Chester Day!

Today I want to introduce an adorable boy to everyone. Call him 'Chester'

I've never liked dogs with folds in their faces, like shar pei, pugs, bulldogs..etc, but he, Chester, was the one who made me fall head over heels for him. He is a French Bull Dog.

However we think that he has a mix of Boston Terrier in his blood due to his appearance.

It was the first of the many meetings I had with Chester and co. at WOP. I was a sales intern then, trying to get his owners on-board. I failed in that aspect, but I gained so much more in terms of friendship and priceless memories.

He is the Boss in WOP, the 老大 (when Chewbacca the mini Maltese isn't there). He guards his territory with fervent vigor and scares 80% of unwitting humans who walks in. Many assumes that he is aggressive and because Chester is so manly and hunky looking, and he has a deep and loud voice when he 'speaks'. 

But you know, this hunky guy here has a soft spot for girls. He loves to curl up by your leg once he knows you better. He goes crazy with men though, jumps up and down because he knows that females should be treated gently, but not men.

He has a sad history of being abused, which involves bloody paws. Nevertheless, he's in a very nice place now, with many hugs from his new family members. He guards their 3 month old baby very diligently too. How sweet is that!

Look at his paws! <3

I go crazy when I see his paws because I can't stop pressing them! So cushion-y!

Such an adorable sleeping face. :) 

He actually loves being pat (a lot) by anyone. 

If you new to WOP and hear him barking, just walk slowly towards him.

Squat down, stretch out your hand towards him and let him sniff you. 

I shall leave you guys with one last photo of him: 

"BANG!"

Body Language.

Ash to the beach!

On our way there...


We reached Sentosa around 12nn and met up with the guys who already 'chope' an area for us.

Ash staring at a leashed Shi Tzu. But his posture looks alert but not aggressive leh... tail down, ears perked, but no growling or snarling.

Rabbit family shot

Fave past time, playing with Ash's furry ears.

"Mummy, no more photos please......"

Distract him with something... and he wakes up again! hee!

And for people who follow me on twitter/facebook, you will already know that Ash met with an accident at Tanjong Beach that day. 

INCIDENT ONE

After we set up our spot, bf and me brought Ash (leashed) for a quick dip in the waters before other dogs come by. However on our way there, an unleashed Labrador puppy made a bee-line dash (not aggressive,should be just wanting to make friends) towards Ash while I was trying to pull him in the opposite direction. But I was too late and a dog-fight ensued.

It was pretty one-sided because of the huge size difference, and all I could hear was the puppy crying out (more like screaming). My mind went totally blank at that point of time and all I could remember doing was to pull Ash in the opposite direction and bf running over to stop Ash. Apparently from witnesses (bf and friends), Ash grabbed the pup by her waist and tossed her in the air. 

The puppy had no puncture wounds and appeared to be unharmed except for the shock. But I wouldn't know because I had no contact with her. However she (the pup) was running around as though nothing was wrong 10 minutes later.

But at that point, I felt so terrible. After that first meeting with the unleashed pup, another unleashed mini Schnauzer 不怕死 ran over and stood between us and our 'spot'. That was my last straw and I broke down crying while hugging Ash tightly to me until the mini Schnauzer ran off.

The feeling of the whole incident was so terrible, because of the guilt I felt for the Labpup - the mental repercussions it might have on her, and the pain I had to inflict on Ash by choking him so he will stop.

It was so horrible. I can't imagine people who let their dogs run around biting other dogs/humans, don't they feel ANYTHING?

I wrote this in PC forum: 

By posting this here, my main motive is to share my point of view with everyone. There are some who might feel that their dogs are too small to cause any harm, too friendly to cause any dog-fight, but it happens. Because not all dogs are friendly, and you cannot ban such dogs (like us) to frequent the beach just because of this.

I fulfilled my responsibility by leashing Ash everywhere, and I keep a distance from other dogs/animals because I know what will happen.

A lot of heart-ache and pain could be saved if everyone does their part.

If you cannot ensure your dog will come back to you under any circumstances (excited with a new 'friend' / incoming vehicle), please keep a close watch on him/her and do not assume that other dogs are as friendly and welcoming.

P.S.
And please, if you ever encounter people coming up to you giving a warning, "Please try to keep your dogs away from mine as he's not very welcoming towards other dogs" don't treat it personally and reply with ,"We have no intention of going near your dogs", because we are not referring to your intentions, but your dog's.

INCIDENT TWO
After that first incident, we moved to a bigger shelter where we tied Ash to one of the pillar. Along came a Pug and Silky Terrier and I was praying they won't be unleashed. But surprise! They unleashed the 2 dogs and I got bf to go over and warn them just in case the same tossing accident happens.

But they were so defensive and I got so pissed off. Accidents happen for a reason. I definitely did not want any dogs coming near Ash, and I doubt the Labpup's owner had the intention to bring their pup over to meet Ash. It's always the dog's intention, not the human's.

All I can say is, at least the Labpup escaped in one piece because of Ash's bite inhibition. 

  Stopping him from chasing another unleashed mini Schnauzer with no owners in sight.

