Post Usagi - All is Well!

As expected, the T8 signal was hoisted for Typhoon Usagi on Sunday evening. Thankfully though, the storm weakened as it approached Hong Kong from a severe tropical storm to a tropical storm. We were safe in our home and was well protected from the strong winds and rains. On Monday morning, the T8 signal was removed around 9.30 am and we were able to go for a walk. There were a lot of fallen leaves and branches, but no major damage.

Where to start? Typhoons first...

So much has happened since Mia joined our family, that I honestly don't know where to start...

Let's start with the weather...One week after Mia arrived, HK was hit with Severe Typhoon Utor, which resulted in a T8 warning signal hoisted. Utor was closest to the city at around 250 kilometres to the southwest of Hong Kong.

 

Whilst the winds howled outside our window, Mia was oblivious to the havoc Typhoon Utor was wreaking outside as she kept busy with her chew toy.

 After the storm had passed, we were finally able to take a walk after being cooped indoors for a whole day. As expected, there were a lot of debris on the road, with fallen branches and leaves all along the road.

We are now bracing for the second typhoon to hit Hong Kong since Mia arrived. Typhoon Usagi is going to be nasty. It is supposed to be the strongest storm on the planet so far, with winds as strong as 260km per hour. Unlike Utor, which did not directly head towards Hong Kong, Severe Typhoon Usagi looks to be heading directly towards our city. For the moment, the T3 signal is hoisted. We are expecting a T8 signal to be hoisted before night fall. We'll keep you posted.

 

Kess & Mia

For eleven years, I have been the sole beagle in our household. Well, all that has changed. Meet Mia - the latest beagle addition to our family! I have to say I am a little weary about having a very active beagle pup in my home, but my humans have been pretty good to make sure that both beagles get along. They did research before Mia arrived to find out what's the best way to introduce a young pup to an old dame. They got new supplies for the pup so that I don't have to share with the newcomer.

Mia arrived on a sunny summer day. She wasn't happy being in a crate - I know the feeling, Mia.

 

My humans kept me at home whilst they took Mia for a short walk to let her adjust to the new surroundings. After a while, Mia and I met at a nearby playground where we proceeded to sniff each other out in typical doggie fashion. The meeting went well and we walked home together.

 

 

It's only been a week but Mia has totally adjusted to being in our family. She is a very affectionate  beagle pup with tonnes of energy. My humans have to make sure that she doesn't disturb me too much. Despite having her own bed, she likes to use mine. Let's just say the first few nights were pretty restless for humans and beagles. It's improving and Mia is now happy to stay on her bed and I don't mind if she's close by.

Mia has lots of play time and loves to play with her duckie toy.  My humans call her speedy Gonzales because she runs like the wind!

 

 

 Last weekend, Mia had her first bath since arriving. Unlike me, she loves the water and would chase after the water when my humans water the plant with the hose. But like me, she is not too crazy about bath time either.

 

 Mia is also very clever. She only had one training session with my humans and she quickly learn how to sit for treats. We beagles will do anything for food.

All in all, we are all happy to have Mia in our family. She really is a sweet, fun and loving pup. Welcome to our family, Mia!

 

Loving my garden!

After 2 years of not having a proper garden (the grass patch in the balcony doesn't really count), my humans and I are rediscovering the pleasure of a garden.

From this beagle's perspective, nothing beats the joy of sunbathing in the garden. Notwithstanding the fact that it's been a really wet summer (at the time of writing, the rains are pounding down as severe tropical storm Jebi was about 450 kilometres south-southwest of HK. Whilst Jebi is not expected to hit HK directly, its effects are definitely felt, as a T3, strong wind signal no 3 has been hoisted since dawn).

Still on lovely sunny days, this beagle enjoys sitting, lying and wriggling in the garden!

 

The other side benefit of having a garden in the backyard is that I no longer have to take the long way down, which involves going down 20 over floors on the lift, walking down the driveway to the small woody area to pee. In my mind, the best benefit is that I get to eat breakfast faster as it takes me no time to run upstairs to the kitchen after my morning pee! Remember how my humans were concerned about this old beagle going up the stairs? Well, ever since they've added fish oil capsules to my diet, I've had a new lease on life and my humans are amazed at how fast I get upstairs, especially when motivated by food!

 

Last but not least, I no longer have to have a bath in the cramp, slippery bath-tub. Of course, I would prefer not to have a bath at all, but since my humans vetoed that suggestion, I suppose it's much nicer to have a bath in the spacious garden. Plus, if my humans are not attentive enough, I get to wriggle in the garden after my bath. Ha! Ha!

 

Black and White

Black whiskers on the right side

White whiskers on the left side

Strange, huh?

Grass Patch Box Retired

My trusty 4ft x 3ft grass patch, which has served me well for the two years since I've moved in has been retired. Why?

 

 

My humans and I have moved.

I now have my very own little garden. It's much smaller than the garden we had back in Malaysia, but as you can see, it's bigger than my grass patch box.

 

Beagles love rolling in grass, as you can see below. The big difference between my grass patch and my new garden? Well, the grass patch did not have stinky dead stuff. Yesterday, when my humans let me roam unsupervised in the garden, I came in stinking to high heaven!!! I had sniffed out stinky dead stuff and had a lovely time rolling in it. Naturally, my humans did not appreciate the odor, and off I went for a bath, with double shampooing because I was so smelly. Sigh..

Apart from having my own garden again, it's lovely to explore new walking grounds - new scents and new dogs. On this particular day, it was very misty and dream-like.

 

It's taken me a couple of days to finally adjust to the disruption of the move (this old beagle does not like change). At least this time round, I didn't have to be separated from my humans, crated and flown thousands of miles, like the last time we relocated to Hong Kong. We just hopped onto our car and drove to our new place. The downside to our new home is the stairs. Similar to our house in Malaysia, it's a multi-storey house. Since I have difficulty climbing stairs but at the same time, want to be where my humans are, it's been a challenge as they have been going up and down to unpack. My humans try to keep me on one floor but if they forget to close the door, this beagle sneaks up and down. Hopefully, now that we're finally settling down, we'll be able to establish a routine which will minimize the stair-climbing.

 

 

 

Kess got mail

This came in the post today. It was addressed to my human but look at whose name it was attentioned to - me, Kess!

 

The HK SPCA sent me the annual vaccination reminder...Sigh...Visiting the vet is not on my list of favourite things (no offence, Dr. Nic). But my humans say it's a necessary evil. Last year, after my annual visit to the vet, I ended up having to go for dental surgery to get my teeth cleaned and checked. Whilst I was going for surgery, I also got blood tests done. Thankfully, I was given a clean bill of health. Hopefully, there won't be any nasty surprises after this year's visit to the vet.

 

Admittedly, in the last year, this 11-year old beagle has slowed down quite a fair bit. Before, I used to be able to bound up steps with no problem. Now, I actually have to take one step at a time. In fact, my humans sometimes carry me up and down whenever we come across steps on our walks. My distances have also reduced. In fact, I sometimes worry my human on our daily walks at Bowen Road when I stop, look at her and then make a U-turn to signal my desire to go home, way before our normal turning point. But when we go on the trails, I could go on and on and on. My humans have to make the executive decision to turn back, despite this beagle's protest, as they realize that I may not be able to take the distance.

Apart from the slow steps climbing and shorter distances, with the old age, I've started to develop little nicks and lumps. When my humans first detected the little lump on the top of my head and the nick near my eye which didn't heal, they took me to the vet. However, it's too small for any biopsy to be carried out. I guess I'll have to see what Dr Nic says this visit. Age is definitely catching up. One good thing though, I haven't lost my appetite ;-)