Lost Contact

India's space agency has lost contact with its Moon orbiter Chandrayaan-1 ahead of time. It was launched last October and aimed to work for two years. Now they cancel the project. However, they claim that this, their first Moon project, was a success that has reached 95 % of its goals. Well, what do you do when you lose contact? I am not quite sure what happened, but being eclipsed by the Moon is a powerful thing.

Pictures from Yesterday

This is a picture of most participants on the Shiba Inu meeting yesterday. Kesshi is on the far right, I am almost at the far left by Paula.

My kid sister Suri at the Shiba Inu meeting yesterday. She is cute, is she not?

Change of Power

The LDP loses the general election in Japan today, winner is the DJP. The LDP has held power almost invariably for fifty years, so I guess change was due. I am not sure the DJP will rule Japan in a better way, but any healthy society needs peaceful changes of power once in a while. This is certainly the best thing about the result of this election.

Shiba Inu Meeting

We went to a Shiba Inu "meeting and greeting" in Köping today. My sister Suri and my brother Jiro were there too. It was a fun day in the sun. Pictures will come.

Genes of Dog Coats

An American team of scientists have discovered that there are just three genes that account for all the different coat types of dogs and wolves. This is amazing, three genes, and all the variety you can see, and feel when you pet us. The study was made from DNA samples of more than 1 000 individuals of more than 80 breeds, and also wolves. For each characteristic of dog coats, the scientist researching the genes on coats identified a single gene that was primarily responsible. It was, for example, discovered that dogs with short, straight, wolf-like hair, share a gene type with the wolves. I guess this includes the Shiba Inu.

Further research is to be made on the DNA samples, which will certainly be the basis of more interesting discoveries. I am looking forward to get to know more about future results of these studies.

Selection of Young Ones

A gymnastics club in Malmo in the south of Sweden has been critizised in the last couple of days, because they do a selection and chose only the best five-year-old children to participate in artistic gymnastics in the club. There are people who believe that there should not be selections among children who are so young. The city of Malmo may reconsider their monetary grants to the club. Representatives of the club say they do not have enough resources for every child to participate, and believe that the selection at this age is better than selection at a later age.

I do not understand the critique. Pups are selected for certain humans based on probability of success later in life at the age of eight weeks, when they leave their mothers. Pups also participate in dog shows with unofficial competitions from the age of four or six months and official competitions from the age of nine months. Even if you take into account that one dog year roughly equals seven human years, selection among pups starts earlier than the selection of these children in the gymnastics club, and nobody thinks there is anything wrong with this.

If all children would always be able to participate, the less talented would still realize that they are not as talented than other children. They would not be as good as other children participating, and they would, of course, recognise this. In what way would that be better for their self esteem? I believe it is better if the children with less talent for gymnastics gets the chance to do something else, that suits them better, than to give them false hopes. They certainly have other talents that can be cultivated instead, giving them better self esteem.

OOUUH

A man in New Zealand killed his dog by hitting it with a hammer, then roasted it with the intention of eating it. New Zealand authorities say the man did nothing illegal, because the dog was killed in such a swift way it did not suffer. I am at a lack of words. I cannot understand how anyone would like to roast and eat a family member and friend.

Too Late

I was too late to the computer last night. It was already turned off and we were all supposed to go to bed. Now I cannot remember what I had planned to write about. Oh, well, such is life sometimes.

Paula's Birthday

Paula celebrated her birthday today and got presents. I think the best present was a new tent for dog shows, a small blue tent instead of the small red tent we used to have but which is heavily torn. It is supposed to be very easy to raise this new tent, which is good, it will save time. This is a very useful present and will surely come to much use in the years to come.

Daniel talked to one of the humans with whom my son Bagus lives. He could tell us that Bagus is doing really well and is greatly loved by his family. Well, I could not imagine anyone not loving Bagus, but it feels good to hear this anyway.

Reminder

Do not forget to congratulate Paula tomorrow! It is her birthday.

Rain

We went out this evening, me and some of the other dogs. It was no fun, however, since it was raining heavily. It rained heavily on the Athletics World Championship arena in Berlin too, and after my experience of the rain here at home, I have the greatest sympathy for the athletes competing in Berlin this evening. We all need rain now and then, but I wish for it to fall in the middle of the night, when hardly anybody is outdoors anyway.

Dyed Hair

Paula dyed her hair jet black today. It looks really good on her. Her natural hair colour is almost black, but not quite. I would never dye my coat, I do not need it to look good, and I cannot do it if I am to follow the rules on dog shows. I can understand why Paula dyes it, though. She does not need to have her natural hair colour to comply with show rules, and jet black hair looks better, on humans just like on Shiba Inus like me and Dad.

