Misspent Aid

Do you think your own country is the worst example there is on misspending tax money, at least among democracies? Do you, perhaps, think the European Union is the worst example? Well, I think there are horrible examples all over the world. In Japan, at least a quarter of the money assigned to cleaning up after the earth quake and tsunami last spring has been spent on completely unrelated things, a government audit has found. Some of the misspending has been done to generally boost the national economy. At the same time, some towns that were hit hard by the disaster has not seen any reconstruction at all.

Misspending government funds is probably something that will always happen. When the funds are meant for aid to the quake and tsunami hit areas, the misspending feels more disturbing than usually. I hope this audit will make things better.

A Reminder of the War

The Sendai Airport in northern Japan was closed down recently, when an undetonated bomb was uncovered during construction work. It was disclosed that the bomb was made in the USA, it is thus a reminder of World War II, when a lot of American bombs where dropped over Japan. The Sendai Airport was a military flight school during the war, so it was a goal for bombers. Apparently, it is still rather common that bombs from the war is discovered in Japan. We just have to hope this bomb will be taken care of and nobody will get hurt.

Breed Watch List

Occassionally, I write about my wild cousins, the wolves. I am concerned about them, because they are an endangered sub-species of my own species. There are also dog breeds who are endangered. In England, the Kennel Club has a watch list on endangered breeds. They are now concerned about the future of the Old English Sheepdog, an iconic, English breed. This is a friendly breed, well mentally equipped for being a pet breed in the modern society - although their size, need for excercise and grooming may talk to their disadvantage. I am a little surprised, though, that this breed is on the watch list. In the best of worlds, no dog breed would be on the watch list, but some deserve it less than others. If a breed has a great mentality for the modern world, it should always have a given place in the modern world. The Old English Sheepdog is such a breed.

Success for Gonsa

My dear son Gonsa, of my latest litter, competed in his first dog show this weekend. He made quite well, getting a honourary prize and was best pup of the breed. This is great! I love dog shows myself, and I am always very happy when pups of mine do well on shows. They are all excellent Shibas, it is just for the show judges to see that.

Winter Is Coming

We have had temperatures below the freezing point this weekend. With the blazing sun shining on the frosty grass and trees, it has been beautiful. This Sunday, we have turned the watches back to standard Central European Time. This means the end of Daylight saving time for this year, which means daylight is not saved for later parts of the day than our morning walks. I like standard time better, when there is more light in the mornings.

Hard Water

Hello, Peanut here!

It was cold outside this morning, and the world was a bit different than usual. There was a puddle beside the path that we were walking, and I thought I would walk into its water, but the water was hard. I walked on top of the water. Then, when I stood there, the hard surface sank a little bit, and cold, liquid water found its way to my paws. This running water was an unpleasant experience, so I jumped away from there. This is the first time I have felt that water was hard. It was an interesting experience. I know I am still a pup, and a lot of things are new to me in this world, but I had not expected to walk on water.

The Serious Situation for the Ethiopian Wolf

The only wolf species in Africa, the Ethiopian wolf, consists of very few animals. They are also separated into distinct groups living separate from each other, making cross breeding between the groups highly unlikely. As all of us know, who are interested in dog breeding, this makes for a high risk of inbreeding, with the future risk of extinction that this brings. A few of the populations have already become extinct in the last hundred years. I am very concerned about these cousins of mine. I do hope the scientists who have mapped the Ethiopian wolves will be able to help them to survive. Some cross breeding between the populations may do a lot for them.

Satsumas and Clementines

Paula asked Daniel to buy some clementines today. He did not find any that he wanted to buy, so he bought some satsumas instead. These fruits are very similar. I am not a connoisseur of fruits, so I cannot really tell them apart. If I have a choice between these two fruits, though, I would chose the satsuma. This is because the satsuma has its origin in the old Satsuma province of Japan, hence its name. The clementine, on the other hand, was discovered as a hybrid between mandarines and bitter oranges by the French priest Clément Rodier in Algeria in the early 1900s. If something has its origin in Japan, I always presume that it is better than other alternatives, just like the Japanese Shiba Inu is the best dog breed there is. I could be mistaken, but on the issue of satsumas versus clementines, I have not yet been proved wrong.

