Pet Killings

I am appalled at news from Puerto Rico. Cats and dogs have been collected from a housing scheme and thrown off a bridge to their deaths. While witnesses say some animals were already dead when thrown, they also say some were alive. A contractor hired to collect the animals would have taken them to a shelter, but did not. It turns out there was a no-animal policy in the housing scheme, but I can understand and support the outrage over the behaviour of the contractor. Even though it was wrong to live in a place with your cat or dog where you cannot have pets, there is simply no excuse for the cruelty shown by this contractor. I hope it never gets any other contract involving the transportation of animals.

Euro Qualifications

The national football teams of Europe played qualification games for the Euro 2008 championships tonight. The qualifications is almost finished. Sweden won its game against Liechtenstein by 3-0, leads its qualifying group, and most people believe Sweden will be qualified. Dad's home country Norway seems to have a bit harder to be qualified, third in its group now while only the two best teams will qualify, but it still has a chance. I hope both Sweden and Norway will make it. We will have to see what happens next. The qualifying rounds are over on the 21st of November.

Ups and Downs

Yesterday, we could read about the factual faults in Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth (I mentioned it in this blog). Today, it was announced that he will get the Nobel Peace Prize. How ironic. I just wonder what his movie has got to do with peace?

Paula and Daniel bought some pork tails today. While Paula was away for a while and Daniel watched TV, Dad pulled the bag with the tails down to the floor from the shelf where it lay. Unfortunately for him, Daniel heard him and took the tails away. Later this evening, we got a tail each to eat. Dad's disappointment was turned into joy. I wonder if he would have eaten more than one tail, had Daniel not heard him. I guess so, I would have. On the other hand, the rest of us may have wanted to share, which could have turned into a fight. Daniel's swift action took away the incentive to fight. That is a peace keeping action, Al Gore's movie is not.

Climate Changes?

There is a famous film by former US vice president Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, about the Earth's climate and that humans destroys the world by living in a way that makes the climate warmer. A High Court Justice in England has now ruled that this film may not be shown in schools without guidance giving the other side of the argument on nine disputed points. I think this is a good thing. I do not want to think humans, among those my own humans, are responsible for changes in the climate that among other things, would make polar bears drown. Furthermore, I like car rides. You often have to go far by car to get to dog show, and I like to go to dog shows. I would not want us to be forced to go less than we want to by car because of the changing climate.

I will not hold myself out to be an expert on natural science and the climate. Maybe Mr. Gore is right in most of the things he says in the film. However, as Daniel said, Mr. Gore is not a natural scientist himself, but a politician and as such interested in promoting one view rather than pointing at scientific doubts. Thus, I think it is fair that the film must not be shown in schools without giving the other side of the story.

Regardless of what may be the truth in the debate on climate change, nobody blames anything on us dogs. This is good.

Advertising

I have decided to send an e-mail to one of the largest Swedish news papers. This news paper offer to promote any blog, whose owner sends it an e-mail on a certain e-mail address. It does not say that there are any costs involved, so I thought: why not? I will send the e-mail right after publishing this blog post, then we will have to wait and see what will happen. I will let you know if I get any more news on the issue.

Exciting Season Finale

The Formula 1 World Championship season draws to an end. For the first time in many years, one of as many as three drivers may become champion when one race remains. Exciting, isn't it? The final race is the Brazilian Grand Prix on the 21st of October.

Another Champion in the Family

My broher Jiro became Swedish Show Champion yesterday! It is fantastic, this close to our second birthday. It was the first show for him after this birthday, thus he got the title on the very first attempt where he was eligible to fight for it. We have all congratulated him.

Linni's Birthday

The 4th of October is Auntie Linni's birthday. She turns six today. Hooray for Linni!

We thought we would celebrate on cinnamon buns. Linni claims this is the Cinnamon Bun Day because of her, but the rest of us are not sure she is right. However, we got better food to celebrate on, Paula and Daniel gave us minced meat. Meat is always a great treat.

Sputnik

Exactly fifty years from tomorrow, the first man made satellite was launched from what was then the Soviet Union. It was called Sputnik, Russian for co-traveller. Sputnik marks the start of what is sometimes called the space age, even though the space flights have become less spectacular since the last Moon landing in 1972.

You can celebrate Sputnik with a cinnamon bun, since the 4th of October is also the Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden. In the 80's, this day was known in Sweden for resistance against a kind of socialization scheme that the Government imposed on the corporations, but that is such a long story that I do not want to outline it here. It is sufficient to say that I rather think of cinnamon buns than socialization schemes.

Was the Sabre Tooth Tiger Weak?

New research goes to prove that the extinct feline that goes by the name sabre tooth tiger had a weak bite. It was probably a very specialised hunter, vulnerable to changes in the eco system. When such changes occured, it was doomed. Since wolves and many dog breeds, such as the Shiba Inu, are generalists rather than specialists, I presume we will survive much longer. It feels good to be a canine rather than a feline.

Sewing

Paula is sewing tonight. She bought a nice red dress the other day that she felt would be even nicer with a black lining at the lower end. Paula is really good at sewing, unlike Daniel, who hardly knows how to put a thread on a needle. I do not know anything about sewing either. When you have such a great natural coat as Shiba Inus have, you do not need clothes, consequently, you do not need to sew.

At Kesshi's

Paula and I went to Mia and Kesshi tonight. We will do that a lot now that I am in heat. Kesshi is a nice guy. Somehow, I see him in a different light now. I wonder if that has got anything to do wit me being in heat?

A note about comments: I got another anonymous comment to one of my blog posts the other day. I like to receive comments, but not if they are anonymous. This is why I never accept that anonymous comments get published, no matter how nice they are.

The Squirrel

A squirrel has moved in with us. We call him Eilert. He is nice and I greeted him with all the eagerness I had. When I got tired of shewing on him, April continued. Now he lies deserted on the kitchen floor.

