Popsicles

Paula loves a popsicle called Piggelin. So do I. When Daniel was shopping groceries today, he bought a packet of Piggelins. Paula and I had a feast on them. I probably got more out of Paula's popsicles than she wanted to give me, but it isn't my fault popsicles melt in room temperature and fall apart in uneven pieces. I just took the pieces that fell into my mouth.

My Baby Sister!

This is my lovely newborn baby sister. I don't know if Dad and her mum have decide the name yet but I have a suggestion: Honto-No Ayano Hime which means colourful princess.

My baby sister is my half-sister. We share the same dad but she's got a different mother, Saga. Saga is a sweet Shiba and is indeed the sister of my uncle Kesshi.

Along with my sister came two more brothers. That is a thrill though I have collected nearly a entire soccer team of brothers by now. And I love to play soccer.

Drive In and Drive Through

On rare occasions, Paula and Daniel buy hamburgers from hamburger restaurants to eat for dinner. I came along in the car when Daniel bought hamburgers from the Swedish hamburger chain Max today. According to the sign outside the restaurant, we were using the drive in, but it looked more like a drive through to me.

As far as I have understood, a drive in restaurant is one where you drive in and park on one of many parking lots by the restaurant, then get served and eat while sitting in your car, and back out and drive away. In a drive through (in Amerca often called drive thru), you drive by one window or microphone were you place your order, then go further ahead to another window where you pay and get your food, and drive off right away. Sometimes there is one window where you pay and another where you get the food. I guess the drive in is designed to be comfortable, while the drive through is designed to be as expedient as possible. It was the latter kind of service at the restaurant were we bought our hamburgers. Am I wrong, or are there people in charge of that Max restaurant who do not know the difference between drive in and drive through? I may have to investigate this further.

Insurance

Paula and Daniel has insurances for all their dogs. It is important to have this. If one of us gets injuried, it is not so expensive to pay the veterinarian, thanks to the insurance.

I have today learned another thing about insurances that proves how important they are. Paula's dog died at a very early age due to an illness. His premature death meant Paula got money from the insurance company. She and Daniel used this money to buy a new dog, who happened to become my Dad later on. If it would not have been for that insurance, I might not exist. Remember this, insure your dogs, and ensure that you will have future dogs as well.

Paula, Mum and I visited Kesshi and Mia tonight. This was fun, as always.

Upcoming General Election

There will be a general election to the Swedish Parliament on the 17th of September. The Swedish Kennel Club has asked the major political parties some questions regarding dogs and politics. The questions and answers are in Swedish, but I know I have readers who know Swedish and I guess all of my readers who are eligible to vote in the Swedish Parliament election know Swedish.

The celebration of Paula's birthday continued today, when her parents, grandparents, sister, and sister's boyfriend was here for dinner. It was fun. Paula deserves party many days and it means good food for us dogs as well.

My friend April.

I got an email from the US today. It included a fresh picture of my new shiba friend April who will come and live with us in december. As you can see, she is also very intrested in computers and the Internet. I hope that she will maybe co-write stuff for my blog next year...

No New Planets

The IAU did not extend the definition of a planet (see my previous post). They narrowed it down instead, depriving Pluto of the status of planet. This means that Charon, named after a dog, is not a planet. I am very disappointed.

New Planets?

The general idea is that there are nine planets in the Solar System. From the orbit closest to the Sun and out they are Mercury, Venus, Earth (where dogs and humans live), Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

There is an international organization of astronomers who decide upon new names of further objects discovered out there in space, the International Astronomical Union or IAU. They currently have a General Assembly in Prague that will decide on how to define a planet. I guess you could compare this to the decisions on dog breeds made by the General Assembly of the FCI. There is a proposed resolution to the IAU General Assembly to extend the definition of the word planet. With the new definition, there will be twelve planets in our Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and 2003 UB313. The object 2003 UB313 has a provisional name, it has not yet been assigned a better name.

I really hope this resolution will pass. All the current planets are named after ancient gods of the Roman empire, all of whom have human form. Then there is Charon, so far considered a moon of Pluto, that is named after a god in the form of a dog. Planets are always considered to be the most important objects of a star system, except for the star (or stars), so it would be nice for all the dogs in the world to have a planet named after a dog.

