Moving on: our new house

It has been almost two months since we moved to our new house. I have been very busy, of course, every weekend (and many weekday afternoons and evenings) spent on doing something for the house, one way or another.





A summary is required:

1. Kiya took to the house like fish to water. Louie growled and barked several times the first night and we slept poorly for days.

2. Kiya sprawls about anywhere on the cement screed floor downstairs for her naps. Louie has found his favourite spots - upstairs on stairs landing, or under the dining table downstairs.

3. Louie has stolen S' slice of Daim cake - and ate it all. Eh? Louie? Caramel cake??

4. There is a scenic jogging route along the river just across the road. A loop is approximately 3km. Both Louie and I love it.

5. The bao/pau (bun) shop down the road sells delicious char siew pao. Because we walk by it so often with the dogs, the staff members there now know us, and they adore Kiya (especially after I told Kiya to 'shake hands' and 'high five!'). One of the young men there likes to give Kiya char siew bao - hm, I'm not too happy with that, but Kiya is over the moon.

6. There is a brindled mastiff two doors down from us. Oh, he is a poor doggie - he barks every night for his food, I have never seen him taken for walks, and yet he is the sweetest and most gentle dog ever. He lumbers to me when I call him over 'Mr Mastiff!' (he responds!). Maybe one day I can get him to be friends with Kiya and Louie and he can come over to our place and play with the dogs.

7. Kiya and Louie have acquired a taste for feline blood since we moved. Sigh.

8. Kiya is strange. Sometimes, when I throw open the door to the garden, she will trot out, and sits herself under the direct sunlight - for minutes! And when I call her in and touch her, her black hair is baking hot! It's like as if she wants to sun tan, despite her thick black coat. She must truly have some German blood in her, ha ha.

9. I had to go away for work for a few days, and I (most unwillingly) placed them both in a boarding kennel. Oh I missed them so. I watched the van that picked them up driving away and the lonesome sillhouette of both Kiya and Louie nearly made me... hm. Anyway, I'm happy to get them back, but Louie! Oh Louie has lost so much weight! I have to fatten him up again.

10. There was an evening when I fed Kiya thawed chicken which she promptly breathed down (instead of chewing), and 15 minutes later threw up all over the stairs. We fasted her for the night. The next morning, she was so hungry that when S let the dogs into the garden, Kiya foraged between the reedy plants, found a mushroom, and ate it! !!!

11. The joy of having a front and backyard - tossing a frozen chunk of raw meaty bones on the floor for Kiya to eat, without having to bother about cleaning up. Louie - I still have to feed on newspapers and cloth as his food is thawed and he eats messily.

12. There was a choked drain upstairs on the balcony - with the result of a flood! When I got home and let the dogs out, they were bleary-eyed, gingerly stepping over puddles of water, but dry. Clever dogs.

13. One of our neighbours call our dogs 'horses'.





14. One afternoon, I walked both dogs to the dog park. But by the time we got there, they were both exhausted, and Louie (very disappointingly) merely trotted around sniffing, and peeing over other dogs' pee. I'll stick to running with Louie.

A Fat Saluki

We are moving very soon, leaving this lovely neighbourhood behind. Our last weekend was spent taking the dogs to the park, and letting Louie sprint to his heart's delight. Kiya played a bit of fetch too, and she would sprint whenever she feels like it, and when she does, she is so lovely and cute, her neat black ears flip-flopping.


As our lease is coming up soon, several real estate agents had begun to show the apartment to possible tenants. A few days ago, I took the dogs for a walk while the apartment was being viewed. While waiting downstairs with the dogs, a French couple walked by and up to the apartment. Later, S told me that the man asked whether S had dogs, and when S answered in the affirmative, the man asked, "Was that a Saluki I saw downstairs?"

"Yes,"

"That was a fat Saluki," he said.


ahahaha! Louie, a fat Saluki! Well. I admit that Louie has definitely put on weight - and I am proud of it. If there is salmon in the fridge, I feed him the fattiest bit (lots of white). I feed him lamb breast - as fat as it can get. Chicken, ok, but I tend to give more than he can/will eat. I still run with him, or take him on long walks, or let him sprint in the park offleash. He has put on weight - no longer does his hip bones jut out like they used to - they are now nicely rounded. His ribs are only very very slightly visible, but of course I can feel them easily. Fat? I think not - just muscular and well-built!

I woke up one morning to him with his arms possessively around a toy (bought by S' mum for Kiya!):







I really don't think he's fat.




In any case, there will be one car ride this Friday evening with the dogs, a suitcase or two.. I am very excited about the new house, and I hope the dogs will like it too - after all, there is a balcony, a backyard, or a large front yard for them to choose to people watch, and lots of room space to sleep in. I have even found a large, fenced field just around the corner for Louie to sprint safely in! Well, it is goodbye to this neighbourhood then. I will miss it. Even if just for Moonshine.

