Chaos

In New York, an audition for the TV show Top Model ended in chaos. Six people were injuried and three were arrested. It is yet unclear what caused the chaos, but the arrests were on charges of inciting to riot and disorderly conduct. I do not know why anyone would do this. In a way, I see the world of fashion as a human form of dog shows, they are both about what future individuals of each species may look like. However, I cannot believe any dogs would cause riots that would make international headlines when queuing to get in to a dog show. Most dogs are better behaved than to cause anything like that.

Competitions

Paula and Daniel went to the regional kennel club today, among other things in order to get prizes for the successes of their dogs last year. They got one prize for each champion last year, one of whom was me. They also got a prize because April became a World Winner. April went with them and held the Shiba Inu flag up high in a funny little competition about the best dog of the club. She did not win, but said that the Rotweiler who beat her in a quarter final was a really good looking dog. Nevertheless, we all believe it was a good thing to have a Shiba Inu there.

In the evening, we watched the final of the Swedish qualification to the Eurovison Song Contest. Daniel's favourite song won, La Voix, sung by Malena Ernman. We were all rather satisfied with the result, but Paula would rather have wanted Alcazar's song as winner. Well, unfortunately, we cannot all have our favourite as winner. On the other hand, we are happier when things turn out the way we want, if they do not always do that.

Honda Becomes Brawn

It is now official that the Honda Formula 1 team is purchased by team principal Ross Brawn. The team will continue to compete in Formula 1. This is good news, there is absolutely no need for fewer teams on the grid in Formula 1.

It is nice to know that even in the current economic world crisis, Formula 1 will continue with as many teams as before. It is important for the useful technological progress made in Formula 1, that there are many teams competing for the victories. There is also a significant part of entertainment in Formula 1, and entertainment is perhaps more important than ever in economic recessions. It makes us feel happier and may make it easier to get through the hard times.

Top Technology in Everyday Life

Formula 1 is Daniel's favourite sport. It has got a lot to do with top notch technology to make the cars go as fast as possible. However, the research and development that results in fast cars for the race track gives inspiration to a lot more for our everyday lives. This is something that people who think Formula 1 is ridiculous ought to think about once in a while. All of the money invested in the sport is not just wasted on an expensive pass time that consumes petrol. By the way, the first race for the season is due in just two weeks.

Music and Politics

The Caucasian republic of Georgia has decided to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest. They claim that this is due to political pressure from Russia, who will host the contest this year. The song that Georgia would have competed with was called ""We Don't Wanna Put in" and its lyrics was critical to the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

If the story about political pressure from Russia is true, I strongly disapprove of it. Freedom of speech should be honoured, even if the people excercising the right are singing and not talking. The European Song Contest should not be about politics, but about friendly competition. Of course, the Georgian song held a political message, which does not belong in the contest (and is not allowed), but it is much worse that the Russians want to forbid it. I do not think politics belong in a music contest, so maybe it is just as well Georgia does not participate, so I would not have any reason to vote for that song just to support freedom of speech.

Sports and Politics

Sweden has become the centre of attention for a lot of people around the world the last weekend, because of a Davis Cup tennis game. It is not that the game involves world players or is the final game, the thing is that the game was played against Israel in the city of Malmö, where the ruling socialists decided that it had to be played without spectators. The official reason was security concerns, and there were some small anti-Israel demonstrations, but the real reason has to be anti-Israel opinions among the ruling politicians. I believe this is unworthy of the relationship with a democracy like Israel.

Japanese Economy Hit Hard

The Japanese economy has been hit hard by the current hardships in the world economy. Exports have been halved in January and for the first time in thirteen years there has been more import than export. I am concerned about the situation, but I do believe Japan will make it through the crisis. Importing more than you export must not always be a negative thing, either, as long as it is not a situation that goes on for a very long time. A good situation in a country is not just dependent on huge exports, but also from importing the things that you need and want. In a way, huge imports show how strong the Japanese economy is, even in times of falling exports.

Horses Domesticated Earlier Than Thought

British scientists have found that horses may have become domesticated by humans about a thousand years earlier than previous thought. They have found evidence that suggests that horses were used by a culture in what is now northern Kazakhstan about 5,500 years ago.

I believe it is important to note that this does not, in any way, threaten the status that dogs have as the earliest animals living and working alongside humans. Regardless of these new findings on horses, dogs went by the side of humans many thousands of years earlier. Horses have had a great impact on human civilisation, but dogs have been there for a much longer time and have, thus, impacted humans much more. Horses have been used as machines, vehicles and for food, while dogs are helping humans as hunters, herders, watchdogs, etc. Dogs are also something much more important, dogs are friends. However, I guess the odd horse may still feel some sense of pride that horses have a longer heritage in the human/dog civilisation.

News

I have only wonderful reports from my puppies out there in the big world. Bagus & Meja are two happy puppies and they love their families. What more can you wish?

Tonigh I wish Paula good luck. She is going to work night at the orthopedic clinic at the University hospital in our town. Its a new work and she is a bit nervous. Well, I know my Paula and she is a superb person so it will work out just fine.

Meja Is Her Name

We have heard from Kiko's family today, where my daughter now lives. They have finally decided to give my daughter the name Meja (just like the singer). I think this is a good name, better than Miho that they thought of first.

Meja met Kiko for the first time yesterday. Today, they have played with a ball together. The ball went in under a piece of furniture where Kiko could not reach it, but Meja was small enough to get it out. I would guess this did not make Kiko happy.

It makes me feel good that Meja will live with my brother Kiko. He can take part of the responsibility for teaching her how to be a true Shiba Inu, alongside the humans that they now share.

Road Trip

April and I went with Paula and Daniel to deliver my pup to her new humans. We went about half way to Älmhult, where my daughter will live with my brother Kiko and his family. Half way, that is to Brahehus, a nice place by Lake Vättern. The road trip was all right, and it was nice to meet Kiko, if only for a couple of minutes.

In the evening, we got a phonecall from Kiko's family. They have given my daughter the name Miho, which suits her fine. Miho has found her place in the family right away and really likes it there. This makes me feel good.

Paula has bought a new computer, a miniature lap top that we got from the post office after our road trip. It will be easy to bring this computer on future road trips. With this computer, I may have better means to update my blog when we are away for a couple of days. This is a great advantage.

Day at the Office

Daniel took my daughter to his office today. I would have thought that he would bring me as well, since she is so small, but he did not. My pup made a lot of friends at the office, everybody wanted to pet her. This proves that she will be good at her main job description: pet. Some of Daniel's co-workers even photographed her, she said. I am a little envious, I also like to be at the centre of attention once in a while. However, I am glad for my daughter, who had a nice day at the office.