There is a famous cartoon dog called Pluto, but this dog is off course named after the planet, not the other way around.

We Celebrate Paula!

It is Paula's birthday today. We celebrate her all day long.

Paula is the most important human in my life. Daniel is important as well, about as important in the everyday life. However, if it was not for Paula, I would not exist. Paula was the one who had a dog when she met Daniel, thus igniting his interest in dogs. Paula was the one who had a friend with a Shiba Inu, who got Paula and Daniel in touch with their first Shiba Inu breeder Helene Nordwall at Kennel Honto No, where they got my auntie Linni. Through this breeder, they got contact with the breeder Christen Lang at Kennel Enerhaugen in Norway, who provided them with Dad. Paula was also the one who got in touch with Laura Perkinson at Kennel Taichung in the USA, who generously offered Paula and Daniel to have Mum. Without Linni, there would not have been any Shiba Inus in Paula's and Daniel's family. Without both Mum and Dad, obviously I would never have been born. Understandably, I have all the reason to be really nice to Paula today, on her birthday.

Congratulations, Paula!

New Links

I have updated the link section to the right of my blog posts. Feel free to visit the homepages I link to.

I Used To Be So Small

Paula was going though old stuff in a closet today. One of the things there was my first necklace. It did not come much more than half way around my neck. I seldom think of how small I really was, yet it was less than a year ago.

There was a thunderstorm in Stockholm today and it rained 46 millimetres. Lightning struck the Colombian embassy, which caught fire. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the embassy, not humans and presumably no dogs either.

Harley Did It Again

Harley was Best in Show Puppy at another dog show today! It is incredible! I would have wanted to be there and congratulate him for the victory, but Paula is sick, so we stayed at home. We will see each other in September, on the 9th and 10th when there is a dog show in Sofiero close to Helsingborg in Scania. I love to play with Harley, and we will hopefully both do well in the show ring. I did well last time I was at a dog show in Scania, when I was Best in Show Pup in Hässleholm.

Harley lives at kennel Enigma north of Stockholm. I have a pharaoh hound friend from that kennel who is a pup and who wants to become a member of mine and Harley's BIS-pup club. We will have to see if he meets the requirements. He was born in May, so he will be a show pup in the winter, when there are few dog shows. This will make it harder for him to make it, but I have hopes for him. The fact that he is a pharao hound talks in his favour, pharaoh hounds often do well in the Swedish show rings.

The picture of me in this blog is new as of today. I grew a bit tired of seeing a picture of me as a tiny pup. This picture shows what I look like now.

A Fellow Best in Show Puppy

I have a Basenji friend whose name is Harley (Faraoland Bluetooth Enigma). He has done what I did in Hässleholm in May, being Best in Show Puppy at an official dog show. We have a special club toghether, in which only Best in Show Puppy-winners are welcome. Harley has won his fifth Best in Show Pup today, but I am not jealous. I am still very special with my only such victory, being the only Black and Tan Shiba Inu ever to have won such a prize. The good thing about Harley winning more than one Best in Show Puppy is that fewer other pups have won it, thus making our club even more exclusive.

Veterinarian and Politician

Today, Daniel told me about something rather unusual, a veterinarian who is also a prominent politician. His name is John Ensign, and he is a US Senator from the State of Nevada, representing the Republican Party. He is up for re-election this fall, and will compete against the Democrat Jack Carter. I think it is rather nice that a veterinarian decides to go into politics, not that I know much about his politics and ideas, but he cannot be bad for animal protection and public policy on veterinary medicine.

Paula Has Got a Blog

Paula has started a new blog. It is interesting to read, for those of us who know Swedish.

I have a feeling that I get to know even a dear friend like Paula in a different and more complete way when reading her blog, than I can do when simply spending all the time I do with her, eagerly listening to everything she has to say. I know I write some things in my blog that I do not tell anyone in any other way, regardless of how much time I spend talking to them. The blog gives you time to ponder over a certain subject. An oral conversation, on the other hand, can take the most interesting detours, but the detours may be the cause that you forget to say some things or decide not to tell them because they do not fit into the conversation anymore. Sometimes, you never get the right opportunity to talk about some things, but then you can put your thoughts in your blog instead.

