Zeus and Honey play Roughhouse

At some point in time, they would both collapse and then lie contentedly in their own separate spaces :)

Christmas woes

exhausted from a long Xmas Eve day

No, Zeus and Honey didn't experience anything bad during Christmas. If anything, they greatly enjoyed it because they got to eat roast beef and potatoes and spend time with mummy and daddy. But recently, mummy has been very upset with people who have shown their worst side to those who didn't deserve it but there's nothing that can be done about it.

Look how big you've grown!

Webcam pics and Zeus's injuries

Zeus has actually sustained quite a few injuries ever since Honey came over. The latest one is a big red raw patch near his butt area. It bleeds whenever Zeus licks it, and he licks it excessively, and the patch kept growing and growing. Then we decided to put him on an e-collar, followed by this attire you see above. If you remember Zeus's overalls, well it no longer fits. He grew so BIG over a short span. So we had to modify it and connect it to his harness. We figured this was better than the e-collar because at least it gives him more freedom to move, eat and drink. We have applied this yellow Banocin powder the Animal Doctors gave us the last time for his injury. It seems to be quite effective so far.

Zeus: Post sterilisation

Not looking too good. But luckily Honey is here for him.

We have adopted Honey

Say hello to Honey! Our latest addition to the family. She's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who is bubbly, super manja (loves coddling), hyperactive, and alert (she barks at the slightest noise). She's slightly smaller than Zeus but always tries to hump him.

Zeus is sick - infected paw and mouth

Zeus's first Elizabeth collar

Well, we found out why Zeus was so lethargic and moody. For a few days after we got him back, he has been licking his leg (there was a cut there), and also scratching his mouth during meal times. We were puzzled by this behaviour. But after a few more days the wound on his leg became inflamed, so did Zeus's mouth, so we decided to bring him to a vet (The Animal Doctors). Dr Emma Ryan saw him 2 weeks ago and said that his leg had a bacterial infection, his ear is mildly infected, and his mouth has a skin infection, probably caused by all the licking. So she prescribed him antibiotics, some powder to apply on the wound, and also eardrops and painkillers. He also got a E Collar of course, to prevent him from licking the affected areas.

Back from Nepal

 Back from Nepal. Zeus has been having a good time eating and sleeping and playing at his aunt's place in Chua Chu Kang. Now he appears rather sluggish.. He's also been licking a particular paw alot, and scratching his mouth whenever he eats, so we'll be bringing him to the vet tomorrow.

Finally Friday - Time to Rip and Roar!

What's a dog to do when you leave him home alone...on a Friday? (see below)

Zeus has a caretaker, bad food, and condolences for Lady the pom

Guess where mummy brought me last weekend?

Firstly, we would like to say we found a wonderful person to walk and look after Zeus daily. Her name is Jenn and she also owns a Shih Tzu mix, and best of all she lives along the same street. So mummy has been walking Zeus to her home each morning and collecting Zeus each evening. Mummy intended to pay her, but after paying her once, Jenn said she's uncomfortable about accepting money and offered to look after Zeus without payment. We are deeply grateful to her because it would save us quite a bit of money, and we fully intend to pay her back in kind. She has gone beyond her call of duty. She not only walks Zeus, but has groomed and cleaned his ears, even though it's only been day 2. Thank you Jenn!

I know you're going to work

Somehow Zeus knows when mummy is getting ready for work

And he makes a big show of being unhappy.

tick bomb

 That's just a fraction of the ticks we found on Zeus this morning. Mummy spent the whole morning shaving Zeus to get rid of the dense fur around his tick-susceptible areas - ears, legs, paw pads. And sure enough many ticks came crawling out. There were so many and mummy couldn't kill them all with Dermisil. They kept crawling out of the paper towel. Finally she decided to dab the paper towel with Carrington's solution, and the buried ticks began to die.

New friends and old ones

Pebbles and Zeus

Zeus had a fantastic weekend (we hope). Well at least it was almost entirely centered on him. On Saturday we brought him to K9 Kulture, a dog cafe somewhere along Bukit Timah. It was no surprise he loves that place. He goes crazy over all the dogs, running around, smelling them, etc. It was there where he met Pebbles, who strolled in a little after 4pm. Pebbles is about 11 months old, and the two of them seem to get along very well, smelling and play biting, play mounting each other. After a good 2 hours at least, when it was time to leave, Pebbles owners exchanged contacts with us, and invited us to his 1st birthday. Yayy! Now Zeus has a new friend!

Visiting Thor and trying to rid Zeus of ticks

We paid a visit to Thor over the weekend and he seemed especially happy to see us. His owner wasn't around (she keeps forgetting her appointments) so we were getting worried. But she finally got someone to let us in. He has put on weight and seems okay. We miss Thor and hope he's getting enough attention because his new owner seems busy lately.

updates

Thor and Zeus at Coastes, Sentosa. They both love it.