Turmoil

At noon today, my daughter Fuji came back to us. I love her and was happy to see her.

Fuji is still the remarkable pup she has always been. She will go to live with my brother Kiko and his family in Älmhult. This makes me so happy. I believe this was meant to be. All is well that ends well.

Song Contest

We have now been able to see and hear all the 32 songs of the 2009 Swedish qualification to the Eurovision Song Contest. Tonight was the fourth out of four qualification rounds to the final qualification in Stockholm in two weeks. I believe 32 songs are too many, because there are always many songs that are not good. Before my lifetime, the Swedish qualification contest was normally done in one night with just ten entries, perhaps that would be better.

There were a couple of really good songs this time, two of which went straight to the final. The best songs of each qualifying round compete against one other song. It was ironic that Sarah Dawn Finer, who tried once again to sing a power ballad without having the voice necessary for it, went up against professional opera singer Malena Ernman. For those who had not heard it before, it must now have become very clear that while Ms. Finer may have a good singing voice, it is not great.

Daniel said he liked the golden outfit that finalist Agnes Carlsson wore. It certainly stood out in the crowd, but I liked the black dress of finalist Malena Ernman more, it reminded me more of a black and tan coat.

This is the last night with my son Bagus. He will move to Stockholm tomorrow. I am certain he will have a great life there.

Old Friends

An old friend of Paula, Lina, came to visit us around noon today, with her husband and little child. Paula had a great time. It was a long time since they saw each other.

We all have a lot to thank Lina for. It was thanks to Lina's first Shiba Inu Kinya that Paula and Daniel discovered the Shiba Inu breed. I may be the one who has the most to thank for. Without Lina and Kinya, neither Mum or Dad would have come to live with Paula and Daniel and would never have met. Consequently, I would never have been born, neither would my pups.

There are so many small things in life that are necessary for later events to occur the way they do. It is fascinating to think about it, and almost a little scarry to consider that even the smallest thing in the past may have been a necessary factor for yourself to have been born at all.

China and Satutes of Limitations

Two ancient Chinese bronze artefacts, of a rat and a rabbit, are up for sale at Christie's auction house in London. The Chinese government has condemned the sale, stating that the two artefacts were stolen in China in 1860.

I do not like theft. Whenever anyone tries to steal from me, I growl and show I will not accept it. However, these artefacts were stolen almost 150 years ago. After such a long time, most judicial systems say the real owner cannot press charges. There is something called statute of limitations, that precludes judicial action if you have not yet taken action within a certain time. Normally, statutes of limitation gives the owner twenty years to take action. This is a very long time, it is a much longer time than the vast majority of dogs live. Has China taken continuous action against the thieves or subsequent owners, with less than twenty years apart between every action taken? It does not say so in the long article that I have read. If they have not, and I do believe they have not, they are just sore losers for condemning the sale now. Nobody likes a sore loser.

In a case like this, I agree with the representative of Christie's, who said: "We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure." If the Chinese government wants the artefacts so badly, it can just buy them. If the artefacts would be withdrawn from the auction, no such purchase is possible and the artefacts will definitely not return to China in the foreseeable future.

Fuji Has Moved

My pups were examined by our veterinarian today. They passed with flying colours. An examination like this needs to be done before the pups are given to the care of their new humans.

Later in the day, Fuji's new human came home to us. He has been here before, so we have gotten to know him as a very nice fellow. Fuji sat in his lap and was quite satisfied with him. I am glad, it seems like Fuji will get a great human to share her life with.

Last Night Together

This is the last night together, for me and both of my pups. Fuji, my sweet daughter, will move to her new human tomorrow afternoon. My dear son Bagus will move this Sunday. I love my pups, but as any good mother, I must allow them to leave and make their own lives, find their own purposes in the world. The coming and going of family members is unavoidable, like a law of nature. They will get good lives, of that I am certain, but I will still miss them. Although Fuji and Bagus have caused a lot of work, it is a work full of love and joy.

I meet my brothers once in a while, and I will certainly meet my daughter and my son occasionally as well. Those will be happy days. I will report of them in my blog, of course.

Who Will Buy the Honda Team?

Honda announced in December that it would withdraw from Formula 1. However, they have yet to find a serious buyer for the team. There has been various rumours about different buyers, but Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said today that Honda has yet to see a serious offer. Honda withdraws due to economic reasons in connection to the generally bad condition of the global car market. It honours Honda that they still have the aim to sell the team to a serious buyer. It takes a lot of money to back a Formula 1 team, this is not easily done.

For my part, I find it a bit sad that we lose one of the Japanese teams in Formula 1, and a car manufacturer as well. As a Shiba Inu, I always have hopes for the teams and drivers from the home country of my breed. It is also nice to see that companies that make cars for the ordinary driver also compete in the most advanced motor sport there is. One of these things, and probably both, may be lost for the team when Honda leaves Formula 1.

I wonder what will happen, if Honda does not find any buyer. Will they compete this year, nevertheless?

The Importance of Looking Good

A joint Swedish-Scottish scientific effort has found that looks are important for humans when they are applying for jobs. I would not think this is a surprise. Every human knows that looks are important when you seek a mate to wed and/or have children with. Humans often spend more time awake with people they work with than with their mate, so looks would play a part here as well, I believe.

For me, as a dog, the importance of good looks is nothing strange. Looks are important in the dog show ring and when we get a mate. In the show ring, the greatest importance is not looks, but conformity to the breed standard (which is lucky for dogs of some breeds), but you cannot deny that looks play a part in the judging.

Of course, there are parts of your looks that you are born with. Regardless of that, anyone can have a well groomed coat, well cut claws, and good manners. This is also very important for your looks, and any dog can do something about these things, just like any human can take care of the skin, hair, clothes, and manners.

With my Swedish Champion title, I have got the paperwork to show that I look good. I wonder whether there will ever be the same type of judging of humans? I do not think so, humans are often more sensitive about these things than dogs are. After all, we also have our excellent noses for judging other dogs, so looks are actually less important for us.

