Swedish Taxes - No Longer the Highest

Sweden has a history of having the highest taxes in the world, in proportion to the Gross National Product. The tax part used to be over 50 % of the Swedish GNP. Over the last seven years, with a centre-right government, the total taxes have been lowered to about 45 % of the GNP. This have caused Denmark, Belgium, and France to pass Sweden in the league of having the highest taxes. There is, of course, nothing good about having a top position in this league. The aim of politics must be to make the most of the tax money, not to have the highest taxes you can.

Upcoming New Year

Hello, Orange here!

There is something about this "year" concept that I do not understand. I know I am not a year old yet. Javier, who is a little older than me, just turned one year old. Now we all will have a new year in two days. This is what I do not understand. Our own years are those counting from our birthdays, but what is this general year? Why do we get a new one in two days from now? They say it has something to do with the days getting shorter before, and now longer, but this development happened on the 21st, not the 31st. I have to read up on this.

Cloned Dogs

We saw this documentary on TV this afternoon about some American humans who had had dogs, and missed these particular dogs so much, they paid a Korean company great amounts of money to clone the dogs. While I can fully understand the sense of loss, a cloned dog would never be the same. It would not have the knowledge and memory of the deceased dog, just the same genes. It would be easier, cheaper, and more natural just to buy a new dog of the same breed. Then you would not have to compare the two, either. I do wonder about the expectations of one of the humans. He would travel to meet the cloned puppy, and said he was keen on knowing whether the puppy would recognize him. How could it? No memory, not even that of a beloved human, is inscribed in the genes. I suspect this human will be a little disappointed.

Snow for a Little While

Hello, Orange here!

Snow fel for a little while this morning. I was happy for a little while, too. Then the temperature made the snow melt. It was all over by early afternoon. You can never be fully satisfied with the weather, can you?

Christmas Goes On

Hello, Orange here!

Christmas goes on for several days. This was news for me. Pleasant news, though. Christmas is nice. I like the great food and Christmas spirit. As far as I am concerned, it could be Christmas for many, many days. Merry continuing Christmas, everybody!

Slow Day

It is Christmas Day, which is a slow and comfortable day in Sweden. We have the great celebrations on Christmas Eve, and then we rest a bit on Christmas Day. This is cool.

Merry...!

Merry Christmas to all blog readers from Hailey, Karstuhl, Orange, and the other dogs at Kennel Aangenaam!

When You Know You Are Right

Japan has announced it will buy new weapon systems for its military. The country has tense relations to its neighbour China, a dictatorship who claim Japanese islands in the East China Sea. China denounces the Japanese plans, calling it military expansion and "is firmly opposed to" Japan's actions.

Japan is a democracy with a firm belief in the rule of law and human rights. It is threatened by China, a bigger country which is a dictatorship with little, if any, regard for human rights. If China critizises the Japanese plans to strengthen the military, it is a clear sign that Japan is right in doing so. Sometimes, critique is good, because when you get it, you know you are right.

Rain

It is two days before Christmas Eve, and rain is falling this evening. We want it to be snow. At Christmas, you get a better holiday feeling if it is snow. It is also much more fun to play in the snow. Now it is just getting muddy, and our paws get dirty. I'm dreaming 'bout a white Christmas.

Coward

People who cause a traffic accident, but just leave, must be cowards. This happened to a dog mother in Halland in the south of Sweden, who had nine pups, two weeks old. She wanted to go out by herself, but was hit by a car. When found by her humans, she was already dead. If the person who hit her had stopped and taken care of her, she might have lived. Fortunately, the pups have gotten foster mothers, other bitches who can take care of them. I hope they find the driver and prosecute him or her, but I fear they can never do that.

Pizza

Paula's sister Mia and her fiance Stefan were here tonight. The humans had pizza for dinner. All of us dogs had eaten already, but I would have wanted some pzza, nevertheless. It is tasty food. There was nothing left for me, though. I do not blame the humans, they must think it is tasty, too. It was nice seeing our guests.

Phases of the Moon

The Moon has recently been full. This is when you can, sometimes, see a Lunar eclipse. There was none this time, just like it usually is not. On the other hand, if you look at me, you can se a Lunar Eclips. This is my name, and I an proud of it. We will have to see when there is an eclipse next time.

