Bronze

A couple of days have gone since the Ice Hockey World Championship was finished last Sunday. The Czechs beat the Russians and grabbed the gold, whereas the Swedes beat the Germans and took bronze. I would have wanted to see Sweden fight for the gold, but the Swedes lost to the Czechs by a very narrow margin in the semi final.

Under normal circumstances, I would say a bronze medal to Sweden was some comfort, but I would actually have liked to see the Germans win medals. Hardly anybody remember the fourth team, because only the medalists are usually listed. In ice hockey, there are rather few countries who usually split the medals between them. There are the "four greats": Russia, Canada, the Czech Republic and Sweden, and then there are the USA, Finland, and Slovakia. Germany have a few medals from way back, but I believe it would be good for the sport that such a large country as Germany would get a medal and thus a tangible proof of how much better they were this year than they usually are. I do have hopes that the fourth place may spark some interest in Germany and make the Germans better in the long run, but a medal would have been even better.

Sweden got the bronze last year and will probably have many more opportunities than Germany to take medals in the near future. It would have been a great loss for the Swedes to lose the bronze to Germany, but perhaps it would have made more Swedish players eager to come back next year and take medals. We have had a debate that there are many Swedish players, especially from the teams in the NHL, who refuse to play in the national team. When Sweden take the bronze without these players, it looks like less of a crisis, whereas if Sweden would have lost against Germany, more people would have considered action necessary to get the best Swedish players to want to play in the national team.

It is not that I am disappointed that my home country won against Germany, but I believe a German victory might have been better for the ice hockey of both countries in the long run.

Rain

It has been raining almost all day. It is not fun being outdoors in the rain. Luckily, Paula and Daniel understands this, so we do not have to be outside more than we have to. We were also lucky there was no rain on the morning walk, so we got a walk of decent length today. I wish for a warmer, sunnier day tomorrow. The saying goes that after rain comes sunshine, and from my experience, I believe this is true both in the litteral and in the metaphorical sense. We will just have to see how soon the sunny weather will be back.

Nemo

Daniel met my son Nemo today, on his way from his workplace. He told me Nemo was overjoyed to see him, and that Nemo has grown and is an excellent black and tan Shiba Inu. I would like to meet Nemo myself, but it is still always nice to hear good news about the pups who have moved away from home. Nemo does not live far away from here, so I am sure I will see him now and then.

Birthday Again

We celebrated Daniel's birthday today. He served sausages. Is there anything that can make a celebration better? Well, perhaps meatballs. Nevertheless, it was a good way to celebrate a birthday.

Success in Norway

Kuro-chan, my dear and father of Polly, is in Norway with Paula and April, and Paula's sister Mia. He participates in the Norwegian Japan Specialty and won Best of Breed today. Then he became second Best in Show. This is a great result! I suppose not even I could have beaten him today. I will start my show season later this summer, but am at home taking care of the house and little Polly. We will see what I can acomplish then.

Best Actor

In the Cannes film festival in France, they have handed out a prize for best cinematic canine. It is an unofficial prize, but, needless to say, I believe it is the most important of all the film prizes. The prize was awarded for the tenth year. Strangely, though, some previous winners have not been real dogs, last year the winner was an animated dog from the film Up. Would anyone consider giving a human film prize for best actor to an animated character before a real life actor? I would not think so. This year, though, a real dog got the prize, a Boxer called Boss who acted in the film Tamara Drewe. I have not seen that film, but I would like to.

Running Water

They said on the radio that there are problems with the water supply in the whole town of Örebro, where we live. The reason is that a thunderbolt has struck the water purification plant. This is of no concern for us. Our water is running, but then, our water comes from a private well on our property. We are happy for this tonight.

No Sanctuary Any More

Polly can be tireing sometimes, with all the energy she has got. Until now, she has not been able to get up in the sofas in the living room, though. This has meant that whenever one of us adult dogs have been to tired of Polly's playful attacks, we have been able to jump up into one of the sofas and get away from her. Today, Polly learned how to climb up into the sofas herself. She messed with me for a long time in the sofa after that. I was not too tired of her, so I played along this time, but now I know I have to be prepared for Polly in the sofas. I know it will not be too bad, I do love my daughter.

Potatoes

There was suddenly a foul smell from the kitchen pantry today. We cleared it of almost every content, and discovered a forgotten old bag of potatoes in the farthest reaches of the dark shelves. The potatoes had started to go bad, very bad. Daniel threw many of them away, but he said he could salvage other potatoes and planted them in our garden. If we are lucky, this will bring us more and fresh potatoes in the not so distant future. It is amazing how easy it can be to grow potatoes. I wish it would be equally easy to grow meatballs.

Destroying Furniture

Polly, the little rascal, is chewing on the furniture. She is not just chewing on the living room table, which has already been chewed upon by earlier generations of Shiba Inus, but on the sofas and on Paula's and Daniel's big bed. This is not how I have raised her. Mum and Dad claim this must be traits brought to Polly by her father, they say neither of them have dogs who chew on furniture in their pedigrees. Polly's father does not chew on furniture, but maybe he did when he was a pup himself. He has not told me either way. I hope she will grow out of it soon.

Mission to Venus

The Japanese Space Agency is active, it is now planning a mission to Venus. It will carry instruments to explore this planet. It will also carry an extra probe which will be sailing the solar wind, which is the first time solar wind sailing will actually be tested. The surface temperature and atmospheric presure is much larger on Venus compared to that of Earth, but humans are still interested in exploring it. I cannot see any future colonization of Venus by humans and dogs, but the human thirst for knowledge goes beyond what can be readily used for living, eating, and other basic stuff. I guess this is one of the reasons human civilization has come so far.

After Sunshine Comes Rain

We had not had rain for a couple of weeks, but since Wednesday night we have got about 26 mm. The grass has started to grow. Daniel thought he would mow the lawn for the first time this year today, but the grass was too wet from the rain this morning. I guess he will have to do it later.

Public Appearance

Public appearance is important. You cannot judge a dog by its coat, it is often said, but the coat is one of the things to judge a dog by.

In Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been widely critizised for his way to dress. While you can justifiably say that his politics and his ability to fulfill election promises is the most important things to judge, appearances is by no means unimportant. Who wants a PM you get embarrased of when you see him? It is as if I would appear on a dog show in a dirty, uncared for coat. Appearances are perhaps more important in Japan than anywhere else in the world, and I do understand that PM Hatoyama's way to dress has added to his falling popularity in the polls. Somebody should hire him a better stylist.

Dangerous Superstition

Humans are strange. They are the most intelligent animal on Earth, yet many of them believe in really strange things. This is quite all right, as long as it does not hurt anybody else. One of the most horrible things that some people believe in, though, is old school, folk medicine. Not only is the medical effect of folk medicine next to nothing, only placebo may be an effect. It is also a threat to wildlife across the planet. Half of all wild canine species are hunted and killed for these kinds of non-effective medicine, just because of human superstition. This is no proof of human intelligence, but rather the opposite. In these modern times, which many humans like to call enlightened, there are thus still a lot of humans killing canine wildlife for nothing. It would be better if these superstitious people would take no medicine at all, because the medicine they take does not make them better, but are made at the expence of the lives of innocent animals.

Highly Unlikely

The leaders of poor developing country and dictatorship North Korea claim that the country has succeeded in creating a functional nuclear fusion power plant. This is something that scientists across the world have been working to accomplish for decades. It would be environmentally friendly and the fuel is abundant. I do not believe it until I read about proof that it is true.

Dad Got Happy

Yesterday, I wrote about the surprise victories of Team Denmark in the IIHF ice hockey world championship. However, Denmark's surprise wins against Finland and the USA was matched today by Team Norway's victory over ice hockey giant Czech Republic. It was thus time for Dad, who was born in Norway and always hopes for Norwegian victories in any sport, to be really happy. He celebrated with a piece of fresh minced meat. It looks like this will be a world championship to remember, with these surprise victories. I really hope both Denmark and Norway can live up to the new expectations and have shots at the medals. Most of all, I hope the Norwegian team will be very successful, since my Dad and paternal grandmother is from Norway. I will follow the tournament closely.

Danish Surprise

Denmark has made a surprisingly great start of the IIHF World Championship in ice hockey. It is normally one of the least good teams, often struggeling to stay in the Championship and not being relegated to the B championship. In the first game, they won against Finland, a team which is often considered a possible medal winner. In today's game, the Danes followed up by winning against the USA in overtime. Mum is not happy, American as she is, but I find it rather exciting that an underdog like Denmark may make a very good tournament. It is not that I believe the Danes will win any medals, but I sure hope they would. It would be a healthy reminder to everyone that it is not only the most common national teams that win. Go, Denmark!

Linni Got Happy

In today's formula 1 Grand Prix in Barcelona, Spain, Mark Webber won. Auntie Linni was happy he did, because he is from Australia, just like Linni's father. Linni hopes that Webber will win the world championship this year, and with the victory today, Webber is clearly a contender for the title.

There are no Americans for Mum, April, or Calvin to hope for, and no Norwegians for Dad to hope for. There are also no Swedes for any of us to hope for. One of the contestants is from Japan: Kamui Kobayashi. While he is a competent driver, he is also a rookie and drives a BMW Sauber, which is not a good car. So far, Kobayashi has not scored a single point, and it is reasonable to rule him out of the competition for the world champion title, at least this year. We hope that he will drive a more competitive car next year. Until that happens, or there are any Americans, Norwegians, or Swedes racing, I go with Auntie Linni and hope for Mark Webber.

Another Birthday

Today is Daniel's mother's birthday. He will go visit her and celebrate her tomorrow. She lives in Stockholm, so it takes a little while to get there, but what won't you do to celebrate your mother on her birthday? We all wish her a happy birthday!

Election

There is a general election in the United Kingdom today. Daniel says it is important, because the UK is a big, European country and what happens there affects Sweden very much. Despite this, I cannot say I care much. I have no relatives in or from the UK, neither does any of the other dogs in our household. Neither, for that matter, does Daniel or Paula. The English, who are the majority if the British, also have their very own rules on how to judge Shiba Inus. The Kennel Club in England is not a member of the FCI and do not abide by the rule that it is the breed standard of the home country of a breed that matters. I do not like that. I believe that if you have a Japanese breed like the Shiba Inu, you should go by the Japanese breed standard. What is the point of having a different standard? This is why I do not care much about the UK, and therefore do not care much about the election there. I do not care that Daniel care, either. That my son Nemo got his official name Eclipse Class Cruiser from a class of UK Royal Navy cruisers does not alter this fact.

Primus

I forgot to mention, the day before yesterday, that it was also Primus' birthday. Primus is our Pharao Hound friend. He is a giant compared to puppy Polly, but very gentle and kind. He is also best friend of Calvin. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Primus. It is a little late, but better late than never. Happy belated birthday, Primus!

Upcoming Election

There is a general election for the British parliament this Thursday. This is not, however, the election I have reason to write about today. Daniel is active in local politics, and he was out campaigning this evening. The Swedish election is not until the 19th of September, but Daniel agrees with his party's strategists who say that the campaign has to be up and rolling as soon as now. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but I would rather have Daniel at home with us. When he is not at home, I have to hope his work amounts to something and that his party gets a good result in the election this autumn. He would be happier, thus, so would the rest of the family.

Birthday

It is Paula's sister Mia's birthday today. She got her presents from me and the other dogs here yesterday, since it was Sunday, which is a better day to meet and celebrate. Neither of us dogs came along, but Paula and Daniel told us that Mia had been very grateful for the presents she received from us. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on the day that is actually her birthday, and wish her another happy year. I guess I will see her soon enough.

May

It is May, and it feels like winter is long gone. Less than a month ago, we had snow in our yard, but it is all gone and it is really warm in the sunshine. I like it, though auntie Linni likes it more. Linni loves lying in the yard, sunbathing. Dad, on the other hand, does not like that flying insects are coming back. He would prefer if they never came near him. For Polly, her first summer is coming up. It must be exciting to experience a season of the year that you have never experienced before. I have a hard time remembering how that was. By autumn, Polly will be old enough for dog shows. I am looking forward to this. I hope she will like dog shows just as much as I do. For the time being, though, May is here, a month which usually brings sunshine. This is good.

