Missing the two monkeys...

On vacation for more than a week now. I wonder how the kids are doing at boot camp.Will be so glad to be home tomorrow.

What I find in bed every night

 

 

I must remember where I put my face at night.

 



Casualty of Dogs

This weekend, I became a casualty of dogs once again. Precisely, Brownie the stray. It was a high-speed dog (him) collision  with stationary object (me) from behind. I was knocked off both feet and landed on my bum! My lower back is sore now and I had to skip gym this weekend.

This is the second collision with him. The first time was a head-on collision where he ran towards Ruki and me at high-speed, hit my shin and knees. That time I managed to re-balance myself (barely). I seriously think he has no braking system what so ever. I am still angry with him.

Offender 1: Haruki
My son's most severe offence was causing my sprained ankle - which still has not completely healed. I've resolved to the fact that it might be permanently damaged. For grand dad, it was falling on the ground and losing his favourite sunglasses.

Offender 2: Mariko
I can't recall anything as severe as a sprained ankle. Let's leave it this way.
But, my girl has the tendency to skip-walk which makes it all jerky walking her around. This means it's not good on my knees and wrists. Apart from that, just a whole lot of guilt trips for me, as she doesn't get to walk on weekdays and only gets to 2-street walks on weekends.

Offender 3: Cousin Bowzer
Last week, he caused the maid the fall and she broke her wrist. Apparently, it needs to be operated. As a result of this and previous offences (like making his grandpa fall during their walks), I heard that he was given away to someone else this weekend. Grandma packed his bags while son and family were away on vacation. How tragic! Personally, I'm not agreeable with the outcome...it shouldn't be that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The boy should be sent to Obedience School to be schooled.... not to be sent away. Just my opinion.


Syntea is also on Tumblr.

My baby is 3 today and...

I forgot....BAD MOMMA....



 

 

 

I was just thinking this morning how she will always be mummy's baby girl...no matter how old she is. It's the rainy season now...and she's always sticking by me because she's doesn't like the sounds of rain and thunder. When the heavy rain starts, she proceeds to her panic room - the bathtub in my bathroom.

Syntea is also on Tumblr.

Look what came in the post today

 

Ok, that's not my hand but that was very well the size of the baby snake I found in my post box this morning. Normally, getting the post meant just sticking my hand into the postbox....but after a few heart-attack episodes of wriggly lizard sticking on envelopes, I have tended to look before pulling anything out of the box.

 

Today, I found no lizards. Just a snake.

 

The brave me wondered a while whether to call the fire department but decided to take matters on herself. Since the only tweezer-like contraption I had was an eyebrow tweezer, I had to use the next best thing - chopsticks!

 

The plan was to pick it up and put it on a relocation program via the morning's garbage. Unfortunately the little snake wriggled itself from my chopsticks and fell into the drain outlet. I really hope it goes far far way and not decide to return to my postbox.

 

The kids will have to get supervised garden visits from now on.



 

Syntea is also on Tumblr.

My boy...the wounded warrrior

 

My son was attacked by a neighbour's German Sheppard while walking with his grand dad this evening. Okay, I think I may have exaggerated a little on the "warrior" bit. According to grand dad, when the black dog a.k.a. Darth Vader rushed out from the gates, my boy "Luke Skywalker" laid down like a sacrificial lamb. Although he has a fierce-sounding bark, my poor boy does not have a mean bone in him. After the confrontation, they continued doing their usual route, not knowing that the wound was deep.

 

As it was a Sunday, I had to take him to the animal hospital downtown. This is my boy looking like a trooper on arrival at the vet. The vet medical assistant remembered my boy ( or maybe the the psycho woman who came with her dog at 3 a.m.).

 

The wound left a hole in his right chest, about 2.5 inches long. According to the vet, it tore the muscle too. :(

 

He got 2 jabs - antibiotics and painkillers. His wounds were cleaned but had to be left open.

 

Poor boy needs stitches tomorrow as there are no doctors today. He will need to be under anaesthesia. Thankfully, he'll still get his dinner tonight. Then, no food after 11 p.m. until after his stitches are done because on aneaesthetics.