Blogging

My pups are more than seven weeks old. By their age, I had already become a daily blogger. I started this blog the day I turned six weeks old. There has been some hardships, such as figuring out what to write some days, but most days it is fun and I like to go back to read my earlier thoughts once in a while. My pups, however, show no interest in writing blogs. Sure, they have read some of my blog posts and surfed on the Internet, but none of them feel the need to express daily thoughts in a blog. I have suggested that a blog of any of them would not have to be daily, it would still give me a nice opportunity to read about the further lifes and times of my pups. They are still not interested. Well, neither is their father, my parents or anybody else in our family, so I guess I am not surprised. It is just that I am a little disappointed. On the other hand, above all, I want my pups to have a great life in a manner that suits them, not in a manner that would happen to suit me, their old mum. I believe they will, too.

Mia Visited Us

Paula's sister Mia visited us tonight. It is always fun to see her, though she left her dog Kesshi at home - which is just as well, since Kesshi and Dad are not friends. We had a nice time with Mia anyway. She babysat my pups for a while, something she did very well. The pups like her, just like the rest of us do. Some people are easy to like.

Long Time Companion Gone

In the entertainment news, we can read that actor Mickey Rourke has lost a friend of seventeen years, a faithful dog who died in his arms. It should be noted that after winning the Golden Globe award, the actor dedicated it to all his dogs, both dead and alive. He said: "Sometimes when a man's alone, all you got is your dogs." This was a very fine quote. There is a special bond between humans and dogs, dogs never abandon their humans. I mourn with Mr. Rourke for the loss of his dog.

7 Weeks

In one week Fuji will move away from home. Luckily she will be living in the same town as I do so I hope to see her soon.

Bagus will stay with us until he is 8 1/2 weeks old. Primus has promised me that he will learn him a lot of good things to know. I don't think Bagus will be dissapointed in his teacher. Primus can be fun and entertaining.

Stepping Down

The Japanese Finance Minister has resigned, after claims that he had had too much alcohol at a recent G7 meeting. It is definitely not proper to have too much alcohol when you are supposed to represent your country at a summit. Stepping down is the least thing the Minister can do. I would, for example, never eat or drink anything that would make me unfit to be shown at a dog show. We all have to consider the way we appear to the public.

A Dog Saved

In Malmo in the south of Sweden, dogs were playing on the ice that lay on the water, until one of the dogs went through the ice and fell into the water. The ice was too thin for any of the humans who were around to get out to save the dog. However, a lifebuoy was thrown out to the dog, and the dog managed to get hold of it and pulled ashore. The dog was very cold when it came up on dry land, there was ice in its tail, but it was saved. I am glad everything went well in the end.

Sunny Day

It was a sunny day today, and for the first time, we took some pictures of the puppies outdoors.



However, I sometimes feel there has been a little too much focus on the pups over the last few weeks. Here is a picture of me, to balance things up.

It Runs in the Family

My brother in law, Taichung Oh So Handsome "Oso" is now an American show champion. Oso beat his father, the famous Ch Tenkai Go Ryuukyuu Uruma, and went BOB yesterday. My former lover and also the father of my beloved pups Calvin (Taichung Classic Design) is a full brother to Oso. This makes Oso my brother in law.

Reports from Daniel and Paula says that Calvin will be shown under 2009. I cannot see why he would not become a champion too, as his brother and myself. Even though I don't love him in that way anymore he is still a part of my pups and a damn good looking shiba.

Arsonist Arrested and Charged

Police in Victoria, Australia, has arrested a man who is charged with arson. He is suspected to be responsible for some of the recent, great fires in Victoria. I am glad the police has managed to get hold of this man. There is another man also searched by the police in connection to another of the fires, I hope they will catch him as well. It would be interesting to know why these arsonist have lit fires, if, indeed, they have any rational explanations for their behaviour.

Some of the fires are still burning, although there is no catastrophic spread of the fires anymore and rain has helped fighting the fires in some places.

Cops

Kesshis "dad" Emil has a favourite show on TV. He has recently been to Phuket, Thailand, for 2 weeks together with Paulas sister Mia whom he lives together with.

I guess Emil felt a bit anxious that he would miss some episodes of Cops while being on vacation. He decided to record 13 episodes of Cops on their digital TV box. He claimes that he wanted to record another TV show instead of Cops but there was a change in the TV programme that made this "mistake". Nobody believes him. And why should we? Cops is a great TV show.

The Puppies Are Now 6 Weeks Old!

The countdown has begun. I have only two weeks left with my pups until they are big enough to move away from home. We took some picture tonight. The first three pictures are on Bagus. He will move to Stockholm and his owner Yvonne. The last remaining three pictures are on Fuji. She will move within the city limits to her owner James. I am so happy for these home I have found for my darling pups. My puppies will thrive in their new homes.

A Must Read

I will not write much today. Instead, I would appreciate if you would read this article instead. It is a great piece on the benefits of dogs.

Tudors

Paula is watching the last episode of the second season of the British TV series Tudors. She is sad that it is the last episode, since she enjoys the show very much. I have not followed every episode, but from what I can tell, it is well written, directed, and produced. I guess it would be a TV series in my taste, had I seen it all.

There are rumours that Tudors is not fully historically correct. I cannot be a judge of that, 16th century England is not my foremost interest. However, it is a TV show primarily made for entertainment, not a documentary. You have to be able to take some liberties with history in order to make entertainment. I believe that a series like this may spark an interest in history and make people read about what really happened. Thus, it is to the benefit of historical awareness in its own way.

Fires

While we have cold winter weather in Sweden, fires are raging in the hot summer of the Australian state of Victoria. Auntie Linni, whose father was from Australia, is especially concerned. The concern is not just due to the fires as such, but also due to the fact that some fires was lit by arsonists. Why would anyone light a fire like this? What is the purpose? We cannot think of any. We are glad to read that the fires are heavily fought, anyway.

Cold Weather

February this year seem to be the coldest month of the year, just like it usually is. We had a major snowfall yesterday, then the night sky was clear and we had about ten degrees below zero this morning. If my pups would have been born in the summer, they could have enjoyed a lot of hours of their lives outdoors already, but it is too cold and snowy for that now. Nevertheless, they enjoy life. We spent many hours in the livingroom today, which gives them another angle of life than just the puppy room. This is good.

Sunday

When I woke up this morning the world outside the window was white. It was snow everywhere. You can't even recognize the garden anymore. I thought it was a bit too much so I decided not to be outside more than absolutely neccessary. The other dogs enjoyed the cold and snow more than me. I'm happy that we are not all the same...

The pups and myself spent the evening in our living room. We watched some TV, played and had a good Sunday. April and Sunni were pretty intrested in the pups but the rest of the gang were not. I told the boys to keep their noses to themselves which they seemed to understand. Good for them!

