Love Me, Love My Dog

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

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

"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

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

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

A Dog's Breakfast

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


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

See what I mean???


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


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

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

"Please mum, can I have some more?"

Tilly - the Goldy

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

Like me, Tilly loves...

A tummy rub


A car ride


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


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


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


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


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

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

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


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

MIA for a while - still...

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

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



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