Bee Theft

A couple of years ago, Japan banned the imports of bees, in an effort to stop the spread of parasites. This is important. Bees are among the most important animals there is, since they are essential for the reproduction of many plants that are needed for the production of food and other things. The ban on importing bees has, however, led to a shortage of bees and an increase in the price of bees. This has, in turn, led to a rise in the theft of bees. It is hard to guard bees, since the bee hives are often placed far out in the fields on the countryside.

What is more, bees do not care about which humans they work with. Dogs are more important than bees, of course, but it is much harder to steal dogs. Dogs care about what humans they live and work with. Dogs generally live with their humans and would never voluntarily leave with people they do not trust. It must be much easier stealing bees than dogs. I hope the japanese can find a way protecting the bees of law abiding humans.

Mum

Mum had to go to the veterinarian today. Yesterday evening, we discovered something we first thought was a tick. This would have been the first this year, but since spring has gotten far, it was not unlikely that Mum would have a tick. On closer look, though, it was no tick, but looked like a piece of the skin growing the wrong way. We all got concerned, it might be the start of cancer. Today, the veterinarian took care of it right away. He told Daniel and Mum that it was a good thing Mum came in so quickly, because something like this could have grown rapidly. It was small, though, and did not yet have any roots through which it would have been able to spread. Thus, the final news was happy: Mum is going to be completely fine.

Late Decision

The US department of defence has announced that it has lifted its ban on women serving on submarines. In about a year, the first women could take up their posts.

I find it strange that women has not been allowed before. In the event of a nuclear war, the crews of nuclear submarines are the humans most likely to survive. If the crews survive, but are all men, the species would still perish with them. There would be no women who could make couples with men and make another generation of humans. Of course, you could argue that humanity would never be able to make it after a nuclear holocaust no matter who would be on the submarines, because there would be no land to return to and no food to eat. On the other hand, a nuclear war would not have to be a full holocaust, hurting the entire Earth so badly that nuclear submarine crews would not be able to return to land even years later.

For my part, I would also like parts of the nuclear submarine crews to be dogs, so man's best friend would also have a chance to survive a nuclear war.

Polly Likes the Outdoors

Polly, my dear daughter, really likes it outside, running around in our garden, playing with the toys and playing catch with the rest of us. It was raining this afternoon, nobody else wanted to stay outside, but she was still running around, enjoying herself. Shiba Inus are not normally fond of water and rain, but Polly was not concerned. We waited and waited, and finally Daniel managed to get her attention and make her want to get inside.

I have never enjoyed the outdoors much, in any weather, neither has Mum or Dad, though Dad likes to take long walks. Auntie Linni likes to lay outside for longer periods, when it is warm and the Sun is shining. Kuro chan can also be fond of staying outside once in a while. He is the father of Polly, and maybe she has gotten her interest in staying outdoors from him, but her interest seem to me bigger than his. Well, we do not always know why our pups get their personal traits, which is one of the great things of having pups. I do not have the same interests as my parents, either.

Meatballs

Paula and Daniel had meatballs for dinner. They did not eat them all, so April and I went meatball hunting as they were busy with other things. Meatballs are tasty prey. Daniel was a little disappointed, he had planned to make a lunch box with the meatballs. Paula, on the other hand, rather thought it was fun. It does not matter to me - if you turn your back on meatballs, any dog of the right mind will hunt these meatballs down.

A Classic

It has come to my knowledge that the classic comic novel by Englishman Jerome K. Jerome, which in Swedish is just called "Tre män i en båt" (Swedish for "Three Men in a Boat") has a more suitable title in English. The English original title is "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)". There are four main characters in the novel, the three men of the title, and the dog Montmorency, all of whom go on a boat trip together up the river Thames in England. I cannot understand why Montmorency have not been mentioned in the title of the Swedish edition. His part in the novel is significant, and the original title should have been translated in full. I guess the translator just did not care enough about dogs, as some dull humans tend to do. Maybe it is time for someone to make a new translation of the book, where the full title is translated as well.

Dog Show?

Paula and Daniel were away from home for a part of this Sunday. They claim they went to a dog show in Västerås, a town of the same size as our home town and about an hour's car ride away. I have my doubts, since they did not bring a single dog. What is the point of going to a dog show, if not to amuse the dog you are going to show? It is not like they need to look for new dog breeds, since they are breeders of the best breed there is already.

I checked the story, and there actually was a dog show in Västerås today. They also brought dog candy home of a kind usually purchased at dog shows, and they were gone for such a long time that they would have had the time to go there and back again. Nevertheless, I questioned where they had been when they got home, but they stood by their story. They generally tell us the truth about their whereabouts.

Well, I have no evidence what so ever that they are lying, so they may be speaking the truth, unlikely though it seems. I guess that even the most unlikely event may happen occasionally, and maybe this was one such occasion. In the long run, it will not matter much, and I guess I will settle with believing in the unlikely story that Paula and Daniel both say is the truth.

Polly and Dad

Over the last few days, Polly and Dad has discovered that they enjoy playing with each other. They have a great deal of fun together. When Dad think that Polly goes too far, he tells her so in a good way. It is nice for me to see my daughter playing with her grandfather in such a happy mood. When there are others who play with Polly, I can relax for a bit from my duties as a mother. Polly is growing up, but it will take a little while before she is mature enough not to have anybody watching out for her. Now I have April, Mum, Auntie Linni, and Dad helping me out with this. It is a good life for Polly, I believe.

The Dangers of Bananas - No, Methanol

There is one sort of food that Daniel hates above all, and that is bananas. He cannot stand the texture or the taste of it.

In Uganda, about 80 humans have died from drinking illegal banana gin. In this case, the gin was laces with methanol, which is probably the cause of death. It may be with a lack of respect for those who have died, but we joked with Daniel, asking if he blamed the bananas for the fate of those who died. He joked back and said he did.

Getting serious again, we agreed that it is too bad these people feel they cannot afford industry manufactured gin, but drink the potentially harmful illegal gin instead. We feel sorry for the deaths and hope no dogs lost their humans because of this bad gin.

