Intruder (or Guest) at Night

These past few days, I’m becoming a night owl. What keeps me up late at night is common nowadays—surfing the net and blogging. But there is something extraordinary event—which is not so extraordinary for us—but because of my late night habit I baffled and amazed by the erratic habit of someone dear to our family.

Someone or something makes a sound as it goes up the stairs in wee hours. The sound is not that loud still I can hear it while I’m tapping on the computer keyboard. I didn’t bother myself to have a look then a voice disturbed the stillness of night (or the onset of day)—my mom exclaimed, “Pino!” The intruder turns out to be an occasional guest in my mom’s room. Pino, Chuchie’s dad, has developed the habit of sleeping in my mom’s room whenever he wants to, depending on his mood or weather. (If it is hot downstairs because the fan is off, he will go up and my mom will turn on the fan when he arrives.)
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Be Aware: World Rabies Day

Today is World Rabies Day. Each year since 2007 this event is celebrated across the globe. Dog lovers or not, must be aware of the effect of being infected with rabies once bitten by a dog. But the man’s best friend isn’t the sole culprit of the fatal disease—the virus can be transmitted to humans by other mammals infected with rabies.

Working Together to Make Rabies History, the slogan of World Rabies Day, should also become our advocacy. Everyone can take part in preventing the spread of the virus. You can watch a video for you have a glimpse of WRD’s advocacy and what are being done in fighting rabies of worldwide.

In the Philippines, the government acted on this harrowing problem by encouraging people to have their dogs vaccinated through the city veterinary office where anti-rabies vaccine is given for free. It cost nothing to protect your pet, family, and others, whereas negligence can cost a great loss—life.

Awareness is the first step in fighting and living in a rabies-free world. Do your share. As a blogger, you can write about this event and link to the website of World Rabies Day. Action makes success a reality. Through the website, you can also download materials like brochure and presentation that you can distribute to others. And don’t forget to have your dog vaccinated yearly (in the Philippines) or depending on what the law required in your country.


More Resources for a Free-rabies Community

Alliance for Rabies Control another organization helping eradicate the fatal disease.
Rabies Facts
Prevent Dog Bites

Jaws Starring Buchie

Looking harmless?

Buchie and I were playing outside last Sunday; the puppy with white and brown markings was jumping and enjoy biting my fingers just for fun—no harm done. In terms of jumping, Buchie doesn’t like jumping down the stairs, chair or any high furniture; she can quickly go up but moves slowly and carefully when going down. As opposed to Chie which jumps like a bunny; fortunately, she’s still scot-free. (Does a treat of a carrot can make her as careful as Buchie?)

Not Quite.

I guess she has mistaken my hands for a rawhide, for a while.

A hand shake is much better than a bite. Or is she looking for a reward? Sorry, I forgot your treat inside the house; I'll bring it with me next time.

Day Off From the Net but Not to Doggie Tasks

The two days of no Internet connection disrupted my blogging schedule; the preceding post was published two days later than the intended date. I’m trying to at least make 3, or the most, 4 days of interval in updating BC in order to establish the habit of consistent blogging. During those days, I discovered silver lining—I was able to do tasks I keep on postponing, that is, making a temporary abode for Buchie. (I thought I can get away from doggie task for a while.)

It’s almost done. Now, we’ll start training her to get used to being inside her home where she can sleep and play without being interrupted by Chuchie. I also had the opportunity to take photos of them and of our neighbor’s Aspin. I’m learning to tweak the setting of my digital camera so as to make better photograph. I’ll share my newly-found knowledge soon, if there’s no biggest hindrance: Internet disconnection.

Do I Have to Capitalize Dog Breed Name?

Since I’ve discovered Grammar Girl through Oprah, I became a fan and even wrote about it. By subscribing, I receive grammar tips every week in my inbox. On last Wednesday, I read the current tips and because it concerns Chie’s species, I thought of sharing it on her blog. The following is the terse and verbatim explanation of Grammar Girl in response to the question, if dog breed name should be capitalized.

In the examples below, "English" and "Yorkshire" are derived from proper nouns--the names of places--and thus should be capitalized. On the other hand, "mastiff" is derived from the Latin "mansuétus" for "tame or mild"; "terrier" is derived from the Old French "chien terrier" for "dog of the earth, dog of the land, or dog of the ground"; and "beagle" is hypothesized to be from the Old French "beegueule" for "loudmouth" or "noisy person." Therefore, those parts of the names are derived from common nouns and should not be capitalized.

•  English mastiff
•  Yorkshire terrier
•  beagle

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The Legacy of a Brother

“The Great Escape,” of Houdini is the term I gave because of the many incidents/time Chie takes off his harness just like someone undressing clothes. I fixed her harness to no avail; she successfully does her tricks.

A collar is unused for 7 months now. It once belonged to Chuckie who is among the first litter of IC. Thus, he is the older brother of Chuchie and whom her name was derived. Chuckie died before he celebrates his first birthday.

It’s only now that I’m writing about him; I didn’t mention him being gone for good in my personal blog. We’ve had dogs that already died but I realized it’s entirely different if you are hands-on from the time they were born. The more you spend time, losing them is harder. Time heals as the saying goes.

And I’m not the only one moving on, even my sister because she allowed Chie to use his brother’s collar. Since she wear it, she no longer perform her great act but we let her loose inside the house where she can ran and play with his family. Otherwise, a leash confined her to a spot.

May she take care of his brother’s legacy. Chuckie also has a t-shirt but it’s still too big for Chie to wear and it’s up for my sister mood to let go of hand-me-down items.

Kermit the “Survivor”

Soulful eyes of strong-willed Kermit

Time flies like in the Neverland of Peter Pan. Kermit is not the way she used to be. She is agile and loves to explore our neighborhood doing dog walking; these qualities didn’t exist when she’s just a few weeks old. To give you an idea, look at Kermit’s photo on which she’s lying inside the basket; whereas, Dyna (spot of black and white) and Cotto (more black than white) are standing and peeking outside, eager to get out. Kermit was born with weak hind legs, a defect we didn’t notice till her siblings were walking and she was left behind trying to move through her strong front legs.  Thus, we knew that no one will adopt her; my parents fortunately agree to keep her.
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Photo Galore (09-04-2010)

First thing first: Read the nutrition facts.

 She looked with curiosity while staring at her treat for the successful free anti-rabies vaccination. But I doubt if the calorie content and other ingredient matters to Chuchie. She would rather wish to have something favorable written on the label like, “Served daily and as often as desired to a puppy.”
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Father and Daughter's Afternoon Nap

Pino and Chuchie are taking a nap after having lunch. Though they look differently, Pino is the dad of the black and white puppy beside him. If in doubt read Chuchie's background. Other than that I don't know how to prove their blood relation. For now just take my word for it!