No Superstition, Please!

Happy new year!

Show the World you do not believe in demons and other out of this world beasts, by not firing crackers and fireworks to scare them off!

Illegal Cat Migrant

This is a story from our local newspaper today.

A man living in the village Frövi close to Örebro brought a cat to Sweden. He did not declare the cat to the customs, however. He has now been sentenced to pay a fine for this.

I believe this is good. Animals should not be smuggled. It could bring illnesses to animals already living here.

Whenever I have been abroad and arrived back home, my paperwork has been in order. My humans are good that way.

China Bans Ivory Trade

It is better late than never. The largest legal ivory market in the world, China, has decided to ban trade in ivory. The ban will take full effect about a year from now. This will hopefully change the attitude of Chinese buyers of ivory, thus making the demand much lower. With a lower demand for ivory, poaching of elephants will hopefully diminish considerably. The elephant is endangered because of poaching. If there is much less demand for ivory, poachers will earn less from their illegal business. This may save the elephants for the future.

I am normally not fond of the Chinese regime, but the decision to ban the trade of ivory is great. The law makers should be commended, when they do something good.

Strange

Paula watched an episode of a TV show this weekend. In it, one of the human characters had lost her dog. Another character asked if she would not get a new dog, but she said no. She said she could not do this to the memory of her lost dog, and that her lost dog was so good, she could not imagine getting a new dog as good. I found this strange. Every dog is an individual. You cannot compare dogs and say that one is much better than the other, because what is better in one dog, is weighed up by things that is better in another dog. It is just like humans. Basicly, every human is equal, and every dog is equal. Thus, if you lose a dog, you can get another dog, who is just as good as the former, but in other aspects. If you lose a dog, just get yourself another. Any life is better with any dog.

Dog on Twitter

American actress Carrie Fisher passed away the other day. Her dog Gary misses her, of course. He has written about this on Twitter, where you can find him as @Gary_TheDog.

Do not say anything about you thinking it is strange that a dog has a Twitter acount. After all, you are reading a blog by a dog – me.

My thoughts go to Gary, who has lost his human. Take care, Gary!

Near the End of the Year

The year 2016 is coming to an end. In the news, reporters are making summaries of the news this year. There have been bad things and good.

Daniel says that one of the worst things may be the referendum in the UK, resukting in a result that this country would leave the EU. What really will come of this is unclear, but Daniel tends to believe it is bad.

For our family, there have been pups, but there have also been illness and death. My dear old friend April has passed away. Paula has had to spend a lot of time at the human hospital due to illness. Luckily, however, Paula is getting ever better.

We believe next year will be better. It is hard to see how it could not be better.

A Storm Is Coming

A storm is coming in from the seas to the west of Sweden. We have had rain and more wind than usually this evening, and yet the storm is not here yet. We live a way away from the coastline, so the full impact of the storm will probably not affect us. It is still good to be aware that the storm might come. Every drop of rain is positive.

Kentucky for Christmas

In Japan, millions of humans celebrate Christmas at American fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. This seems odd, but here is the story behind this Christmas tradition.

I like chicken myself. It is good meat. Before giving fried chicken to dogs, however, make sure all the bones are removed. Cooked bones from poultry may split in the digestive system of a dog, causing serious injury and pain. Raw chicken that has been frozen may be better.

Meri Kurisumasu!

It is Christmas Eve, and in Sweden, this is the main day for Christmas celebrations. We give each other Christmas gifts and eat great food and candy, late in the day and on to the night.

As an alpha bitch in our dog pack, and a benevolent ruler, I believe I have a certain obligation to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas among us. It is not hard, we are a jolly bunch of dogs and we enjoy the company of each other. When there is candy, it is always enough for everyone.

I always hope everyone outside of our pack and family will have a merry Christmas as well. They may be humans, dogs, wolves, or prey, I wish a merry Christmas to everybody! As my Japanese Shiba relatives would put it: Meri Kurisumasu!

The Day Before

It is the day before Christmas Eve. We have had the start of celebrations, but mostly preparations. It has been a good day.

Rain

It is two days until Christmas Eve, and rain fell this evening. I am disappointed, but not surprised. On an ideal Christmas, there is a thick layer of snow on the ground. On many Christmases, there is no snow and temperatures above the freezing point. We all have a discrepancy between the view of an ideal Christmas, and the view of an ordinary Christmas. On an ordinary Christmas, there is no snow on the ground. I guess this Christmas will be an ordinary one in this respect.

Free Time

Daniel has made his last hours of work before Christmas today. Paula will just go up to visit her workplace tomorrow.

Sometimes, I wish I had free time too. However, my duties as watch dog and pet dog goes on around the clock every day of the year. I do not complain, it is no hard work and I like it. It is just that it would be nice to do something completely different. I do, sometimes, like when I go to dog shows. It is still not quite the same as the free time from work that Paula and Daniel have. We will all have a great Christmas, nevertheless, I am sure.

F1 Late Silly Season

It seems like Finnish Formula 1 driver Valteri Bottas will leave Williams to replace Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. Meanwhile, Brazilian Felipe Massa will come out of his recent retirement to continue in Williams for another season, alongside rookie Canadian driver Lance Stroll.

Formula 1 can really be exciting, even between the seasons.

Christmas Lights

Hello, Orange here!

According to Swedish traditions, we have Christmas Chandeliers in the windows. They face the road, which is to the west of our house, or the sides, so people can see them further down the road. Earlier years, the chandelier in the bathroom window has been clearly visible, when you come walking from the south. It is not anymore. Threes and bushes has grown in the field south of our property, impairing the view. It is not as useful having the chandelier in this window, now that people cannot see it from the road. We might find another place for it until next Christmas. We will have to see.

