Mod-Dogs

Shaggy Bill, PooLaLa and Crouching Tiger Hidden Labrador, along with dozens other highly decorated Eero Aarnio puppies, are to be auctioned off at the Mod Livin’ Charity Event on March 28, 2008 to raise funds for the Denver Animal Care Foundation.

You can participate by voting online for the Best of Show, further raising awareness while cheering on your favorite Mod-dog.

Who Lego the Dogs Out?

In my recent travel to Orlando, I spotted four adorable Lego dogs in the street of Downtown Disney.  I later found out that the original set of this life-sized pack was once displayed in Lego’s Hall of Fame in Hartford, Connecticut, and was subsequently  auctioned off at eBay to raise money for children’s charity.

My encounter with another Lego dog occured in the Nordstrom Building along the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.  A sweet elderly Lego lady (left) sitting on a park bench with her little Lego terrier, meeting new friends.

By the way, Happy Leap Year!

Sparky – The Journey Home

It has taken me a whole week to finally realize that it is a miracle… 

Since February 3, my neighbors’ dog Sparky went missing.  He just disappeared without a trace during his daily supervised walk around the farm.  Of course, my neighbors were distraught.  For two weeks, we searched amongst vast frozen fields and impenetrable woodland in frigid temperature.  It was like looking for a needle in the haystack.  We distributed flyers, posted signs, newspaper ads, craigslist, petfinder, contacted animal shelters, and ultimately created a blog.  A few calls came in in the first few days, they were all checked out but no Sparky was in sight.  Hope started to diminish as time passed…two weeks…extreme cold weather… a very shy and timid dog…

Found! Alive! Alas!  No doubt guided by St. Francis, who, during this ordeal, must have received unusual number of prayers, many of those were from my dogs Toby, Zeus and Coco. 

For more details on Sparky’s journey home, check out www.sparkymissing.blogspot.com

For the Love Of Dogs

Happy Valentine’s Day to all you mutt nutts!  Here is a card that you can send to your furry sweetheart. Click here for free download or email to a friend.

Love is… A Day Without Chains

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, this might just be the ultimate love from a true mutt nutt: Participate in the 2008  ‘Have a Heart for Chained Dogs’ campaign, and help an organization called Dogs Deserve Better reach their goal to deliver 10,000 Valentines to chained and penned dogs.

They need handmade valentine cards, pet product coupons, addresses and donation.  Mixing all these ingredients together will provide awareness for better welfare for dogs that are being chained up, often cold, alone and unloved. 

Emily Carr and her dogs

Famous for her monumental totems and brooding forest interiors on canvas, Emily Carr (1871-1945) brought Canadian art, in particular, the landscape of the west coast to new heights.  Aside from being an extraordinary artist, she was also a prolific writer, her books of autobiographic nature were widely acclaimed.

Lesser known, perhaps, was her passion for dogs, documented in a charming book called ‘Emily Carr and her dogs – Flirt, Punk and Loo‘, written and illustrated by Emily Carr (published by Douglas & McIntyre).  For the first time, her lively sketches of her beloved dogs are reproduced.

It was over a hundred years ago when Emily wrote: “I wanted to draw a dog.  I sat beside Carlow’s kennel and stared at him for a long time.  Then I took a charred stick from the grate, split open a large brown-paper sack and drew a dog on the sack… The paper sack was found years later among Father’s papers.  He had written on it, ‘By Emily, aged eight.’” (Excerpt from Growing Pains) 

   

Epiphany!

I have an epiphany, not exactly today on the Feast of Epiphany, but a few weeks ago, I think that’s close enough.

It happened when I found a stray puppy in a busy tourist area in Macau, as I was a stranger in a strange land, I felt helpless.  I managed to convince a kind local lady to shelter him temporarily, since she had a dog by her side already.  I offered her money for transportation, and I begged her for her kindness.