Apologies for the delay in blogging. Just a few quick updates. Boss is recovering nicely and seems his usual self. We have left his pen permanently open, so he's free to run about as he wishes. Apparently Boss is very happy with that and he dashes about doing Binkies (happy dances) at night.

Boss in hospital

Sometime on Saturday, Boss stopped eating. When rabbits stop eating, it is always serious. Mummy only discovered this only on Sat night because she was out the whole day. He refused to eat his veggies and carrots (He loves carrots!). On Sunday morning, she managed to get the Animal Doctors. Thank goodness they could still accommodate Boss. He was given an x-ray and blood test and diagnosed with GI Statis. Food isn't moving in his stomach and he is in terrible pain. He was awfully quiet since Saturday night. Mummy is feeling terribly guilty because she's been neglecting Boss, not giving him space to run (mainly because of Zeus). He is now hospitalised at the Animal Doctors, and on IV. The Vets have been calling and giving mummy updates, and mummy is very impressed by them. They are very caring and seem to be exemplary vets. Mummy and daddy are crossing their fingers and hoping Boss will get better soon. Many hugs and loving strokes for Boss...

Funny Dog Article

Daddy found this article on Salon.com. It's pretty funny though it's supposed to be a political metaphor.

Salon.com - I've been married a little over a year, and my husband Tom's 10-year-old Shetland sheepdog, Bradley (as in the tank), doesn't think I'm a legitimate resident of our little white house. I'm the wrong race (German, not Scottish) as well as the wrong gender, and I get a lot of attention and deference from Tom that I clearly haven't earned.

Continue reading on Salon.

Versatile Blogger Award

Le Paws Voyage has given us a Versatile Blogger Award, which we interpret to be a meme of sorts. Thank you. Our apologies for taking so long, but we were very caught up with trying to rehome Thor, whom no one seems to want :( Mummy and Daddy have taken some half days off to look after Zeus and Thor. Meanwhile here are some interesting facts about the three boys in our family.

Thor

Social work is always something we wanted to do but never got around to doing. So when Thor's new owners wanted to give him up because of a new baby in the house, we felt really disappointed. She couldn't wait to get him out and said she couldn't hold on to Thor any longer. And we decided to try to find a good home for this healthy, active and playful pup.

On Wednesday, we put up on series of ads via various channels such as Rehomers and Pets Channel. We must admit the aforementioned channels were really good and Pets Channel seemed to have pretty good responses. However some other channels, especially ASD was downright rude.

We had already called ASD weeks ago when we found Thor. They told us they had no space for him and the most they could do was to put up an ad. When we contacted them again this Weds to help us put up an ad, they curtly told us that we should tell Thor's current owners to send Thor for obedience training so that they could get along. Bottom line is, they were very unhelpful. Mummy wonders why she even donated to them.

We talked to potential adopters and mummy asked her colleague, who purportedly adores dogs and lives in landed property, ideal for Thor. She said she had to ask her dad. She never got back to mummy and when mummy asked again. She said she forgot. When she finally got back to mummy, the verdict was "Thor is too old to train." Huh? "He's six months!" mummy said. Her colleague replied in an affirmative manner that "that's too old."

Mummy was indignant. But kept quiet and accepted the reply. It was obvious that they didn't want Thor, but she was unhappy because it was obviously an excuse. As any obedience school would tell you, Six Months is an Ideal Age.

Daddy talked to potential adopters from Pets Channel. One of them expressed an interest and said he had a Husky whom he wants to find companionship for. His background was ideal because he's at home most of the time. When we asked to bring Thor over to see if he could get along with the Husky (also a pup), he told us that his landlord doesn't allow the visit and he hopes Thor can find a good home.

Huh? The reason why we wanted to visit was to be assured what he said is true, and also to ensure Thor is comfortable with the environment. After all, we don't want to hand Thor over to someone without seeing the adopter's home. The last thing we want is Thor to be abused, and we don't even know where he lives.

So it was very disheartening when the potential adopters and humanitarian organisations let us down like that. Now we know what social workers feel like.

So the search continues, and we hope we can find him a good home because we live in a 4 room HDB with Zeus and Boss (a bunny), and we can't keep Thor due to HDB regulations, and it will be really uncomfortable for him anyway.

Punggol Promenade

We discovered a new place to walk Zeus and it's called Punggol Promenade. It's a little gem of a place at Tebing Lane. Very much like East Coast Park, only in Punggol. Kudos to having one more retreat to hang out at :)

Smell my..

Mummy's been spying on Zeus quite a bit

Thor in his new home

If you are wondering how Thor, the puppy we found, is doing, well we visited him last  weekend and he is doing very well in his new home. His new master is a great fan of Dog Whisperer and has been correcting him with Caesar Milan's signature "Shhh!" sound. Thor also has a nice pack to play with and a big garden to roam around. We're so happy for this puppy, who has such an endearing, smart, personality, and doesn't deserve to be abandoned.

