Aki's 2nd Birthday Pawty

I am so happy! Is it obvious?

Well, yesterday was such a special day for me for 4 reasons.

First: I started my first post for 2010 (woofy!) and got to visit some of my blogging buddies!
Second: Our lovebirds’ second egg hatched.
Third: It was my second birthday.
Fourth: I finally got one of my long time wish list staple!

Here are some snippets of yesterday’s mini celebration.


Ms. Khyra mentioned there should be khake, so I got to have a purple one on my birthday. How cool is that? I also wanted vanilla sundae but Manang said it was too cold for ice cream since it was raining ;(


I offer this to all of my puppy friends- cakes for all!

And of course, in almost all birthdays, it is customary to blow the candle and make a wish.

After eating, I was made to open all of my pressies- yay!!

Looks like Poopie wants to give my Fleecy rope a go as well... ;p

As for my red Patento Pet dog collar, It’s surely going to be my ultimate fashion statement this year, don’t you pups agree?

I also earned a pack of Zuke’s Jerky Naturals, which was unfortunately, not allowed to be given to me since I still had lots of treats in my doggie bin *sulks*

And of course, my ultimate favorite, my long time must-have…

An XL Kong Wubba!!!

Turning two sure is lots of fun! I can’t wait for my next birthday!!!

Thank you so much to all my friends who greeted me on my barkday, I love you all!!!

drooly kisses,

Aki

Lost and Found: Birthday Boy

My Speech teacher taught me before never to start a speech, or in this case, a post, with an apology, so allow me to first say a big woofy, furry, slobbery Thank You to every pup, hammie and kitty who wished us a Merry Christmas!! We are sorry for not being able to come up with a Christmas card on time because we were too busy (evidence below).

We promise to make it all up to you for your kindness and friendship somehow.

The year 2009 had not been too kind on us bloggie-wise so I made Manang promise to keep one very important New Year’s Resolution: To NOT neglect my bloggie and visit all our blogging friends at least twice a week. In relation, Poopie and I also made a resolution to continue to pester her to update our blog and visit our friends. :) I hope that would put and end to this dry blogging spell.

The last few months had been momentous, inspirational and heartbreaking for us.

We witnessed the joys of having one of our dearest friend, sweet Scarlet, finally raise the needed funds to realize her wheelchair dreams. Thanks to all of you who prayed, donated and spread the word, it will now be a matter of time before she will finally realize her lifelong dream to somehow live a normal pup’s life.

We (i.e. Poopie and the hoomans) witnessed a near breakdown when I got too busy trying to make a breakaway days before Christmas and gave my paws and leg a nasty cut. Manang and Manong felt so hopeless, having gone to their hometown already while I was left here at the care of my Veterinarian nanny.

We witnessed how fragile and uncertain life really is. How one day everything can seem perfect and seemingly endless and the next day, one is left with nothing but a series of whys, hows, whens and only an endless stream of precious memories. Within two days before and after the close of the year, we were involuntarily given two angels in the Rainbow Bridge.

Gen. Askalon
January 3, 2007 – December 30, 2009

Attorney 1
January 3, 2009

But just as there are sure sunsets in everyone’s lifetime, we always believe that brighter days are likewise sure to come. Though it will never erase nor heal the pain of the loss, time would make us more used to the pain and eventually, allow us to learn to live with it.

Because each day we witness little miracles. In a nutshell,

these are the healing of physical wounds and the ever growing bonds of love and friendship

The simple satisfaction of a little treat


The unexplainable joy derived from sharing our blessings


The joys of parenthood

And the conception of little miracles

And today, we are set to celebrate another day, another year. We are blessed with another opportunity to once again, be mad, laugh, cry and experience all these all over again.

Happy New Year everyone and

A Happy 2nd Birthday to me!!

Poopie Rx

In his earlier posts, my good buddy Huskee Boy had been having problems with his new ‘do’ after a recent visit to the groomer.

I found that his excessively trimmed fur had already affected his confidence to pose for pictures (If you’ve noticed, there has been a shortage of Huskees and instead, we’ve been seeing more and more of the Black and White one)

For someone who had to contend with having short fur for his entire existence, I felt that more research is in order if I intend to help out in regaining my buddy’s confidence.

I proceeded to ask my brother Guan Long, who, last Christmas, had a terrible skin problem and had to be shaved off of his handsome locks but now looks amazing!

Thankfully, he was able to share with me a few secrets:

For coarse and/or thinning fur all over the body, we can always rely on a daily dose of Coat Shine or Fish Oil.

For less serious conditions, a good shirt always hits the nail when wanting to cover up unwanted body fur appearance (or the lack of it).

In the case of Huskee, however, he made mention of his ears appearing as if it were chopped off aside from being sort of “nekkid”. Having assumed her new role as Doctor Girl, Poopie suggested that Huskee needed to do some volumizing (if there is such a word)…

So she rummaged through my stuffies and decided to innovate a little…

And this is what she ended up with…




What do you think Huskee? Does it hit the nail right on its head or shall we aim the hammer somewhere else?