Painting of a Semi-Nude Godess

As a dog, it is not self evident what it is with humans and being nude. Without thick coats, like dogs and many other animals have, I can understand why they need clothes to protect their skin from cold weather or blazing sun. Why they cannot stand being nude, or that others are nude in their presence, is another matter. I think it has something to do with their reproduction, which is not based on the smell of bitches in heat, but more with looks. Still, many pieces of human art depict humans who are nude or semi-nude.

In the Swedish Parliament, they have had a baroque painting on a public wall, with a picture by G.E. Schröder of the Roman godess Juno, looking like a human. The painting has been in the same spot on the wall for the last thirty years (much longer than the longest life spans of a dog). The godess is semi-nude in the picture, which is quite common when it comes to paintings from that time. The vice chairman of the Parliament has, however, made sure this painting was removed. The reason is simply that the vice chairman was offended by the nudeness. I guess she did not see the artistic values of the painting.

I believe it would be easier for humans if their females smelled of being in heat twice a year, instead of this obsession with covering their bodies up at all times. You cannot tell for sure, but it works quite well for us dogs.

Claws

Hello, Orange here!

I had my claws cut this evening. I do not like it. The claws were cut despite my objections. Well, it will be a while before the next time, anyway.

Christmas Song?

One of the radio stations we usually listen to has decided to play nothing but Christmas songs these weeks before Christmas. It gives us a good Christmas spirit. We were surprised, though, to hear Roxette's song "It Must Have Been Love". There is nothing in the lyrics of this song that reveals it is a Christmas song, the closest are some words about it being a "hard winter's day". A little research on the Internet revealed, however, that the full title of the song is: "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For The Broken Hearted)". It must have been intended as a song about broken love at Christmas, but I guess the whole message was lost somewhere when writing the lyrics. The words within parentheses does give the song a slightly different meaning. It must be harder to have a broken heart on such a joyful time as Christmas than on other days. It is a good song, regardless of the meaning that did not quite find its way into the lyrics.

Birthday

Hello, Orange here!

Javier celebrated his first birthday today. He was not sure what to expect, but it turned out we all got great food with a lot of sausage. Now I cannot wait until it is my first birthday. The older dogs say it is soon Christmas, which is even better, but I do not know about that. We will have to see.

New Hair Cut

Poodles are not the only ones who cut their hair. Humans do too. Daniel got a new hairdo today.

Good Food

Paula and Daniel went out to eat Christmas dinner tonight. They had already given food to us dogs. We also got extra treats. It was macaronies, which is fairly tasty, and it was some sausage. Sausage is always a hit in my food bowl. I would have wanted more sausage, if I would have had that, I know I would have been just as satisfied with our food as Paula and Daniel was with theirs. Oh, well, there have been times when we have been more satisfied with our food than they have been. Life can even out.

Toy Wolves Used for Protests

A toy wolf sold by IKEA has sold out in Hong Kong, since it has been connected with protests against the local government. The toy is called Lufsig and is sold in many IKEA stores around the world, but in Hong Kong and China it has also been called by a name which sounds close to a profanity in the local language.

I like the use of a wolf in political protests. Wolves are strong and intelligent animals, good for many things.

Reunited After Nine Years

A Staffordshire bull terrier in England has just been reunited with her humans after nine years. At the age of three, Niamh, as she is called, disappeared through a gap in the fence at home near Worcester. Her owners just recently got a phone call from an animal sanctuary in Salisbury, not far away. The staff there said Niamh had been found wandering the streets of the city and taken to the sanctuary, where she was identified by her microchip. She recognized her humans when she was reunited with them.

This is a happy end to a long time being away from home. Niamh was a little underweight, but had obviously been taken care of by someone for the better part of these nine years, because she was in fairly good health.

What bothers me with this story is the human who must have taken care of Niamh. The dog had a microchip, so she was easily identifiable. That human must not have cared about trying to find Niamh's real family. All is well that ends well, which this story certainly did, but it would be interesting to hear what that other human have to say.

Oh, no!

Hello, Orange here!

The weather is warmer again. The snow is melting. It turns into water and drops off. I like the snow, I want it to stay, but who am I to say what the weather would be like? I can wish, but I guess that is it. Too bad, though. The snow is so fun to play in.

