Pet Pride 054: Nobody messes with Joe

Joe is on guard duty at the veranda at the back our apartment where we have huge pots planted with vegetables. 

In full concentration. He scours every corner of the veranda for any unfriendly bugs and CATS.

Good job, Joe.

Pet Pride 049: Max and Joe cosy together

This is Max and Joe's mum again.
We are on holiday beginning tomorrow till Wednesday. It's the Pchum Ben festival in Cambodia. This is one of the important Buddhist holidays for it commemorates the spirits of the dead and it lasts for 15 days. Buddhists believe that during the Pchum Ben, the gates of hell are opened so the souls who "reside" there go out and walk on earth. They roam and search for food. So the living relatives go to the wats (temples) to offer food and prayers for them. In return for these offerings, the devout Buddhists earn merits for their next life. On the other hand, if the spirits weren't satisfied with the offerings, bad luck will befall on them.

So anyway, this is a big excuse for most Phnom Penh residents to go back to their hometowns for several days and be reunited with their families and relatives as they bring their offerings to their ancestors.

As for us, expats, it is also an excuse to go out of the city or the country for a holiday. But since we have two dogs, we could not just leave them behind without someone to look after them. So we stayed. I was organising my computer files and pictures when I got hold of this photo - of Max and Joe in 2009. I think this was the time when Max finally warmed up to Joe whom she was jealous of when Joe came to live with us.

I like the way Max's paw rests lovingly and gently on Joe's side and how Joe is seemingly enjoying the warmth and tenderness of Max.

Pet Pride 046: Doggies' Day Out

Look who's very happy to be going out for a roadtrip again? This "now" photo of Max (right) and Joe (left)  was taken very recently, two days ago to be exact. 

Are you winking at me, Joe, hmmm?

Joe has improved a lot when traveling by car. He was making this squeaking noise and was restless in the car but,  half an hour later, he became relaxed. Max, on the other hand, is used to traveling. We took her everywhere, especially when we relocated for a work assignment in rural Cambodia  in 2006, when she was only about six months old. We took her to work, traveling sandwiched between me and my husband who drove the motorcycle.  How she loved it. We only acquired Joe in 2009 when we moved back to the city.

I have a similar photo taken of them some years ago. We just got back from the vet's after getting their yearly booster shots.

Look who has the longer tongue between the two!

The "then" photo was posted in Pet Pride (here). It is interesting to note that they are still in the same exact places, a few years later.

Notice any differences? Hahahaha.

Pet Pride 033: Joe, aka, Negro Bandido

Mum's feeling nostalgic today and look what she found from digging through her digital picture albums  -

Me at about 2months. Isn't it embarrassing to see your puppy photos? *cringe*

No matter how much I begged her to not post it today but she went on her merry way, anyway. Humans...*arf*

She told me that they - mum and dad - used to call me negro bandido (the black bandit) because of that black mask-like fur covering my face, except the eyes. Their Spanish visitors thought so, too. Do you think I really looked like a black  bandit?

Pet Pride 031: Joe, then and now

Joe and his dad two years ago... 

and now.. taken just last Monday... 

Joe is no longer a puppy!

Pet Pride 028: This time it's Max

I was rummaging through the pictures stored in my external drive and look what I found ---

... a very young Max! She's about 2-3months when this picture was taken, and she was already showing a liking for dark beer!

Pet Pride 027: The Adventures of the Invisible Dog Joe!

I eez invizible.

... especially when no one eez looking!

Joe's Mum here. This is one of my favourite photos of Joe when he was about two-three months old. He likes to pretend he is the Invisible Dog whenever he sees me toting the camera.

Pet Pride 019: Inseparable

 

The past two weeks, Max was in the limelight. Joe got a bit jealous and so we are posting a photo of him this week.

 

Joe’s bed is too small for him now  but he still likes to use it. And he is never away or never without his tennis ball beside him. Oh my, he has grown a lot right before my eyes. He will be two years old in August. He is no longer a puppy that I can carry around in my arms. He doesn’t like it anymore :(

A Repost: Remembering Moe

While I am enjoying a lazy Sunday today, I came across old pictures of our pet dogs. One particular picture brought back a sad memory.

You see, after Max and before Lily and Joe... there was Moe.

In 2007, we acquired a lovely mutt and we named her Moe. As you all know, there are no proper pet stores here in Phnom Penh and the only places we know were, errrm, shady. But still, against our better judgment, we went ahead and bought from one of these shady pet sellers anyway. 

Moe was a cute fur-ball with ears almost as big as her face. She was a very small puppy she occupied half of my fisherman's hat. Before taking her home, we went to the vet's clinic first so she'd be given all the necessary shots.

Upon reaching our house, we immediately gave her a thorough wash -- gaah, how she smelled -- and  took off fleas from her coat. She was given a helluva shampooing and rinsing, and after a good toweling, she was ready to be shown off to then a younger Max.

When Max saw her, her maternal instincts instantly kicked in. Max fussed over Moe and she wouldn't let her get out of her sight. My husband and I love our dogs to bits and we made for ourselves a little family, with Max, the motherly dog, and Moe, the fuzzy, little one. 

Due to an in-born abnormality in her intestines, Moe died just two months after we got her... just long enough for us, especially me, to be attached to her. Although she was in great pain, she was very quiet and loved sleeping in/on my arms. When we brought her to the vet, the prognosis wasn't good and, although we opted for a surgery, we were already told of her chances of surviving. She was too young for such an operation. She died at the clinic, just hours after surgery. It hurt me so bad it felt like being heartbroken. I could not bring myself to write about her and her untimely demise back then, so we just bought a tree we call Moe tree in her memory. The tree bears fragrant white flowers and it gives us great delight as we remember her time with us.  We miss you, Moe.

