Technical Failure

When Paula and the others were going home from the ferry from Gotland last night, the power steering stopped working. They had to call a breakdown lorry and then called Daniel, who picked up Paula. Mia and her little family were picked up by her parents-in-law.

I am glad there was nothing worse than a technical failure. Nobody was hurt. It was just that they got into bed a little later than expected. I am also glad I could stay at home sleeping, while Daniel went out fetching Paula. They got home in the really early morning. It is Monday, so sleeping through the night until the early morning walk suited me fine.

Now we have to see when the car can be repaired. The garage did not have the item that needed to be replaced. Time will tell when this will happen.

Cleaning

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel spent a great deal of the day cleaning. One of the things he did, was taking away shreds of paper from the living room. We had had fun when shredding this paper and I thought it did not look bad lying around. Still, it can be more comfortable without it.

Sometimes, I think humans are a little obsessed with cleanliness indoors. Of course, we are all house broken and so, but there would still limits to how often the vacuum cleaner is dragged around the floors with its noise, if I were to decide. On the other paw, our humans are more satisfied with the indoor environment when it is clean. This makes them happier, and this is noce for all of us. There really is no reason to complain about the cleaning.

Can I Complain Again?

Is it All right if I use another blog entry to complain that I was not at the dog show today? I went about the day thinking about it, which made my day quite boring. I wish I had not. I wish I had had a lot of other things to occupy my mind. It is just that I could not think of any. Unfortunately, this makes for a terrible blog post, but there really is not much else to write about.

We did have a nice evening in front of the TV, but this is nothing to tell anybody about. The TV programmes were not much to remember, but the company in the sofa was nice. It is just that we missed Paula as well. She will be back tomorrow night. We are looking forward to this.

Visby

The annual double dog show in Visby, On the island Gotland in the Baltic Sea, is held this weekend. I like to go there, not least because there are two shows in a row, so you can get into the show ring both on Saturday and on Sunday. This year, however, Paula went there without me. Soya will be shown, and she is good in the show ring, but I do not get to go. This is so unfair, because everyone in our family knows how much I like to be shown. Well, we did have a nice evening at home, anyway.

Dog Day

Apparently, yesterday, 26 August, is celebrated as Dog Day every year. I did not know this.

I might come up with some clever form of celebrating Dog Day until next year. Then again, maybe I will not. Despite being a dog, I cannot think of any real reason to have a dog day. Dogs are supposed to love and be loved every day of the year. Dogs are also very common in human society and the oldest animal companion of man. Having a dog day under these circumstances is a little like having a human day one a year. You would think a human day would be useless, wouldn't you?

Honour your dogs every day of the year, and we will not need a dog day.

Champions League

So Swedish team Malmö won the return game against Scottish team Celtic and qualified itself for Champions League. It was the second year in a row that Malmö did this. It is good for Swedish football.

I wish the Malmö team good luck. They will need it, because there are some very good teams competing with them in Champions League. There is no need to say Malmö has reached as far as necessary to be satisfied, you must always try to win even in the hardest field of competition. Still, Malmö will have a hard time doing it.

No matter how Malmö will do in the main tournament, it will be interesting to follow what happens. It is football on an advanced level.

Noise At Night

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Yesterday night, Mommy complained in this blog about a car going by, while the driver was constantly blowing the horn. This was a one time incident, however, as Mommy also said. There are other noises that are recurring late at night, such as when Paula and Daniel are playing Wordfeud with each other on their mobile devoces. With each turn in a game, a signal is heard from the other person's mobile. This annoys me a little more than a one time passing car. I do love Paula and Daniel, but not everything they do. Can they not play silently with chewing toys instead, like we dogs often do?

Signaling Late at Night

We had all gone to bed tonight, when a car blasted past in the street, horn constantly signaling. It was quite annoying. You just have to wonder why people do things like this. Driving along at night just for the fun of it is one thing, but why would you have to blow the horn, disturbing people, perhaps waking them up? It is rather selfish. Luckily, however, this happens very rarely in our neighbourhood.