Zeus knows

Someone or something is watching me

 He even attempted to lick the camera, a few times.

Birthday Boy

On the morning of Zeus's birthday celebration (Sat), this puppy followed Zeus all the way home. Yes he's still a puppy, he pees like a puppy and is afraid of lifts and wary of humans. Strangely he is very friendly to other dogs, like Zeus. He looks adorable doesn't he? Apparently he's been hanging around our estate for a few days. One of our neighbours was trying to feed him downstairs when mummy and Zeus walked by. We were wondering who is the idiot who abandoned him..

Happy Birthday Zeus

A little grouchy on the grass today

Zeus turns one today. He gets lotsa treats and hugs today! pity he still has to stay at home while mummy and daddy go to work. Be home soon Zeus!

Matted

Zeus at 6.30 am -"I'm hungry, where's my food! Gimme my food b*tch"

 He's a really messy eater too btw. Zeus's hair has already grown very long and matted. Mummy found quite a few mites in his fur already. Especially in the matted bits. There was one particularly big one yesterday, sucking all his blood. Zeus seems oblivious to it though. We've been procrastinating about sending him for grooming, partially cause it's quite pricey. Zeus! Why your fur grow so fast!! But an appointment must be made, this weekend.

Now that daddy's away, his side of the bed is mine

Daddy's on a business trip for a few days. As predicted, Zeus totally hogged his side of the bed last night (mummy woke up in the middle of the night and found his head on daddy's pillow). Zeus slept very soundly, as if this is his usual nightly routine.

A lovely present!

Yesterday evening, a nice big box arrived for mummy...

It was actually mummy's order from Reebonz. She was pleasantly surprised by the box, which was actually big enough for Zeus to sit and snuggle in.

Speaking of which, Zeus's 1-year-old birthday is coming up on 8th July. Any suggestions from you guys as to what to do for him?

Sir Poop-a-lot

Zeus hasn't been well the past three days. He's been having diarrhea and pooping all over the place (he seems to have forgotten where his toilet is). We brought him to the All Pets Vet at Jalan Kayu today, and chalked up nearly $70 in consultation and medication. Zeus was given antibiotics, probiotics, and some other stuff to help solidify his diarrhea. The Vet also said to feed him "bland" stuff like chicken porridge for the next few days. Poor Zeus. He is still very active and quite hyper though..even though he poops funny :)

Naughty bunny

Mummy put him in the sink because he struggled and struggled when she picked him up! Hah, so this is punishment! Did you know that rabbits don't like water? Not that mummy turned on the tap :)

Ripppp, & shred!

Early Saturday morning, Zeus has a fabulous time ripping apart all of mummy's GSS (Great Singapore Sale) brochures! He did this whilst mummy & daddy were sleeping. Guess who cleaned up after that?

Lost little Dachshund

A few days ago, while mummy and daddy were having breakfast at the coffeeshop downstairs, this little dachshund wandered into our sight. It trotted along the roadside and stood in the middle of the driveway before mummy decided to pick it up (very dangerous, lots of cars). Whose daschund was it? We looked everywhere but couldn't see an owner. Daddy called SPCA whilst mummy entertained fantasies of having another companion for Zeus.

Zeus Watching Dog Whisperer

Brand new shoe cabinet

We have a brand new shoe cabinet! Just delivered this morning. Now Zeus will have his reflection to play with :)

Zeus on Auto Feeder and Boss and his Bungalow

This was taken this  morning with a mobile phone. That's why it's so blur. As you know, Zeus now has an auto-feeder, and we managed to program it to open at 12pm and 5pm to tiny bits of kibble for his snacking. Every morning, when mummy programs the feeder and puts food inside, Zeus will poke his nose in it and try to grab food. Sorry but No Zeus. You have to wait!

Zeus waiting for food

Daddy just took this picture of Zeus via webcam. We haven't really been uploading his photos. We know. There's something wrong with mummy's camera. And her DSLR is at office. Anyway we bought Zeus an auto-feeder. Mummy programmed it to open at 12pm everyday with some snacks for Zeus. The voice message "Hi Zeus, mum mum time. Come here. come here!" will play three times. So far we tried it out last week and Zeus gobbled every single bit up.

Some (spy) shots of Zeus alone in the day

 Mostly he sleeps by the door, waiting for us...

Bishan Park Dog Run

Zeus had a blast at the newly opened Bishan Park Dog Run on Tuesday! He went mad chasing and sniffing other dogs, although they didn't take so much of an interest in him :) He was following this Goldie around for a bit. Regulars apparently meet at the park every Saturday morning, as early as 8.30am :)

The World Is Watching

Mummy bought an IP cam yesterday and Daddy spent 3 painstaking hours setting it up. The effort was well worth it, since we now get to check on Zeus while Mummy and Daddy are away at work.

