Ban the fireworks and firecrackers!!

Ok, i may sound like a CNY scrooge but i think i am not alone on this..

Even Facebook statuses and comments by friends/relatives indicated many of us in the Klang Valley (and I'm sure in other cities/towns with Chinese populations) were bothered by the incessant and loud fireworks and firecrackers that went on in the last couple of hours!!

Apparently we just ushered in the Hokkiens' BIG day - 拜天公 (Bai Tin Gong) which falls on the 8th day of CNY.. and since I moved to this neighbourhood almost 7 years ago, I have experienced this crazy outburst of `celebration' which was even madder than CNY eve itself!!

But I won't really complain so much if I didn't have Jojo. You see, my dear Goldie is quite a coward dog who is frightened by even an umbrella or even the slightest unusual noises.. You can imagine how freaked out he has been with all these loud noises!! In fact, he was already so disturbed since CNY eve, and had been behaving quite abnormally. He lives outdoor but because of the fireworks/crackers, he had been pounding the doors every night and seeing him so frightened, we let him in.. But he would just dash upstairs into my room and hide himself in his `safety abode' - underneath my bathroom basin. He would refuse to come out and even coaxing him with food and using all kinds of method proved futile..

Two nights ago, even after the fireworks stopped, when I took Jelly out for a walk (which is his favourite actually) he still remained upstairs.. and yes, he would tried to come down but retreated again..

Sometimes we put him in his other safety abode - his house. But when I touched him, I could feel his heart beating so fast so I just had to let him in again..

Tonight, he got so scared that he began chewing things in my room and bathroom, something he usually does when he's nervous.. He also looked so paranoid and pathetic.. when I called him, he normally would come but now he just hid himself.

Just now, mom has to use a `cruel' method to get him out from hiding under my sink - after I tried so many ways to coax him out and fail. Mom took an umbrella and shoved it near him.. and he finally budged.. by that time, the fireworks/crackers had ceased.. thankfully, though once in a while, we could still hear it..

I just don't understand.. that type of grand/loud fireworks do not come cheap! And so many people are willing to throw away so much money just to `celebrate' in such a way.. that contributes to air and noise pollution and even danger!! Why doesn't our government ban it like they once used to? Are they allowing it to woo the Chinese voters or..?

And it's actually early Monday morning - people have to work and schools re-open, yet these crazy `chinamen' (ok i'm stereotyping but chances are they are!) don't give a hoot! Their own merry-making comes before considerations for others. And they probably believe doing that would bring them prosperity?

I'm not a `banana', in fact, i'm Chinese educated and well verse with Chinese tradition and culture. My parents are traditionally and culturally very Chinese but thank goodness that even they do not share that kind of mentality.

At least now at past 2am, it's finally quieten down.. but here's a photo of poor Jojo sitting in my bathroom, under the sink, having chewing up papers and boxes!!

So pitiful.. :(

Mom, being the tolerant one, said it's just once a year and let it be... but I say, those of us who share my sentiment should petition to the government to ban fireworks/firecrackers once and for all!!

Jojo can't do `up' anymore!! :((

I feel sad...:( My Jojo is an old dog now..!?

I know Jojo is not getting any younger.. he'll be seven-years-old in June. However, I couldn't believe his legs and joints are getting so weak that as of these two days, he could no longer leap up!

For the longest time, every evening when I come home, he would greet me and leap on me on his hind legs. Usually I would gesturel him to the pillar cos instead of scratching my clothes, he could just leap and scratch on the pillar of the porch. Then I would pat and play with him a bit. This has been like his routine..

But last night and tonight, he just greeted me without jumping.. and when I signaled for him to jump at the pillar, he struggled to attempt it but failed! He could just jump very low and immediately back on all fours.. he couldn't do the `up' command anymore!!

:(( I was devastated. I had been giving him expensive joint supplements but on a low dosage - mainly because it's very expensive and also the vet said I could start slow as a `maintenance' supplement since he isn't that senior in age yet..

