Curious Things Happen

You would think it would be easier to write in your blog from home than from abroad, but it is not necessarily so. While I was away on the Continent, I always managed to find computers to write blog entrys from. Now that I arrived home, I thought I would be able to relax a little, as we have a good computer at home. However, our computer did not work properly yesterday night, thus, no blog entry last night. It is curious how things work out sometimes.

It Feels Good to Be Home

We arrived home this afternoon. It feels good to be back. Now we just have to unpack and then we can take a well deserved rest.

On Our Way Home

It has been an experience to go to Slovakia. I have liked the journey and the World Dog Show, but all good things come to an end. Regardless of how fun it has been, there is no place like home. We all would like to get home soon, so we will not make many stops on the way.

Before we left today, we visited a Poodle specialty, where Kuro chan's former Japanese human showed his Toy Poodles. This was fun too, though I did not like it quite as much as the World Dog Show.

Nobel Prizes

The Nobel Prizes of this year has been announced this week. The biggest surprise was probably that US President Barack Obama got the Peace Prize. This is a surprise, because while Obama is certainly liked and respected in large parts of the world, he has not actually accomplished any great things for peace and cooperation between humans.

If I would be able to suggest a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, I would consider that organizations can get this prize, and suggest the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, FCI. Being at present at the World Dog Show, with humans and dogs from all over the world, I can really see that the FCI is an organization that brings us all together in peaceful competition, as well as in cooperation and for the good of dogs and humans alike. The dog-human connection is strong, and the FCI works to strengthen the status of dogs in human society, thus improving human society world-wide with all the positive things that dogs can bring. The FCI is a private, world wide organization, and its achievements on international cooperation is tremendous. It would be a worthy winner that has achieved a lot already.

Finalists

We are satisfied with our results on the World Dog Show. Kuro chan was not placed as champion male, but with Excellent, I got Very Good. Mum, however, was the best individual of us, she got the World Veteran Winner '09 title!

Kuro chan and I also competed in brace, where you are supposed to compete with another dog of your breed with the same human owners, and try to look alike. We made a great couple. We got to the WDS finals, where we became Second Best in Show in Brace. This is an amazing result; Shiba Inus are seldom in the Best in Show Finals at all, black and tan Shibas like Kuro chan and I are there even more seldom.

Kuro chan also met an old friend of his from Japan. That was a happy reunion.

Slovakia

We arrived in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, late this afternoon. This is where the World Dog Show will be this year. They do speak strangely here, but I guess it is just because I am not used to it.

The weather is amazing, sunshine and over 20 degrees Celsius. It is still summer here, not like the almost-winter weather we left behind in Sweden. This is one advantage that they have, living further south than we do. On the other hand, with my Shiba Inu coat, I have never had any difficulties with the cold climate of Sweden.

It will be interesting to see the dog show facilities tomorrow.

In Germany

We have arrived in Dresden, Germany, where we will stay for a night on our trip down to Bratislava. So far, this is the southernmost place I have ever been, but we will go further south tomorrow. It is me, Mum, Kuro chan, Paula, and Paula's father Nils Olov. We have had a nice, but long, trip today.

The Germans speak a language I do not understand at all. I had expected that, but never experienced it before. I have been to the Swedish speaking parts of Finland before, where I naturally understand the language, and to Norway, where they speak Norwegian, a language closely related to Swedish and which is the mother tounge of my Dad. I also know English, my Mum's native language. German, on the other hand, is a completely different matter. Rumour has it, Slovakian is even more different from Swedish. It will be interesting to hear that.

Packing Bags

Paula is packing her bags to prepare for a dog show journey. It will be a long trip, starting tomorrow, to Bratislava in Slovakia. You have to go through Germany or Poland to get there from Sweden, the planned route is through Germany and the Czech Republic. Paula has told me I will get to go on this trip, so I have already packed my bag. Still, there have been so many dog show trips this year when I have had to stay at home, that I am not quite sure I will get to come until I sit there in the car tomorrow morning. Let us hope for a safe trip, a pleasant dog show, and that I really get to come along. It will be the longest voyage I have ever made, and I am looking forward to it. You will hear more in the days to come, provided that I have computer access on the road.

Downgraded

Sumo, a Maltese Terrier who used to live with former French President Jacques Chirac in the Elysee Palace, has found life after retirement from his position as First Dog depressing. He had to move to an apartment much smaller than the palace, and had to leave the gardens of the presidential palace where he used to roam.. According to Mrs. Chirac, Sumo has suffered from depression and has turned aggressive. After biting his human Jacques for the third time, he has now moved to a new home on the French country side.

I can quite understand Sumo. We used to live in an apartment with no garden to roam about in. I would not want to leave our garden now for an apartment, and our garden must still be much smaller than that of the French Elysee Palace. Well, I certainly would not turn against my humans, but perhaps I would be depressed, would anything like that happen. A dog used to roam freely wants to continue to do so. I wish Sumo all the best in his new home.

Hmpf

I did not get to go to Mia and Kesshi tonight either, when Daniel and Paula were there. Can there be any good reason for not bringing me? I think not. Well, it could be worse, the rest of this Saturday was a peaceful and nice day.

Late

Paula and Daniel went to visit Mia and Kesshi tonight, and I did not get to come along. They got home really late, we got food even later, and I write this blog entry past midnight. I am disappointed that I still have not seen where Mia and Kesshi now lives. Eventually, I am sure I will, but I am curious. Well, it is late, now I am going to bed.