Barking

Some of us bark a lot, occasionally. Mum, who is the oldest and wisest of us, barks the most. Paula and Daniel often say that they get tired of this. On the other hand, Mum would not be herself, if she would not bark. Odds are Mum will be the one who will leave us first, for the afterlife, because of her age. Daniel has confessed that since he would miss Mum a lot, he would probably miss her barks as well. This is a sign of love. If you love somebody, you also love her faults in a way. I would also miss Mum's barks, not only because I am the second biggest barker who would then have the misfortune of being biggest barker, but also because I too love Mum. We are all very lucky Mum is in excellent health and will certainly live for many years to come.

Tailset

Im happy to discover that Polly has inherited my fine looking tailset. Apart from that she looks more like her father than me, her mother. Well Im proud over her. If she cant be like me her father is the next best thing in line to look like. Im totally aware that Im unique, in all aspects.

Birthday

Today was Nils Olov's birthday. All of us dogs like him very much, so we gave him a cake. None of us came along to the celebrations this evening, though. We stayed at home, and got Paula and Daniel to hand over the present. They told us our present was greatly appreciated, which made us feel good. It is nice to make a dear friend like Nils Olov happy.

Late Fees

Librarians in the oldest library of New York have discovered that two books were borrowed on the 5 of October 1789 and has since never been returned. This may not have been such a big news, if it was not for the claim that then President of the USA George Washington was the one who borrowed the books. The late fees, adjusted for inflation, would now be $300,000 for being about 220 years late.

As far as I can tell, you cannot be quite sure that George Washington was the one who borrowed the books, it says in the article that I have read: "George Washington did not even bother to sign his name in the borrower's ledger. An aide simply scrawled 'president' next to the title to show who had taken them out." The word "president" is used in many other contexts in English than for the head of state in a republic. What if there was another person, president of something else, who borrowed the books? Well, New York was the US capital at the time, and other prominent figures in the federal government did borrow books there, so it is not far fetched to guess that "president" means the President of the United States in this ledger. Regardless of whether it actually was Washington or not, it would be interesting to know what has become of the two books.

Polly and Auntie Linni

Aunt Linni has always had a special place in my heart, my play mate ever since my brothers moved away from home. It has, therefore, been extra hard to see that she has never been fond of my small pups. Linni does not like the small pups, and she has made this clear on several occasions with Polly and Nemo. However, this afternoon, Polly and Linni were outdoors together, and Polly tried as hard as only a pup can do to trigger Linni to play with her. Finally, Polly must have broken through a barrier with Linni, because Linni started to chase after Polly in a most playfull manner. The both of them chased each other for a long time. Although Linni became a little tired, so, too, did Polly. Now they are good friends.

Work on a Saturday

Paula worked today, even though it is Saturday. She will work tomorrow as well, when it is Sunday. This is the way it can be, when working as a nurse at the hospital. On the other side, Paula will not work Monday or Tuesday. Daniel is at home with us dogs during the weekend, and Paula will be at home with us Monday and Tuesday. This is a rather good plan, it is better to have one of Paula or Daniel at home, than being alone. We are proud of Paula, who has an important job and earns money to support us.

Nemo Has Moved

Nemo has now moved to his new family. To you, my dear readers, this statement may seem like just a rerun of the blog post I wrote yesterday. Nevertheless, this is the most important thing that has happened in my life today. I miss Nemo, but I know he will get a good life and I will see him again.

Daniel's sister Filippa celebrated her birthday today. She lives quite a way away from us, so we did not celebrate with her, but hope that she had a nice birthday anyway.

The Last Night

This is the last night that Nemo lives with us. He and Polly turns eight weeks tomorrow, this is when they are old enough to move, and Nemo's new family want to get him as soon as possible. I can quite understand that, Nemo is such a lovely pup. We wish Nemo all the best, we know his new family and know that he will get a great life with them. This feels very good.

Puppy Food

We are running out of puppy food, so Daniel went to our usual store for dog food to buy some more. There were none of our preferred variety to buy, though. We eat salmon & rice, and Daniel got to know that many breeders buy this food for their adult dogs, but they still buy other varieties for their pups. We would like our pups to have the puppy version of salmon & rice, so Daniel ordered some. It will be delivered to the store by next week. In the meantime, we have received puppy bags for Polly and Nemo from the food supplier, and there is a couple of kilogrammes of food there that the pups can have. We believe we have the right to be picky.

Bagus

We have received news on my son Bagus, from my first litter. He is doing great with his family in Stockholm. He loves them, and they love him. He also has got other friends in the neighbourhood. It is always nice for a mother to get positive news about her pups.

Pictures of My Daughter Polly

She is cute, isn't she? I will train her myself for the show ring, with the hope that she can be at least as successful as I have been. Her father is even more successful. We are all black and tan Shiba Inus, and my hope is that Polly will hold the black and tan coat colour in high esteem, as her parents have done. It seems to me that Polly has inherited some of my personal traits, so I believe she will like dog shows as much as I have ever done. Apart from the advantages that she has of having beautiful parents, enjoying herself in the show ring is something that can make her career.

Ninety

Paula's grandmother celebrated her ninetieth birthday today. This is huge. Humans do live longer than dogs, on average, but ninety years is a lot even for a human. It is many years more than the average life expectancy of humans in Sweden, who have among the longest life expectancies in the world. Naturally, Paula and Daniel participated in the celebrations. All of us dogs stayed at home, but we participated in a gift and sent our greetings through Paula and Daniel. I heard the celebration was fun. I will have to congratulate Paula's grandmother next time I see her.

Seventy Years Ago

Dad thought I would devote the blog entry today to something that happened exactly seventy years ago today. It was the day when Nazi Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, the latter is Dad's country of birth. Nazi Germany did this as an act of aggression against countries who had declared that they would be neutral in the ongoing war, just because the Nazis thought they needed the Norwegian sea ports. Seventy years is a long time, many dog generations, but not so much for humans. In Norway, there are plenty of humans still around who remembers this, and the subsequent hostile occupation that went on for more than five years. It is a small wonder, then, that Denmark and Norway decided to join the military alliance NATO, where Mum's country of birth the USA is a strong member. We all hope nothing like this will ever happen again.