Eilert is a toy squirrel, of course. We got him with a ble of toilet paper that Paula and Daniel bought when they were grocery shopping this evening. If he would have been a real squirrel, neither Paula nor Daniel would have allowed us to socialize with him indoors, and probably not outdoors either. In that way, toy animals are a much better catch than real animals are.

Me and My Glowing Coat

This is what I look like right now. I feel more beautiful than I usually am. Thanks to a new diet with an exclusive salmon oil, my coat glows like never before. It is easy to pose before the camera when you feel beautiful. I feel even more beautiful now than I did when I won my first Best of Breed earlier this year for the Norwegian breed specialist Mrs Marit Sunde.

Dog shows are far in between at this time of the year. Most dog shows are in the summer, when you can be outside in the warm weather. I would like to go to a dog show when I feel so beautiful as I do now, it would seem proper to do that. We are going to a dog show next weekend. It will be in Sundsvall over 500 km from our home, but I believe it will be worth it.

Puppy Blog

We have started a new blog at Aangenaam Shiba Inus, a puppy blog for the pups we hope that I will get, when bred now as I am in heat. This will not be my private blog, like this one. Paula, Daniel, and the other dogs may also write in it. We may even invite the proposed father of the pups to write, if he wishes.

Do not forget the Daily Hailey blog for the puppy blog, though! I will still keep my blog daily.

New Japanese Prime Minister

Yasuo Fukuda is new prime minister in Japan, he replaces Shinzo Abe. He is 71 years old, much older than Abe. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) hopes this will end the political turbulence. So do I; regardless of what you think of the LDP, it is not good to have too much political turbulence in a country.

Shiba Inu Meeting

We were planning to go to a Shiba Inu meeting in Södertälje today, but it never came to be. However, Paula was sick and could not go. I am a little sad about this. My brother Jiro was there, it is always nice to meet him. My younger half-brother Fender would also be there and I would have loved to make his acquaintance. Well, I am in the beginning of my heat and feel a little less than well, so I can understand Paula. It will have to be some other time.

Long Time Ahead

It is not easy to understand why some things have to be decided so far in advance. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided yesterday that the 2013 World Championship will be hosted by Sweden. This is cool, but I already knew Sweden can be trusted to host major international competitions. After all, Sweden will be the host of the FCI World Dog Show next year. I just wonder why the IIHF needs to decide upon the host in 2013 this early. Are so many preparations necessary?

Feeling Blue

I feel a little blue today. From what I understand, this is pretty normal when you start being in heat. I do not feel like writing much.

In Heat

I am in heat. It has just started. Paula, Daniel, and I have decided that I will get puppies this time. I am excited about this idea, even though Mum sometimes still treat me as if I was still a pup myself. My puppyhood was a long time ago. I wonder what it will be like to see pups discovering the world like I did two years ago.

Another reason for me to look forward to having pups is that Mum says you get as much food and candy as you would like, when you are expecting and nursing pups. That seems like a great trade off.

A Little Envious

Sometimes I am envious of the long life of humas. I have just turned two, and Shiba Inus rarely get older than 16 years old. The oldest man in the world is a Japanese who is now celebrating his 112th birthday. That is a huge difference.

Of course, there are many other things that are much better with being a dog than being a human. For example, we do not have to worry about money, bills, politics, or anything like that, and we have great coats that ensures that we do not need clothes. All things considered, I am rather a dog.

What Are They Doing?!

I am glad I do not live in Iran. The government steal individual humans' dogs and put them in detention centres, claiming that owning dogs are immoral and anti-islamic behaviour. They claim dogs are dirty animals.

I am at a loss of words. Follow the link and read, it is horrible.

Swedish Teams in World Cups

I was late home yesterday evening, because Paula and I visited Kesshi and Mia. When I got home, I was too tired to write anything in my blog. It was a fun night.

The Swedish team played its last game in The FIFA Ladies' Football World Cup. Sweden did not make it from the first round. Well, it is not quite as bad as the Swedish participation in the current Rugby World Cup, the third largest sports event in the world. (The first is the FIFA Football World Cup for Gents and the second is the Summer Olympic Games.) Sweden have no team at all in the Rugby World Cup and has never had one in the previous world cups either. This is a shame on such an internationally big sport. I hope Sweden will do better in four years when these world cups come back.

Much Rain

Last Friday, there was 3 mm of rain. Today there was much more rain, 8 mm. We did not want to be outside in such bad weather.

I got a polar fox for birthday yesterday. It was perfect to play with this boring, rainy day.

It's my Birthday today!

This was me exactly 2 years ago. This is me now:

*Housebroken.

*BEST PUPPY IN SHOW winner at an International KC show.

*Multipel CC-winner.

*BOB-winner.

*Very wise and alert.

*Mature

*The best b/t girl my family knows of.

I will celebrate my birthday together with my family. Dad Daniel says that it will be cake for everybody. I hope he is right. So does my real dad Kuro.

As the icing on the cake. It looks like I'm starting my heat today. This means that I (hopefully) will be a mum in the beginning of December. Very exciting!

Heroes

Paula and Daniel has started to watch a new TV series, Heroes. The first season is currently aired on Swedish TV. It is about people with super powers. I am not very interested myself, I would rather see a TV series about dogs with super powers.

Someone who does not seem to be heroic enough is the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has decided to resign his post. His party now has to elect a new PM, here are a few candidates to cose from.

Disgust

The FIFA World Cup in Ladies' football is on in China right now. The game between China and Denmark was broadcasted live on Swedish TV. Denmark is a neighbour of Sweden and a democracy, China is a dictatorship notorious for the people's relatively low opinon of dogs. It was self evident to me that I would hope for a Danish victory. However, the Swedes who commented on the game for the bradcasting company hoped for China. This was obviously due to the fact that there are two Swedes who are coaches of the Chinese team. I do not think that is reason enough. Rather, I think those Swedes should be ashamed of themselves. Sport successes are good for the purpose of promoting a country, the dictatorship China does that with the help of two Swedes. This makes me disgusted.