Athletics

Currently, we can watch the World Championship in athletics in Berlin. While the USA used to be the dominant force in the sprints, like 100 and 200 metres, it now seems like Jamaica has claimed the sprint throne. There has been a lot of people who have tried to explain this. I believe in most explanations, as partly true. However, I have an additional explanation. My Mum, my friend April, and my husband Calvin have all left the USA to come to live in Sweden. This means that prominent dogs do not live in the USA any longer, thus giving the American sprinters less encouragement and less to fight for. The Jamaica sprinters, who have never (to my knowledge) had such prominent dogs in their country, do not know what they are missing and are therefore not put down by it in the same manner as the American sprinters are. The strange thing is, though, that the Swedish athletes are not as great as they have been over the last couple of international championships, despite having these prominent dogs in their home country. Maybe they have just gotten used to having them here.

Whoops

We went to bed, and then I realized I had not written any blog entry for Tuesday. Whoops, I say. Please come back Wednesday evening for a better blog entry regarding Wednesday.

Victory

Even though I did not get to go on the trip to the dog show in Bjerke, Norway, this weekend, I am happy for the result. Kuro chan won CAC, CACIB, became Norwegian champion and was qualified for Crufts, the greatest dog show in the world. He also became Best of Breed. April and Primus did well too.

Paula was there, so her first hand experience as written down on our homepage is better than anything I can write here. Please read there if you want to know more.

The Feline Bus Commuter

In the English city of Plymouth, the cat Casper is a regular commuter on the bus line that stops outside of his house. He gets onboard after the humans and does a roundtrip without disturbing any of the other passengers. Apparently, he has done this for a long time without his own humans' knowledge. They recently found out, when he followed one of them to the bus stop and got on board the bus like he usually does. The bus company has known about him for a long time, though, and make sure he always gets off at the right stop after his roundtrip. I like this story, because it tells a lot about how humans like their four-legged friends.

Another Weekend Left at Home

If you wonder why I did not write any blog entry yesterday, it is because I was left behind once again, when Paula left for a dog show. I love being showed on dog shows, but I have hardly been showed at all this summer. I am still disappointed.

Kenny got to go, so Daniel took the opportunity to clean his room a little more thoroughly than before. I helped, I took care of a bone lying about on the floor. This made my afternoon and put a silver lining on an otherwise gloomy day.

Sommar

In the summer, the radioshow Sommar (Swedish for summer) is aired every day. It was a particularly interesting show today. An old German who has lived many years as a journalist in Sweden told us about his experiences from the Second World War, the propaganda and crimes of the Nazis and the crimes of the Soviet troops defeating the Germans on the Eastern front. I knew of some tragedies of the Second World War, such as the Shiba Inu breed was nearly extinct. I suppose many dogs were killed in Germany too. The biggest tragedy, though, must have been the ideas and propaganda that fooled so many people into helping the nazi and the communist leaders with their destructive ideas. I can recommend that radio show, if you have the opportunity to listen to it through pod radio.

Pie

Paula and Daniel had pie for dinner today. Mum said pie is an American invention, therefore she had to have some. She did not think it would be necessary for the rest of us to taste any, though. However, Paula gave a little pie to everyone, once she and Daniel had finished their meals. It was a really tasty pie with a lot of cheese in it. I could eat pies like this more often.

Earthquake

Tokyo was been hit by a strong earthquake on Tuesday morning (Monday evening by Swedish time). It was of 6.4 magnitude and it shook whole buildings in the city, despite having its centre 170 kilometres away in the Pacific Ocean. An even stronger earthquake of magnitude 6.9 hit Japan on Sunday, but caused no damage or casualties. There were reports of some injuried humans after the Tuesday quake, three of them seriously. However, I have yet to see any reports of the conditions of dogs. I hope all of the Shiba Inus in Tokyo made it without injuries.

Thunder

We had thunder and lightning this evening. This was not surprising after the many days of warm weather we have experienced, still, thunder is not common. The thunder was a nice change from the feeling of an average day that I have had all this day. I usually think the day after a dog show is rather dull, hearing thunder made it a little special.

Watching the Finals

Paula, April, and I went to the dog show in Askersund this afternoon. There were no Shiba Inus shown today, they were shown yeaterday, but we were there to cheer for our Basenji friend Harley in the Best in Show final. We also met Daniel there, who worked at the show. I think it was nice to come along. The only downside was the blazing sun, but april and I had the shadow of a crate, which also had a lot of slots for the wind to run through it. I guess it was more comfortable for us than it was for Paula and Daniel, who sat in the direct sunlight.