Aki’s Postscripts:

The hoomans happily shared with us a wonderful news. We were told to pack our favorite squeaky ball, towels and an extra set of harness and psych ourselves for something exciting this Sunday…. Hmmm…. Do we smell ocean breeze? Please pray that Typhoon Lupit won’t rain on our ‘parade’!

Until next post everybuddy!! Cheers.

Better Days Keep Coming

Hellow there puppies!

It has been a busy two weeks back here. First, we had typhoon Ketsana and then less than a week after, typhoon Parma entered the country. Although we live many nautical miles away from the scene of devastation, Poopie and I both feel that it is incumbent upon us to help our unfortunate brothers and sisters.

Last Monday, we sent our hooman to Makati in Metro Manila to inspect the place and let us know the extent of damage in the affected areas. Five days after, she came back with no updates/ news that were any different from the ones in the TV screens. We were informed though, that to this date, many are still stranded in their homes with water levels up to their waists (Filipinos are relatively shorter than most Caucasians and Asians, so it might be a few inches lower for most of your hoomans).

Poopie and I remembered that the hooman had a handy life vest hidden somewhere in the cupboards, so we both decided to give it a try before volunteering in the rescue operations. Capt. Jack Sparrow’s rubber boat would have greatly helped, but it was not for rent so we are really left without much options.

After fitting the hooman’s vest, any illusions of being a Baywatch babe/stud vanished into thin air.

Well, Poopie sure was no Pamela Anderson…

And let’s just say that I looked more like a hotdog (and I don't mean our good friend Lorenza and Hailey :) ) than a beach stud…


Aside from the lack of lifesaving paraphernalia, Poopie and I also had to consider flying an hour at 434 knots (308 nautical miles) in order to reach Manila before we can assist in the rescue/relief operations.

Accepting our limitations, we finally struck a deal with manang. Instead of buying for us “pasalubong” (gifts) from her business trip, we decided that a simple double dose of TLC in exchange for some grocery money for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) is more than enough for Poopie and myself.

We know that it is not enough to feed and clothe the 64,975 families who were either left homeless or stranded in their homes, but we do hope that it would somehow help tide them over in the coming days.

In my personal opinion, during times of tragedies, there are no lines of divisiveness, a helping hand and helping paw both relay the same message and that is what I would call Love.


On a brighter note, allow us to share with all of you some good news.

First, our bloggie is a finalist in the Philippine Blog Awards under the Best Recreation/ Hobby Blog Category!! Yayyy!!! Can you believe it?


Thank you Mommy Lilli for letting us know about the contest. We are exhilarated to be part of this prestigious award and we can’t wait to watch the awards night live (via video streaming that is) on October 8. Wish us luck puppies!

And finally, more great news… erm… shall we say great “paws”! For now though, we’ll just keep it under the code: White, Blue and Avocado! :)



Chirping with happiness,

Aki and Poopie

Silence of the Lab

The coming weeks might be a little too quiet again. The hoomans have announced to Poopie and myself that they are leaving us (again) for almost 2 weeks. We were told that they will be going to a place called Hong Kong.

Hmmm.. Do you suppose there are lots of Red XL Kongs there? Message to self: make a three-pager list of stuffies/ treats/ things for the hoomans to buy for Poopie and myself. :)

To all our puppy friends, we love you all so much and we will miss you a lot!!


Poopie update: it’s that time of year again! The diapers are on for the almost 2 weeks now. We hope her heat cycle would end within the supposed 28 days otherwise the hoomans and I will go absolutely bonkers warding Choy Choy off. Mind you, it’s no fun being a big adolescent boy during these times.

When they get back and assuming Poopie’s cycle is over, the hoomans have decided to make a schedule with the V-E-T about something called ‘spaying’. Of course, they needed to be counseled with regards to the matter. I’ve heard that the operation is a little delicate since it involves “invasive surgery”. We do hope that whatever they decide on would be for the best of all of us, most especially Poopie.

I am a Bad Dog...

Does it show? *cough cough* Please ignore the torn pieces of foam, chewed furniture and scattered toys in the background…

For some very odd reasons, the hoomans said I had been quite a bad boy last July.

For one, I did this to manong…

Not on purpose of course (apparently the rough playing went a little too rough)… And yes, I did say sorry many many times.

As penance, Poopie and I had to endure the discomfort of being permanently clothed.

Seeing as this is a compilation of July, I would like to point out that such pictures were taken sometime early July and was supposed to be our way to show support for Phantom. Sorry it took us this long to post these…

Clearly, Poopie and I were not happy.

But then again, that is what empathizing is all about. We are just glad that to-date, Phantom is doing well and is once again, shirt-free!

As for George, he had finally moved residence. That is, from manong’s room he now moved to our living area.