I also helped Paula to use a chat function on facebook. She talked with our friend Meeri for nearly half an hour. They have some fun stuff and cool on-going plans together. This is good. I like Meeri and Meeri likes me. It's a win win situation.

Dog Genes in Wolves

Scientists have discovered that some wolves in North America has dark coat colour thanks to interbreeding with dogs. It is interesting that, not only do dogs come from the wolves, dogs have since given some genes back to wolves.

The dark coated wolves seem to have an advantage to the more common grey wolves, but the scientists say they do not yet know exactly what that advantage is. I have my own theory on that. It may just be that dark coated wolves are considered more handsome than the grey wolves by many, just like black and tan Shibas are arguably more handsome than red or red sesame Shibas. As long as I do not know of any other theory, I will stick by mine.

A fair trade.

Daniel is more sick than Paula now so I have stepped in to be a nurse for both of them. According to Paula I do a pretty good job and then Paula should now. Soon to be a reg. nurse.

Paula played with my pups and they enjoyed it very much. So did I. It is a lot of work taking care of pups. Since I took care of Paula's bo she took care of mine. It seems like a fair trade of work.

Registered Pups

If you search at http://kennet.skk.se/hunddata/ on "namn" and enter "Aangenaam", you do not only find me and my brothers anymore. My pups are also registered and can be found there. This is cool: we are now two registered generations of Aangenaam Shibas!

Quiet Afternoon

We had a quiet afternoon today, since Paula has come down with a serious sickness. She has had to laid down, not even able to play with my puppies. Once Daniel came home in the evening, the pups got someone to play with except for myself. Well, sometimes, it is nice to have an afternoon that is more quiet than usual. I wish Paula will get well soon.

An Important Bridge May Fall Down

The biggest annual dog show in Sweden is in Älvsjö in Stockholm in December. Last year's World Dog Show was also held there. Next to the show grounds is a pedestrian bridge from the nearby train station. A lot of people and dogs go by this bridge to the show grounds. This bridge is now very close to falling down. Fortunately, it is a while until the next dog show in Älvsjö, so they will have time to repair the bridge, I believe. Meanwhile, noone may pass the bridge and for now, all the train traffic under the bridge is closed. This is not good, because this is the main railway into Stockholm from the south. As long as the bridge is in order until the next dog show, I do not complain, though.

The Coldest Month

February is, statistically, the coldest month of the year. We had a week in January when the temperatures were 20 below zero degrees Celsius, but the rest of January had temperatures on or just a few degrees below zero. This February morning, the temperature outdoors was 8 degress below. It felt really cold after the relatively mild days we got used to throughout most of January.

We had some fun taking photos of the pups before Paula is going off to work night.

Happy moment!

I was truly happy today when Paula told me that she is planning to show me this spring after the puppies have left for their new homes. Everybody who knows me also know how much I enjoy and love beeing in the centre of attention. I love strutting my stuff in the show ring.

The picture above show how energetic I was strutting my stuff when I became champion. It is Paulas friend Sofie who show me.

Spending Time with the Others

I love Fuji and Bagus, my dear pups, and I spend most of my time with them. Once in a while, though, it gets a bit tiresome not to interact with anybody else. Over the last days, I have therefore started to leave my pups for other reasons than just to go outdoors for a short while. I have spent longer periods of time with the other dogs in the other rooms of our house. This is also good for Fuji and Bagus, they need to learn that I am not always around. After a while, I am eager to go back to my pups again, and I believe I take better care of them when I return than I would have done, had I just stayed by them. The other dogs are now allowed by me to greet the pups. They seem to enjoy it, all of them.

When Words Are Not Enough

Unwanted Attention

In a suburb south of Stockholm, a man had to call the police. The reason was that a male dog had followed him and his bitch - who was in heat - on walks for many days. The dog had even managed to get into the staircase i the block of flats where the man and his bitch lived, sitting outside the door of the flat and scratching the door. The police came and took care of the dog.

I can fully understand how annoying this unwanted attention must have been. Who want this kind of attention from an unknown male, regardless of whether you are in heat or not? Where was this dog's human, who has the responsibility to curb him when his instincts take the better of him? Sometimes, male dogs need to be locked up.

Haven't They Missed One Option?

In the Kingdom of Australia, there is an ongoing debate on the form of Government. Some Australians are in favour of a republic instead of the current monarchy. As far as I can understand, the main reason for favouring a republic in Australia is that they want a Head of State of their own, an Australian, instead of the Queen of England.

I can understand the wish for a Head of State that is your own, but I cannot understand why Australia has to become a republic in order to achieve that goal. Is there no member of the British royal family who happen to live in Australia already, and able to become Queen or King? Perhaps there is some Aboriginal chief who can become Queen or King? A republic simply cannot be the only answer, can it? In a country as big as Australia, there must be some people with big enough imagination to come up with a solution that preserves the monachial form of government even if you would want a domestic Head of State. Personally, I believe status quo would also be nice.

Tintin Movie

In 2010, a Tintin movie by Steven Spielberg will be released. I has now been announced that James Bond actor Daniel Craig will play the villain of the movie, whereas Jamie Bell is the actor who will play Tintin. I still have not found any information on who will play Tintin's dog Snowy. This is an important role, considering the importance of Snowy in all of Tintin's adventures. Except for Tintin himself, Snowy is the only character who appears in all adventures. All dogs who are fans of Tintin's adventures naturally see Snowy as very important. Many humans love dogs, so Snowy has arguably contributed a lot to the popularity of Tintin among humans as well. Yet, there is still no information on whom they will cast in the role as Snowy, a role that must be important in the movie as well. I guess we will just have to wait a while longer.

Sick

I have felt a little sick today. This is not nice. I may have eaten something that was not good. Fortunately, my pups do not seem to be affected at all. Most damaging things do not reach them through the milk they get from me. I will get back in touch tomorrow, I believe I feel better then.

Visitors

The pups and I received visitors today. It was Paula's parents who were here to see and adore my pups (and me). Afterwards, Paula and Daniel sat talking to them out in the livingroom for a very long time. They must have had many important things to talk about, but they could have stayed in the puppy room, keeping me and the pups company. Well, I had a nice time with my pups anyway, as I always have. They are so fun to be with, my little darlings.

The Future and the Past.

My pups are exploring the world. We had a great day together. I tried to snitch their food but Paula and Daniel put an end to that, unfortunatly for me and fortunatly for the pups.

Paulas sister is in Thailand now and how much I would like to go with them I can't. I have my duties at home, as a stay at home mum. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to tell Paula and Daniel to order some Thai food. We had a great dinner together while my pups were sleeping.