Harley became BIS-4, which is a really good result, though he has done better before.

Ancient Dog Cemetery

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered a thousand-year-old cemetery with 43 mummified dogs buried in separate plots side by side with humans. They were naturally preserved by the dry desert climate and had been buried with treats for the afterlife. The cemetery belonged to the Chiribaya culture, an agricultural society that thrived from A.D. 900 to 135.

Many people believe that the modern day human take better care of their pets than ever before. In this cemetery, though, dogs were buried alongside the humans, both full-grown dogs and pups. In some cases, they have been buried with blankets and food. If the dogs have been treated as fully equal with the humans in the face of afterlife, they were probably held in high regard in their lives as well. I like my life in Sweden, A.D. 2009, but if I would have lived in a different time and place, the Chiribaya culture would probably have been one of the very best alternatives.

Koala Celebrity Dies

A koala who was rescued by fire fighters in the huge forest fire of Australia earlier this year has died. She had recovered well from wounds suffered in the fire, but was found to have a disease rather common among koalas and put to sleep by a veterinarian. It is a shame to have survived the fire like that, only to die mere months later from a disease. I feel sorry for her.

Petition for a Dog Failed

British troops in Umm Qasr, Iraq, has had a dog as a mascot, two-year-old Sandbag. Sandbag has lived with the troops, charing pleasures and hardships. However, as the last of the British troops now return home, pleas to the UK government to make sure Sandbag would be taken to Britain has failed. The government says this is the decision of the commander on the ground. Sandbag would be cared for at the military base where he has always lived, by the US troops taking over the responsibility for the base.

I feel sorry for Sandbag, who will have to adapt to new humans instead of moving off with humans he knows. On the other hand, I cannot help wonder why the UK government would be expected to take care of Sandbag's journey to Britain. Was there no British soldier on the base who personally adopted Sandbag? Did he not have one particular human who was his, and whom would have taken care of him and made sure he would go to Britain when the British troops left Umm Qasr? A dog is not supposed to be collectively cared for by a vast number of humans, not without a particular human having the ultimate responsibility. It is not the government's responsibility to make sure Sandbag has a good life, because a dog should not be cared for by a collective or a legal entity such as the government. A dog should be cared for by one human, or a couple of humans. This human has the responsibility to bring the dog when moving.

On a side note, I believe the US troops can care for Sandbag at least as well as the British troops did. Hopefully, one of the US soldiers will personally adopt Sandbag as his dog.

New Collar

Paula and Daniel have given me a new collar. It looks nice and has got my name on it. This collar certainly boosts my looks to an even higher level.

The collar is custom made for me and purchased on line. It suits me, as a daily blogger, to have a collar purchased on line.

April and Calvin got collars with their names on them, but I dare say my collar is the best looking one.

Upcoming Lunar Eclipse

There will be a lunar eclipse the day after tomorrow, on the 6th of August. It will be a shallow penumbral eclipse, but with a low magnitude, not visible to the naked eye. Fortunately for my family and friends, though, they can see a Lunar Eclips in me whenever they want.

Cleaning the House

The downside of being so many dogs and humans in a little house, is that you have to clean the place often. We have had a major overhaul of the whole house this afternoon and evening. We started before Daniel came home from his work, made a break for dinner when he had arrived, then continued until after Paula had left for her work. As you can quickly deduce, all the dogs were present during the whole cleaning operation, while Daniel and Paula were away for different parts of it. It almost goes without saying, then, that the fourlegged members of the household did most of the cleaning. We are done now, and I feel a bit tired. Still, having a clean house makes you satisfied.

Dog Reappears after Nine Years

Happy news come to our knowledge from Australia. A terrier who was living in a scuffy and flea-bitten state in a back yard in Melbourne was rescued by animal welfare authorities. The authorities were amazed to discover that the dog was chip marked, and that her actual human family had lost her nine years ago in Brisbane, where they live. The dog, who is now seventeen years old, will return to her humans. It is said she has lived in that backyard for two years, but where she was and what she did for seven years before that is yet unknown.

I am glad this dog lived long enough to be rescued. May her final time be a time in dog luxury!

Visiting Suri

Paula and Daniel was away today. They visited my little sister Suri and the family she lives with. None of us dogs got to come along, so I cannot write about more than what Paula and Daniel have told me. Instead, please read what Paula wrote on our web page.

Our neighbours down the street were outdoors all evening. They probably had visitors tonight. We could hear them talk when we were outside, but we live far enough away that we did not hear what they talked about. It is nice to have neighbours who do not live too close by.