About Kiya

I've been thinking a lot about my dogs... about Moonshine, Kiya and Louie. And their mortality. Especially Kiya's. I don't know how old she is - nobody knows, really, and estimates run from two years to six years old. If Kiya is six, and a typical Rottweiler, she'd only have about two to four more years with us. But of course, she is not a typical Rottweiler (or maybe she is - the sweetest, most obedient, dog there is) and maybe her lifespan is atypical of that of a Rottie too.

I want to enjoy every moment I have with Kiya, and I will remember her, happily and firmly while she is still with us.

How she sleeps, eyes rolled back, all four legs twitching in her dreams like a puppet, soundly.





Enjoying a head massage.. She truly enjoys them, her eyes glazed over with bliss.





How she loves her food, even this seven-month-old (possibly older!) lamb leg bone (gnawed and re-gnawed many times by both Kiya and Louie).





I love my dogs. I love dogs for the reason that they remind you to live the most of this life, because it is all we have.

Kiya's and Louie's friendship

I have to admit that Kiya and Louie are not quite like some other dogs that share a home together - those that cuddle tightly to sleep, play roughly and happily, and never snap at each other.

Kiya's getting on. She is older, crankier, and though she is an incredibly patient and tolerant dog, I suspect she suffers from some sort of doggie-PMS every once in a while. Louie? Well, Louie Lou. He prances around at night, pounces on his toys, leaps over a sleeping Kiya, barks at dogs, cats, suspicious-looking humans outside the window, paces, steals things from the coffee table (e.g. my glasses), etc. Even his long swishing tail can be annoying - he sometimes wags it in poor Kiya's face (I wonder what Kiya must think? Maybe some sort of tail-envy psychology going on).

So, Kiya does snap at Louie every now and then, scaring the living daylights out of S. I'm not too concerned; I know how dogs are - they squabble, and then they're best of friends again (as long as they are not two un-neutered male dogs).

Most of the time, they are so sweet to each other.














Just the other night, S and I looked over the coffee table and found this:




HAHAHA!! :D Oh, Kiya! Not quite a blowj**, ha ha.
We figured Kiya was probably lying there first, and then Louie came along and sat down on her face. LOL

Kiya's favourite 'aunt' - and the front yard

Something was up when I heard footsteps outside the door - there were two people.. and they smell quite identical! And so it was Aunty Vy, and she came with a big, long bully stick.. hmm! I was over the moon with any visitors (or even strangers), but seeing Aunty Vy again is always very nice. Louie must have forgotten her, but because my excitement rubbed off him, he also pranced around the house and did short bursts of sprints.

Something festive is going on these days. Persons S and D are home a lot, or at least their usual schedule is different. I get to go on several car rides too! I was so happy whenever Person D takes us down and she gets all excited, and when I see the car and the opened door, I get all mad with happiness.






Louie isn't so good with car rides. He gets all meek and sulky. He also squeezed me out of the seat several times and I ended up on the floor, but I didn't mind, as I was just happy being in the car, enjoying a ride.









But at the end of this ride, Louie threw up all over the back seat from motion sickness, ha ha! What a lousy dog he is, to not even enjoy a car ride. That's what cars are made for.


One especially happy and exciting occasion was when Aunty V and Person D took us to a lovely old house after a car ride.





The back yard was fine.. but where is Person D? She disappeared.. only to appear again and took us to the front yard, which smells of cat! We started hunting for it.






Louie tried to jump and rear about like a horse, looking for the cat.






Person D was just smiling and remarking how lovely a front yard it is for Louie and me. I agree!






The cat managed to escape (through the drain) and we got bored, so Person D took us up to the balcony.




I envy Louie for his skinny body and height (like all women do) - he could put his head over the banister to look around like this,






or put it through the railings! Sigh. It isn't fair.






Still, it was a nice day out.. Louie and I sat by the front door and enjoyed the breeze (though it was still very hot). And I thought, I could live here quite happily.. It was quiet, and peaceful. And maybe we will.

Happy Birthday to Eunice!

Lately, the only visitors the dogs had were S' family. And Gelly, my new maid (who is so lovely. Lou was terrified of her for the first two days but by day three he was fine). I wish more people would come by and give them pats on their heads.

It was Eunice's birthday.. and I was oblivious to it. So, to make up for it, I put on party hats on both Kiya and Louie. Just for you, Eunice! I know how much you love dogs. Especially Kiya.


I tried on a beach hat first with the dogs, but it didn't really work out.. (and then I found the party hats)





Kiya tolerated the party hat for a piece of salmon.. and this shot of her looks like one of those candid 'Eh?' photos - I have to put it up.





A better shot. "Happy birthday Eunice!! Come visit me soon" she said.





Louie was also not spared. I gave him a green party hat.. making him look like a unicorn with an.. algae-covered horn. ha ha.





I have no idea why he looks so morose even with a party hat. Sorry, Eunice. He is a party pooper.