The night ended by the TV as we were watching Schindler's List. The holocaust is a dark piece of the human history. Thus, it is important to show the future generations so this could never ever happen again.

In a odd way, this Saturday started out with the future, my pups. It ended with the past, watching a movie about the World War II.

Carnivores

Since my pups are dogs, there is no doubt they are carnivores. This is good, carnivores are on the top of the food chain.
My pups have started to eat minced meat. They seem to like it too. It makes me feel even more secure that they will grow up to be real and truly carnivores.

Three Weeks

Time flies. It has already been three weeks now, since I gave birth to my darling pups. They thrive and grow, and has started to discover the surroundings in the puppy room. They think the room is huge compared to the puppy box. I can hardly wait to see their reaction to the outdoors. Under a cloudless sky seeing the field behind our yard, you can talk about huge surroundings. The world will be even bigger for them when they start to take walks. It is a new and exciting place for them.

I can remember some of my curiosity, willingness to learn, and naïvete, when I was their age. In some ways, I miss that life, it was more innocent and easy. On the other paw, knowledge and experience is a good thing and I would not want to be without it. I hope I can learn my pups some valuable things before it is time for them to move to their own homes. It just seems like they grow so fast. At their age, they are fast learners, but will I have the time to learn them everything I want to? I hope so, and I believe I can to a large extent. They will also have opportunities to continue to learn things when they have left me. We do spend a lot of time together now. It is a good time in my life.

By the way, I wrote this on our new computer. Paula has installed necessary software into it today. I believe it is a rather nice machine.

Mia Visited Us

Paula's sister Mia visited us tonight. It is always nice to see her, and as long as I have my pups by me, I cannot go to visit her. She got to see and pet my pups, and they rather enjoyed being petted by her, just like they enjoy being petted by Paula or Daniel.

The humans ate hamburgers and chips, and I got some too. From what I understand, the other dogs did not get any extra. While I do feel a bit sorry for them, it is still more important to give extra food to nursing mothers. My sympathy for the others did not stop me from eating all of the extra food that I got.

The New Computer

We got a new computer today, replacing the old one. It was the computer most similar to our old one that they had in the store, that is why we got it. So far, it is not connected to the Internet, so tonight, I still use our old computer to write in my blog. It remains to be seen how good the new computer is. I do agree with Paula, however, that the keys are too white. Any little dirty spot will be seen on the keyboard. Nevertheless, I look forward to trying it out.

New Computer

Our computer broke down in November. We have used an old, spare computer since then. Now, the insurance company has determined that we will get a new computer, equal to the one we lost. Paula and Daniel will buy a new computer, probably as soon as tomorrow. I have ensured them that I am happy with whatever computer they will buy. This shows the importance of insurance. I guess it is almost as important to have an insurance for your computer as it is to have one for your dogs.

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures of my dear pups, these are from today. The first picture is of my son Aangenaam A Hero Comes Home, "Bagus". The second picture is of my daughter Aangenaam Gently As She Goes, "Fuji". Then there is a picture with both of the pups. Paula is the one holding the pups.

They are cute, my pups, aren't they?

My Babies!

Words are unneccessary when you see my babies. They are so cute! I love them.

Life on Mars?

Is there life on Mars? David Bowie asked this in his song by that name in 1973, but the question is much older than that. Well, nowadays, nobody expect to find green men - or green dogs - on the Red Planet, but there may be other forms of life there. NASA has detected large quantities of methane gas on Mars. This may be the result of geological activity, but it may also be the result of activity by some sort of primitive life. It will be interesting to get to know more.

Personally, I would not mind Mars being without life. A lifeless Mars would be open for colonization by dogs and humans without any risk of medical problems when facing Martian life or ethical problems on disturbing these native organisms. On the other hand, if there is life on Mars stopping dogs and humans from living there, there are many other places in the Solar System to colonize. During the second half of the 20th century, Shiba Inus left our native Japan to successfully conquer the Earth. It may be time to conquer more than that at least in a century or two.

Coin to Remember Finland

Two hundred years ago this year, Sweden lost a war and all of the possessions on the eastern part of the Gulf of Bothnia had to be given away to Russia. This later became the modern day independent Finland. To commemorate this event, Bank of Sweden issues a series of 1 crown-coins with a picture of the Gulf of Bothnia on the back. I think it is a bit sad that Finland is not still a part of Sweden - if it was, the Moomin trolls would be known throughout the world to be from Sweden, not from Finland. However, Sweden and Finland are both part of the European Union, and that is certainly as close as the countries will get in the foreseeable future. The two countries have two votes in the EU, as a single country it would only have one, so there are advantages to being more than one. I wonder if I can get hold of one of the commemorative coins.

No Lunar Eclipse There

Recently, it has been discovered that Italian Galileo Galilei was not the first who observed the Moon through a telescope. Englishman Thomas Harriot did it earlier, and has left maps of the Moon of a slightly earlier date that proves this. However, Thomas Harriot was never keen on publishing his findings, as Galileo Galilei was. There was no lunar eclipse in the way of these observations, and centuries until Lunar Eclips - yours truly - would be born. It is interesting to know that more than Galileo Galilei was interested in Luna at such an early time in the history of modern astronomy.

A Big Step

A good thing of being a dog is when your humans scratch your tummy. I love this! I am proud to say that my pups do the same. Today when Paula scratched both Bagus' and Fuji's tummies they became totally relaxed. I followed this step in my pups develop to be real little Shiba Inus with much intrest. I chewed on my bone with bubble gum flavour, meanwhile Paula played with my pups. It was a nice afternoon.

Outrageous!

The price of fresh grounded minced meat is outrageously high right now. It cost between 79-89 SEK/kg.

As a new mum I got some extra minced meat in my daily food. The other dogs were upset, though, the high price of minced meat caused Paula and Daniel not to give them any extra treat.

I feel sad for my family but I can tell them (if they read my blog) that the minced meat was really worth the high price. Still, I believe it should be cheaper.

Wolves of the Arctic

Occasionally while having pups, they are both asleep and I can direct my attention to other things, such as writing my blog. I also ran across this interesting piece about wolves. Since dogs are direct decendants of wolves, I have always been interested in wolves. Not that I wish to meet one myself, wild and strong as they are, but it is fascinating to read about them. I am glad me and my pups have a nice and warm house to live in, though.

Meet Fuji & Bagus!

May I present my darling pups:
Aangenaam Gently As She Goes Fuji on the left and Aangenaam A Hero Comes Home Bagus on the right.