But now.. I think I need to increase the dosage.. as he obviously showed obvious signs that he is getting weak in his joints.

Oh Jojo.. I can't believe age has taken a toll on you.. I think I really need to bring him for walk even more regularly and take care of him better. I feel so bad.. I think his lifestyle is probably too sedentary and he's getting heavy too...

I really pray his condition will not worsen and can be improved with the help of supplements..

The photos show Jojo, lying outside my study just now. Ya, looking lazy but he still looks so handsome, doesn't he?

2010 is here!

Jess' two Js wishes you a very Blessed and Joyous New Year!

Woof! Woof!

My two Js' birthdays again..!!

I'm a bad mommy! I almost forgot to blog about the two Js' birthday this month!!

Well, Jelly's 5th birthday was on June 7th and at that time my PC downstairs (where the photos are) had no Internet access.. so it's a good excuse for the delay :p

For the first time, Jelly had the honour of having a cake - or rather sharing half a cake - as my maid Wati's birthday was just a day earlier than hers!

So we had a joint celebration of sort.. :)

The two birthday girls! Wati adores the two Js - she's really good with them, which is a relief for me also..

Dad takes this photo of us with the two Js but just realise that Jojo was too low down.... so, another shot as follow!
Yup, not easy to get the two Js to pose for photos together!!

Oh, tomorrow Jojo is turning 6! Yes, he's well into his middle age now.. and sometimes i really wish he would not grow old so fast! Since i've been kinda bogged down with work, I didn't go out and get anything for Jojo.. but I saved some very nice pork ribs in the soup for him to eat tomorrow..

Sigh, tomorrow is another busy day so i don't really get to spend time with Jojo on his birthday..
but it's a relief that he doesn't know is his birthday.. hehe.. :p

SO HERE'S TO MY DARLINGS...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOJO, AND HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY JELLY

Jojo's approaching old age.. :(

Today I brought Jojo to the vet for his annual vaccination. The nice lady vet petted his head and said: `oh, Jojo's getting old.. can see white fur growing.."

Ohhhh... ! It suddenly hit me that Jojo ain't young anymore. :(

(errr.. can you spot any white fur on his brow?)

He'll turn six in June. For a large breed dog, that's half the lifespan..

The vet then asked me about his movements.. Well, to be honest, I was getting a bit concerned as I noticed he likes to sit down much more than standing up.. And sometimes when I play with him, he would take opportunity to rest and sit.. although he still could run pretty fast!!

The vet said I should start giving him supplements for the joints. I asked if it's necessary to start now as he's actually more in middle-age than old age. But she said it's better to prevent than cure and also because of his large size.. in fact, he's showing some signs of weak hips and thigh..

Of course I wanted the best for my dear Jojo.. so I heeded her advice and bought a bottle of supplements! But little did I expect that it is so expensive!! Even much more than human vitamins/supplements!

It was priced at RM305.90 and she rounded it off at RM300. Ouch! But it will last four months..

I know it's only natural that any living beings would grow old but I always have this fear of my dogs entering old age.. especially after watching Marley&Me. I dread to think of the day I'll have to face Jojo and Jelly in deteriorating conditions that eventually lead to their deaths... I don't know how I am going to take it.. :((

Sigh.. But in the mean time, I know I must be a good mommy and give them all my love and also take care of their welfare to the best..

Here are the two Js in pensive moods

And by the dining table while I was eating! :)

Jelly in a T-shirt! :)

Bought Jelly a new t-shirt today!!

I always thought she's too big for those cutie dog clothes but i actually found her size in Jusco supermarket. It was a tad bit expensive (RM31.90) but i think she looks good in this colour - and the style is simple too!! At the beginning after I put it on, she was twitching and rolling on the floor.. After all, she was not used to it as she only had two pieces of clothings - a santa suit when she was a pup, and a apron dress which she hardly wears and outgrows it already..
But after 5-10 mins or so, she got used to it.. After all, its such comfortable cotton fabric and it's a cool night.. So ya, she is now sound asleep wearing her new t-shirt. hehe..
Now I need to send her for grooming soon.. her fur is getting too long!