Injury

I feel sorry for Paula. She accidentally hit her right arm at work yesterday, and it has become swollen and sore today. It is no fun having pains like that.

Japanese Woman in Space

The second female Japanese astronaut has now gone into space and is currently on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, her husband is down Earthside, taking care of their daughter and their home. It is not the space trip that raises the most interest in Japan, but the roles of this couple. Japan has a very traditional society, where men are still expected to be the bread winner of the family and many mothers stay at home, raising the children. While I believe that I take care of small pups much better than the pups' father would, I still think it is interesting to see traditional roles of men and women being questioned.

Of course, among dogs, it is always the females who rule, while caring for the pups, while the traditional role of humans has been that men has ruled. Gender equality thus seem more important among humans than among dogs.

This story is also interesting, because it shows that space travel has become ordinary enough that the space trip in itself does not have to be the most important news when there are reports on an astronaut. This is actually good news for all of us who are interested in space exploration, because it shows that space exploration is becoming a more common thing. Even though there may be less to read about the actual space journey, there would be more space journeys to read about.

Not a Day Off

Occasionally, I have taken days of from my blog. I really do not like to do so. I have given the blog the name Daily Hailey, therefore, I believe in trying to keep it daily. When I do take days off, it is generally for very good reasons, such as when I am not at home all day or when my pups have been very young. There have been days when I have not written in my blog, despite winning in the dog show ring, but this is when I have not been home to do so. Today, I felt like taking a day off. I have not found any subject to write about; the subjects often seem to come to me without any effort on my part, but this was not the case this day. On the other hand, I cannot say I have any good reason to take a day off from my blog. This is why I decided just to write about the occasional hardships of having a daily blog, the days when you have a hard time deciding upon what to write. This is one of those days. Do come back tomorrow, I think I can come up with something else to write about until then.

Snow Again

Snow fell again this morning. It was a bit odd, since we have had warm spring days for quite some time. However, the new snow melted away almost at once. It had the positive effect that the pups got to see a snow fall, though.

In the afternoon, when all the new snow was gone, Daniel changed tyres on the BMW. It now does not have winter tyres anymore. This is yet another sign that spring is here.

A Maiden Win

Amy, the young Shiba Inu who came from Norway this autumn, had a great day at the Stockholm dog show today, becoming Best of Breed puppy. This is great! We wish her many more victories in the years to come. She lives with friends in Stockholm, which is not that far away, so I guess we will meet on some shows in the future.

Easter

It is Easter. We wish everybody a happy Easter and a lot of Easter candy! I have had plenty of candy myself, and even my pups are big enough to enjoy candy now. That is a big step on their road to maturity. It is good for them that they are old enough to eat candy on Easter, even though this may mean that I get less candy for myself. I do not care about candy for myself more than I care for my pups. You have to have your priorities straight, even though it is hard sometimes.

Good Friday

We are having a quiet and nice Good Friday, which is a holiday. Daniel says Good Friday is to be honoured by taking it easy, maybe even having a boring day, so all of the dogs in the household are trying the hardest to do just that. Meanwhile, Daniel is cleaning, doing the dishes and laundry, and Paula is at work at the hospital. It is understandable that some nurses have to work even on Good Friday, because people have injuries and diseases on holidays as well. Daniel, on the other hand, could have done what he does today earlier, or postponed it until tomorrow. Well, I am not willing to judge him, especially not since the things he does benefits us all, it is just that he teaches one thing and does another.

By the way, yesterday was April Fool's Day. You did not think we were a Fair Trade Breeder, really, did you? As far as I know, there is no such thing as a Fair Trade Breeder.

Fair Trade Breeding

It has been announced that our home city Örebro has had its status as Fair Trade City renewed. The small neighbour town Kumla is also a Fair Trade City. There are other entities that can get the status Fair Trade. Earlier this year, Daniel got to know that dog breeders could be Fair Trade Breeders. Without thinking much more about it, he filled out a form and applied for this. We received notice today that our application had been approved. Thus, we can now call ourselves Fair Trade Breeders. Isn't this cool?

Horror in Real Life

Japan is over all a civilized country. However, they have a huge problem with humans abandoning their dogs. There are so many abandoned dogs, and too few humans willing to take care of these dogs, that the authorities have been forced to horrible action. They destroy the unwanted dogs who do not get new humans. This is done by loading the dogs into a mobile gas chamber, driving the dogs to a crematorium. The poor dogs do not know the horrible end that awaits them.

If you follow the link, you can watch a BBC news report about this. I have to warn you, it is horrible! In my mind, this is worse than any horror movie I have ever seen. It is even more terrifying, when you consider that it is true. I wish Japanese in general would take better care of their dogs. News reports like this make me afraid for the very country where Shiba Inus come from.

By the end of the report, though, there is a tiny hope for the future, as it seems like more and more of young Japanese are willing to take care of abandoned dogs. Let us hope for this!

End of the Month

I am proud of Paula. She has now been working full time as a nurse for two full months, a job that takes great skill and requires great responsibility. She also keeps making sure the whole family has a good life and that all the bills get paid. Sure, Daniel earns a substantial part of the family's income, but Paula is the one who actually pays the bills. It is now the end of the month, and the bills have been paid for this month. I am glad I do not have to pay bills, it seems like a dull thing to do, and Paula is never quite happy when she is done with it. Nevertheless, she always make sure the bills get paid. From what I know, the overwhelming majority of humans make sure their bills get paid every month, but I am still proud of Paula who does this in our family. She would be a great human for any dog to have.

Volvo Cars, Now Chinese

A company from the Peoples Republic of China has purchased the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars. P.R. China is a dictatorship. They do not care about human rights. Rumour also has it they care very little about dogs. I believe it is too bad a Chinese company has bought Volvo Cars. If I would ever buy a car, I would not buy a car owned by a company from a dictatorship, thus, Volvo would now be out of the question.

Daylight Savings Time

Sweden shifted from standard Central European Time to daylight savings time today. I do not care much, as a dog, I let my humans see to it that things are done on time and follow their ideas on when to get up in the morning. I do think it is rather weird, though, to be forced to switch the time of all the watches. It is a way of deceiving people, instead of just asking them to get up an hour earlier during half the year. Well, maybe I just do not understand, since I do not care much about the exact time.