In the best of worlds, your friends and family will read your blog and pick up the subject you have written about and start a conversation about it with you. I will try to do this for Paula.

By the way, I met my friend Amadeus, the Bernese Mountain Dog, tonight. It has been a while since we met last time. Amadeus is really big nowadays. When I first met him, he was smaller than I was. I have grown, but he has grown much more. Ever so friendly, he lied down on the ground to be able to come nose to nose to little me. It is amazing what differences in size there are between different dog breeds.

Midsommer Murders

There is a great British TV show on every Tuesday, a criminal show called Midsommer Murders, after the imaginary English county of Midsommer the murders are committed in. Today's show was one of the better I have seen, but for two things. One was the fact that a dog owner tried to commit suicide in front of his dogs, poor fellows! The other was that one of the suspects was called Hayley. That is such an ugly way of spelling my beautiful name that I wanted her to be the murderer the whole show. I will not say whether she was or not, I won't spoil the show for those who have not yet seen it.

Haircut

Humans are like some dog breeds, they have to cut their hair once in a while so it will not get to long. Daniel had a haircut today. Now his hair does not have to blow down in front of his eyes anymore.

Fortunately, Shiba Inus have so good genes, we never have to have haircuts.

Paid to Work at a Dog Show

Daniel worked as a ring secretary on the dog show yesterday and today. He was paid for his efforts.

In my mind, personell like ring secretaries and judges does not deserve the highest pay, the dogs do. A dog show is about the dogs. The show is there for people to see us. We are the stars, while a ring secretary doesn't do more than the back stage personell on a theatre. Stars like Mum and me should get more payment than just a few treats. The fact that we enjoy dog shows is no cause for not being paid.

Well, I don't see payment for the dogs in the foreseeable future. I enjoy the shows and do not need payment, but you can always wish for it.

Jiro the Victorious

My brother Jiro was the most successful of us at the dog show today. While I got a first prize in quality and honourary prize, and Mum got a CK and was reserve in best of bitches, Jiro got CK, his second certificate, and was second best male. We congratulated him.

In theory, Jiro does not have to go to any other dog show before he is two years old. In order to become Swedish Champion, you need three certificates, at least one of which is won after the second birthday. Well, this is if you count becoming a champion the only goal of your dog show career. There are so many other things about dog shows. You can win Best of Breed, you can meet interesting new and dear old friends et cetera. I like many aspects of dog shows appart from the quest for certificates. One aspect is meeting my brother Jiro. I would not like for him not to come to any more dog shows where I can meet him, until after his second birthday. Besides, I would like him to be there and congratulate me to my fist certificate, which I am sure I will not have to wait too long to get. Victory will come to me as well, I am sure of that.

Bath

I prepared for this weekend's dog show by taking a bath. This is a necessary evil if you want to look your best. This dog show is as close to home that we can get for an official Kennel Club show, in Askersund some kilometres south of Örebro. It is our regional kennel club that arranges it. Mum and my brother Jiro will be there to compete as well. I hope some of the three of us will become best of breed, but there are eight other Shiba Inus there, so we do not know what will happen. We will do our best, our best is at a high level.

On Site in Gothenburg

Paula's dad, my dear friend Nils Olov, is watching the European Championships on site in Gothenburg. Sports is his main interest in life, so he must be very happy to be there.

Sometimes, the TV cameras take pictures of the people watching the competitions. So far, none of us at home has seen Nils Olov. There are so many people there, we cannot expect much, but it would be fun to see him.

Tuna Sandwich

Dad is my true hero. This morning, Daniel had made a tuna sandwich for lunch at work and had put it in his briefcase by the entrance. The entrance is off limits for us dogs. However, Dad managed to sneak in, open Daniel's briefcase, and eat the whole tuna sandwich. Daniel could not be angry with Dad, because the sandwich was already long gone when he discovered the theft. Dad told me afterwards that he was in greater need of that sandwich than Daniel was; I believe that.