Jelly's so pretty (and fat)

Dog-narcissist post :p

Jelly's fur was getting so long and curly and even blocking her sight.

So on Monday, I finally took her for her grooming session...





After spending a couple of hours there... Voila!!

How different she looks!! but still the same (fat) size.. :p

Jojo's new phobia!

Does this thing - a colourful little windmill - look scary? (actually it looks bigger in this pix but the diameter is about 24cm or so)

I just can't believe Jojo is such a scatty coward!! He totally freaked out when I showed him this when I got back tonight. He already looked scared - could he have phobia with bright colours too? - when it was still.. And when I made it turn, Jojo just ran away in fear!

Later I had the back door opened when I watched TV and he didn't even enter - he would not miss chances of coming into the house normally. Well, he knew that `scary thing' was inside the house. Then I went out to look for him and he was hiding at the far end of the garage - poor thing. Hmmm.. I can be quite a sadist when it comes to things like this with Jojo. So I took the windmill with me and sure enough he ran.. but I chased after him.. and then he ran inside the house and went all the way upstairs into my room.. to hide at his `safety zone' - which is the space underneath my sink!

Argh!! once he got there, it's really hard to make him budge! I cooed him and even pretended to take Jelly for a walk but to no effect. I had to ask dad to help and finally he came out a bit but he still didn't want to leave my room door until I had to fiercely shout at him. He then ran all the way down, out of the backdoor and hid somewhere in the garden..

Maybe I wanted to `punish' him for such behaviour, so I decided to`train' him not to be afraid of that thing - Jelly was oblivious to it although if I put it moving too near, she didn't really like it either. So this time I closed the backdoor and went looking for Jojo again and he dashed inside his own kennel. I'm such a sadist.. I put that windmill at the door of his house! So Jojo just sat inside stiffly staring at it.. Minutes later, I didn't think it would do anything for him so i actually used Jelly (sorry Jelly) to lure him out and see. I put on the leash pretending to take Jelly out for a walk.. and true enough, the urge to go out surpassed his fear of that windmill and he dashed out quickly!

Ya, I'm quite a sadist but it's just quite `funny'! Can someone tell me what's so scary to a dog (a large dog even) about this windmill? I could understand still if he's scared of umbrella - he still is. But this thing? it didn't even produce noise...

Jojo, you just amaze me again.. but sorry for scaring you on purpose.. I just hope you're a little more braver - just 1/3 of Jelly's bravity will do... sigh.

My two Js are so unfit!!

I know I'm pretty unfit - although I'm fitter today than I was 10 years ago due to gym training.. But because of traveling, busyness and plain laziness and lack of motivation, I haven't been to gym for a month now! (It doesn't help that my gym is about 17km away from my home and need to find parking and all...)

Anyway, this afternoon, since it was not too hot and sunny (before the rain came) I decided to jog around my housing area... and decided that my two overweight dogs need some exercise too!

So I took them along on a leash while I jogged! I think the whole distance - including quite a lot of stairs as we have a path around our gated community - was probably just about 1km or more..

It was much easier bringing Jojo as Jelly likes to stop at her fancy - either pee/poo or simply smelling something. I felt they were panting quite heavily.. although I was getting a bit tired myself. So after one round, we went home and stopped for a while - gave them some water, and then came out again and did just very short run...

Then it started drizzling so it was really a very short work-out for me..

While I already recovered my breath and all, the two dogs looked drop-dead tired, and panting heavily, and kept sticking out their tongues for air of course....

I couldn't help but take these photos - and this was like at least 20 minutes after they had stopped exercised!!

Gosh.. my dogs are so unfit!! I think I should bring them out to exercise more..



Jojo panting away by his water bowl...first standing and then `collapsed'!



Jelly too.. and is even too tired to chew her bone!!





Not easy to take photos with the Two Js, but I managed this time.. haha




This is such a funny pose - actually Jelly was lying slightly further away from Jojo but for photo sake, we push her gently closer and they actually just lied there for a few minutes like this - cos they are both too tired to move!!

