are experts at giving our sad mournful looks to get our way, be it to beg for a treat or a tummy rub. So, maybe there is some truth to this version of the saying.

Whatever it is, dogs, like humans, possess a range of emotions which can be seen on our faces and our eyes. Maybe that's why dogs are man's best friend.

Sapphire tagged us to play this game:

This game has the following rules:
1) open the folder that has your pet pics in it
2) choose one you haven't posted before
3) tell its story
4) tag 5 friends

Man and his best friend

Having a friendly game of tug of war over an old t-shirt with dad. The best things in life are free!

I would like to tag:
1) Lorenzo
2) Thor
3) River
4) Martha & Bailey
5) Madison

Dog's bollocks

2009-08-16T22:00:00.000+08:00

Over the past couple of months, I've come across some really strange dog phrases/idioms whilst doing research for the "Dog Series" but the phrase "dog's bollocks" wins hands down. First off, let's break this phrase into its parts. "Dog's" is straightforward - it means something that belongs to a dog. Now, "bollocks" is a coarse British slang for testicles and is typically associated with a negative connotation. For example, bollocks is an exclamation of contempt "Nonsense" or "Rubbish". "Bollocking" is a slang meaning "to reprimand someone" whilst "to drop a bollock" means "to make a mistake".

After that little introduction, I'm sure that few can guess the meaning of "dog's bollocks". Contrary to the negative connotation associated with the word "bollocks", the phrase "dog's bollock's" actually means "Excellent - the absolute apex". As with most strange phrases, the origin of this phrase is hazy, not unlike the weather we've been having in Kuala Lumpur, thanks to our thoughtful neighbours across the Straits who practice open burning to clear land. But I digress. While dogs do enjoy licking their genitals as part of their grooming ritual, there's no evidence that this phrase is linked to that.

Instead, it appears that this phrase may merely be a nonsensical term for excellent, joining other similar animal phrase such as "cat's whiskers", "bee's knees", etc which were coined post World War 1.

So, how would you use this term? Here's a fine example:
"When it comes to love and loyalty, we dogs are the dog's bollocks."

If you want to read an example of love and loyalty, my friend Uncle Bok Jae posted the story of Lucky the Golden Retriever. An amazing story! Uncle Bok Jae tagged Mama to share a tale about me. Coincidentally, Mama FINALLY watched "Marley and Me" and was inspired to share her tale about "My Beagle and me" on her blog. I hope you enjoy reading both stories.

Put on the dog

2009-08-08T08:08:00.001+08:00

It's been ages since we've blogged. Gramps has heart problems - a condition called atrial flutter which causes his heart rate to race to 140 beats per minute. So, he has been in and out of the hospital. It's been a very trying time for our family. Thank God his condition has stabilized now with the help of medication. We miss catching up with your blogs but hope to catch up next week. We've been tagged by Sapphire and Bok Jae and will try to do that next week too.

This week's phrase, "Put on the dog" is a rather odd one. It actually has 2 meanings:

1) To make things extra special or dress formally for a special event.

Personally. I'm not into dressing up. I much prefer to go "au natural" (plus it's really too hot in Malaysia). But, as a concession for this post, I agreed to let mum tie a pretty pink ribbon on my neck.

2) To assume pretentious airs or to try to seem richer or more important than you really are. (Apparently, this may have been borrowed from an older bit of American university slang, whose first recorded use is also from Yale.)

I disagree with this meaning and I'm sure that most, if not all of you will agree with me. Dogs are the most down to earth creatures with no airs whatsoever! I mean, just take a look at my face...Does it look like I'm trying to seem more important than I look???

Who Said "You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks"?

2009-07-21T21:48:00.001+08:00

The answer to the last beagle puzzle is...
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks".

The clues were:
1)Me doing a new trick (catching a kibble mid-air); and
2) The verse "At the ripe age of seven", which in human terms is close to 50 years old!

Majority guessed this saying accurately. We also had a couple of votes for "Bark worse than a bite", which I thought was pretty good too coz it did look like I was going to bite and a vote for "It's a dog's life"...which also made sense. Well done everyone! Thanks for being such great sports. Bagel gets the "Dog Series" award for the being the clever beagle to correctly guess the dog saying first! Feel free to post the award on your blog, if you want to, Bagel.

The saying "You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks" means that learning to do new things is difficult because it is hard to forget the old ways and habits. Now, this may apply to humans but as this 7-year old beagle has proven, an old dog can learn new tricks given the right motivation - food! I think that a canine's ability to learn new tricks is dependent on the human's ability to teach the trick more so than anything else!

In defense of humans, mum reckons that whilst challenging, it is possible for older folks to learn new things. She cites the example of gramps learning to use the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Back in his younger days, withdrawal of money used to be done over the counter and they didn't have ATMs (which only became main-stream in mid to late 1980's). Mum also says that gramps learnt how to send SMS in his late 50's and is now quite an expert in sending messages from his mobile phone ! She does agree though that it is not easy for older folks to master new technology but when there's a will, there's a way.

I reckon it's much easier for old doggies to learn new tricks. In fact the catching kibble in mid-air trick was learnt just in time for this post. Dad was mucking around with the Lumix and decided to teach me this new trick. When mum saw the photo, she knew she had the winning shot for this dog saying!

One of the earliest tricks I learnt as a pup from my humans was the "shake" trick. I can do right and left paw to accomodate both right and left-handed humans! Below, I'm doing this trick for a friend. Last year, mum taught me "High Five", which is an extension of the "Shake" command, but alas, she hasn't taken a photo of me doing that trick yet...

