SAD...

Today, I was very sad. Sharon went overseas for a business trip. Jules says that she will be away for 5 days! 5 DAYS!!!! Boo hoo hoo! According to Jules, when humans go away for business trips, they take a plane and fly away to a foreign land to discuss trade and business, seal contracts and deals and do negotiations. Jules was so nice. He took me for longer walks, talked to me, fed me extra snacks and he even read me a bedtime story to cheer me up! But, I still miss Sharon a lot and I had been crying the whole day. My master is a million miles away in a strange land! I really miss her!! My brown heart aches so much, I could die of sadness and grief! Sharon, please come back soon! 5 days is like an eternity for loyal doggies like me! We must have our daily dose of our master's love and affection! I promise to be the best doggie in the world when you come home! I will do the dishes, mop the floor, clean the windows, wash your car, take out the trash, iron your clothes... all with my four paws! Please come home soon, ok? Jules took an awfully sad-looking shot of me. I cried myself to sleep on the sofa and was in no mood to smile and pose for pictures. I miss Sharon... :'-(

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Nicknames

Nicknames. Do you have any? Everyone out there has at least one. Some are nice, complimentary and flattering (like Sexy, Handsome, Smartie, Brainy, Genius...). Others may be not-so-nice (like Fatty, Slob, Dumbo...). Guess what? I have so many nicknames, I actually have to list them down. Some are quite cute-sounding but a few are not so complimentary...here goes:

1) Brown Monster (by Karen)- Short form of it is BM; not the one on wheels, but the one with 4 legs.
2) Brownie Roo (by Sharon)- I look like a kangaroo from the back when I stand on my hind legs.
3) RooBarka (by Sharon)- I have the same fur colour as Chubaka from Star Wars. Thank God I don't have his face!
4) Brown Bicycle Seat (by Karen)- From the shape of my head. If you look closely from the correct angle, it does look like a furry bicycle seat with eyes and ears. (See photo).
5) Big Bad Woof (by Karen)- I look a bit like the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
6) Black Hole (by Jules)- From my never-ending appetite for food.
7) Bottomless Pit (by Jules)- Same reason as (6)

and my all time favourite nickname (by Karen): THE BEST DOGGIE IN THE WORLD!

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Gold-Mining

Hygiene. It is essential to keep clean as we will look good, smell nice and feel great! Being clean also keeps the germs and bugs away. From what I have observed, humans bathe everyday! I get my showers once a week. Bath time is a challenge for me as Sharon and Karen would have to chase me round the house and herd me like a cow into the bathroom. I think they feel like farmers on the ranch while they do that! Sometimes, I act and pretend to play dead when I know that they are going to bathe me. I would pretend to lie on the floor and I would give them a scared and pitiful look and I would refuse to move. On other occasions, I would tense up and clench my paws. It makes it hard for me to move and Karen has to literally drag me upright on four legs to the toilet. It is quite comical to Karen and Sharon and they find that sight rather amusing. Sometimes, Karen has to bring the snack bottle to the toilet and shake it inside the bathroom. When I go in, she would shut the door and trap me. No choice: that's the price I pay for my greed! :-( There was another time where Karen lured me to the window on the pretense that there was something interesting to look at. The minute I was there, she threw a towel over me, grabbed me and carried all 30+kgs of me to the toilet! Wow, I never knew that she was that strong! I am quite scared of baths as I do not like the initial feeling of water flowing over me. I will usually walk all around the bathroom when they try to bathe me too. Karen and Sharon bathe me with warm water and fragrant-smelling special doggie shampoo. Karen even sings and talks to me while she is cleaning me! But once I learn to relax while getting my spa treatment, I kind of enjoy it! :-) After the bath, Karen will clean my teeth with canine toothpaste (I hate that!) and she will also clean my ears with a cotton bud and with some anti-ear mite solution. I think Karen should be a vet! I used to be scared of the ear-cleaning procedure but since she is so gentle, I enjoy it right now. Karen digs out so much black gold from my ear cavities (gold-mining), she can soon open a jewellery shop! Here's a picture of me getting my ears cleaned! Check out that funny look on my face!

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Cars

I get to go for car rides sometimes as a treat for being a good girl! Sharon and Jules will either take me to the vet (that's not a reward, actually!) or to Karen's house for a day of pampering. I wished that they had more time... I am sure they would take me for long spins!

I saw Jules watching Fomula One racing on TV that day and boy, it looked really thrilling! I wish that I can learn to drive! I'd drive Sharon and Jules to work, Karen to church and Sharon to the shopping mall! But sadly, I tried to hold the steering wheel once with my paws and got scolded instead :-( I think Sharon read my mind about my desire to drive and she got me a car that day!! Well, it's not a real car to drive in but a toy rubber car for me to chew on! It even squeaks whenever I chew on it! Isn't that cool? So, doggies like me cannot drive...but since I have one to chew on and to exercise my oral muscles, I'm contented. (PS: I think I will look smashing in a red Ferrari with my red T-shirt, don't you think so? Anyway, here's some cool pictures of me and my chewy lime green rubber car. Check it out...it even has wheels, headlights and windows!)

