Happy New Year!

We wish all of our readers a happy new, unsuperstitious year. The New year is often celebrated with fireworks and crackers. The origin of this tradition, however, is superstition. People believed they should make noise to scare demons, trolls et cetera off for the new year. Unless you believe in such monsters, skip the crackers and fireworks, and keep the friendly animals like dogs happy. I am not afraid of the noise, but too many dogs are for it to be funny.

Swedish Taxes - No Longer the Highest

Sweden has a history of having the highest taxes in the world, in proportion to the Gross National Product. The tax part used to be over 50 % of the Swedish GNP. Over the last seven years, with a centre-right government, the total taxes have been lowered to about 45 % of the GNP. This have caused Denmark, Belgium, and France to pass Sweden in the league of having the highest taxes. There is, of course, nothing good about having a top position in this league. The aim of politics must be to make the most of the tax money, not to have the highest taxes you can.

Upcoming New Year

Hello, Orange here!

There is something about this "year" concept that I do not understand. I know I am not a year old yet. Javier, who is a little older than me, just turned one year old. Now we all will have a new year in two days. This is what I do not understand. Our own years are those counting from our birthdays, but what is this general year? Why do we get a new one in two days from now? They say it has something to do with the days getting shorter before, and now longer, but this development happened on the 21st, not the 31st. I have to read up on this.

Cloned Dogs

We saw this documentary on TV this afternoon about some American humans who had had dogs, and missed these particular dogs so much, they paid a Korean company great amounts of money to clone the dogs. While I can fully understand the sense of loss, a cloned dog would never be the same. It would not have the knowledge and memory of the deceased dog, just the same genes. It would be easier, cheaper, and more natural just to buy a new dog of the same breed. Then you would not have to compare the two, either. I do wonder about the expectations of one of the humans. He would travel to meet the cloned puppy, and said he was keen on knowing whether the puppy would recognize him. How could it? No memory, not even that of a beloved human, is inscribed in the genes. I suspect this human will be a little disappointed.

Snow for a Little While

Hello, Orange here!

Snow fel for a little while this morning. I was happy for a little while, too. Then the temperature made the snow melt. It was all over by early afternoon. You can never be fully satisfied with the weather, can you?

Christmas Goes On

Hello, Orange here!

Christmas goes on for several days. This was news for me. Pleasant news, though. Christmas is nice. I like the great food and Christmas spirit. As far as I am concerned, it could be Christmas for many, many days. Merry continuing Christmas, everybody!

Slow Day

It is Christmas Day, which is a slow and comfortable day in Sweden. We have the great celebrations on Christmas Eve, and then we rest a bit on Christmas Day. This is cool.

Merry...!

Merry Christmas to all blog readers from Hailey, Karstuhl, Orange, and the other dogs at Kennel Aangenaam!

When You Know You Are Right

Japan has announced it will buy new weapon systems for its military. The country has tense relations to its neighbour China, a dictatorship who claim Japanese islands in the East China Sea. China denounces the Japanese plans, calling it military expansion and "is firmly opposed to" Japan's actions.

Japan is a democracy with a firm belief in the rule of law and human rights. It is threatened by China, a bigger country which is a dictatorship with little, if any, regard for human rights. If China critizises the Japanese plans to strengthen the military, it is a clear sign that Japan is right in doing so. Sometimes, critique is good, because when you get it, you know you are right.

Rain

It is two days before Christmas Eve, and rain is falling this evening. We want it to be snow. At Christmas, you get a better holiday feeling if it is snow. It is also much more fun to play in the snow. Now it is just getting muddy, and our paws get dirty. I'm dreaming 'bout a white Christmas.

Coward

People who cause a traffic accident, but just leave, must be cowards. This happened to a dog mother in Halland in the south of Sweden, who had nine pups, two weeks old. She wanted to go out by herself, but was hit by a car. When found by her humans, she was already dead. If the person who hit her had stopped and taken care of her, she might have lived. Fortunately, the pups have gotten foster mothers, other bitches who can take care of them. I hope they find the driver and prosecute him or her, but I fear they can never do that.