I can also do the "roll-over" trick quite successfully, so much so that I can automatically do this trick before the humans ask me to when I know they have a treat at hand.

My humans didn't teach me all the tricks I know. Some are learnt instinctively. As a pup, I used to pick up a large leaf stalk or a stick when I used to go for walks. When I was an adult, I automatically picked up my own leash, much to the surprise of my humans.

Some tricks backfire on my humans though. Remember the "Shake" trick? Well, this is a trick I taught myself this year. When my humans are sitting comfortably on the sofa watching TV, I sit really close to mum (mostly), and the lift my paw to her knee to get her attention. Sometimes, it's to remind her that it's time for my dinner. Other times it's to tell her I want a tummy rub!

So who said "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"? They've obviouly not met this beagle. If you're an old dog, tell us your new tricks story! If you're a young pup, share with us too.

Another beagle puzzle

2009-07-18T14:27:00.004+08:00

This beagle has proven
At the ripe age of seven
This saying is untrue
So I bet you can too

Hi everyone! It's been a busy time. Gramps had just undergone a total knee replacement surgery. Mama's been busy juggling her work project and helping gramps out. I've been busy working as a therapy dog - cheering gramps and encouraging him to walk around the garden. We've finally managed to catch a short breather and have racked our brains to come up with another beagle puzzle. As always, this is a doggie saying, and quite a famous one too. The first doggie/human to guess the answer wins the "Dog Series Award". Have fun guessing! The answer will be posted sometime next week.

Doggie Bag with a Twist

2009-07-09T12:40:00.002+08:00

In my last post, I wrote about the doggie bag - a bag given to a customer in a restaurant or to a guest at a party for putting leftovers in to take home. The picture clue in the beagle teaser was a bright green bag. Boo Casanova was wondering whether Malaysian restaurants actually give out such cute doggie bags...Well, Boo, get ready for the answer:

"What does this sign have to do with the doggie bag?" you ask...

Well, here's the twist to the teaser. The bright green "doggie" bag is actually a poop scooper. It has a tissue container by the side and a clip handle. What you do is take a tissue and cover the poop. Then, using the clip handle, open the bag and scoop up the tissue with the poop. Isn't it nifty? See the picture below for a demonstration (minus the poop lest we offend some people!)

I decided to give mum a break from poop scoop duty and picked up after myself for once. After all, with this trendy "doggie" bag, I will probably become the neighbourhood canine fashionista!

Congratulations Lorenza for being the first to guess the bag correctly! You're the second recipient of the "Dog Series" Award. Feel free to post in on your blog, if you wish. Amber Mae also identified it accurately. Well done Amber!

P.S. I've also added Lorenza's and Cookie & Cinnamon's contribution to the take away/doggie bag in Mexico and Japan in the last post.

Beagle teaser revealed

2009-07-07T21:35:00.005+08:00

Sweet Molly and handsome Taffy
The first to guess correctly
Here is your well-deserved reward
The very first "Dog Series" award

Yes folks, my new pals, Molly and Taffy were the first doggie bloggers who correctly guessed the answer to the beagle teaser last Friday - "Doggie Bag". (Molly and Taffy, feel free to post this award on your blog.) Congratulations to the rest who also correctly guessed the answer to the beagle teaser. I decided to post the answer up earlier since there was already a correct guess. But, stay tuned on Thursday for a little twist to the bag!

A doggie bag is a bag given to a customer in a restaurant or to a guest at a party for putting leftovers in to take home. But do humans really take home the leftovers for their beloved dogs? What do they call the bag if the humans don't have dogs at home?

Shocking horrors...the food isn't actually for dogs...In fact, the term doggie bag is a so-called "transparent pretense" that the food is taken home to feed the customer's dog, when in fact it's for the humans! Now, if you were a beagle like me, who love food, you would protest over the use of this term. If you're going to use a doggie bag to bring food home, you better be bringing it for your dog! Don't you agree?

Just in case you're interested, here's some of the terms used when someone wants to bring left over food home or take away in the following languages:
1) Chinese (cantonese) - ta pau (pack)
2) Malay - bungkus (pack)
3) Thai - kap bahn (go home)
4) Mexican (Lorenza) - Para llevar
5) Japanese (Cookie and Cinnamon) - Ori (box for take away)

Do drop me a note if you know how to say "doggie bag" or "take away" in another language. I also had an earlier post on "Thank you" in 21 different languages, if you're interested to learn.

Beagle teaser

2009-07-03T12:17:00.004+08:00

Here's the picture clue
For a beagle teaser
Who will first breakthrough
And guess the correct answer?

Hint: It's a "dog" word or phrase (but you would already have guessed that!). All the best! Swing by next Thursday for the answer.

It's in the ear!

2009-06-25T15:10:00.001+08:00

Remember the doggie quiz on Tuesday? Good try everyone!

Q: What does a dog have to do with a book?
A: They both have ears!

Yes, it's in the ear, or to be more specific, dog-eared. Dog ear on a beagle, or any other dog is exactly what it is - an organ used for hearing and balance.

But, on a book, or to be more specific, a well-read book, "dog-eared" refers to the book corners worn or battered with use.