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Screensaver & Wallpaper

Jules took this candid shot last year of me with his mobile phone! I was standing by the window at Mummy's house and I wanted to wave 'goodbye' to him. But since I needed to use my paws for support, I gave him my best smile instead! Everyone loves this picture! Karen and Sharon both use it on their mobile phones as screensavers and wallpapers. It's a sweet way of keeping me in their hearts when they are on the go :-)

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Make Poverty History/ LIVE 8

I might have been a stray dog in the past, but I have a BIG, charitable heart. My past experience of canine poverty allows me to empathise strongly with the poor, marginalised, voiceless and homeless. I saw Karen surfing the Net a few days back and she was so engrossed with the "Make Poverty History" and "LIVE 8" websites. She's lived in London before, so anything that happens in that part of the world naturally interests her. She even bought a white silicon wristband that says: "Make Poverty History". Isn't that cool? For those who are unaware, the LIVE 8 concerts are a series of concerts that are held simultaneously in London, Edinburgh, Rome, Paris, Philadelphia, Tokyo, Berlin, South Africa, Canada and Moscow. In fact, Karen is now helping me to update this blog while listening to the "Live" concert from Hyde Park (thanks to BBC Radio 1)! What a pity there are no such concerts here in Singapore! We should also participate in such international charity events! I am sure Karen, Sharon and Jules will attend the concert if they have it here and I am sure they will bring me along too!

LIVE 8 intends to raise awareness regarding the terrible state of poverty in Third World countries. There will be a G8 summit meeting next week in Scotland and the organisers of LIVE 8 hope that the G8 and the rich First World nations would do their part in helping to eradicate world poverty by doubling the aid to Third World countries, dropping the oustanding debt and by making trade fair (Free Trade is NOT fair trade). Just think about it: 8 powerful men who meet next week carry the fate and future of millions in their hands. The purpose of LIVE 8 is not to raise money, but awareness. If that does not connect to you, think about this: Every 3 seconds, an African child dies and every single day, 30 000 children die because of poverty. That's a very sad statistic. It also means bad news for doggies like me as many of us would be destinied to remain strays since kids living in poverty cannot afford to adopt strays like us. So, do your part for the poor kids in the Third World countries who are facing a bleak future because of stark poverty. Many may not even live to see tomorrow. Please sign the online petition or buy a white "Make Poverty History" wristband. You can also buy a cool t-shirt or mug from the webpage too. It's your choice.

http://shop.sandbag.uk.com/MakePovertyHistory/Store/DisplayAllItems.html
http://www.live8live.com/

I wished I could do more, but since I am only a doggie, I will say a long prayer for social justice tonight for all the poor in the Third World. All of us are God's creatures and none of us should suffer because of any sort of inequalities due to the unequal distribution of resources. May the income gap between the rich and poor be narrowed as soon as possible. Together, we can do more for the world's poorest countries! God bless everyone out there; doggies too!

PS: If they made those white wristbands for doggies, I am sure Karen would buy 4 for me to wear around my paws! Make that 5....I forgot to count my tail!

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My Arch Enemy

A sweet and loving dog like me with such a great personality loves everyone! OK...everyone, except for this particular wooden handicraft cat that Sharon has on her shelf. Sharon got this wooden cat from some handicraft market in Bali and for some unexplainable reason, I really hate it!! Every time I walk past the shelf, I HAVE to bark at it. Oh, that evil-looking cat has a name, by the way...Sharon and Karen decided to call it Meow Meow after I starting "woofing" and "bow-wow-wow-ing" at it. Everyone finds it amusing when I do so! She's got other feline wooden figurines but I simply detest this one! One day, Sharon decided to tidy up the shelf and she left Meow Meow on the floor. I sneaked up to it and I started to chew its ear! Haha! Too bad, it's made of real solid wood (not sawdust). I did not manage to chew off the entire ear, but I will consider biting off its tail the next time. On another occasion, I was being picky with my food and in order to make me finish my food, Karen placed Meow Meow next to my dinner bowl. Obviously, I did not want that horrid feline near my food and in a few seconds, my bowl was all clean! So whenever I start getting picky or fussy during meal times, Meow Meow is always used as a threat...strangely, it works every time as I cannot stand the sight of having Meow Meow near my food! Here are some pictures of me and Meow Meow. I personally like the one of me chewing off its ear :-))

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My Red T-Shirt

Here's another lovely old picture of me! Mummy went to the pet shop to buy me some clothes but unfortunately, they did not have my size! They only sold sizes for small toy dogs. Anyway, Mummy's so smart! She went to the children's section of the department store and she got me a nice red t-shirt for kids!

I struggled a while trying to wear it as I had difficulty with my paws. But once I got it on properly, I felt so special! In fact, I even thought for a moment that I was human! I stood on my hind legs at the window and began barking at the whole world to tell them to look at me! A few motorists who drove past looked quite stunned...by my good looks, I guess!

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