A Dog, A Cat and A Rat

It was a day like any other. Mum opened the back door to hang out the laundry. As usual, she gave this beagle the "Sit" command before allowing me to go out. I waited patiently for the "OK" signal so that I could dash out to the backyard to sniff out any intruders since this beagle last patrolled the perimeter. The release command never came. Instead, mum shrieked with horror and quickly closed the door.

"What on earth is wrong with this woman?", I thought. I see her sending an sms to dad. Then she's on the phone with grandma. Shortly thereafter, grandpa and grandma arrive. Now, usually, I get to hang out with gramps when they come. But not this morning. Instead, mum locks me out from the house as she and gramps go into the house and head towards the backyard. I strained my short beagle neck to see what they're up to...

It was not a pretty sight and mum wanted to spare me. It was like a scene out of CSI Vegas. The mangled remains of a body laid on the backyard floor. The guts were spilled out and the severed head laid inches away from the bloodied body. The victim was...




....A RAT! No wonder mum shrieked with horror. She is squeamish (she can't even watch when the doctor gives her a jab, but is a big fan of CSI Vegas ...go figure!). That's why she enlisted gramps' help to clear up the crime scene. There was no way in the world she was going to touch the dead, mangled rat. Why, she couldn't even bear to see the rat again! To cut a gory story short, gramps, supplied with gloves, a make-shift spade, lots of newspapers and a bag, cleared the rat and its remains. The body was gone but the bloody trail of the foul crime remained. Mum summoned all her courage, got out the broom and a big bottle of disinfectant to wash away the remaining evidence.

It doesn't take a Grissom (even though he's no longer on the show) to figure out who the perpetrator is. It was the CAT! It's bad enough that the cat poops in our back garden from time to time. But this was really too much! Leaving a mangled rat in our backyard after such a savage attack is despicable. Unfortunately, we'll never know which cat did it as there are quite a lot of them hanging out in the back alley. So, it looks like this will be one of those unsolved cold crime cases.

Mum is now very cautious whenever she needs to go the backyard. But, she is thankful that she made me sit that day before letting me dash out. She knows that I won't be able to resist sniffing at the rat. It would have been a disaster. But, this beagle thinks "Darn, I missed out on a chance to investigate a real life crime scene!"

Kess' Guide on "How to Enjoy a Bone"

When I'm good, I sometimes get a Pedigree Jumbone as a reward.



Unfortunately, this isn't available in Malaysia, so it means that it's rationed...sigh... Fortunately, my humans had stocked up on their recent trip to Bangkok, so my doggie pantry has quite a nice supply of Jumbones (how many visitors to Bangkok actually buy Jumbones instead of tom yam paste???).

So, how does a beagle enjoy a bone? Well, let me count the ways...

1) Always bite off more than you can chew...A beagle mouth may look small, but when it comes to biting off the bone, it can bite off a lot more than it looks!


2)Make sure you chew your bone, and chew it well!


3) Don't forget to keep an eye and ear out for any surprise attacks for your prized bone!


4) All is well...Let's get back to gnawing!


And that my canine friends, is how this beagle enjoys her bone!

Actions...and consequences...

This is the beagle in action...

Digging the muddy garden when my humans are out. Hey, this beagle only wanted to have some fun


Trying to climb the wall when my humans are out. Check out the muddy beagle paw prints on my humans' newly painted garden wall.


This is the beagle facing the consequences of her actions...

Check out the mournful look on my face as I face bath time to get rid of the mud mask on my nose and mouth (my humans didn't buy the facial argument - but hey, human ladies pay good money for mud masks and I get it free from the garden...)



This is the beagle trying to undo the effects of the bath by rolling on the floor (my humans were not pleased!)



Having a game of tug of war over the bath towel with my human. Probably the most fun part of bath time. Check out those paw prints on the wooden gate. Yeah...part of my high jump actions when my humans are out.



Finally, a happy and mud-free beagle (at least until my humans go out next!)