I do apologize I couldn't post a picture of a more "worn" book. My human is a book worm (no, she's not a worm - she just loves to read) and takes good care of her books. Her New York State Frommer's travel guide is the closest book with dog-eared corners. I suppose after travelling with my humans for 9400 miles on the plane from KL to New York City, followed by a 1000-mile road trip from NYC to Finger Lakes, Niagara and Adirondacks last summer, the book can be considered to be in pretty good shape. My humans definitely used the book extensively - referring to it for places to stay, eat and visit!

I must confess though that I couldn't see the resemblance between my beagle ears and the ears on the corner of the book. However, I suppose that whoever coined the word "dog-eared" must be referring to the more pointy ears of a dog like Benjy, my mixed pedigree buddy.

There is definitely some resemblance there! I hope you enjoyed that little quiz.

A doggie quiz...

2009-06-23T08:04:00.006+08:00

What does this...

...have to do with this?

Send me your guesses...Hint - It's part of the dog series.

Stay tuned for the answer on Thursday!

Dog-Tired

2009-06-16T13:00:00.000+08:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you come home from work or play (for humans and canines) and all you want to do is flop down on the bed and fall asleep? Well, in that case, you are feeling dog-tired. (Thanks Martha Basset for your phrase contribution). The definition of dog-tired is drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted. Unfortunately, my research on the origin of this phrase yielded zero results. So, I had to come out with my own beagle theory based on my own observation and life experience.

I reckon the human who came up with this phrase probably had a dog, perhaps even a beagle, that may have just looked like me. Anyway, the human must have observed a day in the life of his dog and saw this...

A tree climbing dog

A tree destroying dog

A sprinting dog

A rock climbing dog

He then saw the after effects of all that activity...

And came up with the phrase "Dog-tired". It is so true. Just look at the face of your dog after these activities and you can see the "tired look". So, it really is a pretty straightforward dog phrase without any need to go back to Old England like our last phrase "Hair of the Dog that Bit You".

I found this quirky quote on the phrase. Enjoy!

“Growl all day ...

and you'll feel dog tired all night.”

Hair of the Dog that Bit You

2009-06-10T11:21:00.003+08:00

Today's phrase was contributed by Essex and Deacon, the Key West Collies, who are barking mad about doggie words too! They even provided me with the Wikepedia reference for the information. Thanks fellas. I'm always happy to learn a new phrase.

If you've been following the dog series, you'll know that dog phrases can have rather strange origins and sometimes bizzare reflections on the canine world. The phrase "Hair of the Dog that Bit You" or its shorter version "Hair of the Dog" is a classic example.

This phrase, like many others (e.g. Raining cats and dogs) have its origins in old England. For some strange inexplicable reason, it was believed that you could treat a rabid dog bite by placing the hair of that dog in the bite wound. I certainly wouldn't recommend that treatment! But back in those times, there were many old wives tales. Anyway, this phrase soon became a metaphor for hangover treatment. If you've had too much to drink the night before and suffer from a hangover, have some more alcohol the next morning to cure the hangover. Hmm...

This concept of solving a problem with more of the problem surprisingly isn't limited to old England. It extends to Hungary, Mexico, Central America, Poland, Russia (just to name a few). So, obviously, it is a popular concept. Now, I don't know if it works or not. It seems to me it's just a good excuse by some who love their drink to drink some more. What do you think?

Watchdog

2009-05-28T12:14:00.001+08:00

Beagles are hunting dogs. That's in our nature. But beagles also make good watchdogs. Don't be fooled by our medium size and gentle faces. When the situation calls for it, we will protect our humans and our territory. Woe behold any stranger, man or beast who infringes our property.

Beagles are attentive...

We will bark, and believe me, beagles have deep barks which belie our size.

We will bark in the car...

We will bark at the squirrel in the tree...

We especially get upset at the monkeys in our backlane...

And the naughty monkey who boldly strolls on the wire in front of our house

As you can see, between the junk mail delivery guys, the mailman, cats, squirrels and monkeys, this beagle is a very busy watchdog.

After all that hard work...

~
Thor passed this wonderful award to me. I am so proud to be a member of the international bloggers community and would like to share this award with other worthy bloggers!

The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Copy the image, rules and questionnaire.
3. Post in your blog.
4. Answer the four questions.
5. Pick 7 friends to share with.
6. Come back to BLoGGiSTaiNFoCoRNeR at http://bloggistame.blogspot.com/ and leave the URL of your post in order for your blog to be added to the master list.
7. Have fun.

Questions and answers:
1. The person who tagged you? Thor
2. His or her site title and URL? Thor's World.
3.Date you were tagged? May 16, 2009
4. Persons you tagged? Penny, Poppy and Patches, Tuffy and the Dog WOods Pack, Sapphire, Jazz and Dixie, Amber Mae, Biggie Z, Dughallmor Beagles

The Dogma of Kess' Mama

2009-05-16T14:00:00.005+08:00

My Kiwi beagle pals, Cookie and Cinnamon tagged me to show where I sleep. Now, if you've read my post "Let sleeping dogs lie", you'll know this beagle sleeps anywhere and everywhere. In fact, my name should be "Kess ZZZs" coz I love to snooze.

My humans have this weird "dogma" (principle, tenet or arrogrant declaration of opinion) about where their beloved beagle sleeps at night. Firstly, I am not allowed to sleep on their bed. Instead, they provide me with my very own beds, which is comfy, but hey, its' not the same as their bed!