Unfortunately, the Chinese team won by 3-2.

Millimetres of Rain

Daniel bought a rain measuring device this Saturday. It is a plastic cup that sits in the garden which rain falls into. On the side is a scale which measures the rain in millimetres. The scale is not in millimetres, there are biger spaces than that between each stripe of the scale, but the opening of the cup is also bigger than the part of the up where the scale is. You actually measure the rainfall in millimetres per square metre of land, this is because rain comes in drops that do not fall completely evenly. I do not like to be out in the rain, but it is interesting to see afterwards how much rain fell. We had 7 mm on Saturday afternoon, when there was also thunder and lightning. There was no rain on Sunday and none today, but we had 5 mm yesterday. I may keep you up to date on the rainfall at our place in my blog posts to come.

The Heroic Poodle

I must admit that I have never really liked poodles. I do not like the way they usually wear their fur, with a large load of fur around their head etc. Once in a while, though, there are news that make you review your prejudices. In the town Ronneby in the south of Sweden, the poodle bitch Vilma attacked a burglar in her family's bedroom and made him flee from the house. That is heroic!

Boring Game

Sweden played Denmark again in the Euro qualifications, but it was a boring game. Neither team scored a single goal. Sweden had the most chances to score, but never did. Luckily, Mum, April, and I got to go with Paula and Daniel to see the game at Mia's and Kesshi's place, so April and I could play with Kesshi when the game got to be too boring.

Meeting Kesshi

I went with Paula and April to Mia and Kesshi tonight. It is always fun to meet Kesshi, though he thinks April and I play too much sometimes. He has a hard time keeping up with the two of us. This is fun, in its own way. I can make fun of Kesshi because of this, but I really like him.

Toy Dogs Recalled

The human child toy manufacturer Mattel has announced that it will make a third major recall of toys in just a month. The reason is that the toys contain lead paint, which is poisonous. I believe the worst thing is that some toy dogs are being recalled. Real dogs are never poisonous, toy dogs should not be, either.

Norwegians Are Effective

According to a recent report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), an organization under the United Nations, Norwegians are the most efficient people in the world. Dad says this can be seen just by comparing Shiba Inu breeders. His breeder at Kennel Enerhaugen in Norway is the best Shiba Inu breeder in Scandinavia, Dad says. Evidence shows that Enerhaugen has produced more than 40 Shiba Inu dog shw Champions, so maybe Dad is right. I would like to think our own breeder is, at least, the best in Sweden. However, it is a relatively new one and has not had the time to be very successful yet. We will have to see in about a decade or two.

By the way, I would like to congratulate Grus' human Ylva, who celebrate her birthday today.

Right Hand Traffic

Forty years ago today, Sweden changed from left hand traffic to right hand traffic. By doing so, we left Britain and Ireland as the only European countries to drive on the left side of the road. It was a good thing, considering the long border with Norway, where they already drove on the right side. Mum think it is a good thing, she did not have to learn new traffic rules when she moved from America, where they also drive on the right side. The downside is that we do not drive on the same side as in the Shiba Inu home country Japan, where there is left hand traffic.

World Championships in Athletics

This was the last day of the Athletics world championships. The championships were held in Japan, which was nice. The USA got a lot of medals, but Sweden only got one medal. It was a gold medal, but it was still not such a good result that many had hoped. A lot of the Swedish athletes whom we hoped would get medals failed. Well, it would not be fun if they were always equally successful. It is just like the dog shows in which me and my family compete, it would not be as nice if we would always be very successful. The suspense must be there and when you fail, you can look forward to a better result the next time. You also have to put the Swedish result in its historical context. There have been more than one world championships were Sweden did not get a single medal. When compared to that, one gold is a good result.

Another Birthday Reception

Paula had another birthday reception today. Her parents, grandparents, aunt, and cousins on her mother's side were here. April and I had to sit in the living room the whole time, while they ate in the dining room. We only got to socialize with the guests a little, but that was a nice time. Well, Paula had fun, and that is what counts when it is time to celebrate her birthday.

Cleaning, Cleaning

Daniel got home early today, but not to do anything fun with me and the rest of the dogs. He and Paula spent most of the afternoon and evening rearranging one of the rooms in our house and cleaning the whole house. This is boring, but they think it needed to be done before Paula's relatives come to visit us tomorrow afternoon. I suppose they are right.

Freedom of the Press Day

Today is the Freedom of the press day in Sweden. Our country has the longest tradition of freedom of the press in the world, it was invented together with freedom of information by the Swedish parliamentarian Anders Chydenius. Freedom of the press is worth celebrating. The reason I am free to write virtually anything I like on this blog is a right that has evolved from the freedom of the press. Hurrah!

Another Graphic Novel Turned into Film

Daniel is looking forward to a movie that will be made from his favourite graphic novel, Watchmen. Even though he says every story tend to be worse when adapted to a new medium, the Watchmen story is so good he would like to see the movie anyway. I do not care much about graphic novels or comics, but movies can be nice. We will have to see if the film is good.

Claim for Damages

The Danish supporter who ran into the football field at the end of the Euro 2008 qualification game some time ago is now faced with claim for high damages. The arena company Parken Sport og Entertainment in Copenhagen wants damages because the two following Euro qualification games will not be held there, but at a different arena in Arhus. I can understand that they want damages, but I am not sure they will get any. The games were not moved just because the supporter ran in to the field, but mainly because the company could not ensure the safety of the players and referees during games. If the arena company would have had reasonable safety, this supporter would never have been able to enter the football field. Thus, I believe that the company may be so much to blame itself, that it would not be entitled to damages. The fact that a drunk supporter did come into the field is no cause for damages, when the safety was so low as it was, as evidenced by the two other supporters who ran into the field shortly after the first one. It is as if you park your car unlocked at a parking space where a lot of drunk people go - you are to blame yourself if your car or items inside of it are stolen.