Paula's Birthday

We celebrated Paula's birthday today. It was a nice celebration with a lot of friends invited over.

During the day, Paula was at work. Meanwhile, Daniel and all of us dogs cleaned the house and made it ready for the party in the evening. It was partly hard work, but what do you not do for someone you love and for a party to be a success?

The party was a success. Paula thanked us all. She deserved all the effort we put in.

Terrorist Attack Stopped

A man on a train in France, heavily armed with a Kalashnikov rifle et cetera, was overpowered by four other passengers. He has now been detained by the police. The authorities believes he is from Morocco and has connections to Islamist organizations.

The passengers who interferred are real heroes. Two of them were American soldiers on leave, one was a Briton. All should be commended for their heroism. If more people acted against terrorism, perhaps we would have less of it.

Kebab Chicken

Hello, Karstuhl here!

With our food today, we got to try something called kebab chicken. It was chicken filets with a certain blend of spices. It was a bit odd, but I did not chicken out. Once I tried it, I found out I liked it. Of course, I like most meat, but when the meat is done in a way which is new for me, it is something to be aware of. You have to stop when it is not tasty. This is not chickening out, because you have tried it. There was no need to chicken out ever today.

Police Dog Cut

A police dog in Västerås, Försvarsmaktens Hjalle (Försvarsmakten is the official kennel name of dogs bred by the Royal Swedish Armed Forces) was hunting suspected criminals, but one of them turned on him, cutting him with a knife. Hjalle was badly wounded, but survived. The criminals were caught.

I hope these criminals will be prosecuted and convicted, especially for turning on a police dog. Animal abuse is a serious felony in my mind. The punishment should be hard. I hope it will be.

Scottish Victory

The Scottish football team Celtic defeated Swedish team Malmo today in the Champions League qualification, 3-0. The game was played in Scotland. The second game between the teams will be played in Sweden next week. This is a bit sad for us who hoped for a Swedish victory and advancement into the major tournament. Malmo still has a chance, but it is slim. Swedish club football is not strong enough. I wish it was.

Nothing Special

Some days are a bit boring, nothing special happens. This was one of those days. It was a Tuesday, just your average work day. We had our morning walk and other morning routines, then we dogs watched the house while Paula and Daiel were at their respective work places. We got food in the afternoon, which is always nice, but it was the ordinary dog food today, in the evening, Paula cooked some exciting food for her and Daniel, but nothing was left for us dogs, at least not for us to eat right away. We watched some TV, then it was time for bed. Nothing out of the ordinary happened all day. I do not dislike ordinary days, it is just that they are boring. I am sure I will not remember this day a year from now.

Darkness

The nights are getting dark again. We can feel that autumn is coming. In the Swedish summer time, the nights are never completely dark. Sunlight are coming from the north in the middle of the night, giving us some twilight. This is disappearing now. Still, the weather is nice, with warm, sunny days. I cannot complain. Autumns have advantages too. They are cozyer, in a way. Cozy is nice.

Almost, but not Quite

Calvin was in the Best in Show Veterans' final in the international dog show in Norrköping today. He was among the final seven, but did not get any of the four prizes. This is almost, but not quite, as good as my BIS 4 Veteran title from Avesta earlier this year. I congratulated Calvin, of course. I would have wanted to be there myself, but it is not certain I could have made a better impression on the judge. Calvin did have a great result.

So Be It

I did not get to go to the dog show today. Calvin and Orange went instead. They both did reasonably well, but let the best results go to others. I wish I would have been there. I would have shown everybody how to make an impression in the show ring. Well, I cannot go everytime, it would not be fair to the others. So be it.

Sclera

I am sometimes a little amazed, when I read science stories. There is one now, stating that humans are not the only primates who have white sclera around the irises of the eyes. Some gorillas are the same, bit most are not, having black pigmentarion around their eyes. Other primates also have pgmentarion in their sclera.