Bed #1 - is my kennel on the porch. My kennel also has a top, but for photography purposes, mum took it out so that I can be seen clearly.
You can tell from my expression that it's not my favourite bed. I much rather be in the house than on the porch. Unfortunately, it's my regular bed. Here's why:

Kess: "Mum, Why can't I sleep indoors every night?"
Mum: "Kess, you know that dad and I travel regularly. When you go to gramps' home when we're away, dogs are not allowed into their house. So, you have to get used to being outdoors at night."
Kess: "But, it's not fair..."
Mum: "I'm sorry Kess, but surely it's better to be able to roam freely in gramps' garden than being boarded at a kennel."

I guess that's true. this beagle would be miserable being boarded in a kennel. Besides, it's fun staying over at gramps because they feed me all sorts of cool treats. I even get to enjoy afternoon tea when they have their tea. At home, I only get breakfast and dinner.

Bed #2 - is my couch cum day bed cum rainy nights bed.

My humans provided this bed for me in the living room so that I wouldn't go on the couch. In the earlier years, they had to train me to stay off their couch. It took a while but their efforts paid off. I love my own little couch and haven't had any urge to climb on the human couch.

On rainy or festive nights (i.e. firework nights), I get to sleep indoors. This is when my couch cum day bed gets converted to a night bed. My humans will bring my bed to a little corner on the stairs outside their room. Sometimes, on out nights, I have to wake them up by pounding on the front door in the wee hours in the morning when it starts raining at 2 am so that I can come in. To avoid having their sweet dreams turn into a nightmare, my humans have taken to sky-gazing every night before they go to bed to see if it will rain that night. It the skies are red, it's in night for me. Woo hoo!

And now, I would like to tag the dynamic duos: Agatha and Archie, Maggie and Mitch , and Cocoa and Barley

~

My friend, Happy passed this award to me. Thanks Happy!

There are some rules for passing on this award:

1. Post it on your blog and link to the person who gave it to you
2. List 7 things you love
3. List 7 blogs you love
4. Email or comment on those blogs to let them know you've given them an award

I love:
1)FOOD, glorious food, in all shapes and sizes
2)Tummy rubs - in fact my favourite trick is to sit right in front of mum when she's on the couch to get her attention and then flop down for a tummy rub
3)Playing with my humans - fetch and "get me out of the T-shirt" are my favourite games
4)Long walks - especially when we go hiking in the hills
5)Sleep - lots of it
6)Car rides - love the air conditioning in the car!
7)Chasing squirrels and cats and postmen and delivery men....

I also love:
1) Cookie and Cinnamon
2) Laney
3) Khyra
4) Key West Collies
5) Joey
6) Fred
7) Martha & Bailey

Now, I know that some of you may already have this award but I just wanted you guys to know that I love your blogs!

P.S. Update on the Pulau Ketam abandoned dogs. Todate, about 30 dogs have been rescued.Read more about it on Malaysia Central.

Dog Eat Dog

2009-05-07T18:15:00.004+08:00

This is a disturbing post simply because it's more than just an idiom. This is an actual event happening in a small fishing village in Malaysia just as I write this post. The idiom "Dog eat dog world" signifies a world in which people fight for themselves only and will hurt other people. It means that you must first watch out for your own interests, because other people will be watching out for theirs.

The story on the plight of a group of 300+ stray dogs in Pulau Ketam that were shipped to another uninhabited island without food or fresh water source first broke earlier this week by Malaysia Central. The villagers of this small fishing village claimed that the stray dogs were becoming a problem - defeceating everywhere and even attacking children. Their solution was to capture these dogs and ship them to a nearby uninhabited mangrove island, left to die because there are no sources of food or fresh water.

The main press, including the Star newspaper later picked up this story. See "Plight of the swamp dogs", "Rescue Group Swings into action", and "Dog runs deeper into the island on seeing rescuers". Animal activist Sabrina Yeap who went to the island to rescue the dogs said that some of the dogs have died of starvation while others drowned in their attempt to swim back to Pulau Ketam. It was also reported that the surviving dogs had resorted to eating the carcasses of their dead counterparts. I guess these dogs did what they needed do to survive.

It is a sad day indeed to see how cruel humans can be.

The way to this beagle's heart

2009-04-30T16:30:00.003+08:00

Heard of the saying "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach?"? Well, I'm no man, but I can tell you, the way to this beagle's heart is definitely through her stomach. If you've missed my last 2 birthday updates, I just celebrated my 7th birthday yesterday! I had a great time - hiking in the hills, going to a restaurant and having a romp in the park. But, my dearest and fondest birthday wish was for a super duper yummylicious dinner treat. So, this underdog applied some beagle doggedness and negotiated with top dog, mum for a special treat.

So, what did I get for dinner? My regular bowl of Innova large bite kibbles? Or...a yummy hot dog with cheese oozing from it?

You must first understand my human's philosophy about feeding their beloved canine. They believe that it's best and easiest to feed me dog food, namely dry kibbles for convenience. They do supplement my kibbles with selective plain human food, namely boiled meat in soup, bread or rice, but only when they have to go out, kind of like a bribe so that I don't pine too much when they leave (because I'm too busy eating...It works all the time too!) Of course, we mustn't forget the healthy stuff like carrots, apples and all types of fruits. But that's it! They get upset when I get fed with stuff like prawn crackers and cookies (by the grandparents of course!) But, I have to say, that since we've started blogging, my humans have relaxed their dog food philosophy, thanks to you guys out there! So, what's this beagle to do but try to take advantage of this situation? After all, 7 is a lucky number, and it is my 7th birthday and 1 human year is 7 doggie years...