Reshuffled Cabinet

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffes the Cabinet. Some ministers go, some former ministers come back, some ministers get new posts. It remains to be seen if Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet can restore some popularity for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. I will keep an eye on the development.

Sixtythree Years Ago Today, Paris Was Liberated

The greatest war ever fought was the Second World War. In Europe, the Germans under the dictator Adolf Hitler tried to conquer the whole continent. (The only good thing about the Germans in World War II was that they were allied with Japan, home of the Shiba Inu breed.) Germany defeated and occupied France in 1940, but Americans, Brits, and Canadians landed on the French shores in June of 1944 and began liberating the country. Exactly 63 years ago today, they liberated Paris. Adolf Hitler had ordered the retreating German troops to destroy the city. However, mostly thanks to the efforts of the Swedish Honourary Consul General to Paris Raoul Nordling, a ceasefire was arranged and the German General Dietrich von Choltitz was persuaded not to ruin the city. The French must be thankful for the efforts of this Swede, Paris is said to be one of the most beautiful and romantic cities of the world. If I ever go there, I want to look for things commemorating Consul General Nordling's efforts.

Sports This Weekend

The Athletics World Championship starts this weekend in Osaka, Japan. It will be fun to watch it on TV, especially since it is in Japan, homeland of the Shiba Inu. Daniel says, however, that the most important sport event this weekend is the formula 1 grand prix in Turkey on Sunday. Very well, we all have different tastes.

Birthday

Today is Paula's birthday. She will have a great celebration on Saturday next week, but her sister Mia and her parents were here for dinner today. It is always nice to meet them. It was a nice little celebration.

Friendly Games

Sweden played a friendly game of football against the USA tonight. While Mum and April hoped that the USA would win, Auntie Linni, Daniel, and Paula hoped for a Swedish victory. I was torn in between, being half American though I have lived my whole life in Sweden. The game ended with a Swedish 1-0 victory, which seemed fair.

Dad was more interested in Norway's friendly game against Argentina, but we could not see it on any of our Swedish TV channels. We read on the Internet that Norway won by 2-1, which is a good result against such a strong football nation as Argentina. Paula use to hope for Latin American countries to win, but the rest of us congratulated Dad with all our hearts.

Early Bird

The space shuttle Endeavour landed a day earlier than scheduled today, in Florida. The mission was shortened because of fears that the hurricane Dean would affect the mission control in Houston, Texas. Well, there is nothing wrong with being an early bird. As the old proverb says: the early bird catches the worm.

Political Deadlock in Belgium

Dad's father is from Belgium, so I take a special interest in that country. They had a general election in Belgium last June, but no party got a majority of its own and the negotiations to form a new cabinet are still not over. The Belgian King, Albert II, has now stepped in and will talk to the various party leaders to try to reach an agreement. It is nice to have an impartial king who can do this when the parliamentary system does not run smoothly. I hope there will soon be a solution.

Another Show

At another dog show today, only April was shown. She got a CC. She is very well worth it, I congratulate her. She, Paula, Mum, and Dad got home in the late afternoon, that was fun.

Later today, Paula and Daniel took Auntie Tiffy and me to visit Paula's parents. That was even more fun, we got to run around on their lawn which is different from ours. It is always fun to experience somewhat different surroundings, and I know Paula's parents' lawn since I was a little pup.

Dad Did It!

Paula took April, Mum, and Dad to a dog show today. Long time readers of my blog know that Dad has not been shown for a long time. This is due to bad experiences with show judges in his youth. Paula has trained with him and she and Daniel has looked for dog shows with judges who could be nice enough to Dad so that he would not remember the discomfort of his early experiences. Today was the day when we would see if all of these efforts would pay off. It turned out it did! Dad was second best male among many male shibas at the show and he got a CC. He will be shown again next Sunday, and if he gets a CC on that show as well, he will be Swedish Champion. I am so glad for Dad's sake, even though he says he does not do it for himself but for the pedigrees' of his pups. My Dad is such a nice dad. I know he likes the cooperation with Paula, his handler, in the show ring too.

April was third best bitch and she also got a CC. Mum became reserve best bitch. I have to coongratulate them as well, though the result we all are most happy for is Dad's.

Killed By Samurai Sword

A man in Oslo, Norway, was assaulted by a samurai sword in a gang fight last weekend. He is now dead, after many critical days in hospital. I very much doubt that the assailant was a samurai. It is a disgrace that a samurai sword is used in this way. A true, Japanese samurai would have been merciful and killed the man right away.

Attack on Moomin

Someone has cut off the head of a Moomin statue in Koppom, a small village in Warmland, the Swedish province between us and Norway. The head was later found, but it was destroyed. Who would do such a vicious thing? Moomin is a nice character, we have a Moomin doll at home whom I play with once in a while. I would never behead it.

I Have Been Lazy

I have been lazy lately, not writing anything in my blog. It is my aim to keep it daily, as the name implies. Sometimes, I cannot write anything because I am away from home or other places where I can connect to my blog. On other occassions, I have just been too busy with other things to write anything. These last three days, I have no such excuse, I have just been lazy and have not cared enough to write anything. When you think about it, I do write this blog mainy for my own pleasure, I do not get paid or anything. Not that I would dream of demanding any payment, it is just that when nobody pays me, I can take any day off if it just pleases me. This is what I have done. However, I will now try to keep up the daily postings again.

Too Many Field Voles

Spain has been infected by a mass of field voles and the govrnment burns fields to get rid of them. Mum said they should call for dogs and other carnivores instead, who would be happy to help.

The dog show today was not a success.

Dog Show Tomorrow

We are going to another dog show tomorrow. Mum, April, and I will be shown. It is close to home this time, in the small town Askersund and arranged by our county kennel club. I have never had any problems with going for long car rides, but it is still nice to know we do not have to go so far this time.