The UN Day

Today is the day when the founding of the United Nations has its annual celebration across the world.

In Sweden, there is a UN cake, that you can buy this day in parts of the country. Part of the profit goes to the UN humanitarian aid programmes. There is no place in Örebro where the cake is sold, but I do not care much. If I would buy a cake where part of the profit went to a "higher" purpose, it would be for canine aid programmes. There are a lot of dogs who are not doing well around the world, I would like to give them some more aid.

Cutting Hair

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel has had his hair cut today. Our Poodle friend Love chan pointed out that the need to cut the hair is something that Poodles and humans have in common. She then claimed that, since most other dog breeds do not have the need to cut their hair, Poodles are closer friends of humans than other dog breeds are. I disagree. I believe this is just a tiny, insignificant detail, that says nothing of the strength of the friendship between humans and different dog breeds. Love chan, however, laughingly stood by her point.

Actually, neither one of us like to rank dog breeds' friendship with humans. This is just friendly, funny nagging. We both know that dogs are humans' best friend, no matter what. This is enough.

Live Telephone Translations

Hello, Karstuhl here!

A Japanese telephone operator has developed a telephone application that is said to be able to translate telephone calls between different languages in real time. At first, there are just translations between a few languages offered, but more will come. There are also other companies who will launch similar services in the near future. The translations will not be perfect, but may help tourists, at least.

For my part, I think this is a rather useless invention, until translations to and from dog language is developed. This would be a treat.

Another Royal Wedding

There has been a royal wedding in Luxembourg. The heir to the Grand Dutchy, Prince Guillaume, has married Countess Stephanie de Lannoy from Belgium. As always, a royal wedding is a happy occasion worthy of attention.

Luxembourg is a Grand Dutchy, which ranks a step lower than a Kingdom. The family on the throne is royalty, nevertheless. As far as I have understood, this is because they are a branch of the old French royal family.

I wish the newlyweds all the luck!

Black and Tan Is Not For Everyone

I got a message from my black Toy Poodle friend Love Chan today. She was at a dog show in the South of Sweden, where she saw this black and tan coloured Poodle. She told methat while she likes me and her other black and tan Shiba friends, she believes in the breed standard for her own breed, that says Poodles must be of one colour only. A black and tan Poodle was nothing she liked seeing, and she was happy this dog did not get any prize at the show. I agree. Black and tan is not suited for everyone.

Cleaning the Floor

Hello, Peanut here!

I helped Daniel clean the floor today. He wiped the floor, and I dug in with my teeth and helped pull back and forth. It was fun, so I understand why Daniel does it now and then. However, I really thought Daniel would be more happy than he was, having my help. Maybe he just wanted to have all the fun himself? That would be a little selfish, I think. As a pup, I have been told I am entitled to play and have fun, but then again, I know there are some fun things I am not allowed to do. I just had not thought cleaning was one of them.

Is there Poison?

A rumour has spread in our home city Örebro, that someone has placed pieces of poisonous meat in a park in the outskirts of the city. Dogs are reputed to have died. However, the police says they have not heard of any complaints and noone has filed any charges. This park, Karlslund, is not close to us; we do not walk there, but many other dogs in our city do.

We have heard an interview on the radio with a human whose dog died about a month ago, and the veterinarian suspected the dog had been poisoned. There were no evidence of this, though, as far as I could tell. Had there been evidence, I would assume this human whose dog had died had contacted the police about it. It is also strange to think someone would actually go through the trouble of distributing poisoned meat in a park where dogs walk.

Even though there are no evidence that dogs have been poisoned, I would still recommend dogs to be more careful than usual for a while, at least in Karlslund. It might just be stories, but why gamble with your life just when the rumours are at what is arguably their peak?