And oh, though I am sad to report that he still does not know how to bark *tsk tsk* he now makes Poopie-like whining sounds and has learned to perch on hooman fingers,

and erm… hooman heads…

The end of July also marked the culmination of the hooman’s Biggest Loser Home Edition-1-month-only contest, and here are the results:

Manang- lost 1 kilo
Manong- lost ½ kilo
Manang Tin- lost ½ kilo
Manang R- lost 1 kilo
Manang Clavel- lost 2 kilos
Aki- gained 1 ½ kilo *cough cough*
Poopie- gained 2 kilos (finally!!!)

Umm… perchance, you pups know of any biggest gainer contest somewhere? These application forms are all filled out and ready!

All in all, July was a good month. If only, we had blogged more about it, instead of going through all these paper works. It was too troublesome that I had even volunteered to help sort out the mess in exchange for an extra helping of kibbles.

There are still lots to share, but for now, let me end with this. Next time, we will post about manang’s new discovery- our new doggie heaven: Bow&Wow, our new favorite treats, more tales of destruction and probably a new video!

As an end note, I would like to dedicate this handsome photo of myself to Aunty Shane…this is my version of the “Hershey-sleeping-on-the-belly-look”

Happy Belated Birthday Aunt Shane!!

Hope you will have a splendid vacation! We love you lots!

Drooly kisses,

Aki, the big boy

2 Months in Rewind...

Hello dear puppies!!

No more room for apologies here. Instead, we’d like to give you glimpses of significant events that transpired in the last 2 months…

1st:
On June 12, our country’s Independence day, manang and manong went home to visit their families in Bacolod. Manang stayed there for three days and joined our sister, Yan Tzi and brother, General Askalon in the pre-Father’s Day dog show on the 14th.

Yan Tzi, managed to win 3rd prize in the puppy category, despite her limping in the middle of her walk.

While our brother Askalon, failed to win the Best in Breed for the American Bulldog breed. However, we would like to stress that he was, is and will always be the best American Bulldog in the world, and he is already a winner for us. We love you dear brother!!!

(manang: Just for the record, let me say that he was very very good and was very confident and it hurt me cos after hearing that he did not win, he sulked in one corner and laid his head low (which was very unusual of him). We all though he would win because the other dog was pulling, sitting and throwing tantrums the entire walk and Askalon had already reached the end of the ring whereas the otherdog was still at the start. Anyway, we all gave him lots of hugs, pats and kisses and of course, a big fluffy and meaty siopao as a reward for a job well done!)

Our (especially Poopie’s) favorite sister Kim Tzi joined our hooman brother and father in sending off manang to the airport.



2nd:
We received 3 different parcels from our buddies Addie, Lucie and Hailey (2 parcels) and Chow Chow.


Thank you very much guys, we enjoyed all the lovely toys and yummy treats and the wonderful personalized photo frame with a photo of Poopie and myself (we don't have a picture of the said frame 'cos manang took it and is displaying it proudly in her office!).



4th:

We had a nice intimate dinner for 9 (Poopie, the mystery guest and myself, included) during manong’s birthday. My manangs (sisters) surprised him with lots of balloons and a birthday cake at exactly 12 MN of June 22. Too bad he was too tired from his business trip that he only managed to blow the candle and zonked out immediately thereafter.



The hoomans had pizza, pancit palabok, cake and carbonara fettuccini. Poopie and I were only allowed to eat pizza and palabok and some icing and marsh mallow from the smores chocolate cake, while our guest had the specialty of the night- Australian bird seed mix… yum!


4th:
Meet our newest family member…

Mr. George Kebab Mengnhani (pron. ‘mengnaanee’)

Our new brother/sister (gender is yet undetermined; the boy parrot develops a pronounced ring around his neck at the age of 1) George is a 5-month old Indian Ringneck Parrot. He arrived on June 20 in time for manong’s birthday.

He is a very weird creature who loves to feed on seeds and peck on tree barks. His dwelling place is full of tree branches and a miniature swing and he loves to make funny noises in the morning, just about the same hour that I rouse the hooman from bed.

Before we bid adieu for the day, allow us to share some more news:

Poopie got herself 2 new pretty collars (the other one was a brown leather collar with bones on it) and a too-small-to-fit shirt.

Meanwhile, the wretched hoomans decided to give me a makeover as…

A devilishly dashing cowdog


And as my mama dog (since we look almost the same!)

I think I heard them say this won’t be the end of it. Do I hear more humiliating dress-ups and background props? Don’t you hoomans have a life already?! Spare the dog. Just this once.

Until next time,

Aki

Pee-ees. We are sorry to have been absent in the last few weeks when our dear friends, aunt Shane's darling baby, Angel Chloe and the OP Pack's Dakota went to the Rainbow Bridge. Please know that even if we weren't able to leave a message in all your posts all the time, we are always thinking of you and praying for you. We hope the coming days will bring about acceptance and peace for you and your family. We love you all always.