Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas too all of you! May you have a blessed christmas and a great 2011 ahead. With this current economic situation, we can only take a day at a time, be grateful for what we have and hope for good things to come.
This Christmas, I am grateful for all that I have. I am blessed.

We adopted a recent addition to the family. A 6 month old puppy mix - poodle and beagle. She is now 9 months and she is a handful! Her physical attributes are very much like a poodle but her colouring is all beagle! :D There are still a few kinks that we need to sort out like her tearing up newspapers at home. Ahh the joys of having a puppy. My almost 5 year old westie who is pretty much like an old man, behaves like one too...mood swings and all..has to put up with this little lively pup! But everything is good. They do get along on the whole. This little pup enjoys being brushed, very affectionate, loving and very intelligent. She picks things up very quick. Well this is her first christmas with us..she's a little bundle of joy, and always shower us with love.

I am reminded of the joys of the unconditional love a pet has for their owners. Now I have 2 dogs who are my babies who loves me unconditionally. I am indeed blessed.

SPCA

A boxer mix up for adoption at SPCA. She has been there for a year. If no one adopts her, she'll be put to sleep. She is the saddest dog I've seen and feel.

Recently I went to SPCA in Ampang to take photographs of the dogs there for their newsletter. It is very sad to see the dogs in the kennels especially dogs that was given up by their owner due to some excuse or another..the one I heard is "my dog kept biting my shoe". Why do people even bother getting a dog if they are not going to spend some time with their pets? Dogs and cats are not just an animal. They have feelings and needs just like humans..just like a child. Make no mistake, owning a pet is like having a child. Just because you cannot understand what your pets are saying, doesn't mean they have nothing to say or they have no feelings. As an animal communicator, it was heart wrenching to see the dogs in the cages, with their sad eyes...the questions they have .."WHY? What did I do wrong? Why doesn't my mom / dad want me anymore?" I don't have any answers for them. The animals there know that it's only a matter of time, if no one takes them, they will be put to sleep.

Dumping your dogs or cats at SPCA you are charged for doing so. But that is not the point. When you buy a pet, be aware that it is for life. What gives any pet owners who tire of their pets the right to dump them at SPCA, PAWS or the streets? It is inexcusable. When getting a pet, be prepared to take on the responsibility of owning one. Be patient, tolerant and kind to your pet. Don't raise your hand because he/she was naughty, raise your voice once and raise it only when you catch your pet doing something naughty. Raising your voice after the event does not help your pet because they will not have associated what they have done to your raised voice. To train your pet, be vigilant and patient. If your pet turns to your shoes as a toy to bite, chide him and say 'NO' and take it away from him/her. Ever wondered why some people's pets are well behave and yours isn't? Love and patience. With love and patience and disciplining, your dog will learn to behave and respect you without fear.

Dog Obesity

My dog gets walked twice a day. He needs his daily walk to do his business. Apart from doing his business, he also needs his daily exercise so that his weight does not increase. We have to watch his weight more so now as he has been neutered. The dogs weight tends to spiral after neutering or spaying.

It is during these walks that I see some dogs that are overweight. Dogs that do not get their much needed exercise. Why? Because owners don't spend time with their pets. They let their maids take the dogs out not realizing that the maids just atke it down the road, stop and talk with their friends for 20 minutes, then walk back home. The owners think that their dog have gotten their walks, while is is far from the truth. Now not all maids do that. There are some maids that do walk the dog. It is unfortunate that the dog don't get their exercise. Owners should spend time with their dogs and take them out for walks because not only does it provide exercise for the dog and the owner, it is also a bonding experience for the dog and owner. After all, the dog is part of the family.

Dog obesity is not to be taken lightly. I see dogs that are overweight wobble unsteadily on their legs. Problems developed or it emphasizes an existing problems. Dogs that have hip displaysia struggle with weight gain. More weight, more pressure on the hip and causes discomfort in the dog.

Apart from hip displaysia problem, obesity in dogs can bring about diabetes, Hyperadrenocorticism (cushing's disease) where there are excessive production of hormone cortisol produced by the adrenal glands. Affected animals do not usually gain weight, but rather have a fat re-distribution to the abdomen and therefore have a potbellied appearance which mimics weight gain.