"No beagle ever did, or ever will escape the consequences of her choices" (at least not if she belongs to my humans)
paraphrased from a quote by Alfred A. Montapert

Dog Day followed by An Evening of Cats and Dogs

It's a strange title for a post. No, this beagle hasn't gone bonkers. Let me explain. It'a actually a description of the weather we had in KL yesterday. During the day, it was incredibly hot and balmy! Even with all the windows and doors closed, curtains drawn, we felt like a turkey roasting in an oven, hence the phrase "Dog Day" (which means hottest time of the year). Thankfully, mum works from home. So, we were both holed up in her air-conditioned home office. She was busy working (which explains my long absence from the blogging sphere), and as usual, this beagle was busy doing what beagles do best...ZZZ!


As hot as it was during the day, the fickle weather brought us a major thunderstorm with the full works in the evening - howling winds, spears of lightning and roars of thunders, hence the second part of my title "An Evening of Cats and Dogs, or more accurately "Raining cats and dogs". Once again, we were safe from the elements of Mother Nature as we were still holed up in mum's home office (Yes, mum was still busy meeting her deadline). I spoke too soon. Without any warning, we lost power. (We found out later that a tree branch had fallen onto the power line). The lights went off and the fan stopped spinning. Luckily, mum was working on her lap top so it went on battery mode when the electricity was cut off. Otherwise, she would have lost some work.

Humans are so reliant on power. Last night, we went for 4 hours without any. What? No TV, no internet, no lights, no fan, no air-conditioning...How do they survive? What do they do to pass time? Well, they lit some candles in the house (This beagle thought it was quite romantic), took out the deck chairs and sat outside for some cool night air to watch the world go by. Not a bad way to spend the night, if you ask me.

Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

Who could believe the gall of this young cat? It actually came into MY back yard. Initially mum let me out to chase the cat thinking that this cat would be smart enough to quickly climb out of my garden. I don't know who was sillier, mum or the cat, coz the cat did not leave. And so, there we were, a beagle barking frantically at the cat, and the feline intruder trying to "make" itself bigger and hissing away.

Finally mum had to drag a very unhappy beagle into the house and closed the gate, hoping that the cat would finally go away. When she didn't see the cat, she let me out the second time. The silly cat still had not climbed out. Instead, it was hiding behind a flower pot. Duh! It didn't even take this beagle a nano second to sniff it out. At this stage, mum finally clued in that this cat was probably too frightened to climb out. So, she secured me in the house again (but why?), opened the door leading to the back alley, and prodded the cat so that it would emerge from the hiding place and leave via the open door. It worked!

That cat had better not come back again coz this beagle is on fence patrol from now on.

P.S. Now you know why the phrase "Fighting like cats and dogs" is so apt!

Home Improvement

My humans decided that our house needed some sprucing up for the new year. They claim that the tropical weather and a certain active beagle has taken its toll on the walls and fencing. (I have no idea where the scratches and paw marks came from mum, honest!) Since, they're not exactly in the same league as "Tim the Toolman Taylor" of the Home Improvement sitcom, they decided to hire some painters to help give our home a new look. Mum was designated chief supervisor by default since she works from home. This beagle was naturally her second-in-command. My job description:

1) Sniff out the equipment (Beagles do this best)

This vacumn cleaner looking machine is actually a high powered spraying machine to clear off the old paint, dust and grime from the exterior walls and roofs.


2) Check out the workers during their break


3) Take a break when the workers are working - Hey, it's exhausting being the second-in-command.


All in all, it took two weeks for the job to be done. Things are back to normal now. No more workers, paint cans, buckets, newspapers, ladders all over the house and garden. No one is happier than mum! No more cleaning up after the workers leave each day...

So here's a sample of the before (bright orange zest feature wall)...


...and after (subtle O'Keefe Grey colour)


Aah...home sweet home

Mirror mirror on the wall

Mirror mirror on the wall
Who's the fairest of them all?