The Airport Beagle

My humans saw this beagle sign at the Taoyuan airport in Taipei and naturally could not resist taking a photograph. The beagle says "Declare or be fined! You must declare all animals, plants or their products on arrival in Taiwan..."

Beagles sniff - which is why we walk with our nose to the ground...


or in the air sniffing something 90% of the time!


More importantly, beagles are very good at sniffing out food, which is why we make such good airport sniffer dogs!

Separation anxiety

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.

Working like a dog

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!)

Cancer-Sniffing Dog

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clever ChokChai Farm Dogs

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

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

The start of the plank walk

Sheep chaos

Brave Lassie finishing the herding

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

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

Bravo to the clever ChokChai Farm Dogs!

Therapy Dog

All dog lovers know that dogs are great stress relievers. I think that it's because we give unconditional love. This is perhaps the reason why dogs are such great therapists!

Wikepidia defines therapy dog as "a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools and and stressful situations such as disaster areas. The concept of a therapy dog is often attributed to Elaine Smith, an American who worked as a registered nurse for a time in England. Smith noticed how well patients responded to visits by a certain chaplain and his canine companion, a Golden Retriever. Upon returning to the United States in 1976, Smith started a program for training dogs to visit institutions. Over the years other health care professionals have noticed the therapeutic effect of animal companionship, such as relieving stress, lowering blood pressure, and raising spirits, and the demand for therapy dogs continues to grow. In recent years, therapy dogs have been enlisted to help children overcome speech and emotional disorders. .."

If you are interested to know more about Therapy Dogs, check out Therapy Dogs International, Inc.

Whilst I am not a qualified therapy dog, I did play a small role recently. Most of you may recall how stressful examinations can be (It's been a while for me. The last exam I sat for the Canine Good Citizen Test six years ago!). Well, a two-legged buddy of mine, Nerissa was pretty stressed during her A-levels exam. Since she hasn't been able to see her own four-legged pal for a while, her mum thought that I would be an excellent stress-reliever from the pressure of exams. We started the session with a couple of tricks (I do tricks for treats...). First off, the classic roll over.

Reward please... Notice my intense look as I wait eagerly for Nerissa to give me my reward.

Next trick. Shake paw, Kess.

Reward please, Nerissa.

And just to proof that I can do the roll-over trick both ways...

We finish off the session with a good tummy rub by Nerissa and her mum.

It was worth it to see the smile on Nerissa's face and hear her joyful laugh as she played with me. I was happy that I was able to take her mind off the stress of exams for a while. It was therapy for me too...Food and tummy rub therapy!

Lending a "Paw"

I borrowed the above phrase from my human dad, but paraphased it to suit me. Dad always jokes with his cycling buddies about having to come home early from his Saturday morning cycle because he is "lending a hand" at home.

Like dad, I always like to lend a paw, especially in the garden. I always see mum weeding and trimming the plants. So, whenever they go out, I lend a paw in the garden. My two favourite tasks are digging the garden (err..I mean, weeding)...

...and biting the plants (err...trimming the leaves)

Hey, it's tough work. So, with dirty jaw and paws, I take a quick break as I survey my handiwork from the door.

I also like to lend a paw to dad when he trims the bamboo plant at our back garden. I help pick up the bamboo stalks...

And then I find a cosy corner to chew it up...

Aren't I a helpful little doggie? I honestly don't understand why my humans don't appreciate my help around the garden. Do you?

Lots of Woofs, Kess, The Gardener

Post Script from Kess' mama:
The reality is you can't have a lovely green garden and beautiful plants if you have a fur kid. Apart from the digging and biting, there are also dead patches of grass from the potent pee! Would I trade Kess for a lovely green garden and beautiful plants? No way! I love my little rascal...

Beware of Dog

You know the typical story about how dogs chase postmen? Well, it's typical for a reason. Dogs are instinctively protective. So, when postmen and other delivery persons come-a-calling, we have to defend our homes and our humans (it is in our wolf genes).

Most times, the gate to our house is closed. So, I warn off these "delivery intruders" by barking real loud at them. Mum usually tells me off, but hey, I'm only doing my job. However, yesterday, mum was pruning the plants in the flower box in front of our house and left the gate open. We had just returned from our evening walk so she figured that I would be too tired to do any mischief. Little did she know...

Mum was so engrossed in gardening that she didn't realise that a dodgy-looking chap (he was unshaven and had longish hair) had come to our door to deliver junk mail. Naturally, I had to protect mum since dad was still at work (which makes me man (err...dog) of the house in his absence). So before you could say "geronimo", I had sprinted out of the gate and was running circles (literally) around the intruder. I barked and growled (grr...) and snarled at the man to warn him to leave my territory. I don't know who was more surprised, mum or the man. The man tried to flap me off with a towel...(yeah, right, like that's going to stop me.) Then mum had to spoil the fun and called me off. She made me go back into the house and closed the gate. Hmm...I wonder if it was to protect me or the guy???

Anyway, I bet the inruder will think twice before coming back again. To all you intruders out there - Beware of dog

...grrrr..., Kess, The Guard