Moving

Paula and Daniel were away this evening to help Mia and Kesshi move to a new place. There is a lot to move, if you are a human, I remember this from when we moved to our present house. It is much easier for a pup to move to his or her new family, but that is another matter. Mia and Kesshi are dear friend of ours, so I think it is self evident that Paula and Daniel would help. I was not allowed to help, but while Shiba Inus are good at many things, lifting heavy furniture down and up stairs is not one of them. April and I hope to give our contribution to Mia's and Kesshi's new flat soon in some other way, for example when there is a house warming party.

Looking Out for Your Pup

Small puppy dogs are not always to be trusted. They have yet not learned what they may or may not play with and chew upon. A man in New Zealand nearly lost a winning lottery ticket this way. He had won $ 1.3 million (New Zealand dollars). The lottery ticket was lying on the sofa, but his puppy snatched the ticket and took off with it. Fortunately for the man, he got the lottery ticket back. I guess the pup can get a lot of toys and chewing bones instead with just a tiny part of the amount won.

My Daughter Meja

Meja, my dear daughter, has been hiking the mountains of northern Sweden with her family, including my brother Kiko. She posed for a nice picture when she was there. She looks great, does she not?

Puppies Behind Bars

It may sound harsh, the name Puppies Behind Bars, but it is a successful programme for rehabilitation of prisoners in high security jails in New York State in the USA. The pups are trained by the prisoners to become police dogs and the like, while the prisoners have a useful purpose during their time behind bars and learn to take responsibility and aquire skills that are asked for on the outside. I believe this is great. It is yet another example of how dogs make very valuable contributions to the human society. Programmes like this may prove useful in other countries as well.

More from the Weekend Show

As I wrote in my previous blog entry, the show this weekend was a success. It was a long way to go there, by car and by ferry. Considering the results, it was worth it.

Here are some pictures from the dog show this weekend.

In this picture, I sit in the lap of Paula, beside human and dog friends on the Åland islands.

I was granted the use of these pictures by Sofie, who showed me in the Best of Breed final. She is a good handler. I have the link to her blog in mine.

Getting Home Late

We got home late from the Finnish dog show, but with great results. I must have made a good impression on the judge, she was the one who gave me my very first CAC in 2007. Now I got a Finnish CAC, thus becoming a Finnish Show Champion, a title I can put beside my Swedish Show Champion title. Kuro chan also got a CAC, and I beat him in competition for Best of Breed.

Since it is very late, I write this past midnight, I am rather tired. I am excited and have shown the others my prizes, but still tired. I have to come back tomorrow to write more about the weekend and the show.

Show

I have, finally, gotten the opportunity to go to a dog show again. Kenny and I are in Finland now. I am so excited, I forgot to write in my blog yesterday. Paula and I have trained a little before the show, but it turned out Paula thought I did not need much training. She was impressed, she usually have to train a lot with April before each show where April participate. I say it is like "riding a bicycle" - once you have learned it, you will always remember it. The knowledge on how to act in the show ring is there, inside of me. Thus, it does not require much for me to get back into the game. All I need is a couple of nice treats.

Water on the Moon

New research has revealed that there is more water on the Moon than has previously been thought. In an average cubic metre of lunar soil, there is about one litre of water. This could be important for future missions and settlements on the Moon. I do believe humans and dogs will eventually settle the Moon, and I hope it will be sooner rather than later. The discovery of this amount of water in average soil samples may speed the process up, if only just a little.

Wait

I had to wait for a while before writing this blog entry. We installed a new version of a picture editing software, and it took some time. I never use such software, I just type away in text. Paula uses it quite often, though, when updating our web page (http://www.kennelaangenaam.com/). She makes a great job at it, too. I am not sure it made any difference that I had to wait, I did not really have any great plans on what to write in my blog today.

There is one thing I would like to tell you, though. It is about my Dad, the great male dog in my life. He must have been hurt while digging in our yard, digging is something he likes to do from time to time. Perhaps his claw was caught in a root or something, nevertheless, it was broken almost straight off. It must have hurt, because Dad limped, but true to his Shiba Inu pride, he never complained. Paula took him to the veterinarian yesterday, who took the damaged claw away. Today, Dad acts as if nothing has ever happened. He runs, climbs, and eats treats like always before. He is my hero. A small injury like that is nothing to my Dad.

Show Training

Paula and I trained showing today, since I will be shown this weekend. I stood on the kitchen table, since our show table is lent to Suri's family. Paula and I still have a great cooperation. We believe that if I do not win this weekend (and you can never be sure), it is not because we are untrained.

I could have trained for a longer time than we did. It is fun, but since I am so good at it, Paula thought I did not need more training. She put Calvin on the table instead. He did all right as well.

End of Leave

I have not been shown at a dog show since August last year. Paula and Daniel claims I have been on maternity leave, though it was many months since my pups left. Meanwhile, the rest of the dogs have got opportunity upon opportunity to enter show rings. This has been quite unfair. In these days of gender equality, one would also think my pups' father, Calvin, would take some paternity leave, but no, the leave has just been forced upon me. Is life not unfair sometimes? Well, the coming weekend, I will finally enter a show ring again. How I have missed that! Beware of me, competitors!

Successes in Denmark!

April and Kuro chan came back from the dog shows in Denmark as winners. While they did not win everything (as I did as a pup in Hässleholm in 2006), they did won a lot! Both won each a Danish champion title (DKUCH) and with this, a Nordic champion title (NORDUCH). April also became an International Champion and won the title Copenhagen winner '09 (KBHV-09). Kuro chan can't be an International champion until the end of this year because his first CACIB was won in Japan November 2008.

Next weekend, I will get to go to a dog show in Finland. Finally, I say! I hope I can get a Finnish champion title.

