The Beagles' Day Out

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?

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!"

Christmas greetings

I have to say, the Dogs with Blogs Christmas Exchange Card has really spurred us to an early start to our Christmas preparation. The Christmas wreath is hanging on the door. Our table Christmas tree is up. Christmas presents are wrapped (the only present missing is mine). My humans have yet to go shopping for me - can you beat that?

We've started sending out our e-cards but have yet to keep pace with the rate of Christmas cards coming in, simply because we want to visit the blogs of our new friends, whom we've never met on-line before we reply. So, please be patient with us. Meanwhile, we also realise that some of our pals are not on the DWB card exchange program or for some who are, have opted for snail mail only. We've decided to post our Christmas card on our blog to wish all you a blessed Christmas.



And finally, a little Christmas poem we made up for all our friends:

It is Christmas time
Let's spread the cheer
We wish you all joy
and a blessed new year

With love,
Kess & Her Mama

The dreaded visit...with a happy ending!

"Kess, it's time to go for a car ride" mum said one sunny Saturday afternoon. My ears perked up. My tail did a boogie woo "left-to-right-and-back-again" wag. I rushed to grab my leash from the top of the shoe cabinet. Car rides are on my list of favourite "To Dos"! Little did I know...

It was actually the car ride to X@#*! (This is a child-friendly blog after all). We were going to the VET! Aargh...It's every doggie's nightmare (I know coz I've read your blogs). Apparently, it was time for my annual check-up and vaccination, which is actually top of my"Don't Do" list, but do my humans take that into account? No, of course not! They say it's for my own good. Huh? How does having a vet prod my anatonomy, peer into my ears and mouth, put me on a weighing scale (I don't need a vet telling me I'm fat!) and stick a needle on my butt helpful?

But, no amount of pleading eyes and whining could change their minds. They say that the vet needs to examine me to make sure I'm in good health. In fact, after my last check up, the vet recommended that I take glucosamine because of my weak hind leg (my humans reckon it's from all the climbing and jumping off fences when I pretended to be Houdini, the famous escape artist...If you're new to my blog, read about my escapades and adventures).

Well, I wasn't about to cooperate with the vet. Plus I really detest the slippery metal table they put me on!. So I struggle to get off...

After a long while, I got tired and succumbed to the vet's stethoscope. Kess - 0, Vet -1.

Check out the size of the needle! And I got jabbed twice - once for the core vaccination and once for heartworm. Kess - 0; Vet - 2.Heartworm disease, which is carried by mosquitoes can cause serious harm to the heart, lungs and other vital organs of dogs. If untreated, heartworm disease can result in death. Read more about it on American Veterinary Medical Association's ("AVMA") and American Heartworm Society's websites. Pretty serious! However, I much preferred when my humans fed me the Heartgard tablets every month. But since mum and dad suffer from bouts of forgetfulness, they opted for the annual injection to minimise the risk. The AVMA website also has a section of vaccination, if you're interested to read up about it.

After the trauma of the slippery table and needles, mum gave me some treats to make up for my suffering! Sigh...bribery works all the time with me. Finally, dad lifts me off the table and I could just kiss the floor! Suddenly, a strange dog comes bounding into the examination room through the back door. Now mind you, I was already traumatised at this point, so I wasn't my usual friendly, docile self. I growled at this strange canine and my humans had to quickly remove the newcomer before things got ugly.

I was more than happy to say goodbye to the vet and left the room before my humans changed their minds and decided to have a 2nd session with the vet. Out at the waiting room, I saw the new dog again. By now, I was back to my normal self. After taking turns butt-sniffing, I became pals with QQ, a beautiful retriever. Unlike me, QQ was very excited to see the vet (so much so she couldn't wait for her turn and sneaked into the examination room before her turn!)

Anyway, both QQ's and my humans were glad that we became friends.
So, there was a happy ending after all! I gained a new friend.

Ginger and Beef

Mum's Chinese Stir Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion

No, I'm not doing a post on the Chinese stir-fried beef with ginger (although we have the recipe on Mum's blog if you are interested).

This is Part 2 of my post on my humans' trip to New York. When they were in the Adirondacks, they hired mountain bikes and hit the trails there. After 18 miles of cycling, they took a break at a park before returning the bikes. That's where they met Ginger (the first part of the heading), a Chinese Shar Pei dog. My humans have never seen a Shar Pei before and were intrigued by Ginger's deep wrinkly feature. They struck a conversation with Gingers' humans, the Furinas, who were most gracious and allowed Ginger to be photographed.

With its origins as a guard dog, the Shar Pei a loving, devoted family dog. Ginger had no problem when her human carried her like a baby. In fact, she looked like she enjoyed it! Besides pictures and stories of new friends, mum & dad also brought me back some treats - Beef Jerky (which is the second part of my heading) and Doggie Bacon. Woo Hoo! I mean, it's nice to meet new friends but hey, I'm a beagle. Nothing beats food!

I check out the Beef Jerky first. It's made with American beef and smells soooo yummy.

Then, I sniff the Doggie Bacon. Oh man, I'm salivating....

Can't resist...Gotta get this package open...

