Dog Days in Singapore
The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but the ignominy, the humiliation we feel that we must be what we are without any choice in the matter, and that this humiliation is seen by everyone.
That was recited at the end of an episode of Criminal Minds I watched last night. I've been watching a lot of television lately ever since this trip turned into one of waiting. Waiting for my Cambridge interview. Waiting for my parents to come back from their trip to KL. Waiting for my sister to come home from school every day so it becomes something more than just glorified dog-sitting.
Most of my time is spent with the dog. Maximus is a pedigree Rottweiler puppy, eight months old, and already the size of the fully-grown golden retriever that came before him. He's not done growing up either; at full adulthood, Max should be 55kg (or a whooping 120lbs or so), which I know is more than a few of you reading this.
Max is also my reluctant walking buddy. It's taken some practice and determination, but we've actually made it to the nearby reservoir. (2500 steps away according to my Pokewalker.) Beyond that distance, he pulls me to the nearest covered shelter and promptly plops down on the ground, panting hard. After that we walk back. I'm not sure what keeps him from going so far, but I'm hoping we'll eventually get to the several kilometre distances Gorbash III (golden retriever) and I managed long ago.
On the topic of dogs, I have some pictures from when we brought the dogs to a flea bath last week.
In the holding cell are my mother's basset hounds. The tri-coloured hound up front is Bandit, the male of the pair; behind him is Tigris, two-coloured and female.
At the flea bath we went to, the dogs are kept in holding cells that are glass on one side, cage on the other. People pass by, look in on the groomers, look at the dogs in the cages. When ours went in, everyone swarmed at the glass to gawk. In Singapore, big dogs are rare sights--they aren't allowed in the HDBs, and are viewed with some degree of fear by the general public.
Which is why, if you look at Max here, he has a muzzle. Rottweilers are near the top of the watch list. They have the strongest jaws of all the breeds, and are usually kept in isolation during the formative years to make them vicious guard dogs in their adult years. The muzzling laws actually began because a pair of Rottwielers escaped their pen and ravaged a small dog.
The groomer initially charged an additional $20 fee after finding out Max was a Rottweiler, but thankfully dropped the charge after the bath was done. Of all our three dogs, Max is the best behaved: Rottweilers, despite their reputation, have very docile dispositions when properly socialised. In fact, Max spent the whole time being freaked out by other dogs at the groomers: He's afraid and submissive to animals outside of his comfort zone, which made him even easier to handle. My mother's dogs, on the other hand...
I don't have pictures, but while watching Tigris being combed for ticks, we saw her continually snap at the groomer, growl, and be generally upset. Because bassets have problems with toilet training, we didn't socialise too much with the hounds when they were young, and as a result, they grew up wild. I'm honestly surprised we didn't get the additional charge slapped on them.
That's all I have for that dog adventure. That day ended with me itchy and full of rashes. The joy of being an allergic dog owner.
In other news, I'm thinking of using sprites on my profile page. Look at the sprites below and let me know which you want in a comment. Please give me the row and column (up to down, left to right), and the general description of the one you pick. Avoid duplicates if you can.
Row 1: Landsknechts (1-4) and Troubadours (5-8)
Row 2: Survivalists (1-4) and Ronins (5-8)
Row 3: Protectors (1-4) and Hexers (5-8)
Row 4: Dark Hunters (1-4) and Gunners (5-8)
Row 5: Medics (1-4) and War Mages (5-8)
Row 6: Alchemists (1-4) and Beasts (5-8)
If you're confused about genders, just ask. Usually Columns 1 3 5 7 are female, but not always.
That was recited at the end of an episode of Criminal Minds I watched last night. I've been watching a lot of television lately ever since this trip turned into one of waiting. Waiting for my Cambridge interview. Waiting for my parents to come back from their trip to KL. Waiting for my sister to come home from school every day so it becomes something more than just glorified dog-sitting.
Most of my time is spent with the dog. Maximus is a pedigree Rottweiler puppy, eight months old, and already the size of the fully-grown golden retriever that came before him. He's not done growing up either; at full adulthood, Max should be 55kg (or a whooping 120lbs or so), which I know is more than a few of you reading this.
Max is also my reluctant walking buddy. It's taken some practice and determination, but we've actually made it to the nearby reservoir. (2500 steps away according to my Pokewalker.) Beyond that distance, he pulls me to the nearest covered shelter and promptly plops down on the ground, panting hard. After that we walk back. I'm not sure what keeps him from going so far, but I'm hoping we'll eventually get to the several kilometre distances Gorbash III (golden retriever) and I managed long ago.
On the topic of dogs, I have some pictures from when we brought the dogs to a flea bath last week.
In the holding cell are my mother's basset hounds. The tri-coloured hound up front is Bandit, the male of the pair; behind him is Tigris, two-coloured and female.
At the flea bath we went to, the dogs are kept in holding cells that are glass on one side, cage on the other. People pass by, look in on the groomers, look at the dogs in the cages. When ours went in, everyone swarmed at the glass to gawk. In Singapore, big dogs are rare sights--they aren't allowed in the HDBs, and are viewed with some degree of fear by the general public.
Which is why, if you look at Max here, he has a muzzle. Rottweilers are near the top of the watch list. They have the strongest jaws of all the breeds, and are usually kept in isolation during the formative years to make them vicious guard dogs in their adult years. The muzzling laws actually began because a pair of Rottwielers escaped their pen and ravaged a small dog.
The groomer initially charged an additional $20 fee after finding out Max was a Rottweiler, but thankfully dropped the charge after the bath was done. Of all our three dogs, Max is the best behaved: Rottweilers, despite their reputation, have very docile dispositions when properly socialised. In fact, Max spent the whole time being freaked out by other dogs at the groomers: He's afraid and submissive to animals outside of his comfort zone, which made him even easier to handle. My mother's dogs, on the other hand...
I don't have pictures, but while watching Tigris being combed for ticks, we saw her continually snap at the groomer, growl, and be generally upset. Because bassets have problems with toilet training, we didn't socialise too much with the hounds when they were young, and as a result, they grew up wild. I'm honestly surprised we didn't get the additional charge slapped on them.
That's all I have for that dog adventure. That day ended with me itchy and full of rashes. The joy of being an allergic dog owner.
In other news, I'm thinking of using sprites on my profile page. Look at the sprites below and let me know which you want in a comment. Please give me the row and column (up to down, left to right), and the general description of the one you pick. Avoid duplicates if you can.
Row 1: Landsknechts (1-4) and Troubadours (5-8)
Row 2: Survivalists (1-4) and Ronins (5-8)
Row 3: Protectors (1-4) and Hexers (5-8)
Row 4: Dark Hunters (1-4) and Gunners (5-8)
Row 5: Medics (1-4) and War Mages (5-8)
Row 6: Alchemists (1-4) and Beasts (5-8)
If you're confused about genders, just ask. Usually Columns 1 3 5 7 are female, but not always.