Reply

The secretary of the Swedish Academy answers the speculations that there are leaks from the Academy on the subject of who will be Nobel Prize winner in litterature. He claims the Academy has taken many precations and that they have no indications of leaks. He also says a big bookmaker company says the same. This is good, I like this. When it comes to decisions like this, you have to feel the people making the decisions are truly independent and that there are no leaks. I guess I am convinced now.

Is there a Leak?

There have been speculations about a leak in the Swedish Academy, the body that decides who will win the Nobel Prize in litterature. I do not know whether it is true, but the odds on the eventual winner this year is said to have been very low with bookmakers. This is no good. If the prize is supposed to be a secret until the Academy lets the world know, but there is even a doubt that this is not so, the Academy needs to look carefully into the issue. The Nobel Prize has a very good reputation, but it must not be soiled, not even by doubts.

High Wooden Houses

We live in a wooden house, but it is just one storey tall. Most wooden houses are not much higher, perhaps two or three storeys. In Austria, however, a new wooden house is eight storeys tall, and in London, a nine storey building has been constructed from wood. This is interesting. I think wood is nicer than concrete, stone, or steel, as a building material. If these examples turn into a trend, perhaps the price of wood will rise.

Dinner

The other day, I complained about chef TV shows. There are positive aspects of these shows, though. Today, Paula had invited her parents for dinner, saying she was inspired by these shows. It is always fun seeing Paula's parents. I guess part of this was thanks to thé chef TV shows. Still, my complaints about these shows remain.

Bad Qualifying Result

Sweden played the Faroe Islands in the World Cup qualifications today. It was a much harder game to win than we had expected, even though we know that Team Sweden is bad at playing teams that are supposed to be much inferior to it. Faroe Islands scored the first goal and it was not until the end of the game that Sweden scored the goal that made the team win the game. The result was 2-1. In the long run, this may be a really bad result, despite the victory, because if two teams en up with the same points, the number of goals scored may be decisive. We are disappointed.

Chef TV Competitions

There are a lot of chef shows on TV these days, especially competitions between people who are, or wants to become, chefs. I am quite tired of them.

As a dog, my sense of smell is much more evolved than a human's sense of smell. In chef TV shows, more than any other TV shows, I am always disappointed with the lack of smell TV. I would be able to smell the food they cook and compete with. This would give me a much better chance to evaluate whom to hope for in the competition. The most boring thing with all of these chef competitions is that without being able to taste, or at least smell, the food, how can you ever evaluate the different dishes with which the chefs compete? Without smell TV, all of these chef competitions on TV are a waste of time to watch.

On the other hand, perhaps smell TV on chef competitions would make me too hungry. Nevertheless, I would rather watch wildlife or dog TV programmes.

Washing Toys

Hello, Peanut here!

Yesterday evening, Daniel collected a lot of our toys from the garden. It is often fun to grab a toy and run out in the garden with it, but if you lose focus on the toy, it is easy to leave it outside. When it is outside, it can become dirty from the ground and the rain, so we must not take it inside again. Daniel took the toys inside anyway. I was puzzled at first, until I realised he put the toys in the washing machine. Now the toys are clean again. I guess some of these toys will soon be outside again, dirty.

Debris from the Tsunami

This is amazing: debris washed out into the sea with the tsunami in Japan last spring has started to wash ashore on the west coasts of the USA and Canada. It has travelled  thousands of kilometres in a year and a half. Among the things washed up are huge things like a whole dock from a Japanese port and a container with a motorcycle in it. The motorcycle had a licence plate, which enabled the finders to return it to its Japanese owner.

This is also a visible warning to the people of the North American west coast. A tsunami could hit them too, anytime, anywhere. Mum's breeders live in Washington on the US west coast, but fortunately not so close to the shore that they would be directly affected by a tsunami. It would be a major event in their State, though, if it was hit by a tsunami the size of which hit Japan last spring.

Finding things on the beach from Japan might be interesting. There are easier ways of getting hold of something fabulous from Japan in Washington, though. I would recommend a Shiba Inu from Mum's breeder, Taichung Shibas.

Who Is that Man?

