A Mopsy Profile

Today is Mopsy’s day (Which he will be pleased about because he looooves attention)

Mopsy’s our boy puppy up for adoption. He was rescued from DBKL and is really REALLY anxious to find a new home with new owners to love.  He’ll be ready for adoption in about a week or so – needs a bit of time to fatten up and get his land legs, as he’s been cooped up in small spaces ever since he was born his legs are not so strong, and he tires easily as he’s just got over being sick.

He’s a little manja pup and will whine to be picked up and loved (I’m pretty sure the whining problem will be fixed once he has enough attention).   He can be noisy (i.e. he is a little barker) but this can be rectified early, as he will stop barking / whining as soon as you give him a warning whack. This is so unlike some dogs (when Coco was a puppy she would whine for an hour before giving up, Guruguru, if bored, will do a ‘pitiful’ bark for hours on end – even if you discipline him it only lasts for about 2 minutes before he’ll start up again).

He’s very very cute, but has probably been bullied for most of his life (suspect he was a runt) and his favorite thing to do is find a dark corner to chill out.  He’ll still come (most of the time) when you call, but after too much stimulation (like 15 minutes of a free run in the garden) he’ll quickly make his way back to his enclosure for some quiet time.

And yes, he always has that ‘pity me i’m cute’ look on his face

See the little bare patch under his little stubby tail (he loves wagging his tail and the stump is just too cute for words as it goes back and forth)?  He had an altercation at the DBKL compound, probably caused by overcrowding, – no worries, the fur is growing back already and it will be invisible soon.

For details on adopting Mopsy, please email tinytapir at gmail dot com

Mopsy’s waiting.

you never call anymore…

Flopsy & Mopsy pups for adoption

Recently a friend rescued a bunch of dogs from DBKL who were due to be put down.

Most were successfully adopted out except for 4 dogs who were left.  2 of the adult dogs are still at the vets, but these little 2 pups will be ready for new families in a couple of weeks or so.  They’ve both successfully recovered from Parvo (talk about cheating death twice!), and we’re just waiting for the all clear from the Vet.

Anyone want to meet Flopsy & Mopsy?

C’mon… how can you resist the puppies in a bucket…

Flopsy is a girl, she’s bigger and much more adventurous.  Mopsy is a boy, i think he was the runt of the litter and he’s much more cautious, timid and reserved.

awwwwww, an armful of puppies…

Mopsy loves to find places to hide. Like under the shelf on my desk for example. Apparently my diary is a comfortable restingplace.

Puppy Porn!

Guru being pretty

This is Guru Guru, our adopted Afghan cavorting in the yard.  He has been referred to as a cat killer (rightly so).

Yes, he’s killed 3 cats and maimed one that the vet brought back to life.  It really can’t be helped with the literally hundreds of cats roaming our part of the world, and because he has run of the garden, especially in the initial stages (when the cats didn’t realize how tall he is when he’s on his back legs – that is, he’s taller than I am and practically reaches the top of the wall), he would catch a cat – 3 of them underestimated his reach.

I don’t think anyone can deny that it’s in a lot of dogs’ nature to chase cats, just happens that guru’s legs are long enough to actually CATCH them.  And afghan hounds are notorious for being cat-haters – after all, they were bred to hunt and kill wild cats in Afganistan. Yes, it’s a horrible thing, and the screeching of caught cats is really terrible, but what can one do?  In any case, he hasn’t caught any cats in quite some months now and we’re very careful about him being off leash as he does really get the blood lust when he sees cats (you should check out his eyes – kinda scary!)

the above 2 were taken last year – you can see Guru is much much skinner in this photo. Wow. actually I hadn’t even realized how much weight he’s put on…

Sunday Photos

a lighter shade of green

What does it actually mean to be ‘Living it Green’?

To me, there are many shades of Green ranging from the uber-dark Green (live in an eco-village in a house with compacted dirt floors, growing your own food, composting everything, eating raw vegan , not owning a car, using electricity that’s not solar powered or using motorized transport) to light pale Green (recycling, using reusable bags and trying to sleep without air conditioning), and a whole bunch of shades in the middle.

Me, I think I’m apple green.  But I’m aiming to try to get to grass green by the end of the year.

Everyone has different passions, different comfort levels and different values.  To me, on a practical basis I know I can’t move to an eco-village or a commune in Australia.  I know I need motorized transport (let’s face it, it just wouldn’t be done for me to bicycle to work with my briefcase strapped to my bike, dodging traffic and risking life and limb!).  I know I need electricity – because how else would I work at night or even be writing this on my laptop?

The things that I do that are green happen mostly in my head.  It’s all about awareness – awareness of the footprint we leave and about the consequences of our actions.  Although I will still occasionally use a plastic bag, it’s always in my head “there’s another resource I used that I didn’t need to”.  When I drive in my car and look at fellow travelers stewing in their solitary cars stuck in the same traffic jam, I think “traffic would be so much better if more of us had car-pooled, if public transport were more useable”.  And eventually, maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually, I will get so sick of thinking this thought that I will finally do something about it.

That’s the real crux of truly Living it Green. To be aware of our impact of the world, instead of mindlessly wandering through a life of aimless and pointless consumption.

Think about how so much of how we live our lives is habit.  We’re just used to taking that extra plastic bag at the supermarket, used to buying that can of dog food and leaving appliances plugged in when we’re not at home.

How hard is it to change these learned habits?