Anna

Today is the name's day for everybody in Sweden called Anna. This is a very common name among female humans. paula's sister is among the people who are called Anna. There are seldom cause to celebrate a dog on a name's day. We dogs often have more unique call names than humans, which are not mentioned in the calendar. The good thing is that a unique name make you feel more unique, the downside is there is one less reason to celebrate. On the other hand, you can always come up with other reasons to celebrate, if ever you need a reason at all. I will gladly celebrate by eating treats any day.

More Snow

Hello, Orange here!

We got much more snow today, there is now about 10 centimetres of snow on the ground. It is much more fun to play with than I would have thought. I hope the snow Will stay for a Long time.

Crap!

Here I am in Stockholm, at the greatest annual dog show in Sweden, competing for the very first time as a veteran. I did not do well. Being a little nice to the judge, I Will not say what prize he gave a multichampion like me, but I was not satisfied. Of course, the judge does thé judging, it is the rules. Nevertheless, I do not always have to agree. I Will be back!

A Real Snowfall

Hello, Orange here!

Snow has fallen. There are a few centimetres of it all around outside. It is fun to play in. This is the second time I see snow, but the last time, it disappeared quickly. I have been told this snow may last for months. We will have to see what the weather will be like.

A Neutral Head of State

The King of Thailand celebrates his birthday today. He gave a public speech, where he urged people to support each other for the sake of the country. Thailand has seen a lot of demonstrations and civil unreat lately, but the King is politically neutral, he standa above the day to day politica. Hence, his urge for peace will certainly have effect. This is a great advantage of having a monarchy, where you always know that the Head of State wants the best for the whole country in the long run, for generations to come, not just past the next election.

Taxi Service

Paula was at a Christmas party with her work mates tonight. Daniel and I went to get her home. It was not that late. On the way home, we passed by a hamburger drive through and I got a cheeseburger. It is nice that it pays off to give taxi service.

Upcoming Holiday

Hello, Orange here!

Something called Christmas is coming later this month. The older dogs, who have been around before, are looking forward to it. I do not really know what it is about and what will happen. They say there will be a lot of candy, which sounds good. Time will tell.

Visitors

We have entertained visitors from Belgium. This is interesting. My paternal grandfather was from Belgium, so I have always wanted to know more about the country. Our visitors did tell us some things I did not know about. They are Shiba breeders to, which implies they are good people, and they turned out to be really good people, too. We will see if we will go down to Belgium to visit them sometime.

Countdown to Christmas

It is the first Sunday in the time before Christmas that we call advent. We have lit up the house with the traditional chandeliers and other lights. I long for Christmas, we are always given extra treats at Christmas. Perhaps snow will fall soon too, making for even more Christmas spirit. I feel happy.

Downside of Pickled Herring

Pickled herring is very salty food. Salty food makes you thirsty, so you drink a lot. When you drink a lot, all of that water, mixed with the salts, needs to get out of the body again. This needs to happen outdoors. It does not happen to everyone at once, and yesterday night, it happened after bedtime. We really made Daniel upset, forcing him to get out of bed over and over again to let us out. He does prefer this to us not being housebroken, but we understand that he was not happy. On the other side, he was the one who served us all of that tasty pickled herring, so who was he to complain, really?

Pickled Herring

We got great food this Friday afternoon. There were some jars of pickled herring in the refrigerator, that Daniel emptied in our food bowls. Herring is really tasty. It is like the Swedish equivalent to the great Japanese dish known as sushi.

Justified Answers to Chinese Aggression

Communist China has declared an "air defence zone" over parts of the South China Sea and Japanese islands in this sea. China demands that anyone who wants to fly through this zone must first file the flight plan with Chinese authorities. This is, of course, outrageous, aggressive, and unjustified behaviour by China.

Japan, South Korea, and the USA have all flown through this zone without complying to the Chinese demands. This is good. It is a justified answer to the Chinese aggression.

One has to wonder what China wishes to accomplish. They have claims to the Japanese Senkaku Islands in this unilaterally declared zone, but the islands belongs to Japan and are controlled by Japan. There are certainly natural resources in the sea. Does China want to provoke others to start a war? Does China, perhaps, even want to start a war itself?

In the case of an armed conflict between China on one side and Japan, the USA and South Korea on the other side, I am sure China could not win. I would still wish that more countries would openly defy this air defence zone, showing China that it is moot because nobody cares about it anyway. Sweden does not have any aircraft carriers to go there and defy the zone, but the United Kingdom and France have. I hope they show up. All countries with diplomatic contacts with China can express their view that they believe the zone is moot.

