Summer, Wangi and Chantek

Summer


Wangi and her daughter, Chantek

Wangi, Chantek, Summer and Bloom are all sharing a kennel. I believe very soon, they will be out free.

There used to be 2 brothers

Coca and Cola when they were still back here as the sam seng kings of their neighbourhood.

back here who were kings where they stayed. Or rather they were the 'Sam Seng' kings. They were bold, unafraid, full of fun and sometimes full of nonsense but always full of life. They had a liking for chinese opera too! Whenever there is one happening round the corner, these 2 brothers would dash all the way to the commotion, plant their butts for a good view, drink their feel of the opera and leave when curtains fall. Amazing and so laughable!

They were missed when they leave, but their move also made the neighbourhood a bit more peaceful and manageable. ;) They could be quite annoying bullys when they chose to.

See them now during their out-of-kennel time at Nanas. They can't be fully let free yet cos they tend to pick fights with the other resident dogs. So the kennel staff will let them out each day for runs as he keeps a close eye on them.

So excited and entranced by the smells Coca and Cola were that they simply had no eyes nor ears for us!

Coca exuberantly displaying his joy!

Cola and his sniffs....

Coca and his sniffs...

Billy has a little tendency

Billy nudging Ashley out of his way!



to fight for attention. Often, he will nudge Ashley out of the way so that he could get closer and faster for pats and scratches. His coat has thicken up well. A far cry from his old-looking mangey days. Ashley has also gotten much better now, her coat a warm orangey brown.

I guess it will be easier to understand when we compare photos of Ashley and Billy where they were, few months back.


Ashley and Billy few months back.

All the dogs we bathed today

Chance - he has again put on some pounds!


Grey - her mange is clearing well and her coat is getting fuller.


Ashley - bunkmate with Billy, her mange is also clearing well.


Frenchie - he got us confused with his manhood and full teats! But grunty Frenchie is all man. A cool dude despite being deaf.


Tiger - Chance's latest interest.

I wonder if Tiger understands

that Romeo is gone and not coming back. That he is not returning to share her kennel anymore.

She herself is undergoing treatment for heartworm. She looks fine and has a healthy weight. Friendly in a gentle, feminine manner. She is such a dear.

We gave her a good bath, and Chance was hanging around, showing good interest in her. Hey, what's up, Chance?


Tiger awaiting her bath time.


Chance was just hanging around Tiger and checking her out.

In memory of Romeo - Tiger's good pal

Romeo, on his way to meet Tiger.

Tiger finally meeting Romeo after few weeks apart.

Romeo, anticipating the next chapter in his life.

The minute we got there, we were informed that Romeo had just passed away. A sudden heart attack caused by acute heartworm that took him away from us. In fact, it was just a short while before we arrive. His body was still warm.

It was a queer feeling. To arrive with an expectant heart of happy greetings from our dogs, yet our very first greeting was a limp, wagless form who breathed his last just a while ago. It was a queer feeling too, to try to hold back any strong feelings of loss and proceed with our list of duties for the day.

It is only now, sitting quietly with my own thoughts and feelings, that I fully grasp the loss of Romeo. The time we spent trying to get him for Tiger. The persuading of the uncle to let Romeo go with us when he had wanted Romeo to stay on the farm. The happy reunion with Tiger that made us smile. The hopeful move away from the dangers they may face living as strays here. The expectant heart as we set off today. And the leaden heart we carried back later.

Life and death. For whatever reason our breath ceases, let us not come to a place where death is accepted with a jadedness that either purposes to hide our vulnerability from the world, or to exude professionalism in place of tears.

Death should at the very least be faced with a respectable mourning for the loss and a celebration of the life lived.

We mourn in remembrance of Romeo. And we celebrate his life and more so, his true freedom now.

Later, Romeo.


Our post of 2 Sep 2006:
Today Tiger met her boyfriend. V names him Romeo. But...we are not used to calling Tiger, Juliet... :)
He was apprehensive in the car, scanning around with doleful eyes. Once we stepped into the kennel area, he gave a long pee (as if he hadn't peed for awhile!). It was a long....one. All the while, Tiger was curiously sniffing him thru the grills.
Tiger obviously recognises Romeo and pranced around for awhile. But Romeo was just steady, apprehensive still from the change in environment and all that din of barking around.It feels good to reunite 2 good pals. If they need to be uprooted from their farm for their longterm benefit, this is the least we can do for them.

Guess who's who

These pix are taken 1 year ago, they're full grown now. Now...guess who's who from the K7 pack. You won't need this clue...but ya, just look at K2 to K5.
As for Mr Brown...he must be the easiest one to spot! :)

Who am I? My floppy ears are a good giveaway!

We went early to see Lucas today

so that we can take him out to the dog run to run off those excess energy! Our super-excited boy was tuging at the leash, going here, there and everywhere, completely engrossed in the morning smells and sounds outside his kennel.