 

 

Tonight, he has started to limp and looks like he's in some discomfort :( 

 

I'm glad he is sleeping for now. I hope I'm strong enough to make it through the night and not end up driving to the hospital at 3 a.m. again.

 

 

Update (Mon 15 Oct): My boy got chest-shaved and stitched up this morning. Doc said his wound was filled with fur which is not a good thing. I'm thinking that it might have been better the vet shaved the area last night, when she cleaned his wound. Doing well. Doc said he can still go for his walks...no bed rest necessary.

 

Med bill @ Animal Hospital - RM205 (consult, general cleaning, painkiller & antiboitic injections)

Med bill @ Section 17 vet - RM250 (consult, anaethesia, stitches, painkiller injection, 10-days of painkiller & antibiotics)

 

hmm.... I think I found my new vet (after my old vet moved) and my boy is 40 kg. He needs to go on diet again.

Syntea is also on Tumblr.

My girl, the supermodel

 

For a long time now, I always noticed that my girl has a good strut. She really looks like she walking on 6-inch stilettos!

 

 

 

The boy, on the other hand, looks like he's wearing sneakers.

Syntea is also on tumblr.

World class dodger

When it comes to taking medicine of any kind, Riko must be the master dodger. This week, she is due to get a second tick spray and deworming tablet. Her reaction is the same as of a kid being forced to take her medicine.

Somehow, she detects that her meals have been tainted despite being camouflaged with cheese sprinkles and chicken stock.

She's willing to go on a hunder strike for fear of being "poisoned"...

When momma says "come here...", it means somethin's up".

With more medicine I'm feeding her these days, she has even resorted to find a new hiding place. 

Note the limited eye contact when found.

My girl, the drooler

As you may already know, my girl shares my bed. We have our allocated zone. Left for me. Lower right for her. Well, sometimes she crosses the line like this.



Just like what is in her brother's breakfast bowl is better than hers, she often feels that the bed is always better on my side. I don't mind that she warms the bed before me. But lately, it has not only been warm...it's been wet. Hmmm...from her drooling!

My boy, the aeroplane

For the past 2 days, my boy has been taking extra time.... I mean a long time getting into the car to go home at night. When we signal to go home, it is signal for him to start to look for his bone in the garden, sit down and scratch his stomach, stretch and roll on the ground. Then, he will stretch spread eagle chewing his bone. Despite calling yelling at him to get in the car, he doesn't budge.

 

So for 2 straight days, I had to drive out the house and closed the gate and hide the car behind the bushes outside to wait. All he did was look up to see me drive away, unfazed by my departure. Not even running to the gate to see that I actually left...like he used to.

 

I reversed my car to the front and opened the gate. He looked up as if he half-expected me back. After a few seconds, he looked mighty glad I came back. He grabs his bone and races down the driveway. Literally, raced down and jumped into the car.

 

I was so nervous that he would hurt himself jumping in at high speed. So, tonight...I closed the back door to avoid another high-speed jump. He jumped into the driver seat instead!

 

I wonder whether he finds it hard to jump up the car seat now. He can spend a few minutes standing at by the car door before finally jumping in. Now, it looks like he needs an entire driveway length to launch himself into the car!

 

I will have to watch this development closely.



 

 

I wonder who got the therapy today

In need of some Pet Therapy

Who's the boss?

My son and I are back to the phase when we are negotiating on our walking route every day.

When we disagree, he will just sit down refusing to budge an inch. So, we are usually on the sidewalk - me standing, he sitting, for a couple of "stand-off" minutes. And, there's no way pull an 80-pounder boy to his feet gracefully. In one long deadlock moment this week, I had to tie him on a nearby tree while I waited a few feet away at our front gate. He seemed contented just sitting under the tree waiting too. I think he was ready to sit there all night. Hmmm....

As a result of that, he got a huge lecture and had his ears pulled and in turn, .... I have to concede an additional 2 new streets into our daily route. We still have some odd disputes in the last junction home. I have to remind him that I no longer kick a fuss when we start walking the last 2 new streets and he shouldn't kick a fuss when it's time to go home.

So far, so good.....well, until our next peace treaty.

My beeworks tumblr site seems to hang each time I access it. So, I have trouble updating it. Sigh, just when I have complete strangers following my unpublisized site. Anyway, I'm hoping for better results when I update my Windows soon.