Olympic Games

In a year from now, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will have started in Beijing, China. There are protests against the Chinese government in connection with the preparations, since China is a dictatorship. As far as I know, these Olympic Games are only the third where a dictatorship has been chosen as a host, the first being the summer games in Moscow in the Soviet Union in 1980, the second the winter games in Sarajevo in Yugoslavia in 1984. (The Games in Germany in 1936 were held in a dictatorship, but Germany was selected to host them before 1933, when it was still a democracy.) I cannot understand why a dictatorship was chosen, even though it is a country of many great athletes. Should sports be so separated from politics that it does not matter whether the second largest sports event (the first is the FIFA World Cup of Football) in the world is held in a dictatorship or a democracy? I think not. Besides, in China they slaughter dogs for food and fur, I consider that to be horrible and barbaric.

Attack Beavers

Outside the small town Lindesberg just north of Örebro, beavers are attacking humans. Nobody knows why, beavers do not usually do that. It has now been decided to kill the beavers. I can understand why. I have nothing against beavers in general, but if some beavers would start attacking dogs, I would sure join a dog posse to kill those beavers.

The Mysterious Lego Man

A 2.5 metre tall Lego man has floated ashore in the Dutch resort Zandvoort at the North Sea. Lego men are toys from Denmark and are generally just a few centimetres tall. This giant Lego man has got red trousers/legs, blue shirt/upper body, and yellow head, arms, and hands. Nobody knows where he comes from yet, but I will look for the answer to this riddle in the news in the days to come.

The parts of Lego men that is supposed to be skin are always yellow. Have you ever thought of the fact that this makes them similar to the Simpsons cartoon characters? Personally, I do not care much what colour my toys are, as long as they are nice to chew on.

Hiroshima

Today marks the anniversary of a sad thing in human history, the first time (out of two) that an atomic bomb was used in war. The Japanese city of Hiroshima was hit.

Paternity

I normally do not comment on the lives and scandals of celebrities, it is not my cup of tea. There is, however, a story now where Dad had an interesting point to make. The American actor Eddie Murphy has now ackowledged he is the father of British singer Mel B's daughter, who was born in April this year. Eddie Murphy has not been happy about the child, while Mel B says it was planned by both of them. Now Eddie Murphy has accepted his responsibilities as a father and will pay to support the child.

Dad says dog fathers have it much easier than human fathers. Dad has fathered a lot of pups now, me being the eldest, but I am the only one he takes any care of. He says he knows he does not have to take care of the other dogs he has fathered, not because he is mean or negligent, but because they have humans taking care of them. According to Dad, this is one of many proofs that dogs are the true beneficiaries in the long relationship between humans and dogs. Pups are a good thing to get, because it lets your genes live on in future generations, and that is what our genes are programmed to do. We dogs can have many pups without having to support them ourselves, because humans do that for us. There are no others who support the children of humans for them, they have to do that themselves. Still, we dogs are not mean, like cuckoos, who lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, forcing them to support the cuckoo kids instead of their own. We are just so cute and so nice to humans that they want to take care of us and our pups. This is to the benefit of both us and them, though Dad believes it is mostly to the benefit of us.

I do not really agree with Dad, I think the benefits are equal to both humans and dogs, and I am sure there are not few humans consider the relationship to be most beneficial to them. Be that as it may, I really do not want to talk about who gains the most from the human-dog relationship. Humans and dogs are great friends, then you do not have to consider who benefits the most. That is not a thing that friends do.

Nevertheless, maybe Eddie Murphy would like to be a dog right now - or perhaps a donkey, like the one he gave his voice to in the Shrek movies - so he would not have to support his child himself?

A Bridge Fell Down

A highway bridge in Minneapolis fell down the other day. It was not because of a terrorist attack, nor because someone accidentally ran into it from below. It simply fell down because of lack of maintenance. The bridge had already been classified as "structurally deficient". Now authorities in the USA will check other bridges as well. It is surprising that it have to take an accident like this to make people do something. If a dog sees a problem that is worthy of being mentioned, he or she makes something about it at once. Humans have an advantage in that they are the best on planning ahead, but if "planning ahead" means "postponing necessary maintenance", I am much rather a dog.

They Made It!

One of the top news stories in Sweden today is the happy story of two dogs who survived a serious car crash. When the SOS crews came to the scene, the car was a total wreck, but the dogs where alive and well inside the car, having sustained not a single wound. Their human was taken to hospital with a concussion and hurting neck and back.

Was this a miracle? Far from it! These dogs were sitting in collision safe cages in the car. Be sure all the dogs in your family get cages like this, if they do not already have them!

A Good Driver Is Not Always a Safe Driver

Three time formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet will have to take driving lessons to get his revoked driving licence back. He has been speeding and breaking other traffic regulations. In a statement, he says he has to pay for his mistakes. When you are a former formula 1 champion, there is no doubt that you are a good driver. This does not mean, as is obvious from Mr Piquet's example, that you are a safe driver. There are differences between driving in the street and driving in a race. I guess it is the same with everyone who competes. I would not act the same in my ordinary life as I do in the dog show ring, for example. Well, I am sure Nelson Piquet gets his driving licence back soon.

Defeat and Death

The Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's party lost the upper house election yesterday, but he refuses to step down. The deputy party leader has decided to step down. Maybe Shinzo Abe should too? It will be interesting to see what will happen.

In mass media across the world, one of the biggest head lines right now concerns a Swede, though. The famous film director Ingmar Bergman is dead. I have never seen any of his films, but rumour has it they are good if you are in the right mood, that is if you feel a little philosophical or just a bit sad. Maybe I will see one of his films, they will certainly be aired on some TV channel within the close future to celebrate him. I wonder if he made any film where a dog has an important role.