It felt both good and bad to see him so excited on a walk. It's always good to see a dog happy to be out in the open, enjoying his walk. However, his excitement is much due to being cooped up most of the time in a kennel.

Lucas was the only dog at the dog run, still early for much activity, the kennel staff were just coming in to work.

He's grown chubbier now, could be a good 30kg or so. Jolly fellow as ever, coming right up to you when you call, and pushing his entire chubby body skin-tight against you. Sometimes when he comes too fast, I could tumble over....

We walked and ran about, expending his energy. He was pretty calm, not as hyped up as I expected. After a bit, he settled down for a rest, but not before he dunked his whole head and front legs into the pail of water....and downed huge gulps.... he must have been wishing the pail of water could magically transform into a swimming pool, I'm sure!

I thought now Lucas should be quite calm to receive the potential adopter. However, that was not so. When the lady arrived, Lucas got more excited than earlier on. First he bit her cap which dropped onto the grass....then he started running and bounding and jumping on her and soiled her clothes...then the nipping and mouthing on her hands....then rolling on his back, asking for belly rubs by pushing her with his legs and more mouthing....

All natural for a young boy like Lucas, and I believe with more interaction, socialisation, play time with other dogs, he will mature calmly. However, she shared that the labs in her family are all very gentle and calm, so we feel that Lucas might be bit active and too much forher to handle initially. V and I were joking after that, that even with a refined name like Lucas, most of our dogs are like 'sam seng kia'! :)

So after a while more, we ended the viewing and sent Lucas back to his 'room'. If we do not find Lucas a good home soon, we would move him to another boarding kennel where he would have the chance to run free, and also to have more chances of being seen by potential families.

Introducing K7

Realised we haven't posted shots of our dogs at K's farm. 7 in all. 7: the number of perfection. These 7 are the perfect pack in K's eyes. Here is our K7 (err...now and then we have a new addition)...

K1 - Big Boy
That's being polite. To be honest, he's fat. BB is the most easy-going fellow, he'll amble up to you for pats and rubs, with this nonchalant ease on his chubby face. His rib-bones are basically lost beneath that layer of blubber. He seems easy but when strangers walk/cycle by, BB will be among the first to dash forward with loud barks.

K2: Mr Brown
Mr Brown is one of 2 more mangey boys we have. He has a slightly shy nature, preferring to survey from a distance, coming forward after a while when he's determined that you are safe. And once he has confirmed that with sniffs and licks, he's your best pal.

K3
Our most mangey boy in the pack. He's more on the peripheral, coming forth at times, hanging long enough for some pats and rubs, usually not staying long. We're treating the mange now, soon he'll have a full coat.

K4 (left, with Mr Brown on the right)
Fighting top spot with BB as the friendliest one in this pack. K4 has a very gentle, enquiring face, eyes peering into you, he'll sidle up so close his face is almost touching yours. But his friendliness is not as openly welcoming and openly trusting as BB. At times, he will retreat if an inner antenna was alerted (like when I was trying to apply Frontline to him just now - at a whiff of the Frontline and the movement of my hands to apply it on his scruff, he retreated. But for BB, he's easy with just about anything! Frontline or no Frontline, I want my rubs!) Well, to make an analogy, if K4 is a wholesome mug of sweet Milo, BB is the Milo Dinosuar.

K5 (face down on extreme left with K4's butt facing the camera and Mr Brown on the foreground. Brown sitting dog on the furthest spot is our newcomer. The black spot on the right behind Mr Brown is Blackie)
K5 is the sister of K2, K3 and K4. She is more independent, takes some time to warm up.

K6: Blackie
Blackie is our black beauty, maintaining her good looks despite these wild environments, she looks like she goes for grooming every few months. She may look demure but actually, she is most of the time, the first to run forward to defend her territory whenever strangers walk/cycle by. At her alert bark, the rest will follow suit. Till now, it is only on very rare ocassions that Blackie allows me to pat her. Those ocassions being when she is hungry...it is dinner time....and I have liver.
















K7: Toto
Last but definitely not least, we have K's fav gal - Toto! Now this is one cool gal. She stays out of your way and plays hard to get. Each step you take towards her, she retreats 5 doggy steps. You call her and she will fling back a patronisng glance. As if to taunt you further, she openly displays sweet affection for K, and only for K. Not many will get to be Toto's pal.

K8
He is a newcomer whom I met many weeks back. The first time I heard about him was when V excitedly told me that we have a seriously injured, very thin boy. Someone seemed to have hit him on his head with a sharp object cos there was a pretty big area of open bloody wound. From afar you can see a round patch of red, bloody skin/flesh. We didn't manage to get him and when he went missing, we thought he might not have made it. But now, many weeks later, he has made himself welcomed among the K7 pack. If they continue to welcome him, he shall be our K8 then for good.