Kids don't know the value of money

Today, I found out that my electricity bill doubled this month. It's probably because we have been sleeping with the air-conditioner almost every night from 9p.m. to 9 a.m.. So, tonight we started our austerity drive....which lasted about 3 hours.

At midnight, the boy comes out from the room to nudge me. I'm pretty sure he knows a particular device that goes "tit-tit" that makes the room cold. 

Syntea is used to be on tumblr. I'm facing some technical issues there :(

In the heat of the day

The weekend's been hot. My boy made sure he had a dip in his pool before going for his evening walk. Smart boy!

Syntea is also on tumblr.

Taking two to tango

Every since that one time I walked my girl before my boy (he was misbehaving), Riko thinks she has gained all rights to go first now. Most evenings since, I've managed to stop her from getting out the car at the park. Not today. She door-crashed and shot out the door with my boy. So there they were having a mighty good time in the middle of the park. I caught up with "monkey-girl" to leash her. Ruki did his usual off-leash park sniffing that ended at the far end of the park. I leashed the boy and we turn back. Walking back, all I could hope for was "Please get me back to the car in one piece!". Walking two dogs with different temperamentals at the same time can be a suicide mission. My girl paces a step ahead of the boy. While the boy prefer his senior citizen pace and stopping leisurely at random spots to sniff. I must say we managed to walk back to the car with me look pretty cool. The sad news is Riko did not want to go into the car. So, we walked the second part of the route - the neighbourhood TOGETHER. We did pretty well except one part where Riko got excited and lunged at a barking dog behind the gate. Will I risk my life again? I don't know ..... It would be nice to have a calm walk with the two. For sure. Syntea is also on tumblr.

Meal deals

Meal time in our household is becoming a true family affair. Since Ruki started on home-coooked breakfast, we have (sort of) been sharing the same foods. Try to spot the difference in our meals. Ruki eats almost anything. The only things he spits out (literally) are whole pieces of vege or fish. Nowadays, I have to slip in the fruits, veg & sardines by chopping them to smaller pieces. I think he eats more healthily than me!....but, he's not getting any thinner.

Riko's eating habits are the total opposite of the boy. She eats depending on her mood. The boy... he eats like his life depended on it. When she eats, it like a great relief... when she finishes her plate... we celebrate. When Ruki doesn't eat, we panic. I suspect that she must have been a dutch girl in her previous life because she loves cheese and yogurt. To coax her to eat, there is a sprinkling of cheese (slices or cream cheese) over her kibbles. On good days, she finishes her food. On normal days, she'll pick on the cheese bits and leave the kibbles untouch. She's not on home-cooked breakfast because she keeps staring at her plate....as if to decide as to whether I am trying to poison her with strange foods or not.

My lunch similar to my boy's ....except that mine isn't served in a dog bowl. Same basic ingredients - brown rice with potatoes, carrots and pumpkin (whatever leftover after Ruki's portion). No meats as I'm aiming for vegetarian lunches till end May (at least).

Syntea is also on tumblr.

Everybody's on a DIET from now on

Since the health scare, I've made some conclusions. Ruki needs to lose at least 4 inches of his waistline. Riko needs to appreciate her meals more. Brownie needs to put on weight... lots of it. And I need to eat well - more veges, less meat and coffee.

So this week, we decided to do this.
1. I will go cold turkey on my coffee intake and bring lunch to work.
2. Have mental note to not think of nasi lemak. I had sinned last week at Uncle Lim's.
3. The kids will have homecooked meals.

Weekend menu

breakfast
beef tenderloin cubes
chicken liver
rice with a bit of pearl barley
Pumpkin, carrots, potatoes, guava
sardines
dash of extra virgin coconut oil

dinner
beef shanks
chicken feet
chicken gizzard and liver
rice with mashed pumpkin
carrots, potatoes, brocoli
sardines
dash of extra virgin coconut oil

Riko's first reaction - I think she thought I was going to poison her.


And...Ruki...he would eat anything. Even chopped guava and brocolli....as long as he can get to the meaty bits.


So far, Riko seems to want to have a cup of her regular kibbles once we get home. Ruki seems to be is always hungry. To be honest, I can't tell. He gets his nightly spoon of greek yogurt before bedtime. No extra kibbles.