Dogs have white sclera. I am not sure this is true for all of us, bit for many dogs it is true. We normally do not show it, but you can see small pieces of it occasionally. Some dogs show more of it than others.

In this way, dogs are more like humans than most primates are. This is amazing.

Meteors

This time of the year, there are often meteors in the sky. They look like shooting stars, and was called just that in old times, when people did not know what it was. I have not seen any, but Daniel told me he saw one this evening.

Old superstition has it, if you make a wish when seeing a shooting star, what you wish for will come true. I already have a great life, so I am not sure what I would wish for, if I had the chance. I do not think I believe in it, anyway. How could it be true? There are so many funny old superstitions around.

Japanese in Britain

When Japan joined the fight in the Second World War, almost noone in Britain knew Japanese. They made sure to teach some young men the language, though. This was a good thing about the war. Knowing the language of others make you understand them better and the post war relations were improved by this. I cannot help bit wonder whether it has had any influence on the breeding of Japanese dogs in Britain, like Shibas. It would be interesting if this was the case, but I am sure it is hard to tell. I have no means to research it, unfortunately. If any of my readers know, please make a comment!

Devaluating the Currency

Mainland China (the one party communistic semi-capitalistic country) has devaluated its currency. It lost about 2 % of its value. This is a result of lesser growth in the Chinese economy.

I am not sad about this. In fact, I think it is good that the Chinese economy runs less smooth, because it can become the cause of necessary political reforms. China needs more democracy, rules and regulations against animal cruelty, and turn down its aggressions towards its neighbours. I hope this will be some of the long time results. The dogs and humans living in China need this.

The Weekend Is Over

It is Monday again, today. For a while, both Paula and Daniel was away due to their work. This is no problem, the rest of us watches our house. At least one of them is always back home fast enough for us not to be left indoors for too long. We have a good life even on work days.

The real disadvantage of it being an ordinary day was that we got our ordinary food. Yesterday, we got a lot of extra tasty left overs. Today, it was back to the dog food we usually get. There is nothing wrong with its taste and it contains all the nutrients we need. Still, it gets a bit dull sometimes, getting the very same food day after day. There is usually more diverse food served in the weekends. There are some days until the next weekend, unfortunately.

Could Kyoto Have Been Hit By an Atom Bomb?

In the final days of the Second World War, the USA dropped two atom bombs on cities in Japan. The old capital Kyoto, with more historical sites than Hiroshima or Nagasaki, was spared. Kyoto was one of the cities the American military leaders considered as targets, but the Secretary of War made sure the bombs were dropped on other cities.

There cannot be anything good about one city being hit by an atom bomb instead of another. Still, if there are degrees in hell, perhaps not as many people and dogs were killed when sparing Kyoto, and more historical sites were preserved. It might have been a little less evil, at least. Still, in the best of worlds, no city would have been the target of an atom bomb.

I hope we will never have to see the use of an atom bomb again.

Show

Hello, Orange here!

I went into the show ring at a dog show for the very first time today. Aunt Hailey had told me it is great fun, and it was.

At first, I got the impression the judge thought very highly of me, because I got the quality prize Very Good. There is, however, a better prize called Excellent. I knew of this, of course, but it had slipped my mind this first time in the show ring. Afterwards, Paula, Daniel, and all of my dog friends have told me I do have what it takes to win Excellent and even getting CAC. It is just that not all judges evaluate dogs the same way. If you really want to have an evaluation of a dog, one show is not enough, no matter what prize the dog gets. There are two shows next weekend as well, I may get revenge then. I hope I will.

Blogger Killed

A blogger in Bangladesh has been brutally killed by a gang armed with machetes. This was not the first blogger in the country, who has been killed for the opinions he expressed in his blog, but the fourth.

So far, only two people have been arrested for the killings. None has been charged. Critics say the government do too little.