Wolf Pack Hunt Caught on Film

As a dog, I feel a certain affiliation with wolves, our wild cousins. Wolves are awesome animals and great hunters.

If you want to see what a wolf hunt looks like, here is a hunt caught on film.

The headline for the film says the hunt is epic. I say it is not. While the film is very fascinating, the hunt as such is nothing out of the ordinary for a wolf pack.

Watch the film! It is just a few minutes long, but I can recommend it. It has a happy ending, too.

How We Show Love

Long time dog people already know this, but here is an article about nine ways in which dogs show love and affection for their humans. I know my humans do not need to learn this, but there may be others out there who do. Read the article, it might convince you to get a dog. Any human who does not have dogs, lack something in life. We show love, it is in our nature to do so. If you need love, just get dogs.

Fire

We lit a fire in the stove in the living room tonight. It gives a cozy light and adds to the warmth indoors. I like it. It has always been an advantage of being a dog, that our humans can light fires and control fires.

Water

It is always a bit disturbing when the water runs out in the water bowls. Our humans are great at filling them up, though. There have been reports about being a lack of water. We know we have had troubles with our own well. There have never been a lack of water in our water bowls, however. We still want more precipitation, however.

Great News from South Korea

The slaughtering of dogs in markets is banned in the South Korean city Seongnam. This has been the largest dog meat market in the country. It is great that this uncivilised behaviour is banned.

Dogs are man's best friend, we are not meat to be eaten. We help man get meat while hunting, we are not to be eaten, just as humans do not eat other humans and dogs do not eat humans or other dogs.

Thus, in just one little leap, South Korea gets much more civilised.

Bipeds

Unlike most mammals, humans walk on two legs, not four. As a dog, I can stand on my hind legs for short amounts of time, but it is much easier walking on four legs. When it is winter and slippery roads, as it is now, it is also much safer.

Human scientists have explored the possible reasons why humans are bipeds for a long time. There are new clues every now and then. I find this almost as interesting as new evidence on the origin of dogs. It is intriguing to know more about ancient human history.

Useful Time

This evening, Daniel petted me for quite some time. When one of the other dogs came by, I told them it was my turn.

Daniel has a nice saying: petting your dog is never a waste of time. It can hardly be said better. No matter how much stress there is in your life, if you take some time to pet one of your dogs, you calm down. Your dog does too. It is a win-win situation.

Remember to pet your dogs often.

China Pushes Against Free Speech

Having new rules on "inappropriate content", the authorities in China shuts down thousands of live streaming accounts.

This is just another one in a long line of actions of Chinese authorities to curb and cull free speech. It is what happens in a society that is not free. China is a dictatorship, we have to remember this.

Daniel told me that when he purchased a new mobile phone earlier this week, the sales clerk recommended one Sony and one Huawei. Sony is from Japan, of course, while Huawei is from China. Daniel chose the Sony. I am glad he did.

I do not do live streaming. I do, however, do a daily blog where I sometimes bark at infringements of free speech. If I lived in China, or any other of many dictatorships in the world, I would probably not be able to write things like this. Perhaps my blog would be shut down entirely. I do not want that to happen to anyone. Free speech is a must in a free and prosperous society. We all have to make sure free speech is guaranteed to us.

Winner of Idol Sweden

The final of Idol Sweden 2016 is aired on live TV tonight. I do not really care who wins. History tells us that the outcome of the Idol final does not really count in the long run. The winner has seldom had a successful career, while some other participants have been much more successful. Participation in Idol may be a route into fame and success, but being an ultimate winner is no guarantee to give you more luck than other participants. In a few years, we can say whether any of the participants of Idol Sweden 2016 was a real winner.

Going Out Late at Night

Some of the smaller dogs have to go out more often than I. If I rather stay indoors in the night, I will do this. There are advantages of being a mature Shiba.

Ears

My Toy Poodle friend Laila has narrow ears. Dirt is gathered there and bacteria may grow in this dirt. Daniel cleans the ears now and then. Laila does not like to get her ears cleaned, but she admits she feels more comfortable afterwards. I am happy I do not have this problem with my ears.

Fire

It was cold outside today, thus, it was colder than usually inside. We made up a fire in the stove in the evening. It is cozy and warm. We just need to get some more firewood inside. We have a lot out in the barn, it is just a matter of carrying it inside. This will come to good use, if we get a cold winter.

Finland

Today, we celebrate the national holiday of Finland. The country declared its independence from Russia on the 6th of December 1917.


I have been to Finland several times and feel affinity to the country, since I am Finnish Show Champion. We have travelled to Helsinki about this time of the year for dog shows many times, but we do not do it this year. We celebrate Finland at home instead.


Happy national holiday to all the dogs and humans in Finland!

Macaronies

Paula and Daniel discussed going away from home for Sunday dinner. Eventually, they decided not to, but cooked macaronies and sausage and ate at home. I like this, it is always nicer when they stay at home, not least because I have a chance to get leftovers.

Renewed Silly Season

Newly crowned Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg surprised the world yesterday, by announcing his retirement from the sport. Thus starts a new "silly season". Who replaces Nico Rosberg at Mercedes next year? Here are some speculations. In time, we will know. It will be interesting to know.

Freedom of the Press

This day 250 years ago, Sweden enacted the first Statute of freedom of the press in World history. This is worth celebrating. Cheers!

December

It is the last month of the year. This month always feels like a long countdown to Christmas. I love Christmas, because there is so much good food and candy when we celebrate Christmas. I know of the reason behind Christmas, the birthday of Christ. It is fitting that we celebrate Him with so many tasty things.