My sweet girl - Year 2 Report Card

Mariko - baby then, still my baby now...

Still worships the ground her brother walks on.

Loves sitting in the car.. moving or stationary.

Had her period.

Then, gave up her ovaries because she wants to always be the baby in the family.

Still sleeps on the bed as she did the first time she came into the bedroom.

Still as mischievious as ever but has learnt that pink panties is not a toy. She has the ability to be sleeping soundly on the couch to barking at the gate in 10 seconds.

Always distracted at meal times.

Sometimes, she has to be forced to finish her meals before playtime.

She still hates bath time.

But loves going for her walks.


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Marathon week

I've been having crazy sessions at work and at home for the past weeks. This week, it has reached to "marathon" status. Every waking moment is about work.

In the home front, we've been having rainy nights the whole week. This has made the evenings super cool and relaxing. Well, it has super great especially for my boy. His normal walks typically takes about half hour....which is when he starts to "overheat" and would gladly head home to dip in his pool. However, with the extra cool nights, he has been extending his walk time.

Last Monday, he walked me for an hour and a bit. Every time I tried to "short-change" him with a shorter route, he will notice and steer me back to the long-cut. When he noticed that he's approaching home, he will quickly move to the opposite direction.

On Tuesday, he walked me for a record 1 hour 45 mins! During the walk, we had 3 stand-offs - the first and second times, we stood at the sidewalk refusing to budge unless we were going in our own preferred direction. Mid-way through our stalemate, he decided to sit and wait at the roadside until I give up. And, I did (give up) and followed him. So, he took me round his route. The third stalemate, I was so ready to tie him to the nearest tree, come home and get the car to take him home. Finally, when we were close to home, I dropped the leash and told him that I was going home. He got the message and slowly prodded home (with a few deviations to the nearby bushes) too.

On Wednesday, he stayed overnight at daycare because I was too tired for another marathon. Typically, when this happens, he'll be the first to jump in the car when it's time to go home. This time, he has also started to climb into bed with us. Something he never does even as a pup. The only times he's on the bed is in the morning, when he wants me to get up to feed him pronto.

Thursday, we were walking in the steady rain in the night. Friday, we were walking in drizzle in the night. The neighbors must be starting to wonder about that psycho-woman in hoodies wandering about in the night.

Rain - very good for him, not for me.




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My baby girl turns 2 today

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FOR GOD SAKE.....get a grip, lady!

My girl got her neck bitten by a 7-year old Golden Retriever yesterday.

This is the second time this happened. I didn't blog about an earlier incident with my boy. The first time, my boy was off-leash at night at the park. Out of nowhere, the lady and her dog came by. Yes, being off-leash has its risks and my boy is totally bad on recall command. So, he goes running off to meet (confront) him. Next thing you know, the silly lady start screaming and her dog takes a bite at my boy's neck.

My boy wasn't even fighting back. The other dog just continued sinking his teeth of into my poor boy. That stupid lady kept screaming and yanking the leash from the other end. FOR GOD SAKE, GET A GRIP!!

I had to run over and pry her dog's jaws out of my boy (and he didn't want to let go) and that stupid woman just stood there.

The same thing happened yesterday. My girl ran out the gate to the same dog. The stupid woman started screaming. COME ON....this is not a ROTTWEILER....and she's not ATTACKING YOU or YOUR DOG!

I had to once again pry open the Goldie's jaws...and he really didn't want to let go. So, I had to coax him first. That didn't work. I stuck my fingers in his mouth to pry his jaws open. Nada. It became more urgent when I saw blood. So, I had to hit his head a few times until he let go. That woman just stood at the end of her leash the whole time.

I really don't blame the dog. There was so much anxiety caused by her screaming. She didn't even bother to come over to calm her own dog. STUPID WOMAN.

I bumped into her son taking out the dog (Max) after he bit Haruki. He told me that Max was a rescue and they took him in this year at the age of 7. His past wasn't good...and is poorly socialize. So, I can understand.

But, her mom really needs to stop screaming and come to calm her dog. I don't think she knows that it's her dog that bit mine in the end!

I really need to have a word with her. I know it's wrong to have my kids loose for a moment... but, if it happens, they are not the killing type...so, for God's sake, don't freak out!

My kids, especially my girl, doesn't know danger at all. She'll just run towards any dog she sees. Yesterday, she came out of it with neck scrapes and teeth marks. I wonder whether she's still traumatized.

Which reminds me, my boy had gotten loose one time when he was less than 1 year old. He ran towards the rottie down the road and got nipped. It's fair...he learned his lesson. Another time, a black lab that we used to bump in our morning rounds came out of the bushes and attacked (bit) Ruki. My poor boy was stunned...and he didn't fight back. At least those times, I didn't have any issues with the dogs or their owners.

Dogs are after all, dogs...

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Strange bedfellows

This is one of Ruki's favourite sleeping position. Bent hind legs against the nearest wall. Few nights ago...

This morning...

The kids lounging around...last week.

My foster, last week. Positioned closest to my desk ... but lying low and undetected...not to be at risk of getting sent out.



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