Pizza

Paula's sister Mia and her fiance Stefan were here tonight. The humans had pizza for dinner. All of us dogs had eaten already, but I would have wanted some pzza, nevertheless. It is tasty food. There was nothing left for me, though. I do not blame the humans, they must think it is tasty, too. It was nice seeing our guests.

Phases of the Moon

The Moon has recently been full. This is when you can, sometimes, see a Lunar eclipse. There was none this time, just like it usually is not. On the other hand, if you look at me, you can se a Lunar Eclips. This is my name, and I an proud of it. We will have to see when there is an eclipse next time.

Painting of a Semi-Nude Godess

As a dog, it is not self evident what it is with humans and being nude. Without thick coats, like dogs and many other animals have, I can understand why they need clothes to protect their skin from cold weather or blazing sun. Why they cannot stand being nude, or that others are nude in their presence, is another matter. I think it has something to do with their reproduction, which is not based on the smell of bitches in heat, but more with looks. Still, many pieces of human art depict humans who are nude or semi-nude.

In the Swedish Parliament, they have had a baroque painting on a public wall, with a picture by G.E. Schröder of the Roman godess Juno, looking like a human. The painting has been in the same spot on the wall for the last thirty years (much longer than the longest life spans of a dog). The godess is semi-nude in the picture, which is quite common when it comes to paintings from that time. The vice chairman of the Parliament has, however, made sure this painting was removed. The reason is simply that the vice chairman was offended by the nudeness. I guess she did not see the artistic values of the painting.

I believe it would be easier for humans if their females smelled of being in heat twice a year, instead of this obsession with covering their bodies up at all times. You cannot tell for sure, but it works quite well for us dogs.

Claws

Hello, Orange here!

I had my claws cut this evening. I do not like it. The claws were cut despite my objections. Well, it will be a while before the next time, anyway.

Christmas Song?

One of the radio stations we usually listen to has decided to play nothing but Christmas songs these weeks before Christmas. It gives us a good Christmas spirit. We were surprised, though, to hear Roxette's song "It Must Have Been Love". There is nothing in the lyrics of this song that reveals it is a Christmas song, the closest are some words about it being a "hard winter's day". A little research on the Internet revealed, however, that the full title of the song is: "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For The Broken Hearted)". It must have been intended as a song about broken love at Christmas, but I guess the whole message was lost somewhere when writing the lyrics. The words within parentheses does give the song a slightly different meaning. It must be harder to have a broken heart on such a joyful time as Christmas than on other days. It is a good song, regardless of the meaning that did not quite find its way into the lyrics.

Birthday

Hello, Orange here!

Javier celebrated his first birthday today. He was not sure what to expect, but it turned out we all got great food with a lot of sausage. Now I cannot wait until it is my first birthday. The older dogs say it is soon Christmas, which is even better, but I do not know about that. We will have to see.

New Hair Cut

Poodles are not the only ones who cut their hair. Humans do too. Daniel got a new hairdo today.

Good Food

Paula and Daniel went out to eat Christmas dinner tonight. They had already given food to us dogs. We also got extra treats. It was macaronies, which is fairly tasty, and it was some sausage. Sausage is always a hit in my food bowl. I would have wanted more sausage, if I would have had that, I know I would have been just as satisfied with our food as Paula and Daniel was with theirs. Oh, well, there have been times when we have been more satisfied with our food than they have been. Life can even out.

Toy Wolves Used for Protests

A toy wolf sold by IKEA has sold out in Hong Kong, since it has been connected with protests against the local government. The toy is called Lufsig and is sold in many IKEA stores around the world, but in Hong Kong and China it has also been called by a name which sounds close to a profanity in the local language.