One weekend ago, I woke to let the dogs into the bedroom. They got very excited, as they usually do on weekends, knowing it's special (we take them to the park), and Louie got a bit of tissue/paper snorted up his nose. He looks mortified.




And here's another picture of my 'dead dogs'. Kiya happened to lie on the area where there was a bleach mark on the concrete floor. Coupled with the tongue poking out, she looks like she just threw up and passed out, lol!!





A few weeks ago, when I was walking the dogs to the park, two boys, about 12 years old, stopped, stared, and started to laugh. They pointed their fingers at Louie, and laughed, hard. "What a funny dog! Ha ha ha!"

I didn't think it was very nice or polite to *point at somebody/thing and laugh, but I shrugged - they're kids, after all. Louie can look strange.. but he isn't that strange, is he? There are so many whippets in Singapore, and I think greyhounds look even more strange - they are extremely muscular and tall, but with very small heads and skinny legs.

At same angles, yes, Louie does look weird.




But most of the time, he looks just fine.

Kiya's dominance

There is no doubt who the more dominant of dogs in our household is. Sure, S and I are the 'top dogs' - both Kiya and Louie easily submit to us. But between the both of them, Kiya has always been the Queen. Woe betide Louie should he dare piss her off..

That said, Kiya is very patient with Louie. Typical of a four year old, Louie can be truly irritating. E.g. After dinner, Kiya usually curls up next to us on the floor and sleeps. Louie, instead, plays with his toys very animatedly, and all too often, he would 'bounce' the Kong or BusyBuddy Squirrel all over the living room, and it would sometimes bounce off Kiya. He would also leap and jump about within a few centimeters from Kiya's face. Imagine how annoying that is to Kiya!

Still, Kiya can be a real b**ch when it comes to food. Once, when we weren't looking, Kiya silently growled at Louie, baring her fangs. I happened to glance in their direction and realised that Kiya was bullying poor Louie! (warning him not to get close to the treats in the 'Squirrel'). I did not manage to capture her expression (which was shocked us a lot), but here is a close shot:





Louie looking meek.





But of course, when I reprimanded her, Kiya was so contrite she immediately got up, licked her lips, bowed her head, and walked to a corner.


Louie may have a problem with dog aggression, but he sure is being bullied at home sometimes.. S fears for his delicate neck. The next time you meet my dogs, try holding Kiya's and then Louie's neck. You'd understand our fear. It would only take one bite from Kiya...



They sometimes fight for our attention too. If I ignore Kiya to pat Louie, Kiya would almost always roll on her back and try her best to look like a .. I don't know, a cuddly lap dog.





Louie would throw me pitiful expressions, begging for love. (I love Lou's expression here!)





(Here's a random shot of Kiya. She flapped her ears and it rested in a weird way and her fang was showing - she looks like a bat! LOL)





Back to Louie's dog agression problem. He may be dog aggressive, but Louie's a real wimp when it comes to many other things (large dustbins, strangers walking behind him, etc). This is what he did a few days ago when I had with me a large heavy bag -




yeah, he scurried under S' legs.





But he is endearing. I like how Louie sometimes sleeps with his long 'snouty' nose pressed aside.




It doesn't seem to bother him, though it does make me feel uncomfortable.





I'll end off with a few pictures of Kiya begging for belly rubs.

Louie: A police record (and fluff / wool)

It was a routine morning potty walk to the small park at the end of the road when a very exciting thing happened. Person D found it most upsetting, but all I knew was that there was an offleash, very disobedient beagle, which came running in my direction, and that as Person D was struggling to control me and Kiya (she was just straining on the leash with friendly interest and curioisty), I thrashed about as much as I could - and broke free. Scuffles, mad screams from some very stupid women, cuts and scrapes sustained by Person D, bit of a superficial wound on the beagle, sprints around the park - I got a police record. But just a record. No prosecution, and rightly so. I was leashed. The beagle was not. And it ran in MY direction, and did not return to its persons when asked.

This is just for the record. Person D is very, very angry - with me, and with the beagle's persons.

I tried to look angelic for the rest of the day.








That aside, ever since my testes were (surgically) ripped out from me, my testicles have been shrinking. That is not the only side effect. I have been growing fluffy, woolly hair on my thighs and shoulders, and all along my belly. Like this.





Can you see it?





I don't like this woolly hair. My short, smooth hair has always been fuss free, but now when I go for my runs, or lie down on the ground outdoors, I get bits of soil and twigs and dead leaves caught in the fuzz.





Another thing: my tail. Person D loves my tail because she said that she never had a dog with a tail until I came along. She sometimes worry that my tail will get caught in the fan.






These days, it seems like both Persons D and S are gone for long hours in the day. Kiya and I will just sleep in the cool of the kitchen, and we look like dead dogs.




Especially how Kiya sleeps with her tongue sticking out.




But it's time for a run with Person D now!