Election in Japan

The Japanese people elect a new upper house of the parliament today. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not directly affected by this election, some say that a heavy defeat for his party may result in his resignation. I do not keep a very close look at Japanese politics, but I am aware that Shinzo Abe is not very popular. This is partly due to the fact that Japan's economy is not very good. Be that as it may, I would feel a little sorry for Shinzo Abe if he would have to resign, given that he has not been in office for a full year yet. You cannot expect him to have much impact on the economy or policy in such a short time. We will have to see what happens.

The Party

Paula and Daniel went to Örebrofesten tonight, that party in the centre of the town that I wrote about the other night. It must not have been very fun, because they went to the cinema as well, so I am not that sorry I did not get to go. They saw the new Simpson movie, which they thought was fairly good.

The King and Sport

It has been a well spread "truth" in Sweden that King Charles XVI Gustavus is a fan of the sports team AIK, from the Stockholm suburb of Solna where he grew up on a castle called Haga. In a recent interview for the small town news paper Kalmarposten the King suddenly reveals that his team is actually the Stockholm team Djurgårdens IF.

Questions, so many questions appear! Daniel is puzzled. He is a Djurgården fan and a royalist, but he does not know what to think of these news. Can you trust a man who changes sports teams, even if he changes to the team you love? Normally, you can change a man's views on just about anything but what sports team he loves. On the other hand, it actually seems from the article that the King has always been a Djurgården fan.

The journalist did not pursue the question, but I guess most Swedish sports fans would like to know if the King has changed his views or if he has always been a Djurgården fan. In the latter case people would also want to know the reason why he has accepted an untrue rumour that he was an AIK fan. Oh, what a riddle this is! It is interesting, but now I am glad that I am not as interested in football and ice hockey (both sports where both Djurgården and AIK has prominent teams) as Daniel is.

Party

There is a party in the centre of our town, Örebrofesten. Parties are fun, so I told Paula and Daniel I wanted to go there. They are not going themselves, however, saying that it is for younger people than they are and that there are no good musicians playing anyway. They would not let me go there alone. Of course, it would not be as fun without either one of them, so I settle with that. We can have more fun at home and on upcoming dog shows, anyway.

At Kesshi's

We have been at Kesshi's tonight, Paula, Daniel, Mum, April, and I. It was fun, we did not come home until quite late, so now I am tired and will not write more than this.

A Small Hero

Even a small dog can be a big hero. The chihuahua Zoey in Colorado saved her owners' one year old grandson by defending it from a poisonous rattle snake. Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed there is, but you can count even on such a small dog to be man's best friend.

Canada Geese

A lot of Swedes are annoyed by all the feeces dropped by Canada Geese around Swedish waters, where people want to bathe in the summer. There is a simple answer to this, though. You hunt the geese and eat them, they are rumoured to taste well. I would like to try.

April did not do very well on the dog show today, but she got a first prize in quality and was third best bitch. She will do better on future shows, of that I am sure.

The Last and the Next Show

I had some success at a dog show in Tvååker in Halland on the Swedish west coast last weekend. On the first day, a national show, I became second best bitch and got a CC, beaten only by my own Mum - and Mum became Best of Breed. On the second day, an international show, I became Best of Breed, got a CC, and a CACIB. Later on, in the finals of the second day, I was picked out to the final ten, but was not one of the final five to get prizes. Nevertheless, this is quite a good result, I am really satisfied by it.

We are going to another dog show tomorrow, but only to cheer April on. She is the only one to be shown at this show. I have enough CC's to become a champion as soon as I get a single CC after my second birthday this September. Therefore, it is unnecessary that I compete with April for CC's and such until then. I will be back in the show rings later on.

Vacation

I have had a voluntary vaction from writing in my blog. A lot of humans take vacations in the summer. A pet dog is on duty the year round and a show dog works more than ever in the summer, and I am both. However, a blog writing dog can take a vacation anytime she wants to. This is exactly what I did. Now I am back, so stay tuned for new daily blog posts!

Do Not Vote for This Man!

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter to the top of his car during a 12-hour family drive from Boston to Ontario. The dog, called Seamus, was placed in a kennel attached to the roof of Romney's Chevy station wagon. Seamus was terrified and suffered a diarrhoea attack. Mitt Romney stopped and washed down Seamus, the car, and the kennel - then drove off again with the dog still on the roof.

This happened in 1983, but it is still animal cruelty. You cannot trust a man who is cruel to dogs, especially not his own dog. If you are eligible to vote in the USA, please vote for any of the other candidates, of either party.

Protests in Colombia

There are protests going on in Colombia against the wide spread kidnappings and the long time civil conflict. We are happy that there are. There are hundred of thousands of Colombians participating in the protest, indeed a great display of opinion. It would be great if Colombia would become a peaceful country which you could travel to without the fear in the back of your mind of its reputation to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be in. We would all like to see Colombia, the country where Paula was born. I believe reports about protests like this, for peace and the freedom of people, should be at least equal to that of the Live Earth music show for the benefit of the climate debate.

Repairing The Car Is Always Expensive

The inner rear view mirror in our car has fallen down. It used to be glued to the inside of the windshield, but the glue must have been old and some of the glass was shattered when the mirror was accidentally hit.

Daniel and Paula first tried on their own to put the mirror back with glue, but this did not work. Then Daniel called a garage whose expertise is car windows, they said they could put the mirror back for 160 SEK. This seemed like a bargain, too good to be true, so Daniel accepted it. However, when he got to the garage, the manager there looked at the mirror and the windshield and said that there was too much of the glass that had been lost from the windshield. He said he could not glue the mirror back on and guarantee that it would stick or that the windshield would not break. The whole windshield have to be exchanged for a new one.

Even though the car insurance will pay for some of the cost, Daniel will still have to pay 1 562 SEK. This was no bargain. If you ever think something is too good to be true, it probably is.