Jackpot! I got both.

But first, the hot dog (naturally)

When that's gone, it's time to chomp down the kibbles

With my most pathetic Oliver Twist face, "Please mum, may I have some more?"

Am I going to be a lucky dog? (Aunt Ev got these special dog chocs from Australia - they're actually carob coz chocolates are bad for dogs)

Oh my dawg! Jackpot twice in 1 night - Vanilla ice cream with a carob topping!

Someone pinch me before the ice cream melts...

Let the smacking lips do the talking...

This beagle is one contented canine. I am so glad that my humans' puppy love for one runt of the litter beagle pup has stood the test of 6 going on 7 years. One thing for sure, this adult beagle is leading a jolly good dog's life!

P.S. I did it. I managed to use all the phrases from the Dog Series in these 3 birthday posts! Phew...it was a challenge.

...and what a day it was!

2009-04-29T17:16:00.000+08:00

Thank you so much for your birthday wishes, my blogger pals. It's really awesome when you guys use doggie phrases in your comments!

My birthday started off with a lovely surprise last night. I got to join my humans when they went out for dinner at the Boathouse (Amber's been there too. But then again, Amber gets to go to lots of cool places). I was so excited! Now, in Malaysia, most restaurants don't allow dogs, so it is a rare treat indeed. The Boathouse provided a red doggie bowl filled with water and some doggie treats, which I finished in less than 5 seconds. Of course, trust mum to have thought about my beagle appetite. Whilst she and dad had NZ tenderloin steak and scallop spaghetti, I chomped on my special Pedigree bone treat which they bought from Bangkok.

Dad was rather nervous about how I would behave in a restaurant but apart from a few loud and deep barks at two noisy motor-cycles nearby, I reckon I was the perfect lady beagle. In fact, after I chomped down the bone and finished sniffing my surroundings (typical beagle!), I was ready for a snooze...What a great end to my pre-birthday treat!

The surprises continued today. Instead of the normal morning walk, mum detoured to a small park nearby (that's the great thing about mum working from home - she can take the time off to do things like that. Sweet!) I went off-leash, happily exploring the grounds with mum keeping a close eye coz the park isn't fenced off. However, she wasn't quick enough to stop me from rolling over a small dollop of squirrel poo. Humans just don't understand why we love sniffing, licking, eating and rolling over squirrel poo! Now ordinarily, I would be sent to the doghouse (or more likely, the bath house) for doing something like that, but since it is my birthday, I got off scott-free!

After that, we had a game of fetch - my favourite! The day is getting better and better.

Anyway, I figured since it was my birthday, I should apply beagle doggedness to my negotiation skills. After all, my humans have already done what they've never done before - take me out to a restaurant. So I figured there must be something special about turning 7 years old. Now, typically, I communicate with my humans with expressions and paw-language (yeap, I sit in front of my humans and paw them when I want something - usually it's my dinner). But I imagine if I could talk with mum, our conversation would be something like this:

Kess: "Mum, it's my birthday. I've been a good beagle. Surely, I deserve some special treats, you know...the edible super yummy finger licking kind..."
Mum: "That's why we took you out for dinner last night. You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"
Kess: "It was super cool. We should do it more often. The thing is, you guys got to eat steak and scallops and all I got was a bone. Not that it wasn't a yummy bone. But surely, I deserve a little bit more. You know, Oorvi gets KFC and Maggie and Mitch gets ice cream..."
Mum: "Hmm...Let me think about it"

Will this underdog beagle get her fondest birthday wish for a special dinner treat? Or will mum, the top dog overrule her?

It's my day...

2009-04-28T12:30:00.001+08:00

Remember the phrase "Every dog has its day"? Well, tomorrow is my day - that's right. It's my birthday. This beagle has lived 6 glorious years and look forward to beginning my 7th year tomorrow. To celebrate my birthday, I thought it would be fun to see how many Dog series phrases I could weave into today's and tomorrow's post.

My birthday celebration started on Sunday afternoon. After a couple of weeks of raining cats and dogs, the dog star is shining real bright these days and dog days are here again. We headed into the hills for a hike on this beautiful sunny afternoon. I am estatic coz I get to do what a beagle does best - go on a hunting mode. After all, that is what working like a dog should be - working on what we love best. My humans were grateful we didn't encounter any horses on our afternoon jaunt. They remember all too clearly my reaction to those giant 4-legged beasts. They wanted to avoid a fighting like cats and dogs scenario with me straining against my harness, barking frantically at the horses.

We did however encounter a long black snake which scared mum witless! She was happily jogging ahead of us when she saw the snake slithering in front! I wonder who was more frightened - mum or the snake (who was probably just sunning itself until we disturbed its sun-tanning session). My humans also saw red when they came across rubbish on the slopes of the hill. How could such a lovely natural spot have gone to the dogs?.

After the long walk, this beagle was grateful for the phrase "Let sleeping dogs lie" (the beagle version) as I caught some much needed ZZZs!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post and see how I celebrated my birthday!

Working like a dog

2009-04-22T17:16:00.009+08:00

This is going to be a short post. Mum's been "working like a dog" for the past week (weekend included) and is taking a short break from "share modification and deferred taxes" to blog. That's the nature of her work. There are times when she's free as a bird and then when there are projects due, she works hard for the money (Remember the Donna Summer song?).