A six year old boy was attacked and bitten by a dog in a park in Gothenburg, Sweden, today. A witness interferred and the dog and the dog's owner disappeared from the place. The boy was taken to a hospital. His wounds are serious, but not fatal, according to the police.

I wish things like this would never happen. It gives dog hating humans a new example to point to and to complain about. Still, I do not think you can avoid it alltogether. Dogs are strong carnivores and may hurt humans, if allowed to. The fault is with the biting dog's human, who allowed this to happen. I hope the police will find him. I also hope the dog will get a new, more caring and loving family, to make sure nothing like this never happens again.

Suzuka

Today, the Formula 1 world championship came to the Suzuka track for the Japanese Grand Prix. My daughter Aangenaam Suzuka is named for this track. It is a nice track, and our Japanese favourite driver, Kamui Kobayashi, made a good result, he came third.

Losing the Heat and Hot Water

A fire is raging in a power station in our home city. This power station normally produces heat and hot water for most people living in the city, but not for us. We live in the outskirts of the city and have our own heat and hot water sources. While most people thus have no heat or hot water, we do. This is good for us. It is cozy having heat indoors. There are advantages with standing beside collective solutions.

11

We celebrated Auntie Linni's eleventh birthday today. This is an awe inspiring age. Her actual birthday was yesterday, but because of jobs and other duties, it suited us all better to celebrate today. The best thing with the celebration was that we got hot dog sausages. Linni got two whole sausages in her food bowl, laid parallel, like the number 11, for her age. This was a nice touch.

Cinnamon Bun Day

Today is the Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden, where we are supposed to eat a lot of the typically Swedish cinnamon bun. For those who do not know, this bun looks like a tightly curled spitz tail. Shibas are supposed to have losely curled tails and tightly curled tails are sometimes called cinnamon bun tails in Sweden. The Cinnamon Bun Day is not, however, to be seen as a day where Shibas with cinnamon bun tails are supposed to be noted for their tails; on the contrary, they should only be noted for this by judges in dog shows. What is a great cause of action today, though, is giving all the dogs you know cinnamon buns. Most of us like it.

Stop the Smugglers!

The illegal trade of pups continues. Ruthless people smuggle innocent pups across the national borders in small cages and even worse means of transportation, and sell them for a lot of money. Two men have now been found guilty of such smuggling to Sweden. Still, the trade will go on as long as there are people who are willing to buy these poor pups.

I can fully understand the urge to help these pups. In the long run, however, the only way to stop this filthy business is never to buy pups from crooks like these. Pups should come from the loving care of serious dog breeders. It is not as if there is a shortage of pups to buy from serious breeders, or adult dogs who happen to need new homes, so I actually cannot understand the reason for supporting the smugglers. I just wish more people would be aware of this.

This Must Be Investigated

Police officers in Stockholm shot and killed two dogs yesterday. The police and an ambulance had been called to a place where a man needed medical attention. The man's two dogs, however, would not let any other humans close to their master. The dogs have been described as aggressive and were shot and killed to let the ambulance crew help the man. The man is now treated at a hospital.

I do not believe the dogs were overly aggressive. It is in the nature of dogs to protect their human, especially if they recognise that he is injuried. They should not be shot and killed because they do their duty. Without knowing more than what I have read in a short news article, I believe the big trouble here was that none of the humans who had been called to the place understood dogs. The killing of the dogs must be investigated, hopefully resulting in severe criticism against the shooter.

Dogs are an integral part of human society. They have been part of human society for at least 40,000 years. It is vital that all humans have a basic understanding of dog language and dog behaviour to avoid tragedies like this. This is especially important for law enforcement personell, who are authorised to use force in their line of duty.

I feel sorry for the dogs, and I feel sorry for their human. He may have ended up in a hospital and received vital medical care, but what is it worth to him, when his dogs have been killed?

Growing Friendship

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Over the last couple of days, I have spent more time than I usually do with Paula's dad Nils-Olov. We have become better friend thanks to this. I kind of like him, it is hard not to.