I will be on stool-monitoring duty. So far, they seem to have smaller poo. I don't think Ruki did his morning poo. Plus, I thought that home-cooking would be a daunting task. In a way, it's comforting to know what they are eating. So far so good.

Syntea is also on tumblr.

The day my girl drank from the toilet bowl

Yesterday afternoon, I heard the sound of slurping of water coming from the guest bathroom.

It was my sweet girl. Since when did she start this?


Syntea is also on tumblr.

Angry Dog

For a couple of months, I noticed that my sweet girl is developing a temperamental side.

It started with barking at anything that passes by our gate...well, she has been doing this from young. One second she's chewing her breakfast in the kitchen, the next second she's by the gate barking at something. So, I didn't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary. I thought she was one very alert dog.

Then, it moved on to barking and lunging at dogs while we are walking. I don't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary again...because she is light-weight enough to hold back.

Then, came lunging at motorbikes when we are walking by the road. Then, lunging at people on bicycles.

Two weeks ago...whille she was walking off leash in the park, she ran up to a group of teenagers and growled at them. In that incident, the boys startled and ran for their lives. One of them even climbed up the roof of a nearby parked car!

Ok, I see a trend now. Not good....unprovoked growling attacks!

I noticed this same behaviour in another dog (12-year old female beagle) who is barky at any male dog (Haruki) that comes too close to her. Needless to say, my boy is smitten with any girl dog. The owner tells me that she was bitten when she was young...so, she doesn't like anyone getting too close to her. Now, she just tolerates Ruki when he tries to get close.

I'm not sure about my girl though... Perhaps, she was not well-socialized during her formative years. She didn't go to dog school and all. When she is at dog get-togethers, she prefers to stay close to me while her brother is out there mingling with the dog crowd (a.k.a. smelling butts).

I call this barking behaviour .... the small dog syndrome. My friends call it bad parenting.

Syntea is also on tumblr.

The new norm

By doctor's order, Haruki should be on house arrest for at least a week. But, my boy was already giving the sorry face by Day 2.



So, yesterday we went for a short walk in the park. Let me say, a day in "dog years" must be damn long because he made sure he smelled every bush in the park. Thankfully, after getting off jail time and spending a day sleeping...his appetite is back to normal. Normal means waiting patiently on the kitchen floor as his meal is being prepared, wanting "seconds" and finishing up his sister's leftovers.

Ever since the health scare which had my boy spending the whole night staring out to nothing, I have developed some acute paranoia. I've started to check to see whether he is still breathing in his sleep.



And, I guess someone is feeling a bit privileged. There has been some attention on him with the visitors coming on the weekend bearing treats. For the past week, the air-conditioner is turned on for him. This was what I found when I turned on the bedroom lights last night.


Syntea is also on tumblr.

Damage Control

So in some 24 hours, I spent close to RM2,000 on my kids' med bills. I can deem this the "cheap" side of the damage.

I will need the following items to improve our quality of living. Let's see here....

Lifetime supply of doggy meds - Frontline Spot-on (for fleas/ ticks), glucosamine (for hips) and Heartguard (for heart).



A new humans-only car for fur-free rides...so that my current car can be converted to a full-fledged dogmobile


A small house in the forest so that my kids can run offleash in peace.



A laB pool out back, to exercise the dogs


A litter of little Harukis



Syntea is also on tumblr.

Hips don't lie

There are some things I fear in life for my kids and these are some of them.

1. My boy refusing any form of food and drink.
2. Regular vet is closed and you need to call the emergency vet service.
3. My boy tipping over 80 pound-zone.
4. Hip dysplasia.

Ruki was rushed 3 times to the Animal Hospital in KL last night.

Tue 9.30 pm On the first consult, the doc asked how many meals did he missed. For a moment, I heard myself talk like some psycho mum....hahaha...
"Just tonight's dinner..... BUT he has NEVER refused food before...EVER."



His temperature was 40 celcius (fever). As the lab and x-rays were closed at night, the vet could only do a physical examination. His spleen was swollen. Apart from that, he didn't yelp when examined. Suspected tick fever. Blood sample was taken but we will have to wait till morning for the results. We were given antibiotics and vitamins.