Often all it takes is one step in the greener direction.  Using a funky envirosax shopping bag for example, and saying no to the plastic bag.  Suddenly, you’re already aware of waste that you said no to.  And you feel good, which is one of the best things of making that step – feeling good that something is not wasted.  It’s such a cheap and easy way to feel good about oneself, it’s a wonder not more people do it.

Just one little step towards doing something a little out of habit is usually all it takes.  Before long it will seem downright strange to be carrying a single use plastic bag, and distasteful to have to use a Styrofoam container to carry your lunch 500m to be eaten.

More Shanti and Coco

OK because people will believe everything they read over the internet. Here are photos of shanti and today’s newspaper:

Yesterday she ate 1/2 a kilo of chicken, half a can of Addiction Dog food and a sprinkling of kibbles. This morning she ate a 1/4 of a chicken (wing) but she didn’t finish it. Guess she is full!

Tonight I am going to get some livers / kidneys for her as well as some beef.

If she looks thinner it is not because she is losing weight. It is because she is toning up – before she was a bit ’saggy’ i.e. she had fat but no muscles on her legs. Now, her legs are toning up and she is slimming due to the toning.

Note, I can only JUST feel her ribs when I feel under her fur. She could probably afford to put on a bit more weight, but it’s up to her – to be honest, she is quite fussy about when to stop eating, no matter what you put in front of her.

Here is Shanti trying to get at my crotch

Here is Shanti surveying her kingdom.

These are my dogs

Coco the purebred Malaysian mutt and Shanti the Akita + some other breed mutt.

Coco is from SPCA and Shanti was rescued from the side of the road by a home-rescuer who shall remain nameless.  All I will say about that is I am supremely thankful to said rescuer for actually rescuing her and giving her to me (or at least giving her to me initially before she lost her MIND).

We are switching Shanti from her rather rojak feeding to a purely raw diet – which she really takes to like a fish to water.  She just crunched up half a whole 2kg chicken.  Coco, on the other hand, took the chicken in her mouth daintily, spat it out on the ground then looked at it like it was an alien hand from Mars.  She makes her eyes really big, clamps her mouth shut and looks away like “it’s not there if I can’t see it” if i tear off a little chunk of chicken meat for her to try.  See. Even dogs can be in denial.

Shanti is really unfit.  She can prance and run for a short while before she just conks out and sort of drags herself along.  We’ve been taking her for 30 minute runs / walks every day, but that’s about her upper limit.  Coco, on the other hand, could go for 2 hours I suspect.

Here’s Shanti when I first came out tonight.  She’s really perking up on the raw diet and her coat is much slicker and softer than when she first came home.  She even jumped up on me and licked my face today! Which is a first… I used to pick up her front legs and her back legs would just collapse.

Eating Raw Food

My sister is very heavily into eating raw. That means eating only un-cooked vegetables, beans, nuts and nectars.

I only wish I had that kind of discipline. I mean can you imagine going out to a restaurant and reading all the lovely hearty meal options, turning to your friend and asking, “so what are you having” and they say “lasagna looks good, or the pepper encrusted roast baby lamp chop with mint sauce and truffle infused mashed potatoes. I really like the molten lava chocolate soufflé too. What are you having?” and you have to say back, “Salad. Hold the dressing. Hold the croûtons. For dessert I guess I’ll have the tiramisu with fresh mint. Hold the tiramisu.”

I understand all the benefits of eating raw for at least 80% of the time (honestly, I don’t think many people are suited to eat raw 100% of the time), but I just can’t seem to get there.  There’s more nutrition in raw food, it’s usually easier for our stomachs to digest, not to mention that it’s better for the environment the more raw we humans eat.

As with most things, I think it’s the societal pressure to eat cooked food that’s the hardest to deal with – not to mention that having grown up with cooked food, it would take a lot of investment to learn a whole new way of food preparation and eating without a good support group.  It would be almost easy to go raw if you lived with 4 other people who were also raw and everyone was really enthusiastic about taking turns to preparing raw meals.  Of course, the likelihood of that ever happening is infinitesimal!

Yes, some of the food my sister made looked absolutely delish, but this recipe for a ‘chip replacement’ which is basically just sliced zucchini, makes me want to grab a bag of potatoes and start double frying them before stuffing them down my gullet boiling hot.

The funny thing is, eating less fattening / processed food does actually make me feel better. But somehow, I can’t seem to reprogram myself that a mutton briyani is not just the thing for lunch after a stressful morning.

*sigh* I suppose it all comes down to discipline, will-power and the willingness to exercise it in the first 6 months at least.  Wonder if I will find it in myself to take the plunge next year…

Stuff!

The story of stuff got me freaking out. And when I say that I mean FREAKING OUT.

It’s a very fun and easy to understand clip (it’s 20 minutes long and a bit of a bitch to download. I’d think about buying a DVD but then it’s more acquisition of STUFF which the clip is trying to say we shouldn’t do… bit of a quandry there), but it’s definitely freak out material.

I think it puts a finger on why I’m no longer enamored of being part of today’s consumer society. I have a MOUNTAIN of stuff already and most of it is never really used – especially electronic equipment.

On the other hand, I think what the economy would be like without the consumer society – would we all still be living in kampongs and our children playing with empty half coconut shells, sticks and stones? Would that really be such a bad thing? My dad grew up in something that was almost a kampong. He seemed to enjoy it. Meanwhile my friends’ kids now freak out about putting their *gasp* bare feet on sand.

Hmmm. Food for thought.