Salmon

Paula and Daniel were grocery shopping this afternoon, and found cheap salmon file that they bought. They had some for themselves, and then they gave a lot to us dogs. We did not have to eat any of our ordinary food, but had salmon, potatoes, and hollandaise sauce instead. While our ordinary food tastes good, it gets a little dull eating the very same thing day by day. The food we got today was a different thing altogether. It was also the first time that my pups tasted salmon. This food was great, and out of the ordinary. Sometimes, it does not take more than this to make a day terrific.

Birthday

My pups turn five weeks today. They are discovering the world around them and look like beautiful, but small, Shiba Inus. Well, since they are my pups and the pups of the father I chose for them, it would be rather strange if they would be anything but that.

We have made plans for the first dog shows for both pups, where they can go in puppy class. They are not yet entered into any shows, but entering them is not necessary yet. I will not take anythingfor granted, but if we are very lucky, one of them may join me in the BIS-puppy club. They do have parents who have gone far in the show rings, so they would have the talent necessary. I hope they will like dog shows as much as I do.

Easter is Coming

It is soon Easter, just a week away now. I like this holiday, because it is the holiday when the most candy is consumed. Do I have to say more? I am looking forward to it.

Of course, candy is not the original reason to celebrate Easter. It is celebrated for the death and resurection of Christ. This may well be commemorated with a lot of candy.

Adorable

Have you ever seen pups discovering the world and playing with each other? I do that constantly these days. My pups are adorable. I wish everyone could experience the kind of joy that I feel when I see my pups happy.

Minced Meat

My pups have started to eat real food. They get minced meat, which is tasty and healthy for them. As is usually the case with pups of their age, they only eat a little at a time. I help them out, so they can finish their meals. This also teaches them that if they do not finish their meals themselves, somebody else will, which is a valuable lesson for them. It almost goes without saying that I also like the minced meat. What I eat will get to them, nevertheless, since they still get milk from me. It is a win-win situation.

Visited by Wolves

A village in the northern, sparely populated parts of Sweden, Lillhärdal in the province Härjedalen, is visited by wolves. The wolves have killed deer right in the middle of the village. It is one female, and she has met a male and is in heat, so there may be pups in the near future.

Some of the inhabitants are scared, one of them even asked the authorities if he could kill the wolves. The authorities declined. This is good. I can understand the anxiety of the villagers, but I am also concerned about the well being of the wolves. I wish there would be an easy way to make the wolves move further away from the village. This would be safer for the wolves and the humans in the village would also feel much better. It is too bad I have no easy solution to offer.

Back from the Show

Paula, Mum, and April came back home from the show this afternoon. My daughter Meja had also been there, and she was the most successful of all the Shiba Inus connected with our kennel, becoming third best female. Mum was BOS veteran and April was fourth best in champion class. It is always nice to hear about Meja's success, it makes me feel proud to be her mother. I guess I did something right when raising her, giving her the basic knowledge of how to act as a fine dog that is the basis for every dog show star. Hopefully, the pups of my current litter can be equally successful.

Puppy Visitors

We had visitors here today, friends from the neighbourhood where we used to live when I was a pup myself. I still count their dog, the Bernese Mountain Dog called Amadeus, a friend of mine. If everything goes to plan, they will be my son Nemo's new family. Nemo liked them when they cuddled with him. This is good. I am sure Nemo will get a great life with his new family.

Spring Show

Paula took April and Mum to a dog show tomorrow. I did not get to go, since I have my pups to attend to. While I love my pups and live for them, I still feel a little sad that I did not get to go too. Dog shows are so fun to be at. Well, we have talked about going to shows later in the year, when my youngest pups will compete in puppy class and I can compete in champion class. This is something to look forward to.

Spring

Spring is near. We have had temperatures well above the freezing point today. There is still a lot of snow, but this is not strange considering how much snow we have had this winter. With higher temperatures for a longer time, all of the snow will eventually disappear. I look forward to spring. It is good if the weather is warm when my pups start to go out. It will not take long now before they do.

Great Result

Meja, Aangenaam Gently As She Goes, was BIS 2 Junior at a match show in Laholm!
We are very happy and proud over Meja! Special congratulations to Mejas owners, Karin & Staffan!

I am certain Meja will be even more successful in the future. She will certainly get great results in the years to come.

Names

The pups of my most recent litter have been registered with the Swedish Kennel Club under their respective official names. The names are:

The male, Nemo: Aangenaam Eclipse Class Cruiser
The female, Polly: Aangenaam Full Moon Eclipse

This is the E litter from our breeding, and since both Mum and I have the name Eclips in our official names, we decided to have an E theme based on the word eclipse. Nemo is named for a Royal Navy class of war ships, which suits the marine inspired name that we call him. Polly is named for the last part of the Twilight trilogy, novels and films that especially Paula is fond of. These are good names.

You might wonder why we spell eclipse with an e at the end. This is because that is actually the correct spelling of the word in English, but when Mum got her official name Taichung Total Eclips of the HRT, the final e had to be cropped off because her name would have been too long otherwise. I inherited the spelling from Mum, but we felt it was time to spell the name in a more proper fashion now.

Formula 1

The Formula 1 season of 2010 started today with the Grand Prix of Bahrain. Paula and Daniel have purchased the TV channel Viasat Motor to enable us to see all the grands prix. The first race was a double victory for Ferrari, winner was the two time world champion Fernando Alonso (2005, 2006). My guess is that Alonso will be world champion again this year.

We Do Have Water

In a part of our home city called Solhaga, the community water pipes are out of service. This is one of those moments when I am glad we have water from our private well. However, if you will ever be out of water, the best time is a snow rich winter like this. The inhabitants of Solhaga has the posibility to fill pots with snow and then melt and boil it on the stove. If this would have happened on a dry summers day, that would not have been an option. Still, it is of course more convenient to have water flowing from the tap.