Human Pedigree

There is a lot of focus on canine pedigrees, and for good reason. Without belief in and research into pedigrees, I would probably not walking the earth. The pedigrees are a support of good breeding and makes for sound, nice dogs. Sometimes, humans have interesting pedigrees as well, without there being quite so much thought given to it over the generations. For instance, genetic research has shown that Scottish actress Tilda Swinton is a direct decendant of Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Well, if those would have been dogs, we already would have known, because the records would have told us.

No, Not Again!

Once again, Paula has managed to drive off to a dog show with some dogs, but leaving me behind at home. I love dog shows and being shown at them. I have to figure out a way to make sure I can come along more often. If you have got any ideas, please tell me! Now I will ponder upon this some more, therefore, my blog post today is fairly short. Stay tuned!

The Ironies of Life

Our Pharao Hound friend Primus is in mourning. His grandmother, who celebrated her twelfth birthday yesterday, suddenly passed away last night. Pharao Hounds rarely live as long as Shiba Inus, and Primus' grandmother did not die young. Still, it must be one of the ironies of life, that she passes away unexpectedly on the night immediately after day of birthday celebrations. It might have been a great end to her life, those celebrations, but they were certainly not meant to be festivities before passing away. I would not want to pass away like that.

We all mourn with Primus, of course.

New Japanese PM

As all of us Shiba Inus are of Japanese decent, we are interested in what happens in Japan. We now know that Japan has a new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party of Japan. Our hope is that this will revive the politics of Japan and make for a better country in the long run. Future will tell.

Autumn

It was rather cold this morning. Not that I care, I have a great coat, but Daniel had to locate his gloves before riding off to work on his bicycle. During the day, the sun was shining from an almost cloud free sky, so it was rather warm in the afternoon. Leaves have started to turn yellow and fall to the ground in our garden. This is my fourth autumn, since today is my fourth birthday. It was nice weather for a birthday.

Can a Dog Really Be Worth This Much?

A rich woman in China has paid the equivalent of $ 600,000 for a single dog of the breed Tibetan Mastiff. This is a rare breed, but according to breeders they typically go by prices around $ 2,000. Is a Tibetan Mastiff really worth $ 600,000. My reports come from the BBC, a news company you usually can rely upon, but I still have a feeling that this is a hoax. Who would put up this amount of money for a Tibetan Mastiff? I would not even think one of my own Shiba Inu pups would be worth that much money.

Celebrations

Paula's mother Gertrud celebrated her birthday again, today, when relatives from the south of Sweden was here. Consequently, Paula and Daniel were gone for several hours, while the four legged members of the family had to stay at home. It would not be much of a problem, except that they got home late, thus making our food late. Well, now we have eaten, and I am again in a good mood. You have to let your humans get away to have some fun on their own, once in a while, it makes them nicer to you too.

Suddenly, off to Work

We had a nice Friday night tonight. Paula and Daniel watched a movie and sat with us in the living room. Everything was calm and nice (except in the movie, which was a crime story). Then, out of the blue, Paula got to know over the telephone that she was expected to work today and was about half an hour late. She had to go immediately. Dutiful as she is, she did. We all usually know before, if Paula will work night, but none of us knew tonight. It was, apparently, all due to a missunderstanding, Paula had not received notice that they wanted her to fill in tonight. Well, she will get paid, but we miss her more tonight than her ordinary work nights, since we had thought she would be home. We hope this will not be repeated.

Japan in the Space Race

Japan participates in the international cooperation of the International Space Station (ISS), and has now launched the first space frighter of a new type. Although the freighter is meant to supply the ISS, it also proves the ability of the Japanese space industry. Japan is a member of the space faring nations in its own right, and this freighter proves that. It is what to expect of the nation that brought the Shiba Inu to the world.

Pitch Black

Most of my coat is black, although I have tan markings and the white ura jiro. Paula have bought a new dress that was supposed to be black, but she thought it was more dark grey. She compared it to my coat and got the answer: dark grey. Of course, next to a black and tan Shiba Inu like myself or Dad, most things look less perfectly dark, but there was such a distict difference here that there was no question about it. This is another advantage of having a dog with a black coat: it can be used to measure blackness of other things.

Wedding Anniversary

Paula and Daniel have been married for eight years today. I am impressed by the length of their marriage. I married the father of my pups, Calvin, about nine months ago, and I grew tired of him almost immediately. Sure, I do get along with Calvin, but I cannot say I love him. Paula and Daniel, on the other hand, do love each other. It is nice that they do, because they keep all of us dogs together too.

My PERFECT daughter Meja!

"Well developed female puppy. Nice head and expression. Correct bite. Enough angulation. Moves firmly and well from all angulations. Nice coat"

It seems that Meja meet up the standard of her champion parents. She will for sure be something to count on in the show rings.



May I say that both Paula and Daniel are very very proud over sweet Meja? We all send all of our love to Meja and my brother Kiko with family. They are so sweet and take such good care of their Aangenaam shibas.

I think that Kiko has fostered my girl Meja well. As an uncle he take his responsibility as my brother and Mejas "brother" to learn her about life. Thank you Kiko!


Me and my mum Karin in the ring.

My brother Kiko and me.

Pics Will Come Later

Paula sent some pictures that she had received of Meja, but they have yet to reach an e-mail address I can access. Since Paula is at work tonight, I cannot turn to her for help. There will be pictures in my blog in the future.

My Successful Daughter

My daughter Meja participated in an unofficial dog show today, in puppy class. Puppy classes are always unofficial, so the difference between puppy classes on unofficial shows and official shows is miniscule. Meja competed against three other pups, and became best pup of the breed. I am really proud of this result. It shows that Meja is a promising pup.

More information will come about this show, stay tuned!