I like the use of a wolf in political protests. Wolves are strong and intelligent animals, good for many things.

Reunited After Nine Years

A Staffordshire bull terrier in England has just been reunited with her humans after nine years. At the age of three, Niamh, as she is called, disappeared through a gap in the fence at home near Worcester. Her owners just recently got a phone call from an animal sanctuary in Salisbury, not far away. The staff there said Niamh had been found wandering the streets of the city and taken to the sanctuary, where she was identified by her microchip. She recognized her humans when she was reunited with them.

This is a happy end to a long time being away from home. Niamh was a little underweight, but had obviously been taken care of by someone for the better part of these nine years, because she was in fairly good health.

What bothers me with this story is the human who must have taken care of Niamh. The dog had a microchip, so she was easily identifiable. That human must not have cared about trying to find Niamh's real family. All is well that ends well, which this story certainly did, but it would be interesting to hear what that other human have to say.

Oh, no!

Hello, Orange here!

The weather is warmer again. The snow is melting. It turns into water and drops off. I like the snow, I want it to stay, but who am I to say what the weather would be like? I can wish, but I guess that is it. Too bad, though. The snow is so fun to play in.

Anna

Today is the name's day for everybody in Sweden called Anna. This is a very common name among female humans. paula's sister is among the people who are called Anna. There are seldom cause to celebrate a dog on a name's day. We dogs often have more unique call names than humans, which are not mentioned in the calendar. The good thing is that a unique name make you feel more unique, the downside is there is one less reason to celebrate. On the other hand, you can always come up with other reasons to celebrate, if ever you need a reason at all. I will gladly celebrate by eating treats any day.

More Snow

Hello, Orange here!

We got much more snow today, there is now about 10 centimetres of snow on the ground. It is much more fun to play with than I would have thought. I hope the snow Will stay for a Long time.

Crap!

Here I am in Stockholm, at the greatest annual dog show in Sweden, competing for the very first time as a veteran. I did not do well. Being a little nice to the judge, I Will not say what prize he gave a multichampion like me, but I was not satisfied. Of course, the judge does thé judging, it is the rules. Nevertheless, I do not always have to agree. I Will be back!

A Real Snowfall

Hello, Orange here!

Snow has fallen. There are a few centimetres of it all around outside. It is fun to play in. This is the second time I see snow, but the last time, it disappeared quickly. I have been told this snow may last for months. We will have to see what the weather will be like.

A Neutral Head of State

The King of Thailand celebrates his birthday today. He gave a public speech, where he urged people to support each other for the sake of the country. Thailand has seen a lot of demonstrations and civil unreat lately, but the King is politically neutral, he standa above the day to day politica. Hence, his urge for peace will certainly have effect. This is a great advantage of having a monarchy, where you always know that the Head of State wants the best for the whole country in the long run, for generations to come, not just past the next election.

Taxi Service

Paula was at a Christmas party with her work mates tonight. Daniel and I went to get her home. It was not that late. On the way home, we passed by a hamburger drive through and I got a cheeseburger. It is nice that it pays off to give taxi service.

Upcoming Holiday

Hello, Orange here!

Something called Christmas is coming later this month. The older dogs, who have been around before, are looking forward to it. I do not really know what it is about and what will happen. They say there will be a lot of candy, which sounds good. Time will tell.

Visitors

We have entertained visitors from Belgium. This is interesting. My paternal grandfather was from Belgium, so I have always wanted to know more about the country. Our visitors did tell us some things I did not know about. They are Shiba breeders to, which implies they are good people, and they turned out to be really good people, too. We will see if we will go down to Belgium to visit them sometime.

Countdown to Christmas

It is the first Sunday in the time before Christmas that we call advent. We have lit up the house with the traditional chandeliers and other lights. I long for Christmas, we are always given extra treats at Christmas. Perhaps snow will fall soon too, making for even more Christmas spirit. I feel happy.