Coincidence

Paula was born in Colombia in South America, by far the world's foremost provider of emeralds. Mum was born in Washington in North America, where the biggest city is Seattle and has the nickname Emerald City. This nickname is due to the evergreen trees surrounding the city. Is it a coincidence that the two most important females in my life have connections to the same jewel? I do think so, but it is still a sparkling coincidence.

Dangerous E-mail

It is the fourth of July, a day of celebration, especially for Mum and April. It is the national holiday of the USA. In Sweden, people go to work just like any other day.

Daniel told us about a thing at work that made Mum upset. People had used her national holiday for evil purposes. Daniel got an e-mail from the computer department at his work, warning everyone about e-mails with headlines connected to the fourth of July. These e-mails would have computer code inside, which would pose a potential hazard to the computer if the e-mail was opened. Mum does not understand how you can be so mean that you use a national holiday for the Land of the Free to do something so evil. I have a hard time understanding it myself.

If you get an e-mail with a headline about the fourth of July, be aware that it might be harmful to open it.

Most Annoying Song

In a recent poll, the Black Eyed Peas' song My Hump has been elected most annoying song in a poll by American music magazine Rolling Stone. I don't agree, I really think it and some other songs on the list are quite good. Well, taste is very personal and I don't judge others for having a different taste than I do - as long as their choices do not annoy me.

Back Home

There's no place like home. We had a successful weekend, April was BoB on Saturday and got a CC, Mum was best of breed on Sunday, and I got the CC and a CACIB on Sunday. Thus, we each got some. Mum was also best veteran of the breed both days. Still, it feels good to be home.

Gothland

We are going to Gothland for the weekend, I will report from there on Monday. See ya!

A Polar Bear Called Knut

There is a polar bear on a zoo in Berlin who is famous because he was orphaned at an early age. Aunt Linni does not think this is a big deal, her mother abandoned her when she was just a couple of weeks old. I think Knut was cute on the first pictures of him that I saw, and considered whether I could get a polar bear of my own. Now he is way too big, so I am glad I did not get any polar bear. Perhaps a cat would be a better deal?

Taking the Laundry Outdoors

Daniel took some laundry out of the washing machine and hung it up to dry outdoors. He said we will save electricity and thus money when we do no tumble the laundry dry and that the clothes often smell better when they have dried outdoors in the sun and wind. When all the laundry hung outside, he went in and checked the weather on the Internet, to make sure no rain would fall on the clothes. I thought this was a rather backward way of doing things, I would have checked the weather forecast before I took the laundry outside. Daniel said, however, he had heard earlier in the day that the forecast said there would be no rain until tomorrow. He only wanted to get the last update on the weather front. When explaining it that way, I understood. Although Daniel is no Shiba Inu, he can be rather smart occasionally.

Judge Pearson's Pants

There was a judge in Washington, DC, Roy Pearson, who left his trousers to a dry cleaner, but never got them back. His pair of trousers were gone and lost forever. Judge Pearson, a lawyer by trade and judge on a federal court, thus filed a suit against the dry cleaner for approximately $ 54 million. This is ridiculous, but nevertheless a true story. Luckily, the dry cleaner won. Judge Pearson is also supposed to pay the court costs. I wonder why a judge would want to make a mockery of his own trade by filing a suit like this? The whole story would never have happened at all, if Mr. Pearson would have done like dogs all over the world do and chosen not to wear pants at all. He is a human, but a human without pants would surely be regarded as a wiser man than a human filing a suit like the one he filed.

Foolish Fashion

Rumour has it, it is fashionable in some big cities in the world to have accessories with communistic slogans. Actress Cameron Diaz had one on her bag when visiting Peru. This was a misstake. The bag had a red communistic star and a slogan of Chinese dictator Mao, and Peru was terrorized by a Maoistic guerilla for many years in the 1980's and -90's. I cannot understand why you would want to wear such a bag in the first place, bringing it to Peru is even more foolish. Some people seem to be foolish.

Rain, Rain, Rain

We are celebrating summer solstice yesterday evening and today, one of the great holidays of Sweden. We would like it to be sunny and warm, but instead, it is rainy and grey. Rain has been falling, on and off, for many days now. The only thing thriving in this weather is the vegetation. The grass is growing longer and longer, since you cannot mow it when it is too damp. Well, we are dry, warm, and comfortable indoors, anyway.

Pride and Prejudice

We saw a movie today on DVD, Pride and Prejudice, based on a novel by the English 19th century authoress Jane Austen. It was an interesting movie. People in the English upper classes were very polite to one another, for good and evil. Sometimes, they were so polite, they could not rightly say what they meant. Nevertheless, politeness is a virtue. The politeness of these people were almost as that of the Japanese nobility and samurajs of the same age. As a dog of a breed famous for its Japanese manners, I rather liked this politeness. The main character, Elizabeth Bennet, finally got the man of her dreams when she realized that he had the finest of manners. I hope I can get the Shiba Inu male of my dreams, too.

The Northwest

Mum sometimes say she is from the Northwest in the USA, but I have challenged her on that statement. She says she knows better than I do, because she is born and raised in America whereas I have never been there. She is correct, at least if you count the 48 States of the Union that lie lumped together in the centre of the North American continent. There are, however, many parts of North America that can be called the Northwest. There is Alaska, which is a State on the very northwestern edge of the continent. There is also a part of Canada called the Northwest Territories, and there was a part of the USA south of the Great Lakes that went by the name Northwest Territory from 1787 to 1803. There is also an American airline called Northwest Airlines, this corporation has its headquarters in Minnesota. Given these facts, I say it is not self evident what part of North America can be called the Northwest. Mum just growls a little about me being a spoiled brat and walks away without answering. Thus, she cannot give me a good enough answer, so I guess I am not completely incorrect.

Mowing the Lawn

The grass is growing fast in the hot and humid summer weather. Daniel has wanted to mow the lawn for a couple of days, but he cannot do it if the grass is to damp from rain. There have been short rain falls in the afternoon both yesterday and today. I don't care much, I run around just as easily in a little higher grass. We will have to see if the lawn is dry enough tomorrow.