Upcoming Birthday

Paulas mother Gertrud will soon celebrate her birthday. This year, there is something special about it, so Paula and Daniel went to Paula's parents to help them prepare for festivities. I do not think it is such a special birthday. If you consider that one dog year equals seven human years, the biggest human celebrations would be when they turn into a year which can be evenly divided by seven. Thus, when a human turns 7, 14, 21, 28 or the like, she can compare it to a dog turning 1, 2, 3 or 4. Such birthdays give me, as a dog, a better frame of reference. Turning another decade is nothing special compared to this, if I may say so. I will gladly celebrate Gertrud, she really deserves being celebrated and any reason for a party is a good reason. However, I see more reason to celebrate another year, when she turns into something evenly dividable by seven.

Duties as a Pet

Some would think it is an easy duty being a pet dog. Often, it is, but far from always. Paula is working tonight, and before she went to work she wanted to rest for an hour. She brought me to rest by her, holding me tight, petting me. It is at times like this, when your duties are in demand, that life as a pet is not always easy. Sure, I love Paula and love to be petted by her, but I would rather be petted or rest whenever I chose to, not when Paula chose to. Tonight, I felt like hanging around with April in the living room, but that was not to be when Paula wanted me to rest with her. Well, I did without complaint, duties are to be taken seriously.

Suit Ban

In Bangladesh, the government has banned male employees from wearing suits and ties during the hot summer months. Instead, they are supposed just to wear trousers and a shirt, which need not be tucked in any more. This is supposed to reduce the need for energy consuming air condition. They have also been told not to use air condition in temperatures below 24 C.

There is energy shortage in Bangladesh, so this seems to be a wise strategy. From what I have read, there are no rules about the dogs in government employment, though. I sure hope they will not shave the coats off of police dogs and the like.

Heavy Rain

When we were outdoors around noon today, it was as if the gates of heaven had opened. There was suddenly a huge rainfall. It was almost out of this world. Luckily, we were just out in our own garden, so we could get in quickly, but we got really wet anyway. There was sme thunder as well, but not until we were inside. The weather forecast had predicted a low probability of rain today, but even a low probability can become true. It was definitely something to talk about this afternoon.

Ice Cream

Mum got to go to the veterinarian today. That is seldom fun, but she was compensated with a large strawberry ice cream. Coming home, she bragged about it, and I can see why. Such a compensation would almost make me want to go to the vet.

Lost Contact

India's space agency has lost contact with its Moon orbiter Chandrayaan-1 ahead of time. It was launched last October and aimed to work for two years. Now they cancel the project. However, they claim that this, their first Moon project, was a success that has reached 95 % of its goals. Well, what do you do when you lose contact? I am not quite sure what happened, but being eclipsed by the Moon is a powerful thing.

Pictures from Yesterday

This is a picture of most participants on the Shiba Inu meeting yesterday. Kesshi is on the far right, I am almost at the far left by Paula.

My kid sister Suri at the Shiba Inu meeting yesterday. She is cute, is she not?

Change of Power

The LDP loses the general election in Japan today, winner is the DJP. The LDP has held power almost invariably for fifty years, so I guess change was due. I am not sure the DJP will rule Japan in a better way, but any healthy society needs peaceful changes of power once in a while. This is certainly the best thing about the result of this election.

Shiba Inu Meeting

We went to a Shiba Inu "meeting and greeting" in Köping today. My sister Suri and my brother Jiro were there too. It was a fun day in the sun. Pictures will come.

Genes of Dog Coats

An American team of scientists have discovered that there are just three genes that account for all the different coat types of dogs and wolves. This is amazing, three genes, and all the variety you can see, and feel when you pet us. The study was made from DNA samples of more than 1 000 individuals of more than 80 breeds, and also wolves. For each characteristic of dog coats, the scientist researching the genes on coats identified a single gene that was primarily responsible. It was, for example, discovered that dogs with short, straight, wolf-like hair, share a gene type with the wolves. I guess this includes the Shiba Inu.

Further research is to be made on the DNA samples, which will certainly be the basis of more interesting discoveries. I am looking forward to get to know more about future results of these studies.

Selection of Young Ones

A gymnastics club in Malmo in the south of Sweden has been critizised in the last couple of days, because they do a selection and chose only the best five-year-old children to participate in artistic gymnastics in the club. There are people who believe that there should not be selections among children who are so young. The city of Malmo may reconsider their monetary grants to the club. Representatives of the club say they do not have enough resources for every child to participate, and believe that the selection at this age is better than selection at a later age.

I do not understand the critique. Pups are selected for certain humans based on probability of success later in life at the age of eight weeks, when they leave their mothers. Pups also participate in dog shows with unofficial competitions from the age of four or six months and official competitions from the age of nine months. Even if you take into account that one dog year roughly equals seven human years, selection among pups starts earlier than the selection of these children in the gymnastics club, and nobody thinks there is anything wrong with this.

If all children would always be able to participate, the less talented would still realize that they are not as talented than other children. They would not be as good as other children participating, and they would, of course, recognise this. In what way would that be better for their self esteem? I believe it is better if the children with less talent for gymnastics gets the chance to do something else, that suits them better, than to give them false hopes. They certainly have other talents that can be cultivated instead, giving them better self esteem.

OOUUH

A man in New Zealand killed his dog by hitting it with a hammer, then roasted it with the intention of eating it. New Zealand authorities say the man did nothing illegal, because the dog was killed in such a swift way it did not suffer. I am at a lack of words. I cannot understand how anyone would like to roast and eat a family member and friend.

Too Late

I was too late to the computer last night. It was already turned off and we were all supposed to go to bed. Now I cannot remember what I had planned to write about. Oh, well, such is life sometimes.

Paula's Birthday

Paula celebrated her birthday today and got presents. I think the best present was a new tent for dog shows, a small blue tent instead of the small red tent we used to have but which is heavily torn. It is supposed to be very easy to raise this new tent, which is good, it will save time. This is a very useful present and will surely come to much use in the years to come.

