Doggie Toilet

The HK government means well. They've set up bricked patches designated as doggie toilet (sign and all) around the parks and residential areas. To be honest, this beagle is not sure how effective the doggie toilets are. Personally, I've never used the doggie toilets, or "dog latrine", preferring the surrounding area next to these doggie toilets. . In fact, my humans had to bribe me to get on to the toilet to get this picture. The things I do for a treat...

 

Sun and Storm

While my human is busy working in her home office, this beagle enjoys a spot of sunbathing. What can I say...it's a dog's life!

It hasn't been all sunshine here in Hong Kong. Two weeks back, Hong Kong was hit by Tropical Storm Vicente, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 13 years. HK issued a Typhoon 10 signal, the first Typhoon 10 signal since 1999. With winds reaching up to 220 km/h (140 mph), the storm wreaked havoc bringing down trees, sending debris flying and bringing the country to a halt. Schools and businesses closed, whilst public transportation and flights were suspended. The winds and rain was so strong that rain seeped through our windows!

One week after the storm, the streets still hasn't been cleared of the fallen trees. There was just so much clean-up that had to be done!

Thankfully, all is back to normal now.

Summer in Hong Kong

It's been a while since I last blogged. This beagle is alive and well.

Summer in Hong Kong is wet, humid and rainy. Sometimes we get sunshine and rain at the same time, quite bizzare really. This means my walks are short due to the hot weather. In the evenings, we tend to walk later in the evening where it's marginally cooler. I don't get to go to my favourite Aberdeen country park as often as during autumn/winter/spring. However, we did manage a short outing one weekend evening. As you can tell from my expressions, I had a great time :-)

Kess resting on a bench

Kess providing directions to the Hong Kong trail

Kess showing off the map of the Aberdeen Country Park

Whilst summer may not be the best time for doggie walks, humans, especially female humans love to come to Hong Kong during summer because of Hong Kong's famous summer sale. Needless to say, my humans has been taking advantage of adding on to their summer wardrobe. Thankfully, this beagle does not need a summer wardrobe!

Happy summer everyone!

A New Grass Patch for Summer

 The effects of dog pee on grass is pretty potent! My little 3 by 4 ft balcony grass patch was starting to look and smell bad after about 9 months, which is not surprising considering the potency of dog pee. So a couple of months back, my humans decided it was time to replant a new batch. They first had to dig up the old patch, which was not a very pleasant job.

It took them a while to get a new batch of grass replanted. The nursery said to wait until the start of summer so that they would have new batches of grass in. So, during that time, this beagle had to make multiple pee trips downstairs a day.

"Hmm..Where is my grass?"

Finally, my grass arrived. The first batch that came in accidentally got planted in the apartment's common area. It was a series of unfortunate events. So, I had to wait another few weeks. This time, it got planted correctly on my little planter box. I tested it and it works fine.

My humans dilligently water it after my pees but it is already starting to brown...Oh well...:-)

A clean bill of health

My dental surgery went well. The vet cleaned my teeth and got most of the tartar out. My two back teeth showed signs of receeding gum due to tartar built-up over 10 years but both teeth were still stable so no extractions were necessary. The vet also took the opportunity to do an ultrasound of my abdomen to make sure that there were no crystal build-up which could lead to stones in the kidney. For the first time in my 10 years, I had a comprehensive blood test as well. All tests were negative so this beagle was given a clean bill of health.

To be honest, I did not enjoy my visit to the vet and could not wait to go home. I left the vet with a pink bandage on my paw (for the drips) and some medication. The first thing my humans did when we got home was to take me for a short walk. The next day, I pretty much moped around the house, tail down and stuck close to my humans. All our friends noticed my sad mood and naturally showered my with lots of pats and attention. But I was back to my normal cheery self on Sunday as memories of the dreaded vet visit was forgotten. All is well again.

A visit to the vet leads to the dentist chair...

My human took me to the vet for my annual check-up and vaccination. Dr. N, has been looking after me this year and fully understands this beagle's fear of the slippery examination table. After all, I've already visited her three times this year (once for the follow-up examination for my urinary problem, once for a ear infection and now for my annual check-up). She doesn't mind getting onto the floor to examine me. although it's not the most comfortable position for her. She is also the first vet to discover the best way to give me my jabs. I hate needles and needless to say, there is a lot of struggling involved whenever the vet tries to give me my injections. My human sometimes fears that someone else may get jabbed by mistake. Anyway, Dr. N discovered the trick is to get my human to carry me, instead of trying to hold me down as I tend to struggle more. Then the good doctor, with her awful needle ready, does her job quickly, followed by treats for the good beagle :-0

Anyway, Dr. N suggested that a proper dental check-up, which for canines involve going under anesthesia, may be appropriate since there is evidence of plague on my teeth. She can then do a thorough cleaning, check and extract any rotting tooth. My humans only brush my teeth once a week and I suppose over 10 years, issues could arise. My humans were understandably concerned about me having to go under anesthesia but they also are aware that oral issues can lead to serious health problems. After getting feedback from fellow bloggers, some of whom have recently gone for the dental check-up, my humans decided to go ahead with the surgery, which will also include a comprehesive blood test, also a first for this beagle. The dreaded surgery is next Friday. My humans still worry but know that it's better to do it now whilst my health is still good. The last time I went under anesthesia was when I was spayed many many years ago. Fingers crossed...

Beagle turned 10...(2 weeks ago)

I'm alive and well folks in case you're wondering about the very long silence...As usual, it's my human's fault. She has been on the road or in the air and have not had time to blog. So, this beagle's birthday blog is 2 weeks late. Yeap, I am now now 10 years old. Old age is catching up. I am very much whiter now. This was me when I was 6 years old.

This is me at 10 years old. See how much fairer I am?

I'm also on daily glucosamine and propalin for joint and urinary control. I may need to get a thorough dental check-up(which unfortunately requires going under general anesthetic...My humans are still considering this and would love to hear your experiences and thoughts.) I need to stretch more before I get up and I can't go for super long walks anymore. But, my appetite is great and life is generally good. Anyway, for my birthday treat this year, my human found a healthy cookie recipe that combined all my favourite food - banana, carrot and apple. The result - a very happy beagle and friends(my canine neighbours each got a cookie too).

My humans also gave me a yummy dinner of chicken and carrot on a bed of rice and kibbles. Needless to say, this beagle did not leave anything on the bowl. Not a bad birthday treat at all :-)