I do not know what the government does do to investigate these murders and bring the murderers to justice. What seems to be perfectly clear, however, is that the murders are committed due to the opinions of the victims. This is an attack on the freedom of speech, one of the fundamental bases of a free society. Such crimes must not be tolerated. I do hope the murderers will be caught and tried for their crimes.

We have had debates on freedom of speech in Sweden as well this week. A bunch of people tore down signs with propaganda for the Sweden Democrats, a reformed Nazi party which claims to be democratic. I do not like this party, but I also did not like the act of tearing down the party's propaganda. The latter was also an attack on the freedom of speech. Still, when reading about the murdered bloggers in Bangladesh, it puts these acts in a different perspective. I do hope we are far from murders because people excercise their freedom of speech in Sweden.

Seventy Years Ago

Seventy years ago today, an atom bomb was used for the very first time in war, when dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A lot of humans and dogs died, probably some Shibas.

Three days later, an atom bomb was used for the second and latest time, when dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. A lot of humans and dogs died there too, probably some Shibas.

Luckily, atom bombs have never been used since. I hope they never will. The consequences of the peoples of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have brought one important lesson to humanity, that the atom bomb really is a weapon so terrible that it must never be used.

Some people say the atom bombs of the USA and the Soviet Union kept these two countries from going to war with each other in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. Any war between these military great powers could have resulted in the use of atom bombs, which in turn would have caused a mutually assured destruction. Therefore, the leaders restrained themselves from going to war.

It is never easy to explain why something never occured. If the atom bombs was what kept the World out of a Third World War, we have all the more reason to thank the victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for teaching us the lesson of the horrors of atom bombs. If any memory of victims of a war must live on forever, it is this!

Caught By a Police Dog

A thief in Malmo in the south of Sweden was caught by a police dog, shortly after having stolen a necklace from a man in a street. The thief also had four stolen mobile phones when he was caught. He has now been sentenced to prison by the Court of Appeals of Scania and Blekinge, judgment of the 31st of July 2015 (case no. B 1671-15). After serving his time, he will be expelled from Sweden and must not come back for at least five years.

This is but one of the many ways dogs contribute greatly to our society. Police dogs are heroes.

Sorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We are feeling loss and sorrow today, after my father Kenny passed away yesterday. I now know what it is like to lose a parent, like my Mummy has lost both of her parents.

Rest in peace, dear Daddy!

The Dog, the Myth, the Legend

My dear husband, father of five of my pups, MultiCh Kurokaidou Go Higo Kamishimasou, "Kenny", has passed away today.

He will always stay in my heart.

Reqiescat in pace, father of Polly, Nemo, Zeus, Fumi, and Anzu.

West Bothnia Cheese

Cheese is tasty food. All cheese is good, but some forms of cheese are better than others. Among these are the Swedish cheese from West Bothnia, Västerbottensost, named from the Swedish name of West Bothnia. It is famous in Sweden and the rumour about it spreading around the world. There is a fine piece about this cheese on BBC now, which I can recommend. Whenever you are in Sweden, you can buy and taste this cheese. Do not hesitate to do this.

Blueberries

Daniel took a long walk with Kenny this afternoon, and came back with a lot of blueberries. They can be found in the forrest nearby. Paula was happy about it, saying that they tadted good. I would not say the same. As Daniel cleaned the blueberries from leaves and stuff, one blueberry dropped on the floor in front of me. I snoffed it and figured it might be worth eating, but it was not. Humans do like to eat some strange things from time to time.

Worse Rain Than Here

Many people in Sweden feel we have had far too much rain this summer. We may have had more than average, but it has not resulted in any catastrophes. In South East Asia, however, twenty humans have died due to monsoon rain and resulting landslides.

There are no reports on how many dogs have died or have lost their humans. Still, twenty dead humans are not a good thing, no matter how many dogs were affected.

With tese rainfalls in mind, we do not have to complain about the summer rains in Sweden. We do not have to be happy about them, but it could be worse. No humans have died due to the rainy weather here.