Daniel talked to one of the humans with whom my son Bagus lives. He could tell us that Bagus is doing really well and is greatly loved by his family. Well, I could not imagine anyone not loving Bagus, but it feels good to hear this anyway.

Reminder

Do not forget to congratulate Paula tomorrow! It is her birthday.

Rain

We went out this evening, me and some of the other dogs. It was no fun, however, since it was raining heavily. It rained heavily on the Athletics World Championship arena in Berlin too, and after my experience of the rain here at home, I have the greatest sympathy for the athletes competing in Berlin this evening. We all need rain now and then, but I wish for it to fall in the middle of the night, when hardly anybody is outdoors anyway.

Dyed Hair

Paula dyed her hair jet black today. It looks really good on her. Her natural hair colour is almost black, but not quite. I would never dye my coat, I do not need it to look good, and I cannot do it if I am to follow the rules on dog shows. I can understand why Paula dyes it, though. She does not need to have her natural hair colour to comply with show rules, and jet black hair looks better, on humans just like on Shiba Inus like me and Dad.

Athletics

Currently, we can watch the World Championship in athletics in Berlin. While the USA used to be the dominant force in the sprints, like 100 and 200 metres, it now seems like Jamaica has claimed the sprint throne. There has been a lot of people who have tried to explain this. I believe in most explanations, as partly true. However, I have an additional explanation. My Mum, my friend April, and my husband Calvin have all left the USA to come to live in Sweden. This means that prominent dogs do not live in the USA any longer, thus giving the American sprinters less encouragement and less to fight for. The Jamaica sprinters, who have never (to my knowledge) had such prominent dogs in their country, do not know what they are missing and are therefore not put down by it in the same manner as the American sprinters are. The strange thing is, though, that the Swedish athletes are not as great as they have been over the last couple of international championships, despite having these prominent dogs in their home country. Maybe they have just gotten used to having them here.

Whoops

We went to bed, and then I realized I had not written any blog entry for Tuesday. Whoops, I say. Please come back Wednesday evening for a better blog entry regarding Wednesday.

Victory

Even though I did not get to go on the trip to the dog show in Bjerke, Norway, this weekend, I am happy for the result. Kuro chan won CAC, CACIB, became Norwegian champion and was qualified for Crufts, the greatest dog show in the world. He also became Best of Breed. April and Primus did well too.

Paula was there, so her first hand experience as written down on our homepage is better than anything I can write here. Please read there if you want to know more.

The Feline Bus Commuter

In the English city of Plymouth, the cat Casper is a regular commuter on the bus line that stops outside of his house. He gets onboard after the humans and does a roundtrip without disturbing any of the other passengers. Apparently, he has done this for a long time without his own humans' knowledge. They recently found out, when he followed one of them to the bus stop and got on board the bus like he usually does. The bus company has known about him for a long time, though, and make sure he always gets off at the right stop after his roundtrip. I like this story, because it tells a lot about how humans like their four-legged friends.

Another Weekend Left at Home

If you wonder why I did not write any blog entry yesterday, it is because I was left behind once again, when Paula left for a dog show. I love being showed on dog shows, but I have hardly been showed at all this summer. I am still disappointed.

Kenny got to go, so Daniel took the opportunity to clean his room a little more thoroughly than before. I helped, I took care of a bone lying about on the floor. This made my afternoon and put a silver lining on an otherwise gloomy day.

Sommar

In the summer, the radioshow Sommar (Swedish for summer) is aired every day. It was a particularly interesting show today. An old German who has lived many years as a journalist in Sweden told us about his experiences from the Second World War, the propaganda and crimes of the Nazis and the crimes of the Soviet troops defeating the Germans on the Eastern front. I knew of some tragedies of the Second World War, such as the Shiba Inu breed was nearly extinct. I suppose many dogs were killed in Germany too. The biggest tragedy, though, must have been the ideas and propaganda that fooled so many people into helping the nazi and the communist leaders with their destructive ideas. I can recommend that radio show, if you have the opportunity to listen to it through pod radio.

Pie

Paula and Daniel had pie for dinner today. Mum said pie is an American invention, therefore she had to have some. She did not think it would be necessary for the rest of us to taste any, though. However, Paula gave a little pie to everyone, once she and Daniel had finished their meals. It was a really tasty pie with a lot of cheese in it. I could eat pies like this more often.

Earthquake

Tokyo was been hit by a strong earthquake on Tuesday morning (Monday evening by Swedish time). It was of 6.4 magnitude and it shook whole buildings in the city, despite having its centre 170 kilometres away in the Pacific Ocean. An even stronger earthquake of magnitude 6.9 hit Japan on Sunday, but caused no damage or casualties. There were reports of some injuried humans after the Tuesday quake, three of them seriously. However, I have yet to see any reports of the conditions of dogs. I hope all of the Shiba Inus in Tokyo made it without injuries.

Thunder

We had thunder and lightning this evening. This was not surprising after the many days of warm weather we have experienced, still, thunder is not common. The thunder was a nice change from the feeling of an average day that I have had all this day. I usually think the day after a dog show is rather dull, hearing thunder made it a little special.

Watching the Finals

Paula, April, and I went to the dog show in Askersund this afternoon. There were no Shiba Inus shown today, they were shown yeaterday, but we were there to cheer for our Basenji friend Harley in the Best in Show final. We also met Daniel there, who worked at the show. I think it was nice to come along. The only downside was the blazing sun, but april and I had the shadow of a crate, which also had a lot of slots for the wind to run through it. I guess it was more comfortable for us than it was for Paula and Daniel, who sat in the direct sunlight.