I hated that helpless feeling.  At least if this happens at home,  I know where to get help and support for immediate care and shelter.  As I watched the lady walk away with the puppy and eventually disappear into the crowd, I cried.   When I turned around to go, I found myself standing in front of a historical church, as if it was some sort of a sign, next thing I knew, I was inside praying to the statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of all creatures, to watch over this little dog.

I think that’s when I have the epiphany.  Since there are Franciscan parishes in every corner of the world, wouldn’t it be a great idea if there is a rescue post set up in every single St. Francis Church location, where immediate relief and support is available for abandoned animals?  The post will only need to serve as a temporary care station until local animal rescue groups take over.  St. Francis is a familiar name for animal compassion, it is an icon that everyone recognizes in times of need to help animals.  

Maybe it is my divine calling to practise the preaching of the saint.  Personally, I started by signing A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion.

 

A Snowy New Year’s Day

On the first day of 2008, the dogs find themselves snowed in and are forced to entertain themselves indoor.  Since intelligent conversation is out of the question, perhaps a little “whine and cheese” and a game of “butt-sniffing pursuit” will do the trick!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Tinsel – A Christmas Tail

This is the story of my BJ (1991 – 2006), written by her rescuer and my dear friend, Ursula Hart.

If dogs had nine lives, then Tinsel has only eight to her credit.  Tinsel was one of five tiny four-week old pitbull terrier pups found in a farmer’s field.  The pups were clinging to the frozen body of their mother, who had been shot.  A caring neighbour brought us the pups in early December 1991.  

Having been deprived of proper care, these little pups were severely emaciated and full of parasites.  With treatment this can easily be rectified.  After several dewormings and plenty of good food, all the pups grew rapidly and became the picture of health – all except Tinsel. Her body remained gaunt but her potbelly grew and grew. I knew that something was terribly wrong, so off to the vet she went.  

Numerous blood tests, X-rays and ultrasound revealed nothing conclusive except an extraordinary high white blood cell count.  The only solution would be expensive exploratory surgery. Although the tiniest of the lot, Tinsel was so full of energy and love that I could not deny her a chance to live.  I knew she wanted to live!  

The surgery revealed an abscess the size of a grapefruit behind the umbilical cord. An infection must have set in when she was born and left untreated, it continued to spread. To make things worse, the abscess ruptured during surgery, filling the entire abdominal cavity with the most putrid, fowl smelling pus.  Both vets who were performing the surgery, turned to me and pleaded with me to allow them to let her go. “There is no hope! It will take well over an hour to clean her up.  She’ll never make it!  Even if she were to pull through the surgery, she’ll be dead in the morning.”  

But their pleadings and rationalization met a deaf ear.  I saw Tinsel breathing steadily and I remembered the  twinkle in her eye.  I could not allow anyone playing God with the life of this little puppy.  Had God wanted her to die, it would have happened before she came to the Haven. Over and over I heard them say to me: “Do you realize how much this is going to cost? And she’ll never pull through! Just think of what you could do with all that money!” I did think.  I thought of Tinsel. I did not see this as failure, but as a victory half won.  “She’ll make it” was my reply.  

And make it, she did, with flying colors.  To this day the two vets at the nearby clinic still call it the Christmas Miracle.  Tinsel has since been adopted out to a wonderful home along with her littermate, Tweedy.  The last time that I saw her, she was a compact, turbo-charged puppy, who had grown from a tiny handful to a whopping seventy pounds.  

My little Tinsel was undoubtely my most expensive but also my most treasured Christmas present ever.  Merry Christmas, Tinsel!  

Written by Ursula Hart (1991) - Haven of the Heart Animal Sanctuary

 

Standing On Guard

Mount Fortress in Macau is a military defence structure built by the Jesuits in the 17th Century.  Now a historical site and a museum, the fort was once equipped with cannons, barracks and an arsenal of ammunitions to defend Macau, then a Portugese colony.  Fast forward to the 21st Century, the principal military defence is now a dog named Ah-Book.

Ah-Book walks slowing up and down the fortress wall, keeping a keen eye on invaders disguised as tourists.  The Jesuits would have been so proud.