Anyway, the term "working like a dog" is probably somewhat linked to the phrase "It's a dog's life", my very first "Dog Series" post. If you recall, one of the definitions which dates back to the 16th century- "a miserable, unhappy existence" refers to the terrible life of working dogs during this era.

I like to think that "working like a dog" has something to do with the fact that we dogs work hard when we put our mind to it. After all, many of us come from working dog breeds - hunters, shepherds and guards. In today's world, we are therapy dogs, sight dogs, cancer sniffers, drug sniffers, and the list goes on and on!

So, here's a tribute to dogs everywhere - we work hard and we play hard!

Kess - Busy hunting the squirrel in the tree (typical beagle!)

In the Doghouse

2009-04-12T17:24:00.004+08:00

Here are the many reasons why I land my beagle butt in the doghouse - defined as "being out of favour, and in trouble with a person or people, (i.e. my humans), because of an offence".

1) Killing my humans' precious red palm (Notice how thick the trunk is!)

2) Opening the bag of soil that was meant for re-potting my humans' plants(I was only trying to help spread it out...)

3) Having a bath in the mud during a thunderstorm whilst my humans are out (I don't understand why I need a second bath after that!)

4) Biting my humans' shoe cabinet and destroying their bright red special "Chinese New Year" tissue box cover (It's their fault for leaving a lonely beagle at home when they go out)

And now for the finale:

5) Scratching my humans' lovely wooden gate with my many high jump attempts (They don't buy the excuse that I am trying out for the Olympics)

Well, here's proof...First, the run...

Then the jump!

Now I ask you - should I really be sent to the doghouse for any or all of the above? Tell me what you think.

"Dog" Series
1. It's a dog's life
2. Fighting like cats and dogs(Beagle Identity Crisis)
3. Gone to the dogs
4. Let sleeping dogs lie
5. It's dogged as does it
6. The Underdog (vs. Top dog) (The Awesome Blog Award Nomination)
7. Every Dog Has Its Day
8. Dog Star
9. Hot Dog (Yikes...Man eats dog)
10. Dog days are here
11. Puppy love
12. Raining cats and dogs (Oops...Spoke too soon)

Oops...Spoke too soon

2009-04-03T08:00:00.002+08:00

Remember my post on "Dog days are here"? Well, I thought that the rains have gone away but Mother Nature decided otherwise. Right after my post, we had thunderstorms with the full works - roaring thunder and spears of lightning piercing the dark skies.

Now, I don't know about you, but I am a scaredy dog when it comes to thunderstorms. But, I put up a brave front this time round - all in the name of research. If you've been following my blog, you will know that I have started a "Dog Series" this year where I would post on words and phrases that contains the word "Dog" or as in Mama's last post, the word "Puppy". Now, generally, I do most of my research on the good ol' internet, but for this particular "Dog" post, I needed to do physcial research, just like a real scientist. So, each time we had a thunderstorm, which Mother Nature happily obliged over the last week or so, I would rush to the door and start observing real intensely.
I looked, and looked real closely but all I saw was big fat drops of water falling down and turning our garden into pools of mud.

Not a drop of dog or cat in sight! Bah, ...so much for the phrase "Raining cats and dogs". There wasn't even a tail of a kitten or a puppy to be seen! All there was was water, water everywhere, and not a dog in sight! So, what is the origin of this phrase "Raining cats and dogs" (which by the way means raining very heavily)? Well, it's time to go back to internet research. The phrase's origin is unknown, although several theories abound. I'll leave it to you to be the judge on how likely these are:

1)Back in old London, when they had straw roofs, cats and dogs would hide in the roofs when it rained. Because it was slippery, some poor unfortunate cat or dog or both would slip and fall through the flimsy roof! (Hmm...I'm trying to imagine if my beagle ancestor would have actually climbed up a roof....)

2)There is a myth that dogs and wolves were attendants to Odin, the god of storms, and sailors associated them with rain. Witches, who often took the form of cats, are supposed to have ridden the wind. (OK, double pinch of salt required here)

3)This last one is pretty gross. Back in old England again, people supposedly threw dead dogs and cats in the gutter or the alleyway. When a strong rain comes and floods the alleyways, these carcasses would be floating down the streets of England (Yuckity Yuck!)

If you ask me, the English language is full of strange idioms and phrases, many without rhyme or reason! Perhaps, that's what makes it so interesting. The next time it rains at your place, do take a peek out of your window to see if you see any cats and dogs raining down on you. And if you do see this strange phenomenon, be sure to drop me a note!

Puppy love

2009-03-27T18:00:00.004+08:00

From the desk of Kess' mama:

"And they called it puppy love,
Oh I guess they'll never know,
How a young heart really feels,
And why I love her so"

How many of you remember the song "Puppy Love", written by Paul Anka in 1960 and later revived by Donny Osmond in 1972? OK, I know that this was a long, long time ago, but hey, some songs are classics right?

Today, Kess & I celebrate our first year anniversary of our blog "It's a dog's life". Honestly, this blog would not have been if it weren't for my beloved little beagle, Kess. I still call her little girl, even though she'll be 49 doggie years cum April, not so little anymore. I remember vividly the day J & I brought this puppy beagle home in a box. It was such an eventful drive home because a tanker had overturned on the highway turning what would have been a 30 minute drive home to a harrowing 2 hour journey! We were so stressed. Kess fussed a little, but for most parts, slept through the entire journey. Phew!