Pigs

Hello, Orange here!

A woman on TV just told the audience that pigs are more intelligent than dogs. I do not believe that. If this was true, then why is it that dogs eat pigs and not the other way around? No, we are on the very top of the food chain, together with humans, because our wit and intelligence have taken us there.

Sick

I felt sick in my stomach last night. It was so bad, I threw up before I got outdoors. Sometimes, the things you eat are just not good enough for you, though you think they are. I hope there will be nothing of that sort tonight.

Thankfully, Ignorance of the Law Is No Excuse

A man in Sweden used a prong (also known as pinch collar, or "stackelhalsband" in Swedish) on his dog. This is a type of collar with spikes, or prongs, on the inside, directed at the dogs neck and throat. It is illegal under animal protection laws in Sweden to use prongs.

According to a judgment by the Svea Court of Appeals on 25 November 2013 (court case number B 3857-13), the man has now been sentenced to fines for this.

In his defence, he said he did not know it was illegal in Sweden to use prongs. Neither court that tried the case considered this an excuse. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. In this case, I believe this legal principle worked better than most times.

My only regret is that he did not get a more severe sentence than fines.

Veterinarians' Journals

The Administrative Court of Appeals of Jönköping has decided (judgment 18 November 2013, case number 1635-13) that it is not possible for the Board for Animal's Health and Hospital Care to demand that a veterinarian has a journal on the care that she or he gives to animals. This may seem strange, but it is what the law says. I believe a veterinarian should have journals. It is important to know the history of the health care for an animal. Good veterinarians will certainly have journals whatever the law says, but I believe the law should still say that every veterinarian should have journals. The law could and should be changed!

Police Films

We watched a police film on TV tonight. There are often things about such films to object about, though they can be entertaining. It is not just that there are few dogs in the films, police dogs or other, but there are other things as well. In this film, a lorry carrying a lot of money would be robbed. The lorry and its escort cars had a look which would have made it easy to spot them. This does not seem realistic. At the end of the film, two million Swedish crowns from the robbery ended up with the Salvation Army, which was a humoristic, divine justice. Still, would the Salvation Army just accept such a big donation, without asking themselves if this was spoils from a crime? The film did not show how the Salvation Army members reacted to the donation, but I do not think they would just have put it away on the account for donations. Oh, well, it may be easier watching a movie without these thoughts, but I just cannot help having them. I enjoy the films, nevertheless.

Puma

We got to see pictures of my granddaughter Puma today, Karstuhl's black and tan daughter. She has turned out really nice. We always expected she would, but it is nice to see pictures showing this without doubt. I am sure she, too, will eventually become a show champion.

Proof of Championship

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My Show Championship diploma has arrived from the Swedish Kennel Club. I have now written proof of my status as a Swedish Show Champion. The title has been in the public database too for some time, but the diploma feels more tangible. I am so happy to have it.

Some Mornings Are Odd

Daniel was away the night between Yesterday and today. He is usually the one taking us for the morning walk, but Paula did this today. She is equally good at it, but it is different. It feels odd, even though everything is right, in its own way. This is a strange feeling, when we have these occasional, odd mornings. It has been a good day, all in all.

Forgetful

I forgot to write anything in my blog yesterday. It is very rare that I do so, so it is all the more surprising for myself when I do. I am also greatly annoyed by it. I have asked Karstuhl and Orange why they did not remember either, they are often helpful. Both of them claimed, however, that it is my blog, hence my responsibility. I cannot deny that. I just have to be even better at remembering to update my blog. Stay tuned!

Full Moon

Hello, Orange here! We have had quite light nights lately. It is because of the full Moon. It is almost like having an extra street light, shining across the whole landscape. I like it, even though I have no reference to the Moon in my name, like Hailey and Polly have. I can understand why they say wolves howl at the full Moon. It is beautiful.

Wind

It is windy outside today. We should not complain here in Sweden, though. It is not like we have a typhoon, like they had in the Philippines recently, ruining houses and homes for a lot of dogs and humans. I hope things will soon get better there, they do get aid from around the world.

How Can He Be Satisfied?!