Harley became BIS-4, which is a really good result, though he has done better before.

Ancient Dog Cemetery

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered a thousand-year-old cemetery with 43 mummified dogs buried in separate plots side by side with humans. They were naturally preserved by the dry desert climate and had been buried with treats for the afterlife. The cemetery belonged to the Chiribaya culture, an agricultural society that thrived from A.D. 900 to 135.

Many people believe that the modern day human take better care of their pets than ever before. In this cemetery, though, dogs were buried alongside the humans, both full-grown dogs and pups. In some cases, they have been buried with blankets and food. If the dogs have been treated as fully equal with the humans in the face of afterlife, they were probably held in high regard in their lives as well. I like my life in Sweden, A.D. 2009, but if I would have lived in a different time and place, the Chiribaya culture would probably have been one of the very best alternatives.

Koala Celebrity Dies

A koala who was rescued by fire fighters in the huge forest fire of Australia earlier this year has died. She had recovered well from wounds suffered in the fire, but was found to have a disease rather common among koalas and put to sleep by a veterinarian. It is a shame to have survived the fire like that, only to die mere months later from a disease. I feel sorry for her.

Petition for a Dog Failed

British troops in Umm Qasr, Iraq, has had a dog as a mascot, two-year-old Sandbag. Sandbag has lived with the troops, charing pleasures and hardships. However, as the last of the British troops now return home, pleas to the UK government to make sure Sandbag would be taken to Britain has failed. The government says this is the decision of the commander on the ground. Sandbag would be cared for at the military base where he has always lived, by the US troops taking over the responsibility for the base.

I feel sorry for Sandbag, who will have to adapt to new humans instead of moving off with humans he knows. On the other hand, I cannot help wonder why the UK government would be expected to take care of Sandbag's journey to Britain. Was there no British soldier on the base who personally adopted Sandbag? Did he not have one particular human who was his, and whom would have taken care of him and made sure he would go to Britain when the British troops left Umm Qasr? A dog is not supposed to be collectively cared for by a vast number of humans, not without a particular human having the ultimate responsibility. It is not the government's responsibility to make sure Sandbag has a good life, because a dog should not be cared for by a collective or a legal entity such as the government. A dog should be cared for by one human, or a couple of humans. This human has the responsibility to bring the dog when moving.

On a side note, I believe the US troops can care for Sandbag at least as well as the British troops did. Hopefully, one of the US soldiers will personally adopt Sandbag as his dog.

New Collar

Paula and Daniel have given me a new collar. It looks nice and has got my name on it. This collar certainly boosts my looks to an even higher level.

The collar is custom made for me and purchased on line. It suits me, as a daily blogger, to have a collar purchased on line.

April and Calvin got collars with their names on them, but I dare say my collar is the best looking one.

Upcoming Lunar Eclipse

There will be a lunar eclipse the day after tomorrow, on the 6th of August. It will be a shallow penumbral eclipse, but with a low magnitude, not visible to the naked eye. Fortunately for my family and friends, though, they can see a Lunar Eclips in me whenever they want.

Cleaning the House

The downside of being so many dogs and humans in a little house, is that you have to clean the place often. We have had a major overhaul of the whole house this afternoon and evening. We started before Daniel came home from his work, made a break for dinner when he had arrived, then continued until after Paula had left for her work. As you can quickly deduce, all the dogs were present during the whole cleaning operation, while Daniel and Paula were away for different parts of it. It almost goes without saying, then, that the fourlegged members of the household did most of the cleaning. We are done now, and I feel a bit tired. Still, having a clean house makes you satisfied.

Dog Reappears after Nine Years

Happy news come to our knowledge from Australia. A terrier who was living in a scuffy and flea-bitten state in a back yard in Melbourne was rescued by animal welfare authorities. The authorities were amazed to discover that the dog was chip marked, and that her actual human family had lost her nine years ago in Brisbane, where they live. The dog, who is now seventeen years old, will return to her humans. It is said she has lived in that backyard for two years, but where she was and what she did for seven years before that is yet unknown.

I am glad this dog lived long enough to be rescued. May her final time be a time in dog luxury!

Visiting Suri

Paula and Daniel was away today. They visited my little sister Suri and the family she lives with. None of us dogs got to come along, so I cannot write about more than what Paula and Daniel have told me. Instead, please read what Paula wrote on our web page.

Our neighbours down the street were outdoors all evening. They probably had visitors tonight. We could hear them talk when we were outside, but we live far enough away that we did not hear what they talked about. It is nice to have neighbours who do not live too close by.

Bloodhound Car

A Brit, who is a Royal Air Force pilot, is working on a project where he will drive a specially built car to break the land speed record. The car is called Bloodhound SSC. The attempt at the record does not interest me so much, but I do find it fascinating that the car is named after a dog breed. It is yet another proof of how important dogs are to man.

Raining Cats and Dogs

In the late afternoon, there was rain. At first a mild and tender rain, but later it poured down and drummed hard on our roof. We do have a strong enough roof to keep all of that rain out, though. Fortunately, none of us were outdoors when that heavy rain came down. I wonder how a Shiba Inu coat would have fared in such a rain. Our coats are good, but they are not invincible.

The rain has stopped now. Rains like this are sometimes described in English with the saying "it is raining cats and dogs". I wonder what that expression comes from. I sure would not want to be a dog raining down from the sky.

Swine Flu Hits Pregnant Humans harder

A recent study from the USA shows that the current swine flu may hit pregnant women harder than the average human. Pregnant women may be four times as likely than other humans of needing hospital care, if caught by the flu. The study only involves thirtyfour pregnant women, but eleven of these were admitted to hospital. This was a rate four times higher than that seen in the general population. It remains to be seen if further studies can confirm these findings, but since this study indicated a number four times as high, I guess it is rather likely that there is a correlation, even though the study was done on just a few humans.