Updates on the Formula 1 Result and Inauguration

The BMW Sauber driver, Polish Robert Kubica, finished seventh this Sunday in Hungary. It has since come to my knowledge that he was disqualified from the results since his car was found to be underweight. This means that Michael Schumacher was moved up one position in the results table, thus earning one point in the World Championship standings. This means that the results were in favour of Schumacher in his competition with Fernando Alonso for the Championships, contrary to what I wrote right after the race. I was not wrong, the results were changed some time after the race, just so you know.

The BBC published a piece on Alvaro Uribe's inauguration as President of Colombia last night. They also had a piece on Alvaro Uribe's inauguration speech today. This is interesting for all of us who are interested in Colombia.

Athletics in Europe, Presidential Inauguration in South America

The European Championships in athletics has started in Gothenburg, Sweden. Since it is a European championship, neither American nor Japanese athletes can participate. Because of this, Mum has stated that she could not care less. Dad hopes that the Norwegian athletes will be most successful, the rest of us hope for the Swedish athletes.

Meanwhile, in South America, Alvaro Uribe has been sworn into office for a second term as President of Colombia, Paula's country of birth. The constitution of the Republic of Colombia was recently amended. Previously, it was not possible to be re-elected as president, but it is now and Uribe is re-elected. Most Colombians must think it was a good thing the Constitution was amended, since they re-elected him.

The Japanese National Anthem on TV

In the Hungarian Grand Prix of formula 1 today, the British driver Jenson Button won in his Honda. Since he drives a Japanese car, the Japanese national anthem was played after the British when he stood on the podium after the race. This was a treat for Shiba Inu ears!

It was an exciting race in rain, and the result was interesting since none of the main contestants for the 2006 world champion title scored any point. Fernando Alonso did not finish and Michael Schumacher finished ninth, just short of a single point which is awarded the driver finishing eighth. Alonso leads the championship, while Schumacher has scored most points in the last races before this one, so I guess this result is most advantageous to Alonso.

Barbecue

We were at Paula's parents place today, except Dad and Auntie Linni. Dad does not like flying bugs, that the air is full of this time of the year, so he prefers to be indoors anyway. Linni made him company. They did not miss much. The humans had a barbecue and ate grilled pork, but they did not give us dogs any. Too bad, what's the point of being invited to a barbecue, when you don't get any grilled meat? Well, we had rather fun anyway running around on the lawn.

Smorgastarta

Paula and Daniel had smorgastarta for dinner today. As you can see in my blog entry of the 8th of February, it is a delicious dish. It is Paula's absolute favourite and I love it too. Unfortunately, I did not get much of it. I have to admit, though, that it is such a delicious dish that I cannot imagine ever getting enough of it.

Someone Who Knew What Teddy Bears Are For

The British newspaper Daily Mirror reports that "Barney the Doberman Pinscher is in the doghouse after savaging more than 100 antique teddy bears that he was supposed to be guarding at an exhibition in Somerset". One of the teddy bears are said to have belonged to the late singer Elvis Presley.

I really feel sorry for Barney. He was a trained guard dog, but the teddy bears were teddy bears. Without having the whole story, I blame the humans giving this job to Barney. He only did to those teddy bears what teddy bears are made for: to be played with. A dog plays viciously with teddy bears. I say they should let Barney free.

Source: BBC

Organization

Paula and Daniel cleaned the floors today. This is, of course, not out of the ordinary. It is nice to have a floor free of dust. The downside with floor cleaning is Daniel's and Paula's sense of organization with regard to the dog toys. While i and the other dogs prefer to have our toys scattered around the floors for easy access to toys anywhere we may be, their idea of organization is to put all of the toys in plastic boxes. I cannot see how toys are of any use lying in these boxes. However, it usually does not take long before the combined efforts of us dogs put a lot of toys around the floors again.

Crayfish

Late Tuesday evening, we got treats fitting for this time of the year in Sweden. We had crayfish to eat. Crayfish is really tasty. It is a Swedish tradition to eat crayfish in August. Years ago, you were not allowed to catch it or sell it earlier in the summer and the tradition holds on. We did not have a traditional Swedish crayfish party, but that can wait until later in August and the traditional crayfish premiere.