So while owners think that dogs that are fat are cute and adorable, let me assure you that it isn't. If we as humans know the effects of obesity for us, why aren't we more concern for the pets? After all, our pets are part of the family.

States

I have just recently got back from my trip in the States. We decided to step into this pet shop at St. Thomas at Yach Haven Grande. It's the cutest little shop. While we were there, we spotted this rottweiler pup behind the counter. The girl behind the counter asked us whether we would like to pet him...to which we said 'YES'. He was so energetic and teething. So he was chewing us with his sharp teeth..for those of you who remembers their pups when they were teething..you will also remember how sharp it was!! It was all good. Playful, cheeky and a healthy little pup. He was adorable!

Children and pets

Children when young have no qualms or fear of anything they do. In fact they are fearless! If they fall down, they just pick themselves and go. They learn from what we as adults show them. They get their fears, prejudices, likes and dislikes from the adults. I haven't seen a single child that is not influence by reactions around them. Where is this going you may ask.

My dog gets regular walk every day twice a day for at least 30 minutes. He loves his walks, he loves to greet people and loves other dogs and kids. Picture this scene, while walking the dog, you see a child. Two reaction will occur:
1) The child gets really curious and wants to come and pat the dog
2) The parent of the child will say, 'he's going to bite you' to prevent the child from coming near.

The second scenario is really upsetting. It is offensive to hear that my dog is aggressive when he isn't! This is where the child takes the cue and develops fear in dogs. Yes I understand some parents do not like their children to be exposed to animals. Probably looking at an animal raises fear in the parents..which I think is ridiculous.

Where is this leading? Well, during christmas, my in laws were over in Malaysia. I also love to take photos especially where there are animals involved. I managed to take this great picture of my niece and zoe the boxer. This photo shows the unconditional love of zoe and my niece. Personally, animals can teach us so much and the kids gain so much from them.

care for your pets

It is the New Year. Yesterday I visited a puppy that is paralyzed due to irresponsible owners. Let me start from the beginning. This puppy was first adopted out by an independant rescue organization to a family. They probably thought, it's great to have a puppy, we can play with it, he's so cute. However, a few months into the adoption, the puppy was rescued by another independant animal rescue organization because, this puppy have somehow become paralyzed on his hind quarters. The organization when questioned what had happen to the animal, the owners replied, the puppy got caught and hit by the electric gate and thereby causing damage to his hind quarters. I am doubtful to the story that was told. I suspect it may be that someone had taken a stick and hit the puppy so hard that caused deep nerve damage. I was told that the owners felt so bad that RM500 was given to the organization to aid him. Honestly, RM500 is NOT enough for this puppy. He needs constant care. He needs a wheelchair and the owners that had him should be made accountable for the damage that was caused to this puppy.

How can something like this happen? But it also begs the question, how are people treating their pets. Many times you see owners letting out the dogs from the gate, allowing them to roam around the neighbourhood without supervision. I've seen dogs that have been reprimanded with sticks. This is irresponsible behaviour of the owners. Dogs are not like cats. They require attention and love.

It also poses another question. How thorough are the independant pet rescue when adopting out the dogs or cats? Yes I acknowledge their effort to get the stray dogs out from the streets into a good home. Yes I acknowledge that monitoring will be hard but when an organization is set up for this purpose, one would expect that monitoring the pets that have been adopted out is part and parcel of it. It isn't the case of OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND. It's not as simple as I've got one less dog or cat to adopt out and concentrate on the one that next dog or cat to be adopted out.

Every pet owner should treat their pets humanely. Raising your hand on your pet is not the right way to train your pet. It is cruel, unnecessary and may caused physical damage to your pet as the puppy mentioned above. Owners or future pet owners have to be educated on how to own pets. They need to be aware that having a pet becomes a part of your family. In fact they are your family member once you bring them into your home. I find nurturing my pet is the best training. It creates stability in my pet and I get loved ten folds.