As far as I know, the swine flu does not affect dogs. This is good, considering the plans we have of more puppy litters in the near future.

Cruelty to Pigs

The authorities in Halland (a province in the south of Sweden) have seized 800 pigs. The police have care of the pigs and there are suspicions of cruelty to animals. There were dead pigs lying among the living pigs, and a lot of the pigs were of very bad health. Stories like this make me mad. I hate cruelty to animals, even when it is not cruelty to dogs. Pigs are an important source of meat, and the meat cannot be good if the pigs do not fare well. I hope the pigs who survived will have better lives from now on.

Tacos

This Monday was a rather dull day, until the evening. There was tacos for dinner tonight, and some of the minced meat were left to us dogs. This is among the best thing I know as a supplement to my dog food. It made my day.

Meja Succeeds

My dear daughter Meja was at her very first dog show today. It was a match show, a good place to start. She showed how excellent she is by winning best of breed puppy without making an effort. You just have to look at Meja's picture (below), to see what a worthy winner she is.

BOB

So, Paula was at a dog show today with Calvin and Primus. Primus became Best of Breed among the Pharao Hounds. We all congratulate him for that!

Calvin, on the other side, did not become better than third best male among the Shiba Inus. Thus, Paula never got to go with a Shiba Inu in competition for best of breed. If I would have been shown, maybe it would have been different. I may have become best bitch and then Best of Breed. Noone knows, of course, since I was not there. However, with both a male and a female in the show ring, there is twice the chance of winning the breed, when there are others competing as well. I might have been successful, but, alas, I never got a chance to try. I hope to be shown in other shows soon.

Institut Suédois

There is a place in Paris called the Swedish Institute, run by the Foreign Ministry of Sweden. It is a place where French as well as international visitors can learn more about Sweden and where Swedes in Paris can get in touch with their home country. In an attempt to cut spending, the Foreign Ministry have discussed closing the institute down. These plans have been met with opposition. The plans have also caused the institute to be highlighted in the New York Times in the USA, which recommends its readers to visit it, if possible.

As far as I know, this is the only Swedish Institute of its kind in the world, and it is doing good for the image of Sweden. I have heard that the institute will survive, but the plans to close it down may have brought the positive effect that big news papers like the New York Times have written about it. This is a side effect of public plans to close something down that may cause it to survive. I hope it will survive for a long time yet.

Preparations

Paula will bring Calvin and Primus to a dog show on Saturday. She will go with Primus' breeder Sofie and some of her dogs, and they will leave tomorrow afternoon. I will not get to go. This makes me sad.

Solar Eclipse

There was a solar eclipse in large parts of Asia today. In Japan, a partial eclipse could be seen, in other countries, such as India, there was a total eclipse. It might have been interesting to see, but not so much that I would have wanted to go there. I am Lunar Eclips, and mostly interested in lunar eclipses.

Linni on the Web

Concerned fans of Auntie Linni have noted that there is no information on her on our present web site. I would like to calm them down by saying that this is not because Linni has disappeared in real life or anything like that. Linni is as healthy and happy as ever. It is just that when our new web site was launched, Linni decided to take the opportunity to get out of the limelight for a little while. The rest of us do not know exactly what happened, but somehow, Linni was not there on the new web site, and none of us realized it until her fans got in touch with us. Linni is a very valuable asset in our family and we are glad to announce that she will soon return to our web site as well.

Lunar Anniversary

The 20th of July is the 40th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon. Of course, by Japanese time, the landing took place on the 21st of July. Auntie Linni also points out that the TV photage from the first steps on the Moon were relayed to the rest of the Earth from a radio dish in Australia (home country of Linni's father). By Australian time, the landing also took place on the 21st of July. On the other hand, in space, all timing is by Greenwich Mean Time, and by this the landing was on the 20th of July. Shiba Inus, with our roots in Japan (and in Linni's case also Australia) may disregard of this, however, when it comes to the day of a blog post of this great event.

No other Earthlings than humans (except for the odd bacteria that they carried along) have ever been to the Moon. It is my belief, though, that dogs may be the second species to go to the Moon. Being so closely associated with humans as dogs are has its advantages.

Historic Defeat Coming Up?

The ruling party in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), may lose power soon. Prime Minister Taro Aso is not well liked and is now even attacked by many members of parliament within his own party. Mr Aso has said he will call a new election in August, but many party officials say it would be asking for defeat if he would lead the party. I ask myself, however: who would be a better party leader? There has been many party leaders over the last couple of years, none of whom have managed to raise the public support for the party. Maybe a time in opposition would be the best, both for Japan and the LDP? The party has held the power for most of the last half century, I believe the democracy in Japan would fare best with a change of powers in the next election. Then the LDP may be able to come back with renewed strength after the next election.

Yet Another Swedish Show Champion

Another one of us have become Swedish Show Champion today. It is Kenny, our dear and beautiful friend who was born and bred in Japan, who managed to take the Swedish Champion title. Well, now Kenny is a champion. Nevertheless, he was beaten by Calvin (father of my pups) and my brother Jiro in the competition for best male. This is not surprising, considering that both Calvin and Jiro are very handsome Shiba Inus too.

After a Short Break

I have granted myself some vacation from blogging the last couple of days. Daniel has been away for some days, so I and the other dogs have had to take a little more responsibility than usually for guarding the house and yard, especially those hours when Paula has been away too. We have been successful, nothing has happened. However, I thought I could take a break from blogging these days. Daniel is back home now and things are returning to normal. Among the normal things are my daily blog posts. Another normal thing during the summer is dog shows, some of us are going to yet another dog show tomorrow. This could be fun.