Who Don't Want Their Own Dogs?

There are more and more dogs in Sweden, but this has a downside. More and more of the dogs are abandoned, killed, or left to dog shelters. How can humans do that? Don't they know that nobody can love a human more than a dog do? Think about it, a dog loves his or her human more than the human usually loves himself/herself. Why abandon a love like that, just for the short time convenience? It makes me so upset, I am at a loss of words.

An article in Swedish about the phenomenon.

The World's Longest River

It is generally thought that the Nile in Africa, which ends on Egypt's north coast by the Mediterranean Sea, is the longest river in the world. However, scientists in Brazil and Peru now claim to have found a new sorce of the Amazon River in the south of Peru, making the Amazon the longest river. My Pharao Hound friend Primus, whose breed count its origin from ancient Egypt, does not believe in the new findings. Even though they are true, he says, the water of the Amazon river is still not the foundation upon which one of the greatest cultures of history has been built. Well, I say we just have to wait and see whether the claim can be accepted or not.

Formula 1 in India

There seems to be more and more formula 1 races in Asia. The next new Asian race on the schedule will probably be one in India, the first one in 2009. I don't know much about India, but it is a country with a large population and I guess many of them are happy to get a Grand Prix of their own.

This Sunday, the formula 1 drivers will compete in Indianapolis in the USA. Mum claims this is the most important race of the year, since it takes place in her home country. It will be interesting to see who will win, the fight for the world champion title is still wide open.

Banning Baggy Trousers

Sometimes, you get to hear of laws you feel are silly. There is a town in Louisiana, Delcambre, in the southern USA that is going to ban the use of baggy trousers that show off underwear. The showing of underwear will be defined as indecent exposure. It is fortunate for all the dogs of Delcambre that they don't show underwear.

About that Watch

I commented on Prsident Bush's watch yesterday. He has now told the world he took it off himself, so it did not disappear after all. Why he did it still seems to be a riddle. My guess is that he just thought it was uncomfortable. There must be a warm summer in Albania, just as here in Sweden, much farther to the north. I rather go without collar than with one, Daniel sometimes take his watch off in the summer heat. Oh, well, I really think it is a storm in a tea cup.

Watch Theft?

US President George W. Bush is visiting Albania in the south east of Europe. He is rumoured to have lost a wristwatch when greeting people in a crowd. He was first observed with a watch on his wrist, then the watch was suddenly gone. US officials deny that the watch was stolen.

No matter what happened to the watch, I hope Mr. Bush can keep track of the time by other means. I know how important humans think the exact time is, Daniel is constantly keeping track of the time, especially in the morning. Personally, I settle with the built in clock that we dogs have, that simply tells us if it is morning, mid-day, afternoon, evening, or night. Since we are on duty as pet dogs day and night, we don't need anything else. Perhaps Mr. Bush could try to do the same, Mum says that the President of the United States is also on duty day and night.

I Was Left at Home

Paula took April to a dog show today. She did not let me come along. Naturally, this made me angry, so I barked at them when they left. Why could I not come along? We now know that April got a honourary prize and was second in Junior Class. I am pretty sure she would have done better with me around as her coach.

Chikai got four daughters and one son in his first litter, the one I told you about yesterday. This is great. Dad has not had many daughters, but is happy to have a son who has.

Blog Post D - I'm an Aunt!

For those of you who do not read Roman numerals, this is my five hundredth blog post. D is the Roman numeral for 500.

My Dad became a grand father for the first time today, as his son, my half brother, Chikai, became father of two puppy girls. (Jbax Chikai-Yorokobi was the only pup by Dad's second marriage, to Cronhagens Taiyo-Terahime.) This means I'm an aunt. I have been an aunt ever since I was born on Mum's side, since she had had litters before the one with me in it. This is the first time I can call myself aunt to puppies on Dad's side. It is also the first time I am an aunt to pups born in Sweden.

Dad and I plan to celebrate this evening. Mum says she does not care much. I know Mum has never been fond of Dad's marriages to others than her, but I am certain she will feast just as much as the rest of us at the food we are having for the celebration.

Sweden won the Euro 2008 qualification game against Iceland this Wednesday by 5-0. Today the European Football Association decided that the game against Denmark last Saturday would be considered a Swedish victory by 3-0. This result was anticipated, but we can still be happy for it.

Days of National Festivity

Tomorrow is the Swedish National Festivity Day. Today is the Danish Constitution Day, which is their equivalent. I don't know much about Denmark. Mum's been there on a dog show once, but she did not like it very much and did not get a CC. Denmark was of course the opposing team to Sweden in football last Saturday. Anyway, I wish all the Danish humans and dogs a nice Constitution Day. I hope ours will be just as sunny as this day has been.

BBC on the Scandal

You can read here what the British Broadcasting Company say about the Saturday game between Denmark and Sweden. It is interesting to see what people from other countries than Sweden think about it.

What a Scandal!

There was a Euro 2008 qualification game in fotball, Denmark versus Sweden in the Danish capitol Copenhagen tonight. We saw it on TV. The game ended in a scandal, when, at the standings 3-3 towards the end, Sweden got a penalty shot and a Danish fan ran out in the field and hit the referee. The safety could not be upheld, so the referee declared the game finished. Thus, nobody were allowed to see the exciting final minutes of the game. It looks like Sweden will be declared the winner of the game by 3-0, as a penalty against Denmark. Even though it is nice that Sweden wins, it would have been much better to win by 4-3 after scoring at the penalty shot. This was a scandal that must be debated across Europe in the days to come. The Danes must do something about the safety at their football stadium.

Wolves Taking Over

Our wild cousins, the wolves, have taken over the maintenance of elks in a hunting district close to Örebro. The wolves kill so many elks that there are not enough left for the human hunters to kill. The humans will have to look for other food sources, I know they can, too. Way to go, wolves!