Play Time

My pups have started to play with each other. A little carefully to start with, just a cute form of wrestling, but still. It is very cute to look at. It will not be long until they start to be all over the room. Then they will discover the world outdoors. It will be more play when they do, and more to look after. So far, they are just here with me in the litter box, though.

Morning Walk

This morning I joined Daniel and the other dogs for the regular morning walk. It was my first morning walk since before I got my present litter of pups. I felt like I needed it, a girl has to stretch out her legs once in a while. It was fun to get back into the old habits, if only for a while. When we got back home, I went in to my dear pups again. They were still asleep and I do not think they even realized that I was gone for half an hour. They are so cute. The rest of the day was an ordinary pup maintenance day.

Wolves Hit by Railcar

Four wolves have been hit by a railcar in Dalecarlia in central Sweden. Two of them were killed, while two are probably hurt and sought after by hunters. This is a great tragedy. Wolves are already an endangered species in Sweden, which has, nevertheless, been decimated by legally authorised hunting this year. We do not need the unnecessary death of more wolves.

If anything good can come out of this killing of wolves, I hope it will be to set the recent complains against train companies into perspective. People in Sweden have complained about the train companies and railway government authorities all winter, because there have been so many late trains. The death of two wolves and injuries for other wolves are a much greater tragedy than that.

Early Night

Sometimes, we stay up until rather late. Other evenings, we go to sleep early. Paula does not feel very well this evening, so we accompany her to the land of nocturnal dreams early. Good night, everybody!

International Women's Day

Today is the International Women's day. This is the day that favours women as the sex among humans who have, throughout history, been more disadvantaged in society as compared to men. Whereas men and women are rather equal these days, there are still many who believe they are not equal enough and that the women's day is needed.

There is no need for an equivalent day for dogs. Among dogs, it is self evident that the oldest female is the ruler of the pack. Nevertheless, it would be fun to instate an international day like this, especially if you consider the metaphorical meaning - besides the litteral meaning - that the name of such a day would have: the International Bitches' Day.

No Animal Welfare Lawyers

In Switzerland, the people voted against a proposal to install a nationwide force of lawyers, whose job it would have been to protect the interests of animals in courts of law. I am not quite sure what to think about the plan or the vote not to adopt it. On one side, it would certainly be positive for neglected and mistreated dogs in the country. On the other side, Switzerland already have high standards on their animal protection laws while these proposed lawyers would have meant a heavy cost for the tax payers.

The main concern that I had, though, when I heard of the idea, was that these proposed animal lawyers would work for the protection of many more species than dogs. I do not care much for livestock and other such animals, that are meant, eventually, to be eaten. It is for the best if livestock is treated in a good way, because it means the meat becomes better. However, I cannot extend my compasion to livestock in the same way that I do for other dogs or for humans. Perhaps it is for the best that this proposal was turned down, so that the animal rights groups of Switzerland can come back with a less expensive plan that cares for man's best friend and not much more.

Visitor

Paula's sister Mia came to visit me and my pups. Both pups were comfortable in the hands of Mia. I know Mia since I was about the same age myself, and I trust her completely to be careful and gentle with my pups. It was a nice visit and a nice break in the routines when caring for pups. As the pups grow older, we will be able to welcome more visitors.

Outrageous Behaviour

Some boys have bullied Her Imperial Highness Princess Aiko of Japan in school. It has gone so far that the princess has been home for most of this week. This is outrageous! How can anyone get away with doing that to an Imperial Highness of Japan? What is more, how can anyone get away with doing that to someone who has such a nice dog, as can be seen on a picture in the article that I have linked to.

Shorter Days

It is spring, and the Sun is above the horizon longer and longer each day. On the other hand, Earth's rotation has increased slightly by the recent earthquake in Chile, making each day a little shorter. While the annual shift in daylight is noticeable, the change due to the earthquake is not. According to NASA, the shift was only about a microsecond. This is a length of time that I cannot imagine, it is so short. Nevertheless, it is a fun little fact to know of.

Wales

The Swedish national football team is playing a friendly game against Wales tonight. I am not that interested. Friendly games are not very important, and Wales does not have such a good team that it is an exciting game of itself. I would bet that Sweden wins. I care about my pups instead of watching the game.

TV Shows and Caring for Pups

My pups are what is most important for me, especially when they are so small and helpless as now. There are occasions, however, where I have a wish to be somewhere else. This evening, Paula, Daniel, and the other dogs were watching a TV show on K-9 cops, that is dogs in police service. This is interesting and I would have wanted to see it. I stayed with my pups, however, because they are more important. I know what priorities I have in life.

Snow Storm

It is March, a month which can be considered a spring month, if you divide the year into four equally long seasons where December, January, and February is winter. Nevertheless, the south of Sweden has been plagued with temperatures below the freezing point, snowfalls, and cold winds. There is so much snow that when we walk along the paths that Daniel has made through the snow outdoors, we cannot see anything to the sides. The snow is simply lying to high for Shiba Inus. Well, I guess spring is bound to come, eventually. The days are getting longer.

Dog Show

Daniel was away on a dog show today, in our home town, where he worked as a ring steward. I like going on shows myself, but this was an unofficial show, so I do not care that my maternity duties kept me from it. Unofficial shows are not a great enough challenge for a girl who have had the successes that I have had in the show rings. I do hope, however, that I will make a grand come back in the show rings later this year. This is something to look forward to.

Fudge

Paula and Daniel decided to have a nice and cozy evening at home. One of the things they did to prepare for this was to buy candy. They bought a piece of vanilla fudge for each of us dogs - except for my pups. Fudge is great, but I believe my pups would also have deserved one piece of fudge each. They do not eat anything but my milk yet, so I would have had to eat the fudge for them, remaking it into their milk. As the good mother I am, I would gladly have done that. Paula and Daniel thought nothing of this plan, however, and denied my pups their equal share of fudge. The evening was nice, but denying my pups fudge was the one thing that tainted it. Well, I guess the pups will enjoy fudge in the future, anyway.

How Similar is a Shiba Inu to a Fox, Really?

Humans often say Shiba Inus looks like foxes. Naturally, they mostly say this when they are thinking of red Shiba Inus, not black and tans like me, Dad, or my current litter. This similarity is not that big, for instance, foxes do not have the beautifully curled tail of a Shiba Inu. Nevertheless, it seems like the similarity may be big enough to be dangerous.