As the night went on, he was walking around the house. He'll stop and just stand ...sometimes, oddly facing the wall.

Wed 2 a.m. He was still not asleep. When he wasn't standing, he was sitting upright. It was really pitiful because I know he must be tired and sleepy but he couldn't lie down for some reason.



Wed 2.30 a.m. Called the e-Vet. Could he be bloating? He has been standing for the past 4 hours. Is he in pain? He's not whining or anything. Any home remedies? 2 charcoal pills....still nothing.

Wed 3 a.m. - we were speeding down Jalan Damansara enroute to hospital again. My boy was given a anti-gastric shot. The doc said he should feeling better in half an hour.

Wed 6.30 a.m. - my boy hasn't eaten for 24 hours and hadn't slept a wink the whole night. So, we decided to leave early to avoid the traffic jam.

We waited till 9 a.m. for the doctor. He was weighed again. 40 kg. The doc said OMG. I'm thinking isn't it "normal" male lab weight, right? Well, after converting to pounds....88 lbs did sound scarier. I had in mind that he should never go over 80. So, we have to lose at least 10 pounds each....or between us....for a start.

So, Ruki stayed back at the vet to get x-rayed. Poor boy... he must have been exhausted but didn't complain. Such a trooper.

Wed 1.30 p.m. Holding my breath while listening on the phone...
Blood Test
Alievated white blood count.
Calcium - low side
E-cannis = negative (no tick fever)

X-rays (non-sedated) (I was worried about his heart & lungs)
Heart - ok
Lungs - ok
Spleen - swollen
Liver - slightly enlarged



I have another x-ray, but I can't tell whether that's the liver or heart. Gee....why didn't I become a vet?

Wed 8 p.m. ....Junior vet consult
ahh...my boy. He has the cutest side-step running ever...is probably due to bad hips . We have been procastinating that pelvic examination. So, we finally got the full works.

His right hip is a little more severe than the left. No surgery need....yet. He has to be on full preventative mode from now on - "lose weight", glucosamines and no dangerous stunts of any kind.

We brought Riko to see her brother and to get her tested for tick fever. He had come off the anaethetics and was sitting quietly in his pen. My sweet boy is such a trooper...for not being restless and all. If it was my girl, she would have whined her head off.



Thurs 9.30 a.m ....Senior vet consult
Strangely, the first thing the doc asked "Do you have a pool?" Gee....I'm wondering... Do I look like a tai-tai who lives in a mansion up Bukit Tunku?



Officially, my boy tested negative for tick fever but the enlarged liver and spleen seems to still show possible exposure. Hence, he needs continuous tick prevention to avoid exposure or relapse. The x-ray showed slight swelling in the prostate area, which might have been caused by the fever/ infection. Doc says "to consider possible cascration". What??

"What about my little Harukis??"
"He also needs to get laid first before he loses his balls"

Anyway, his weight has to be managed but the doc says no walking for at least a week.

We came home and he slept for most of the day. My baby girl's blood test was all-clear.

I saw a black lab pup today

Imagined name Aiko or maybe Akiko (3-syllable like my other two). She's so CUTE but very leggy...much taller/ bigger than Haruki when I brought him back. 10 weeks. Born 15 Dec. Litter of 4 males, 1 female. All black. Father imported from Aust. Champion and breeder shows his dogs. Anyone?

No, I don't lurk ard the pet store anymore. Was there to make grooming appointment for my fat boy. The pet store girl remembers me and Ruki after 3 years. Then again, dog grooming girl also remembers Ruki after not visiting for 1.5 years the last time. I think the boy enjoys his spa time because when I send him there...he doesn't even look back to see that I have left the room. He just heads straight to the groomer.

Anyway, Aiko is very sweet. If only....I had more hands (and legs) and love to go ard. This will complete my dream tri-color factor.

Girls are easier to handle.

My boy's walks are non-negotiable. He's my personal trainer. Yes, he trained me well. Absolutely no excuses to skip the night walks.

My dad keeps saying he wants to make dog soup out of my boy..... (maybe I should tell him that since this is his plan, I need to get a dog replacement)

I think my dad is actually secretly proud of my boy since he gets stopped by total strangers who ask about the boy, during their evening walks.