INCIDENT THREE
We finally went back after seeing a Golden R, Rottie, Mongrel, and German Shepard, all unleashed at the beach.

While walking to the car, we stopped by a showering area and tried to clean Ash a little. I saw a Mongrel from the corner of my eyes and told Bf to hold Ash firmly. Both of us practically pinned Ash to the wall, while he was staring intently at the Mongrel.

Oh did I mention the Mongrel was unleashed? Yes. It was unleashed. And the blonde caucasian lady (presumed to be its owner) pushed the tap and gathered water in her cupped palms and slowly walked over to her dog and tried feeding it, which it didn't want.

She did this twice. All while bf and I was pinning Ash to the wall. And it's not like we were very far apart. It was a close proximity and dangerously close at that.

Sigh, seriously. It would be a much better place if everyone were more cautious and sensitive of their surroundings. 

I want fooooooooood~

Time for Om Nyom Nyom! :D

Feline + 1 Canine Friends at WOP

Went to Wizard of Paws last weekend and snapped photos of their resident kitties. 

This is Baby #2 (B2), a male British Shorthair and very affectionate. :3 

 

He is very cute and chubby and looks like a little Siberian tiger! My secondary school friend recently got a British Shorthair kitten and he looks just like a miniature of B2. They are very affectionate, likes attention, and love to be petted (excerpt from wikipedia)

This is Didi (弟弟/Little Brother)

A funny guy who loves catnips and playing with toys. 

He used to be very timid and always hid in the cupboard (did I mention he can open cupboards by himself, and close them after he jumps in?). I'm so glad he's more at ease at WOP and is venturing all around the shop front!

And I met the scariest GR I've seen in my life. 

He's a sweet boy, but doesn't trust humans easily. 

I approached and he snarled. Bf swung his hands near him and he got into his aggressive pose, crouching and

ready to bite. Kinda scary to see a breed like Golden Retrievers snarling. It's probably not well socialised, but at least when I offered him treats (a very long one), he took it gently enough. 

 

Hope his owner will be bringing him home soon and give him lots of love! Poor boy.

Does it look... familiar?

Can you remember where you've seen these action of his?

Heh, Click for the answer!

Black and White Wordless Wednesday

A post from Ash's Daddy.

I have be with ash for a year and 6 months. There are many ups and down. My first time with a dog many people wouldn't want to keep a dog as it is a lot of hard work, cleaning the house and feeding him and walking him all these isn't fun it's responsibilities for caring a dog but i do admit there are fun time walking him and playing with him.

When i'm happy, ash is happy and run around me. When i'm sad he will come sit with me and give me his paw he is a great friend and a family member to me. Ash can't speak but his action alone speaks a thousand words. Like they say action speak louder than words.

He always want to sleep with me, in the same room because he is afraid of being alone just like me and he would sleep below my bed and guard me while i'm asleep. If anyone rings my doorbell he would bark out loud to notify me and if the intruder has bad intention , he would run away the moment ash barked.

I do admit his fur is crazy insane and always in the house,my clothes and on my cpu but it's a small price to pay to have a great friend like this. Never once i come home without him greeting me and pouncing on me and never once he would growl at me even if i accidentally stepped on him while getting out of bed. He would just stare at me and go back to sleep and i would say sorry while patting his head.

When comes to feeding the word 'MUM MUM' would wake the sleepiest moment of his and come rushing towards me it is more effective than his name when i call for him.

I would like to thank my friends and officer back in camp to allow me to keep ash and taught me how to raise a dog. Ash is 9 years old this year but he is ever hyper when comes to walk. People had kept asking me to train him well to walk slowly but i prefer him to pull me to get me moving. It might be harsh on my girlfriend to walk him cause shes small sized but nevertheless i always enjoy walking with him. And no matter how late or early he would be glad to go for a walk drag me.

I love my dog, ash. To me he is a family member and a great friend. If only he can start going to school for me. Sigh... Just kidding . Almost forgotten the most important details of all.. without ash my darling wouldn't like me ! Cause at first sight somehow i pissed her off and she hated me but ash manage to clam her down and she saw my good side! Love you darling.

Apple & Cheese Doggy Treats

Thank you Rossi mummy for sharing the recipe with me.

I think the type of flour really change the texture of the treats. I couldn't get wheat flour at my cold storage, so had to use what I have -- unbleached all purpose flour.

Plus I think the water content from the applesauce was so much that the treats were not able to dry out completely. (I followed the amount of flour exactly on the recipe).Good for doggies who have few / weak teeth because it's soft and chewy. 

I piped it into braids instead of adding more flour to roll it out and sent it into the oven to bake. The dark circles you see on the 2nd pic are actually cheddar cheese which melted during baking. This is one doggy treat which drove Ash crazy from the smell.

Ash is very food motivated, I realised. When he was getting his nails + pawpad fur clipped, he struggled a lot. But once I threw these to him, he stopped his struggling and started to focus on his chewing. HAHA! 

But I'm so happy because his paw-pads are now clean, nails short, and the fur in between his paw-pads are trimmed nicely. :) Thank you Wizard of Paws!