Mum, can I have some help please???Typical mum. She tortures me with the "Sit down" command with the oh so tempting beef jerky treat in my "Feed Me" bowl! How much more can a beagle take???Finally, she relents when she sees my mournful look and gives me the long awaited "OK"It tasted just as good as it looked!

Thanks mum & dad for the new friends and doggielicious treats from New York!

Napoleon, King of the Hills of Skaneateles

My humans suffer from "doggie deprivation" (aka they miss me heaps!) whenever they travel. So, after close to 2 weeks of admiring other people's dogs from afar in New York, they were delighted to discover that the bed and breakfast they were staying in at Elbridge, a quaint village in the hills of Skaneteales (Pronounced "Skinny Atlas") has a dog. Joy! Happiness!

Napoleon, named after Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous French leader, is a Great Dane (think Scooby Doo). The breed is commonly referred to as the "Gentle giant" and the "Apollo of all breeds", which is so true. I think that if I met him face to face (OK, I may not be able to see his face if we're both standing coz I'm SHORT and he's well...BIG...), I may not be afraid of him coz mum assures me he is very, very calm and friendly).

Check out the smile on his face and his beautiful blue eyes!

Scooby Dooby Do...Where are you?

Marge and Bob, the owners of Fox Ridge Bed and Breakfast adopted him from a friend who could no longer take care of him.

We think he couldn't have a better home than Fox Ridge Farm. The tree farm is set on 120 acres of woodland. He has the pick of gardens, open meadows, forested hills, and brooks to roam on the property.

Strength and grace in motion

Then when he's done enough exploring for the day, he goes home to his comfy bed. And of course, when there are dog-loving visitors at the bed and breakfast, he gets an extra dose of hugs and pats. Mum & dad really enjoyed their stay at Fox Ridge. Marge and Bob are gracious hosts. Breakfast - Baked french toast with apples was yummy! Mum said it felt like home away from home, right down to the dog!

P.S. Marge, thanks for the carrot and apple. Mum said you asked her to give it to me on your behalf. You know I just love carrots and apples!

I Finally Met Benjy In Doggie-Person!

Remember Benjy?

Finally, mum & dad took me along to visit Benjy. He now looks like this... I can't believe how much he has grown over a few weeks. He is lankier now and with his new physique, has lost the beagle resemblance.

Benjy is an extrovert. Like most puppies, he is really playful & energetic, mischievous and persistent. He kept wanting to play and loved jumping over me. I didn't quite like the jumping part...

He's also going through the bitey stage. The Fongs have lost a couple of slippers to Benjy (including one half of Crocs sandal). Aahh...yes...I devoured a few in my younger days. So, my humans brought over some toys to keep Benjy occupied and to teach him what is bite-able (toy) and non-bite-able (sandals and humans). He loves the rope toy (which puppy doesn't?), especially when someone plays tug-of-war with him.

Here, Benjy shares bonding time with Pei Der. Look at Benjy's mischievous grin. Isn't he adorable?

Then, when he was tired out from all that play, dad taught Pei Yee how to clean Benjy's ears. Benjy was really good and didn't put up any fuss during ear-cleaning time. He got a biscuit reward after that. My humans are very impressed with Pei Yee. Despite this being her first time having a dog, she is a natural with Benjy. We're also happy to report that she has been very responsible in taking care of Benjy. Well done Pei Yee! Keep up the good work!

Just Some Clocks for Smart Dogs by Oorvi

My beagle buddy River introduced his pal, Oorvi on his blog today. Oorvi and human, Mercury have created Oorvi's playground, specially for all doggies. Notice the clock on my blog? That's Oorvi's! Click on the doggie icon and it'll change. Isn't it awesome pawsome?

Thanks to River for introducing Oorvi and double thanks to Oorvi and Mercury for sharing the playground with all doggies.

Girls Day Out at the Dog Olympics

Mum & I had a "Girls' Day Out" yesterday. Dad had gone on a mountain bike cross country race so, we gals had our own outing at the Dog Olympics in Central Park (no, not the one in New York City) in Bandar Utama. It was a gloomy morning but that didn't stop the doggies and their dog-loving humans from turning out in full force.

Although we didn't participate in any of the Dog Olympics events, we had a gala time meeting all the other doggies. At the rate I'm going, my social calendar is going to be busier than my humans! Let me show you some of the new friends I sniffed, eer...met (Beagles,Schnauzers, Spaniels, Huskies, Terriers, etc, etc) :



















Budding photographers and professional photographers were out in full force. I lost count how many times complete strangers pointed their cameras at me. Big, expensive SLRs, compact point and shoot cameras, mobile phone cameras were all being clicked away. Luckily, I'm an "experienced" model coz my humans are forever taking photographs of me, especially since I started the blog.

I managed to dodge the photographers long enough to catch a break.
Then, as I waited for the agility event to start, mum decided to take more pictures of me...
Finally, I managed to watch the agility event. Such clever dogs! A couple of them were rather entertaining. One Jack Russell decided that he prefered to run outside the course, than inside. His poor human had to chase after him!
What a super duper outing. Even the rain didn't dampen the day!