We had fallen in love with this fur ball from the start and have never fallen out of love since. Contrary to the definition of puppy love - "a crush, informal term for feelings of love, particularly between young people, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection that may be felt by a puppy. The term is often used in a derogatory fashion, describing emotions which are shallow and transient in comparison to other forms of love such as romantic love." our love for this beagle puppy never faded. In fact, it has grown stronger over the years, a bond that only dog lovers can understand.

This love has survived moments of terror of having lost her (she is a master escape artist), sleepless nights, (that little rascal banged on the door a few times 2 nights back), a garden full of holes,, chewed up shoes (which she outgrew when she grew up...thankfully), torn curtains, stolen food (Yes, Kathryn, I know exactly how you feel when Ari decides to swipe the food for herself - classic dog antic!) ...and the list goes on...

Today, I celebrate the anniversary of Kess' blog "It's a dog's life" with a series of photos of Kess when she was a puppy. Back then, I didn't have a digital camera so I don't have as many photos of her when she was a wee pup. But the ones I have have never fail to bring a smile to my face. I scanned these ones for today's post.

Kess's love affair with car rides started at a very young age

We love playing with her floppy years (and she lets us)

Another habit she picked up at a very young age - chomping on carrots

We gave her a kong toy with high hopes that she'll stop chewing on my high heels. It didn't work...

Kess enjoying a play session with Sweetie, her daschund friend. When Kess grew bigger, she outgrew Sweetie in size!

I guess Paul Anka knew what he was talking about when he wrote:

"And they called it puppy love
Oh I guess they'll never know
How a young heart really feels
And why I love her so"

I love you Kess!

Dog days are here

2009-03-23T17:03:00.007+08:00

I'm celebrating 100 today...No, I'm not 100 years old, not even in doggie years, let alone human years (which would make me 700 doggie years)!

Today I celebrate my 100th post! In 5 days, I will be celebrating my first year blog anniversary. What an incredible journey it has been - it truly has been an experience that has made my life so much richer. Who knew that blogging could change lives?

After that little piece of news, let's move on to my next post on my Dog Series. Living in tropical sunny Malaysia, we only get rain or shine here. Never seen snow! Closest thing to it is probably an ice cube! So, I took great pleasure in reading your snow posts and seeing your snow white pictures.

We've had plenty of rain in the last couple of months. But, even as my friends in the Northern Hemisphere welcome spring, over here in Malaysia, I reckon the dog days are here. Dog days refer to the hottest period of the year (which, in Malaysia probably means for at least 6 - 9 months of the year).This term was used by the Greeks and the ancient Romans after the "Dog Star", Sirius. If you recall, Sirius is the brightest star, next to the sun. So, it makes sense that the hottest time of the year is called dog days.
Kess, enjoying a dog day evening

There are some pretty bizarre beliefs and practices relating to dog days. There was apparently a belief that dog days was an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies". OK...let's take that one with a double pinch of salt. Another myth states that the ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the dog days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather. Yikes mum...I'm a brown tri-colour beagle...Do I need to hide out until it's safe? "Don't be silly, Kess...It's just a myth. Besides, we live in the 21st century" Phew!

Closer to current day, the term dog days apparently refer to poor performance of the the stock market. Typically, summer is supposedly a very slow time for the stock market. To top is off, poorly performing stocks with weak prospects are frequently known as "dogs". Given today's state of the global economy, looks like there are plenty of "dogs" out there!

Who knew that dog days could be used from describing the weather to the stock market - two topics that everyone talks about!

"Dog" Series
1. It's a dog's life
2. Fighting like cats and dogs(Beagle Identity Crisis)
3. Gone to the dogs
4. Let sleeping dogs lie
5. It's dogged as does it
6. The Underdog (vs. Top dog) (The Awesome Blog Award Nomination)
7. Every Dog Has Its Day
8. Dog Star
9. Hot Dog (Yikes...Man eats dog)

Yikes...Man eats dog

2009-03-14T08:00:00.002+08:00

Warning! The following content may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

I have been hearing some very disturbing rumours about men (women and children too!) eating dog. Wait, don't panic, hold your horses. Let me do some sniffing and digging among the humans to see if there is any truth in it first.
It really is quite exciting to play detective - just like the famous Sherlock Holmes. Together with Dr Watson (aka. mum), my sidekick, we digged out some information on the internet and reviewed the evidence. Here's what we found out:

1)This dog is apparently one of America's favourite foods (gasp!).
2)Every year, Americans consume on average 60 dogs (yikes!)
3)There is a dog stand on almost every street corner in New York City
4)The dog is sold in every baseball game and amusement park
5)Coney Island has its very own Coney sauce for its dog
6)There are dog eating contests
7)Dogs are very popular during summer BBQs

Yes, you guessed it - it's the hot dog (also known as the sausage, frankfurter or wiener)!

Joke aside, the dog series has given me the opportunity to carry out some digging and learn some new information (do take it with a pinch of salt coz not everything on the net is true). I for one, was curious about how the famous hot dog got its name and what, if any, are the linkages of the "dog of the food variety" to the "dog of the canine variety".

Well, the origin is unclear. There are many myths, a popular (but disputable) one refers to a cartoon by a newspaper cartoonist, Thomas Aloysius "TAD" Dorgan. He apparently illustrated the sale of frankfurters by a food concessionaire, Harry Stevens at a New York Giants game back in the 1900's with a drawing of a daschund (probably just like Lorenza) between buns. And because he couldn't spell frankfurter, he called them "hot dogs".