Sweden lost the first of two play off games against Portugal tonight. Portugal scored one goal, which was enough for them. They deserved the victory, because in the second half of the game, the Swedes stopped attacking and just backed down, defending themselves in a not very effective way. It was not sufficient that Sweden was close to scoring a goal many times in the first half, when there were no goals. a game is 90 minutes. Under these circumstances, I cannot understand how thé Swedish coach Erik Hamrén could say after the game, that he ws satisfied with the way the Swedish team played. It is OK if you lose a game, as Long as you fight to the end against a better team, but the Swedes just fought in the first half of the game.

There Are a Few Bad Humans

Most humans are good hearted individuals, good towards other animals, of their own species as well as other species such as dogs. Then there are those who are bad. Among the bad humans, I count the humans who have dogs, but when they get a child or more children, claim they have not got the time for the dog and give the dog up. How can you do this to anybody who is so faithful as a dog?

I cannot understand why giving the dog up would be the solution. If you have no time for the dog and the child, you should not get the child. If you get the child anyway, it is possible to put the child up for adoption in order to keep the dog.

Do you think it is heartless of me to suggest this? Well, I have given birth to a total of nine pups myself, eight of which have been adopted by other families. Putting these pups up for adoption was the plan all along. Why would it be harsher to put a newborn child up for adoption than a newborn pup, if this would mean you could keep the dog who has stood faithfully by your side for many years?

Back Home

Daniel was abroad yesterday and today, for a meeting in his line of duty in Copenhagen. He is back home again tonight. This is good, we all want him to be home. It also means he takes hos part in watching the property, whoch means the rest of us can relax a little. Life is at its best, when the whole family is at home together.

Dark Day

It is November and there were heavy clouds today. The Sun rises late in the morning and never comes high above the horizon. With heavy clouds, that the rays of the low Sun has a long way through, we never get real daylight. It is no fun outside. It is better to stay indoors in the warm house. It is on days like this I really enjoy not being a wild animal. I appreciate the comforts of civilisation too much to want to live in the wilderness.

No Veteran Winner

There Will be no veteran winner on the Swedish Winner Show where I will be shown in veteran class for the first time. This was a disappointment. Well, I will enjoy the show as such, anyway.

Poodle Breeders' Course

Paula is not at home this weekend. She is at a breeders' course. The odd thing is, it is a course for Poodle breeders. Poodles are dogs as well, so I am sure she learns a lot which can also be applied to our Shiba breeding. Still, I would think it was a little better, had she gone to a course for Shiba breeders. There are differences between different breeds. I have two dear and near Poodle friends, the Toy Poodle Love-chan and the Miniature Poodle Momoko, so I know about these differences. It is not that I discriminate against dogs of other breeds, but we have slightly different talents. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to hear what Paula has to tell us, once she gets home.

One Tonne Satellite Falling to Earth

Hello, Karstuhl here!

A satellite from the ESA that weighs about one metric tonne has run out of fuel and will fall to Earth this weekend. There is almost no risk for getting any pieces of it on you, most of it will certainly burn up at re-entry into the atmosphere.

Satellites are small, man made moons. both Mommy and I have official names from the natural moon of Earth: the Moon. My name is Full Moon Eclipse, while her is Lunar Eclips. There is no risk at all that the Moon would fall down to Earth, even though it uses no fuel at all. This is but one reason to like it.

The Emperor Must be Respected

The Emperor of Japan is the only Emperor in the world. As such, he has the highest rank of any human. He is recognized worldwide as Head of State of Japan, but under the Japanese constitution, the Emperor is not to have any role in politics.

An independent member of the Japanese parliament has been reprimanded, after handing a letter with political content to the Emperor. I can fully understand the outrage. The respect that must be shown to the Emperor involves respecting that he does not get involved in politics.

Some Japanese humans would want the Emperor to have a more political role. I do not agree. I believe one of the major advantages of a monarchy is that the monarch stands above politics, to be a symbol for the whole population, regardless of what politics of any one human. For much of Japanese history, this has also been the case, such as the period in the 17th and 18th centuries when the shoguns ruled. The Emperor is seen more now than he was then, and Japan is a democracy now. Still, the non-political status of the Emperor is not without precedence.

First Show

I am looking forward to December, when I will go into the show ring for the first time as a veteran. If everything goes to plan, I will have a brand new, full coat by then. I will be dangerous for my competitors. It will be so much fun. The show in Stockholm is the biggest in Sweden, hosted by the Swedish Kennel Club itself, not any of its member organisations. This does not intimidate me. On the contrary, it makes the show more fun. There is a winner title up for grabs, as well. Exciting, isn't it?