A huge rat, a brave Sri and two savage Js!

There was a commotion in my house this afternoon where there were lots of screaming!!

When dad and I reached home, I noticed Jojo was kinda unusual. He was in his houes, staring at something at the side. As soon as the gate closed, my maid Wati let Jojo out and then everything just happened so fast!

Jojo dashed into the kitchen and then I heard Wati screamed `binatang (animal)! binatang!' and then as I went into the kitchen, I saw both Jojo and Jelly beseiging a corner where some boxes and wooden stairs were. Wati was pointing there and said there was an animal that looked like a rat and Jojo had attacked it!

With heart pounding, I bent down to take a peep (from quite a distance of course). And I saw it! To be precise, I saw its tail. It was black and flurry and long - what else could it be but a huge rat! So I told dad and mom who were also getting excited, but dad said how could there be a rat, maybe it was a squirrel. But I swore I could tell the difference between a rat's tail and a squirrel's!

Then I think the `thing' moved and suddenly my two dogs barged into the toilet nearby.. refusing to move. I quickly went out of the kitchen `just in case' and sure enough, I saw Wati screamed and jumped onto the stove table! I screamed and jumped back further. So did mom! And dad was even further away as he is scared of rats! Wati said the rat dashed out and then back into the toilet!!

None of us dared to go close to see what Jojo and Jelly are doing to the `poor' rat. Until our `saviour' arrived in the form of our new maid Sri. This daring woman said she is not afraid of rat and to prove her words, she went into the toilet to want to catch the rat! But she had some difficulty because Jojo and Jelly were in her way!

We all retreated to the dry kitchen. And after she shooed Jojo out and we held on to him, a while later, she triumphantly announced that she got the rat. My gosh! I couldn't believe she used her bare hand saved with a piece of paper to catch it - holding it by the tail. And then she announced that the rat had died already!

Even though she had said that, but the fact that she was holding onto a huge dead rat, the screamings were still on! Dad shouted out loud to ask her to take a plastic bag to throw the rat in and dispose of it.. but before she did, I also played brave and used my zoom lense to take this photo.

I would have liked to take photos of how the two Js' tortured and kill the rat but firstly, it happened so fast, and 2ndly and more importantly, I wouldn't dare to!!

Oh, after the rat was disposed of, Sri related to me her `battle' with the dogs and the rat. She said the rat was still half alive when she went to it and when she caught it, Jelly bit on the rat and refused to let go of it and there was a tug-of-war between Sri and Jelly with the rat - which finally succumbed to the ferocious torture by my dogs. And then eye-witness number 1 Wati said Jojo was the first to sink his teetch into the rat's body which caused it to be half dead (that's why can remain in the toilet so long I guess..)

Look at the innocent faces of my`angelic' dogs - taken just 10 mins after the incident! And you won't believe how bloodthirsty and vicious they can be to another smaller animal!


But again, maybe they know that rat is not a lovable type of animals.. ? :p And whatever it is they helped to kill it and spare Sri from being a huge rat murderer!!

What excitement we had! :p

Birthday boy with an amputated tail!

Happy 5th Birthday to my Jojo Darling! :)

Time flies.. Jojo turns five-year-old today!!

Thank God his tail has healed quite well and he has not been wearing e-collar for three days already. So he is back to normal except there's some cosmetic defect at his tail end.. no thanks to bad mommy.. (background story here)

He has been very happy the last few days but don't know why i could not get him to smile for camera today! He was in a melancholic mood so far...hmmm.. does he know he's getting older and resents it? Or he doesn't like how his tail looks like on his birthday? :p

Anyways, here are pix fresh out of the oven - taken after lunch today - showing the pensive and manja side of Jojo..and a bit of Jelly.

My maid wants to clean Jelly's ears but Jojo gets jealous and all manja!


Jojo's tail at the moment..

and now, the best pix of the lot...

the two Js' back sides!!! ;D