There may be a darker history to the hot dog. Apparently, the link between sausages and dogs may go as far back as the 19th century in the US. Barry Popik of the American Dialect Society who supposedly did extensive research on this matter found a popular song of 1860:

Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where oh where can he be?
Now sausage is good, baloney, of course.
Oh where oh where can he be?
They make them of dog, they make them of horse,
I think they made them of he.

Of course, the hot dogs of today aren't made of dogs. They better not be...GRR...Instead, most are made with pork, beef or chicken and served with a tantalising range of condiments ranging from mustard, tomato sauce, saurkraut, chilli peppers, etc, etc. If you fancy a simple recipe to spice up an ordinary dog, check out Mama's "Vienna Sausage Wrapped with Bacon, Homemade Onion Rings and Potato Salad" recipe.

Bon appetit!

P.S. This post was inspired by the comment left by Dughallmor Beagles on my last post. Thanks guys!

"Dog" Series
1. It's a dog's life
2. Fighting like cats and dogs(Beagle Identity Crisis)
3. Gone to the dogs
4. Let sleeping dogs lie
5. It's dogged as does it
6. The Underdog (vs. Top dog) (The Awesome Blog Award Nomination)
7. Every Dog Has Its Day
8. Dog Star

Dog Star

2009-03-08T17:30:00.006+08:00

Hello Hollywood, here I come - Kess, the dog star! Fame and fortune awaits me. Champagne, limousine, bodyguards, paparazzis....

ZZZZ! "Kess...Girl, girl, time to wake up sweetie. Were you dreaming your doggie dreams again?" I hear mum's voice calling through my dream-like fuzzy state of mind. Oh, it's all a dream...You mean, I'm not really a dog star?

Wait a minute...I remember now, thanks to my pals, this beagle underdog won the "DWB Featured Blog Award" for coming in second on the "Awesome Blog Award" nomination. Thanks again everyone! But no, I'm not really a dog star. Hollywood is not my cup of tea. I'm just Kess, a Malaysian beagle who is happy sniffing away in her home in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

Back to the dog series... Dog star isn't really a dog who is a star. Nor is it a star who is a dog. No, it's not a dog reality show....even thought there are lots of dog reality shows out there...(which sometimes really shows the worst of human behaviour! Shudder...).

Dog star is a real star of the "twinkle, twinkle" variety. I did some research on Wikepedia and came up with the following: Dog Star is the colloquial name for Sirius, the brightest star of Canis Major, the "Great Dog" Constellation(but of course...we dogs, are always the brightest...so naturally, a star named after us have to be the brightest). The Dog Star actually consists of two white stars, named Sirius A (the brighter one) and Sirius B (its fainter companion). It's actually twice as large as the sun and 25 times brighter than the sun! Imagine that! Here' what a real dog star looks like:

The Dog Star is also known as Orion's dog. Apart from Greek mythology, other cultures also associate Sirius with dogs:
Chinese astronomy - Celestial Wolf
North American indigeneous people:
Seri and Tohono O'odham - Dog that Follows Sheep
Blackfoot - Dog Face
Cherokee - Dog Star Guardian of Path of Souls
Pawnee - Wolf Star & Coyote Star
Alaskan Inuit - Moon Dog

I hope you've enjoyed this little piece on astronomy 101 about the dog star!

"Dog" Series
1. It's a dog's life
2. Fighting like cats and dogs(Beagle Identity Crisis)
3. Gone to the dogs
4. Let sleeping dogs lie
5. It's dogged as does it
6. The Underdog (vs. Top dog) (The Awesome Blog Award Nomination)
7. Every Dog Has Its Day

Every Dog Has Its Day

2009-03-02T11:30:00.005+08:00

Mum is super busy these days. She is working on a project with some very tight deadlines. "I just don't have time to blog, Kess dear" she says. "What? How can we let down our friends who have shown us such unwavering support for our nomination for the Awesome Blog Award? Besides you can't be working all the time" I whined, giving her my most pathetic beagle look. Obviously my ploy worked since this post is written! Hah, the beagle triumphs again.

Well, the results are out. And top dog, Mango has come up tops. Congratulations Mango - A well-deserved win indeed! On top of that, Mango is a really cool dog. After I dropped by his blog (and the other 2 nominees) to congratulate him on his nomination, he returned the favour and left me this note:
"Kess,
Good job on your nomination. Don't worry, the same thing happened to me the first time I was nominated. Some doggie had a super bloggy month and crushed the competition (and to be honest, I just started Mango Minster as a lark and never imagined how BIG it would be). You look like a super underdog!
Slobbers,
Mango"

Hey, I may not have won this time, but "Every dog has its day". I really love this proverb. It really is uplifting and gives me hope that every dog gets a chance eventually (yes, my friends, that means you too!) . Just look at Mango...The underdog eventually became top dog.

What I really cherish from this experience is how blessed I am to have such great friends (Thanks for voting for me!). Which leads to this very belated posting of the friends award I received from Dughallmor Beagles two months back! Thanks Dughallmor Beagles! This award goes out to all my blogging buddies, most of whom I've never met personally but through blogging have become my electronic pen pals. You are all awesome in my books!

"Dog" Series
1. It's a dog's life
2. Fighting like cats and dogs(Beagle Identity Crisis)
3. Gone to the dogs
4. Let sleeping dogs lie
5. It's dogged as does it
6. The Underdog (vs. Top dog) (The Awesome Blog Award Nomination)