Text taken from our website:
"We searched long and hard for suitable names for these puppies. As this litter is special for us as the second generation of Aangenaam shibas to be born we had to have something striking. The B-litter therefor got their names from the soundtrack from Robert Zemecki's movie Beowulf, one of our favourite movies of all time."

Bulldog Hero

In Michigan in the USA, the Bulldog Napoleon must be the hero of the day. His efforts saved four kittens from drowning. The Bulldog evidently just bolted across a street and jumped into a lake, where he pulled a burlap sack ashore. The sack was filled with six kittens, certainly left to drown, but four of them was saved thanks to Napoleon.

You see, dogs can make heroic acts even for the benefit of cats. It is not true that dogs are always enemies of cats. I hope the four rescued kittens get loving homes to live in for the rest of their lives.

Birthday

My pups turn one week old today. We do not celebrate in any special way. The pups are still too small to celebrate. They have not opened up their eyes yet and only consume milk. Nevertheless, it is a day to note, because further on, we may celebrate their weekly birthdays in some way or the other. I have to figure out how to celebrate in a manner that suits me as well. As the mother of these pups, any food better than usual has to be served to me as well, I believe. There will be more to tell on this subject in the weeks to come.

Euro

More and more European countries adopt the Euro as currency. This new year, Slovakia has adopted it. After the former East Germany, as part of Germany, and Slovenia, it is the third former communist state to adopt the Euro. I wonder if Sweden will adopt it anytime soon?

Paula and Daniel will receive monetary compensation from the humans who will take care of my pups, once they are old enough. This compensation will be paid in Swedish Crowns, not in Euros. These pups will just move to other parts of Sweden, though. There has been talks about future pups of mine moving to Finland, where Euro is used as currency. If this happens, perhaps the compensation for such a pup will come in Euros. It would be easier to have the same currency.

On the other hand, Dad came from Norway, Mum, April, and Calvin from the USA, neither of which uses the Euro. Changing the Swedish currency to Euro could make it easier to trade with Finland, but not really with Norway or the USA. The USA will never swap their Dollar to Euro. Norway is not even a member of the EU and will probably not do it for the foreseeable future. If and when Norway and Denmark changes currencies to Euro, I guess Sweden will as well.

Cold Weather

There has been a couple of cold days now, but it is due to end about Wednesday, the meteorologists say. Daniel has made fires in the stove in our living room. The warmest room in the house, though, has been the puppy room, where I have spent most of the time together with my dear pups. We have an independent heat source for this room, and while Paula and Daniel has saved by keeping the temperature somewhat low in the rest of the house, we have made sure the pups have enough heat to thrive in.

There are heavy snow falls in Germany, France, and the UK today, but not in Sweden. This is good, since Paula is on her way to Copenhagen by car to pick up Kuro II at the airport. We would not want any bad weather to hit her on the way down, nor them on the way back.

Another Dog Blog

Except for my friend Grus, the Welsh Springer Spaniel, I have just added a link to another blog by a dog to the left margin of my blog. This is a blog by male b/t Shiba Inu, whom I have heard a lot about. I have also mentioned him before in my blog. I do not know him yet, but chances are I will get to know him this year. Reading his blog will give me clues in advance about his personality. Just like Dad, he is called Kuro. As Dad is always the first Kuro for me, I call him Kuro II, hence the name of the link.

Strike to Counter Fireworks

The New Year festivities came and went, while I was busy with my newborn pups. I have not had time to check much news. Today, I found an interesting piece from Italy, published late last year.

There are often fireworks at New Year, in Italy just like in Sweden and other countries. Over the last years, there have been more and more fireworks and crackers in Sweden, even days and hours before and after the clock strikes twelve on New Year's night. This annoys humans, but more important is that it scares a lot of dogs and other animals. In our home city it sounds like there is a war going on for hours.

The news from Italy is a method that may counter the excessive use of fireworks. A woman in Naples, Italy, has called for a sex strike against men who use illegal fireworks. A lot of women have pledged to follow her advice. Since humans can have sex all year - not only twice a year when in heat - and men often want to have sex as often as they can all year, this method may very well work. For the sake of dogs scared of cracking noises in Naples, I hope it does. Then it may spread to Sweden as well.

Growing Pups

My pups grow fast. They are almost twice as heavy now as they were when I had just given birth to them. This is good, it proves they are healthy and strong. I am glad they did not weigh this much when I still carried them in my tummy.

If you just read my blog, and wonder why there are no comments to it on the fact that my pups are born, just go to the guestbook at my kennel homepage. There are a lot of people who have written there and congratulated to the pups. Paula, Daniel, and I have also received private e-mails with congratulations. I am greatly thankful for all of these messages.

My Darlings

There is a lot of work being a mother to newborn pups. While they do sleep a lot, you never know when they will wake up and want to get fed. As a mammal, I am there to feed them, of course. I also help them to get waste out in the other end. This is no big deal, the only thing that goes in is very nutritious milk, so there is not much waste going out. The waste there is, is nothing to worry about. I take short walks for my own needs, but once I am done, I am able to get right back to my little darling pups. None of the work I do feels hard, since they are so adorable.

The pups have grown considerably since I gave birth to them. Paula and Daniel have helped me to measure their weight, and we can see that they gain weight at a steady and healthy pace. I feel nervous about the pups at the weighing, because they whine when they are lifted and put on the scale. This is my maternal instinct speaking. I calm down as soon as the pups are back by my side.

Now I have to return to the caretaking. Stay tuned for more news.

My Pups Are Born

I gave birth to two healthy pups early this morning, one red boy and one red girl. It was hard labour, both were breech births, but with the magnificent help of dear Paula I managed to give birth to them at home without any complications.

Natural blog break

I will take a natural break from my blog now. As a soon to be mother I need to keep all my strength to sleeping, eating and prepairing for the pups to arrive. As soon as my pups are here I will write more. In the meanwhile I will give you a picture of myself only three days old.

To clarify: below is not a picture of a pup of mine!

Late Morning

We all slept until late this morning. On the second day of Christmas, all the stress and work in order to prepare the Christmas celebration is over and we could have a nice day without much work to do. This felt great. Christmas food was left in the refrigerator, so there was not much cooking to do either.

Over the last days, Paula and Daniel has measured my body temperature on regular intervals. They say this may let them foresee when my pups will arrive. I hope they can. Since we slept until late this morning, there was no morning measurement, though. From what I understand, it is not necessary to take the temperature at exactly the same time day by day. There is an interesting time ahead of us.