May this post serve as a warning to others who are looking to buy pets. Don't buy from the pet shops you see on the road, but if you do, take them immediately to a vet for a general check up and for necessary vaccinations. 

Wordless Wednesday #011: I like...

... munching on this crisply leaf.

Max in Kep

In late 2006, my husband, Max and I moved to the coastal town of Kep due to my new job assignment and what a mad, roller-coaster experience it turned out to be! I would like to share with you one of our experiences. It appeared in our other blogs and since the post mentioned something about Max, I decided to re-post it here. Read on.

***

Reigning in Kep


After two weeks of workshop/project meeting in Phnom Penh and field visits to the pilot sites, I am now back in Kep... and we (R, Max and I) were welcomed by a heavy downpour. And it just wont stop raining!!

For a researcher based in the province, this means delay in planned activities. Rain brings difficulty in doing our work. For one, the soil in Kep, as in the countryside, is reddish and clay-ey. When its raining, the road is virtually un-passable... sticky, slippery, and will bury your vehicle (and you) if youre stubborn enough to go on. Our shoes and flip-flops get coated with the sticky soil, and hardens like cement when it dries up, making them impossible to wear again.

(Its still raining...)

With only a motorcycle (R says its not even a motorcycle, its merely a scooter!) as our means of transportation, we could get sick easily. Sore throat, cold, cough, fever, flu, etc. – name it - we may be unfortunate targets of all these. And not to mention the constant wet clothes syndrome, now, you picture that while we smell it :P.

Riding home from work (school for R, office for me, and chicken-chasing for Max) means dodging frogs, dogs, and all sorts of bugs. You can see the frogs and dogs by the reflection of the headlamp, haha, from their eyes (red-eyed frogs, can you believe it?). Bugs cant be avoided – they just hit you when you least expect it. One word of advise, shut your mouth while driving at night, or you might end up scraping bits of them off your teeth when you finally get home! Well, there are also bugs which target your eyes – but you cant close your eyes when youre driving, right? So what to do, any suggestions? Should I open my mouth so the bugs avoid my eyes, or should I close my mouth and open my eyes?

There is a positive side to riding at night, we see free lightshows courtesy of the yellow fireflies :D . There is no electricity yet in Kep, (although rumors abound about its imminent arrival), and the fireflies light our way to the guesthouse. Whether the fireflies remain when the electricity finally arrives, that remains to be seen.

We came home today in the afternoon and saw a mob of schoolchildren trying to coax a monkey out of an isolated roadside tree. The monkey looked terrified, and so did Max when the crowd turned to look at her. Shes a monkey-colored dog. She gave an alarmed glance as if to say -please hit the gas!.

Oh, about Max. She goes with us to work, of course. We could not bear to leave her alone, lest we come home and find puppies everywhere. So shes side-saddled between me and R. She doesnt get motion-sickness at all, in fact, she likes it. She huddles behind R when it rains (its still raining), and puts her nose in the breeze when its sunny. And how she jumps at the sight of boy-dogs. Sigh. Yes, our Max is now a teenager. We dont allow her out without a chaperone. Villagers find Max highly amusing (funny face?) because shes tame and approachable. Unlike other dogs I know. Shes a good ice-breaker wherever we go. No she doesnt break the ice literally (I havent taught her karate chops), but she gets everyone talking.

(Its still raining...)
Well be spending the next few days visiting the target villages, all the people should be in when we go around because... it will still be RAINING!!!

Wednesdays and Saturdays are internet days. We go either to Kampot town or Kampong Trach (a district of Kampot) to read and reply to emails, and to update blogs as well. Dont ask me how far these places are from where we are staying, well find out – when it STOPS RAINING!!!

Now its stopped raining, thank heavens. But what to do at 9pm in Kep?

Generators provide some electricity here. Where we are staying, it is turned on at 5:45pm (dusk), and turned off at 5:45am (dawn). So to have a cup of hot coffee, Max gets R up at around 5:30am to turn the electric kettle on (the water boils in about 15mins). Later than that and he misses his usual morning caffeine fix. Of course he can get coffee at the restaurant, but hes still enjoying his new little coffee filter, the same kind the Vietnamese use. While me? Im still snoring, under the sheets, at 7am.

At night, theres not much to do. No tv, no radio, no nothing. We amuse ourselves by counting how many times R gets bitten by mozzies, and then connecting the dots. Or counting how many back flips can Max perform after sitting on ants. We also like to watch the spectacular sunsets and then count the tiny lights from the fishing boats catching squid in the sea. We eat the very same squid in the local restaurant the next day.

Here are some of our friendly neighbors:


The hotel crowd in the restaurant changes everyday. From the unwashed backpackers that dont want to leave, to French snobs who walk out after 20mins, falling from the backs of their motos as they leave!!! Oh what a lovely day that was. The guesthouse staff couldn’t hide the smiles on their faces. Even the moto driver couldnt suppress a giggle. I can still picture them now.

(Its started raining again.)

Just for a little atmosphere..... I can hear a quiet Bob Dylan coming from somewhere close, mixed in with the calls of frogs and crickets and the sound of raindrops hitting huge leaves. Theres a small lizard on the wall next to the bed, and a huge one over the outside of the door catching flies over the light. The mozzies are biting nicely (thank you) and Max is finally sleeping. I better go get some sleep now, for tomorrow, all three of us will brave the sunshine, hardyhar, and go to Kampong Trach to connect to the outside world.