Hump Hump

This is the second time Zeus has humped a stuffed toy and gotten blood all over it.

GE 2011: Walking the ground with Zeus

 As you know, Zeus has been campaigning hard this election, and as a result, has been forgoing sleep. He is adamant that he gets the support of at least 5,000 canines in the Sengkang West SMC, and therefore has been making his rounds daily. "It is crucial to vote for the ZDP," he growled. "It'll be another five years before canines can dispute the discriminatory policies against pet ownership in HDBs. Vote ZDP!"

Zeus's first swim!

"Grr... I don't like this at all"

A day after Zeus was back from LOST, we decided to bring him swimming. It was something we wanted to do for quite some time but never got around to doing because it was quite troublesome considering all the mess. We decided on the K9 pool next to Turf City instead of Sentosa's Tanjong Beach because we didn't want Zeus to drink salt water and get all sandy and dirty.

GE 2011: Zooming In On The ZDP

A candid picture of Zeus at his comfy abode and his newly introduced ZDP logo. According to the 9-month old canine, the cream colored logo was designed by renowned fashion designer, Donut Karan. 

Zeus hardly has time to chew on his rawhide these days or terrorize his reluctant long-eared companion. You might not be aware of this, but he has managed to keep his recent activities away from prying eyes of the public. Want to find out what the little mutt's been up to? Hit the jump to find out!

Zeus ran away and got lost

Back from being lost

It was a harrowing experience for mummy and daddy this morning as Zeus went missing for an hour. What happened was daddy left the house to buy breakfast and Zeus ran out of the gate. Daddy must have missed Zeus as he got into the lift. Zeus usually runs back to the house if he fails to catch any of us at the lift lobby. In this case he didn't. Mummy didn't realise he was missing until 20 minutes later. She called daddy frantically, thinking that maybe Daddy took Zeus. Daddy didn't pick up his phone so mummy went around the corridor looking for Zeus. When Daddy got back, he wasn't carrying Zeus.

Puppy mills and puppy meals

Zeus at Tanglin 56

 If you've heard about reunion event at Mutts & Mittens for the 75 mistreated dogs rescued from a puppy mill yesterday, well that's where we brought Zeus. It was raining doggedly, but we still went anyway. A crowd of exhibitors and visitors were huddled under a small tent. Some were avidly hawking their wares. In the name of charity, we bought quite a few things, including a bacon & cheese muffin for Zeus. It was nice to see so many people turn up in support of the dogs. Zeus got his feet quite wet, but he also had fun sniffing all the other dogs.

Zuchons now allowed in HDB apartments

Singapore, 13 April 2011 - The Zuchon Association of Singapore (ZAS) is pleased to announce that Zuchons are now allowed to be registered under HDB flats. Previously, Zuchons were deemed to be too mischievous and incorrigible, and thus were not under the list of allowed breeds for HDB apartments. Despite their tendency to charge into bushes and get ticks on their furry coats, ZAS has decided that such inconveniences are necessary for helping irresponsible home owners ensure the cleanliness of their home on a regular basis. Officers from SembCorp will be dispatched regularly to check on home owners with Zuchons and any neighbours within a three kilometer radius. Any offenders found with ticks in their homes will be prosecuted.

Home Alone: Day 2

Zeus did not pee the whole day again. Not a drop anywhere. While we are amazed by his ability to hold his pee for 12 hours, we don't really like it. Change of tactic, we're gonna swipe some of his pee from his morning walk, and dab it on his pee pad at home. Hopefully he will get the idea.

Home alone 2

Mummy's gone off to work again, leaving Zeus home alone for the first time in two months (again). We sectioned him in the kitchen, and left the pee pad in the toilet. He was bouncing mad when mummy came home at 7pm. Surprisingly, he didn't pee AT ALL. We home it's not because he thinks he can't pee when neither of us are at home. It's not good to hold your pee Zeus!

Angry Birds

*Update* Zeus's nose is much better now. It's healing nicely and the raw spots are nearly gone. Mummy has been reading some sites about raw feeding, and she feels very disgruntled about how some fanatics insist that feeding home cooked food or kibbles will bring a certain death to your dog. Now she knows for a fact this is not true, kibbles may be unhealthy but mummy's Golden Retriever has been fed a cheap kibble brand for 10 years and he's not dead yet. He's never been to a vet for any ailments either. In fact Namly Clinic's Dr Chan has declared him healthy and fit in the past year or so.

Zeus the Dunce

Got string stuck in my teeth, can't get it out

 Mummy and daddy went to the Biennale on Sunday and got Zeus a balloon. Zeus loves balloons, and playing with the string. It's so cute to watch him lose the string and have the balloon fly to the ceiling.