Harsher Rules on Bloggers in Vietnam

Vietnam's government has tightened its rules on blogs and those who write them. As a dictatorship, it is natural for this government to do so, because blogs give uncensored news from anybody to everybody via the Internet. Free access to news is always a threat to dictatorships. As a blogger myself, I am against any govenment imposed restrictions on the free publication of news on the Internet. I wish the Vietnam people and dogs a better new year and that their country will soon turn into a democracy with full freedom of speech.

On the issue of blogging: this is my blog entry number one thousand. Isn't that something?

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas Eve. In Japan, life goes on as usual, since it is not a country with a long, Christian tradition. Prime Minister Taro Aso had a press conference (to the joy of European news corporations like the BBC) and said he rules out a quick new general election.

Paula also works on Christmas, she worked the night before Christmas Eve and will work on Christmas Night as well. They need people who work at her job at the hospital the year around, and she gets extra pay for working these hours, so it is a win-win situation. She will not work around New Year though, which is good considering that my pups may be newly born at New Years Eve.

Before we can celebrate the birth of my pups, we will join a large part of the world in celebration of the birth of Christ on Christmas. I wish everybody a very merry Christmas!

Losses in the Automobile Industry

There are a lot of talks in Sweden about the crisis of the two Swedish car manufacturers Volvo and Saab, and their owners Ford and General Motors, respectively. In the general financial recession, it is important to notice that many more car manufacturers are in a state of crisis at the same time. Japanese manufacturer Toyota has announced that it may suffer from the historic first loss in 71 years of car manufacturing. Also Japanese Honda slashes its profit forecast, and has announced it is ending its Formula 1 engagement. Indian owner Tata of British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has asked the British government for financial aid to support the factories in Britain. It may be that we see a race to the bottom, and that some car manufacturers actually have to stop making cars permanently. It was said even in the recent economic boom that there were too many car manufacturers in the world, too many cars produced for the world market. This recession may bring the harsh solution to that problem. I hope that, however harsh, it is not too harsh on people and their dogs.

Anne of Green Gables

Since she was a child, Paula has liked the books and films about Anne of Green Gables (original books by L.M. Montgomery). There was a film about Anne of Green Gables on TV this evening, but we were disappointed with it. It did not follow the original story but was some kind of modernized version that was not good. We quit watching it after a while.

There are earlier films made of Anne of Green Gables that are good. It is a shame that there are so many film makers who have to make new, worse versions than the films already made. Anne of Green Gables is but one example. Can the film makers not make up new stories or make movies of stories that has yet not been filmed? I believe this would be much better. Perhaps they just do not have the imagination necessary for it, but in that case, I wonder why they make films at all.

Curtains

Paula and Daniel has bought new curtains for the windows in the upcoming puppy room. Unfortunately, they were too long, so Daniel went about shortening them this evening. Mum and Dad were with him and tried to help, though Daniel says they made a mess of the curtains when he tried to measure their length. Well, I do not care that much about the actual lenght of the curtains, as long as they cover the whole windows from top to bottom. Apparenty, they would have, regardless of what Mum and Dad did. Since this is the case, I cannot understand what Daniel is complaining about.

Christmas Shopping

Paula and Daniel spent the afternoon downtown, shopping presents for Christmas. I would like to go shopping for presents myself, but as long as I carry pups, I must stay at home. Paula and Daniel has assured me, though, that giving birth to my pups is the best Christmas gift I can give them. This would even be true, they say, if the pups would wait for several days after Christmas Eve (when Christmas gifts are exchanged in Sweden) to be born. Well, I guess there is some truth to this. Regardless, I have some plans along with the other dogs for Christmas gifts. These plans are secret, of course.

Dark Energy

I am usually rather energetic and love to run around and play. This may be called dark energy, since I am a black and tan. The stuff most commonly referred to as dark energy is something best understood by people working with advanced astro-physics. It is the energy in the universe that we cannot see, but which seems to be the cause behind the expansion of the universe.

Over the last weeks, a lot of my energy has gone to the expansion of my belly. There are pups growing in it, as those of you who often read my blog knows. We will know more about the pups once they are born. We expect then to be born between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Fortunately, getting to know my pups will be easier than getting to know the dark energy of space.

Pups versus Clothes

We are refurnishing one of the rooms in our house to be a puppy room. The main use for this room has been for drying and ironing Paula's and Daniel's clothes. I think this is a waste of space. As Paula and Daniel are humans, they do not have the fine coats that most dogs have, so they have to use clothes instead. Clothes get dirty and need to be laundried, then dried and some have to be ironed to look fine. Dog coats, on the other hand, look mighty fine most of the time, no matter what happens. An occasional bath may be useful, especially if you are going to a dog show in a day or two, but is often unnecessary. Regardless of the maintenance you have to give your clothes, if you are a human, having pups in the room is a better use of the space. The room is still not quite ready for the pups, but we are getting there.

Strange Story

An Italian man in a row boat was recently saved off the coast of Australia. He had tried to row the boat from South America to Australia, but did not have the strength to row the final kilometres in heavy weather.While it is nice that the man was saved, I just ask myself: why did he do it? It is not like he is a hero, he did not have a higher aim for his mission, he did not row out of necessity to save himself or others from anything. He just did it for the thrill. OK, if he wants to, I would not be the one who would stop him. I just ask myself: why would anybody do such a thing? It seems so unnecessary.

It seems even more unnecessary that this story makes the world news. It was one man, and he did not do anything heroic or participate in any competition, he was just rowing for his own sake. Now you may say that, since I write about it, it must mean I find it important enough, thus it was worthy of its place in the news. In that case, I say: on the contrary. I comment on this story just because I feel that it is such a waste of time for the news consumers to see headlines about it. If nobody ever objects to stories that they find unnecessary, will they ever disappear from the lime light? I object, that is why I write this comment.

Coat experience

Today I felt a new experience with expecting pups. The coat on my belly is starting to fall of. Mum says that this is yet another thing in preparations before the birth of my pups.

Paula and Daniel bought a lof of stuffed toys for my pups. I manage to sneak one without them looking. I played with the monkey for a little while until I got tired and fell asleep.

Moving

Paula and Daniel helped Paula's grandmother to move today. I did not get to come along, though I believe I would have been able to help as well. When expecting pups, you have to be very careful and should stay at home except for some walks and such. It has to do with the risk of infections. This may be boring, but it is for the greater good, that is, for the good of my pups.