Our friend Kesshi has a son who lives in another part of Sweden, where they had a fox infected with scabies whom they wanted to shoot and kill. Kesshi's son found his way out of his garden and went alone into the woods, where a trap with food had been prepared for the fox. When this innocent and perfectly healthy Shiba Inu spotted the food, he went there to eat, but only to be shot at. He was hit.

I cannot understand how a healthy Shiba Inu can be mistaken for a fox infected by scabies. I hope the shooter appologizes and pays the veterinary bill, it is the least he can do.

Shoveling on the Roof

Due to the heavy snow falls this winter, people have been warned not to keep a lot of snow on their roofs. On our little house and our barn, the roofs are steep enough that there is not so much snow that it poses any danger. The main building is another matter. Daniel has shoveled snow off this roof. The problem is that it sounds terrible. We cannot help but asking him to stop. He did stop after a while, saying he had taken the worst piles of snow off. This is good, it keeps our house safe.

Day Off

Mum business today, stay tuned for a longer blog post tomorrow.

My Pups

I hardly think of anything but my pups these days. I know I will be able to focus on other things soon, but right now, they are so dependent on me. They are also so cute and lovely.

While the girl has been the biggest of the pups from their birth, the boy has caught up somewhat. He has grown more than her since yesterday. This is quite natural - as a boy, he is supposed to end up as bigger than the girl. Adult Shiba Inu males are always bigger than adult females. Of course, the females rule despite our lesser weight, but that is also quite natural.

There are Olympic Winter Games going on in Canada, but I have not followed the games since giving birth to the pups. I guess I will catch up later.

Growth

My pups are growing rapidly, as they tend to do when they are just a few days old. I can see and feel the changes myself, but Paula and Daniel use a scale to measure the weight of the pups. I let them do this, though I do not really like it, because it makes them feel more at ease when they know the pups are growing. Humans are often so dependent on measuring and checking things, things that dogs know just by looking, feeling, hearing, or smelling. We have to let our humans do this, because they do so many things for us. Still, I know my pups are growing and that they are healthy without measurements. This makes me feel good.

What's in a Name?

We are debating what we would like to call my pups. There must be official names to be registered with the Swedish Kennel Club, and there must be names that humans can call out and that dogs can easily understand and separate from names of other dogs.

Shiba Inus have a reputation for chosing their own names. The pups are yet too small to have anything to say for themselves in this matter, still being deaf, but I would like it to be nice names. When they grow older, they may want to change names, but that is a question between each dog and his or her human.

The litter is an E litter, so Paula and Daniel would like to give the two pups official names that reflects the letter E in some way or another. I do not care as much about these names, but I will give Paula and Daniel enough time to agree on great names. I am quite satisfied myself with my official name, that they gave me.

Picture of My Pups

This is my youngest son and daughter, a photography from last night. I am still a little tired and busy taking care of them, so you will have to wait a little longer before I tell you more.

Pups Born

My pups were born today: one dog and one bitch. Both are black and tan, which makes me glad. Now I will go back to them, I will tell you more later. Stay tuned!

Anniversary

Today is the tenth anniversary of the engagement of Paula and Daniel. This is a big event in the lives of all of us, because if it had not been for the combined efforts of Paula and Daniel, we would not be here. Indeed, some of us would probably not even have been born, such as myself. I rather not think about that possibility.

We had a little celebration this evening, with extra nice dinner. There were shrimp added to the dog food, really tasty. Later, there were the pastry of the season, semla. Paula gave me some of her. It was a great evening.

Whom Can You Trust?

A woman in Malmoe in the south of Sweden, who held herself out to the public as a dog watcher, has been caught stealing at the home of one of the watched dogs, while the dog's humans were at work. This is a grave misuse of the trust she had been given. If you entrust your dog to another human being, this has to involve the biggest trust possible. If this woman cannot be trusted into the home of the dog, because she steals there, what has she done to the dog? I feel sorry for the dog, who no doubt trusted her.

Shrove Tuesday

In English speaking countries, this day is called Shrove Tuesday. They eat pancakes there on this day. Pancakes are great, but in Sweden, we eat something even better, we eat a pastry called semla. It is eaten from this day and throughout the fourty days until Easter.

Daniel loves the pastry semla. However, he abandoned the semla he would get on his workplace to be able to work from home in the afternoon, in the company of us dogs. This was a great sacrifice, but we were happy he did this. In the evening, there was time for a semla.

Economic Growth

The Japanese economy grew by 1.1 % in the final quarter of last year. Japan is the worlds second largest economy, and its growth shows that the world is on its way to recovery from the recession of last year.

The third largest economy, mainland China, is growing faster. It seems likely that China will soon pass Japan and become the new second largest economy. This is not strange, given the capitalistic politics of the one-party state that still calls itself a communistic Peoples Republic of China. I just wonder when there will be an upheaval in China - either by going back to the communistic teachings or, perhaps more likely, by establishing a democratic form of government that can make the economy even better.

Road Closed

This winter has had more snow than usual in Sweden. The road between Kiruna in the north of Sweden and Narvik on the Norwegian border is currently closed by Riksgränsen, at the border between Sweden and Norway, due to deep snow. Many years ago, Paula worked in Riksgränsen. It is fortunate she came home from there and did not go back. We would not want her to be trapped in snow, nor all of us, if we would live there too.

Opening Ceremony

Paula and Daniel got up really early this morning, at 3 a.m. This was because the live television coverage of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games would start at this time in Sweden. We go by Central European time, whereas Vancouver in Canada goes by Pacific Time. Mum said it should not be hard to be awake at this hour for her, because it is the real time zone for Taichung dogs, and she has lived for many years at kennel Taichung in Tenino, WA, USA. Nevertheless, I believe she slept though most of the ceremony, just like the rest of us did. Daniel stayed awake for the longest time, but even he fell asleep by the end of the ceremony. It was some boring show numbers in the middle and towards the end, he said, whereupon Mum said it would have been better if it had been south of the border, in the USA. She is always the American patriot, my Mum.