Tags

Blogger suggests that I have tags for my blog posts. I never have, though. Today, the suggestions were scooters, vacation, and autumn. I have no relation to scooters whatsoever, and as a pet dog, I never have vacations. Autumn is still far away. Thus, none of these tag suggestions were suitable for my blog. However, as the resourceful blogger that I am, I managed to write a short blog post about them anyway. Maybe there will be suggestions in the future which suits me better. If so, I may use them, we will have to see. So far, I have not seen the use of tags.

Going Home from the Show

I went home from the show in the same cage as Calvin, April was with us there as well. (We always go in cages on road trips, for traffic safety reasons.) Calvin's prizes were left on the door to the cage. It was the red and yellow prize for Best of Breed, blue and yellow for CC, red and green for the Champion title, and orange for Best of Group-Reserve. While I am happy for Calvin and the prizes he won, I felt a little awkward, hidden from my place in the limelight. Just look at the picture.

Consequences of Rain

We had a lot of rain on our way home from the dog show yesterday. However, I would never have guessed that it would be so much rain that the road we went by would be closed down this Sunday evening. We went by road 50, part of which goes directly between our home city of Örebro to the small community of Alfta where the show ground was. Between Grängesberg and Klenshyttan in Dalecarlia, the road is now closed off because of the rain. All the traffic is re-routed into smaller roads. The Swedish Road Administration believes that the road will open again tomorrow morning. The dog show was a two day show, we were lucky that our breed group was yesterday. I would not have wanted to go on a re-routed tour down smaller roads, especially since road 50 is not very big in the first place.

Until the next dog show in Alfta, I hope road 50 will be better. I know this is hardly going to happen. There is not enough tax money going to the roads in Sweden, and mending or rebuilding roads take a lot of time. I can still hope, though.

A New Show Champion

Calvin, father of my pups, has aquired proof today that he was worthy of becoming their father. He was showed at a national kennel club show in Alfta, Hälsingland, and became a show champion. This title will show up in new pedigrees of the pups to whom we are parents and any pups that they may get. I was a champion already when we got the pups. One of my requirements for a father was actually a champion title, but I consulted with Paula and Daniel and we agreed that Calvin would become a champion in the future. Today, he proved us right. He has made me and our pups proud.

Beautiful Roads

When you go to a lot of dog shows, you see many kilometres of roads. This is because most dog shows are far away from home and the most convenient way of getting there is by car. Roads can be of different standard, good standard is naturally the most comfortable to go by. There are also differences in how beautiful different roads and their surroundings are. A trip down a beautiful road is, of course, a more pleasant experience than a trip down an ugly road. We are therefore pleased that the Swedish Road Administration has an annual prize for the most beautiful road opened the last year. The 2009 nominees are now chosen. There are thirteen candidates from all across the country and of different kind. Judging from the pictures I have seen, my favourite is Road 87 (candidate no. 3 in the page I have linked to). We will have to see which road wins the prize.

A Fox?

Daniel claims he saw a fox running across our lawn this evening. I do not know if I believe him. None of us dogs where out in the yard at the time, witnessing the fox outside the fence. Would a fox not stay away from the scents of all of us close by, or would it not care? I hope it would care and would stay away. Foxes are not the same species as we, but they hunt for more or less the same prey. We want that prey to ourselves in our lot. I told Daniel that if I would have been outdoors and seen the fox, I would have barked at it to make it run away. Daniel just told me he thought it was lucky I was not outside. He is more concerned about not disturbing the human neighbours than protecting the lot. However, the human neighbours respect the borders to our lot, that fox obviously did not - if indeed it was there.

RIP Michael Jackson

More Rain

We have had more rain today. In fact, it has been overcast the whole day. This is a change from the recent weeks, when we have not seen a cloud in the sky some days. Rain is nice once in a while, but I do not like it when I go outside. It is better if the rain falls in the night when we are all indoors sleeping. Well, unfortunately, it is not like we can do anything about the weather. I wish I could, but there are things that not even I can do. We have a nice and dry climate indoors, though.

Not so Hot Anymore

It is raining today and the weather has been far from as hot this weekend as the previous weeks. This is really nice, for a change. Coincidentally, the lower temperatures outside comes at the same time as I start to end my season in heat. The boys have been way too interested in me for me to feel comfortable, so I am glad this will soon be over.

Mourning and Celebration

Dad's old aunt Ranko in Norway passed away yesterday. We all mourn with him.

Today is the American national holiday. Sunni, April, and Calvin, who were all born in the USA, would normally celebrate today, and drag the rest of us along with them. With the sad news from Norway, the celebrations today have been of the more modest kind. Still, it has been a good day.

Thunder and Lightning

We had thunder and lightning on the late Friday afternoon, so Paula and Daniel decided to turn the computer off. This is a safety precausion to save the electronics from lightning induced electronic spikes that may damage it. Nobody turned it on again for the entire evening, thus, there never was a Daily Hailey. So be it, I can just blame the forces of nature, can't I?

New Images

The new US lunar probe sent back pictures from the lunar surface. It was images of a region in the highlands to the south of Mare Nubium. There was no lunar eclipse obscuring the view, but an interested Shiba Inu called Lunar Eclips (me) watching them here on Earth. Science can be very interesting.

We also got some new images of my baby sister Suri today. However, these were not digital photographies, but printed ones, so I cannot yet show any of them on the blog. We would have to scan them first. Suri has grown, but is just as cute as ever.

Birthday

It is the first of July and Dad's birthday. He turns seven years old today. My pups are half a year old now, Dad is, of course, their grandfather. We all congratulate Dad today. Among other things, he got a big Pingu, as you can see in the picture.