Cost Reductions in Formula 1

The World Motor Sport Council met in Monaco yesterday. The operating body, FIA, has announced decisions of the meeting to greatly cut the costs of Formula 1 for 2009 and 2010. Among other cost reducing rules, the engines will stay the same (except that Renault was granted to make certain modifications on its engines), and each engine has to be used for three consecutive races.

You might think these new rules are the result of the general economic recession in the world. They are not. Discussions about cutting costs in Formula 1 has gone on for years, even in the heydays of the latest economic boom. Formula 1 may be a sport that facinates the imagination of the whole world, thus letting the participants make a lot of money. Nevertheless, many important people in the sport have argued for a long time that since the sport has become more and more expensive for the participants, it may be digging its own grave. I believe this is so.

There is a danger in any sport that if it becomes too costly to become successful, too few people will try. When there are too few participants at the top, the interest of the public will fade and people in general will direct their attention to other sports. Of course, one of the great things about Formula 1 is that Formula 1 cars are the best, the fastest, the most advanced ground vehicles there is. It can, therefore, not be easy to decide upon rules to cut costs, because if the rules become too restricting, Formula 1 will lose the edge and may not be able to keep the title King of Motor Sports. This would also make people lose interest in Formula 1.

Now, it seems, the new rules has met with low opposition. I believe that if the current Formual 1 teams agree upon these rules, Formula 1 will still be the best of motor sports, while not too expensive for newcomers to try it out. This would strengthen the sport for the future. I hope it does.

More Snow

Even more snow fell today. It really feels like Christmas will soon be here. We cleaned the house today, as is proper before Christmas. Cleaning is tiresome and it is late now, so I will not write much today.

A Lot of Snow

We have got about 1 decimetre of snow today. This is enough to play in, and play in it is something we have done. It is always fun to play in the first deep snow of the season. I hope this snow will stay over Christmas and new year. Later, when it is time for my pups to discover the world outdoors, less snow and more warmth would be very welcome.

A Fortnight to Christmas Eve

Within a fortnight, Christmas Eve is here. We have made some Christmas preparations at home, but have yet to stock the pile of Christmas presents and send Christmas greeting cards. All will be done in due time, I believe. I hope I do not have to take too much action myself in the process, as I have a heavier load to carry each day with the pups. One never knows, though. There is some truth in the old saying, that if you want to be certain that something will be done, you better do it yourself.

Corruption?

When the US President elect, Barack Obama, becomes president this January, he leaves his seat in the US Senate. It is up to the Governor of Obama's home State of Illinois Rod Blagojevich to appoint a successor for the vacated Senate seat. The Governor was, however, arrested this Tuesday by the federal authorities and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell the seat in the US Senate to the highest bidder. If true, this must be one of the most important cases of corruption in any civilised nation.

Mum says corruption like this would not happen in any US State. It would, for example, never happen in Mum's native State of Washington. I believe this to be true. Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington has a Shiba Inu from Mum's kennel Taichung. It is unreasonable to think that if you pass the tests of kennel Taichung and get to buy a Shiba Inu from there, you would be the type of person who would be corrupted.

Waistline

My slim waistline is disappearing. This has to do with the pups growing, am I told. That makes sense. I am not happy about it, but chances are my waistline will come back once the pups have been born. There are other pranks about having pups in my tummy. I get to eat larger portions of food every day, which is good. Perhaps the extra food helps enlarging the waist, but the pups need it. There are good and bad consequences with most things.

Paula Is Back Home

Paula came back home late this afternoon. It was very nice to see her. What was almost as important was all the things she had bought at the dog show in Stockholm. There were dog biscuits, dog candy, puppy blankets, collars and leashes for my pups among other things. Auntie Linni got a new collar. We got one biscuit each as a late night snack, this made the evening.

All the Things You Can Do with a Teddy Bear

Teddy bears are good for many things. I usually pet and chew on them, occasionally throwing them through the air here at home. British school children, aided by a team from Cambridge University, has given some teddy bears a much longer flight. They launched teddy bears into space on a helium baloon. Pictures have been released of the teddy bears in space, clad in space suits with the British flag. The bears reached an altitude of about 30 km, then landed outside of Ipswich. Reports say they are in good health.

If I had a helium baloon, perhaps I would also send some teddy bears into space. It seems like an exciting experiment to do. If I would go myself, I would like to have a better space suit, though. One of the teddy bears went without a helmet, I think this is a bit too risky.

Dog Show

The Swedish Kennel Club has its big annual December dog show in Stockholm this weekend. It is usually the biggest in Sweden every year. This year, of course, the World Dog Show in July was bigger. Paula and her sister have just gone there, like they always do together. As always, they do not bring any dogs. This is the only dog show Paula use to go to without dogs, just to be a spectator. Daniel is at home with us dogs.

I would have liked to go, but this time, there would have been no chance, since I am expecting pups. The welfare of the pups have to come first. Nevertheless, I miss the show ring. By late spring, I hope to return there. By the end of the summer, my pups may enter the show ring in puppy class. I hope the ones who do will do as well as I did, but I doubt it. Best in Show Pup winners on official all breed shows are far in between among Shiba Inus.

Space Threat?

Daniel thought I would write something about the threat from space, that is, the threat that an asteroid would hit Earth and devastate large parts of it. It may destroy civilisation as we know it, though this is rather unlikely. It was probably a huge asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. An asteroid that size would destroy civilisation, but how likely is it that we are hit by it in the near future? Daniel is concerned, though. He says that humanity has the opportunity to take action against the threat, so why not do that? It would be costly, but may be worth it. He has a point. Well, I am not part of humanity (being a dog is better, in my mind), but I can write about the threat in my blog, at least.

Competition for a Collar

Pups

I will get at least three pups.

I went to the veterinarian today and got my tummy examined with ultra sound. We could see at least three pups in my womb. The examination was a little awkward. I had to lie on my side with my tummy in the air, and the tummy was shaved. Then some cool cream was applied on the tummy, before the electronic device that the veterinarian used was moved across my tummy several times. I am happy for the results, though. Now I know that I will get pups. This means that I will become a mum myself and my Mum will once again become a grand mother. It also means that I have a great reason to eat more food than usual. I have to have extra nutrition for the pups.

Three pups in the litter will be exactly as many as the litter I belonged to. Maybe this could be a family tradition? Nevertheless, I would not be sad if there would be four pups. The veterinarian said that there might be more than three pups, it is just that three pups was all that we could see on the screen. We will see further on, when they are born.

Tomorrow

Stay tuned, there may be important news tomorrow.