Prohibited to Keep Animals

The Administrative Court of Appeals of Sundsvall in Sweden has upheld a decision by the County Administration of Gävleborg County to prohibit a family to keep animals (judgment 29th of October 2013 in court case 2060-13).

The background is a dog, Wyatt, with serious skin problems that he had had since he was a pup. The family was urged to take better care of Wyatt in 2009 due to the skin problems. He was still not taken to a veterinarian at all in 2010, nor in June 2011, even though his humans stated that his skin conditions got worse by then. When Wyatt finally got to a veterinarian in August 2011, he was in such a bad state that the vet had to put him down.

The judgment targets the whole family. It now means that the family must not keep its cats and fishes.

I think this is a good judgment. If you are a human and cannot take care of a dog, you should not be allowed to keep animals. It is no excuse that Wyatt's skin condition may have been difficult to treat. You have to take care of your animals, if you want to keep them.

There May Be Many Hospitable Planets

Scientists have made calculations and estimates, and concluded that about one in every fifth star in our galaxy may have a planet that can be hospitable to life. Hospitability means that the planet is orbiting its star at a distance where it is not too warm and not too cold, but that liquid water can be abundant. The planet also has to have a size that is not too small, it has to have a gravity holding the water and an atmosphere in place. It also cannot be too big.

This is positive news for everyone who sees a future for men and dogs on other celestial bodies than Earth. Our chances of long time survival as species increase, if some of us leave Earth and colonize other worlds. If we find planets to go to, it is not futile to work towards the end of going there. I hope this lies in the future.

Pillow Case

A pillow case was destroyed in the bed today. There is no clue saying who did it. Daniel believes it is one of us dogs, but he cannot say who. I can assure everyone it was not me. In case I would know who did it, I would not say, though. It might be that the pillow case was possessed by an evil demon and needed to be ruined. Consider that, before blaming anybody.

Exchanging Noses

We were watching Formula 1 on TV this afternoon, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. When one of the cars got a broken nose, they took the car to the pit and changed the nose.

In a way, Car racing is like dog competitions. The car, like the dog, does the real work, but there is supposed to be a human there as well. A dog is intelligente nogh to do most of the things in a competition on itself, whereas a car cannot think at all, but the rules are set by humans in both types of competitions ans that is why we dogs need help from humans. A car can get a new nose, if it is hurt, however. This is not possible for dogs. We have the most complex nose known to science, considering our sense of smell. I am thankful for this, I would not want to have my nose replaced.

Interpreting Dog-tail Wags

Human scientists have made progress in interpreting how we dogs wag our tails. In case you did not know, it is more complicated than just: "wagging tail, happy dog". Humans who know many dogs are aware of this, of course. I will not write more about it now, it is better if you read what a human journalist write. A human must be better on explainign this to other humans than I, as a dog, am.

Ears

My Toy Poodle friend Love-chan has hanging ears, not the standing ears of us Shibas. This causes troubles sometimes. It may cause dirt to stay in the ears and clog them. Paula and Daniel spent part of the evening today cleaning Love-chan's ears. She did not like it, but she felt much better afterwards and even heard better. I would not want to have ears like that. Love-chan does not Care, Most of thé time, though. Of Course, her breed standard says she must have those ears, so it is all right.

Evilness

A dog in Gothenburg was left alone for a whole month in the flat which the dog shared with his human. When the dog was discovered, it was heavily dehydrated, had ophthalmia and bled in the mouth. It was taken to a veterinary for treatment, but it was deemed beyond salvation and was put down.

The human, a 22-year-old woman, has been prosecuted for animal cruelty. This is good, her negligence constitutes evilness. She claims she is not guilty. I cannot understand what defence she might have. If she just denies culpability, but is found guilty, this only goes to prove her evilness.

I wish no dog would be subjected to negligence like this.

Monument Dedicated to Dogs in the Military

The United States military dedicated its first ever national monument to dogs in military service this Monday. It is located in San Antonio, Texas, and features four dogs of the most common breeds in the military since World War II and one human soldier. The dogs are a Doberman Pinscher, a German Shepherd, a Labrador Retriever, and a Belgian Malinois.

This is a fine gesture to all the heroic dogs whe have served with the US military. If I ever go to San Antonio, I will go to see this monument. Mum has lived in Texas and says it is a nice place, but she does not want to go back. She wants to stay at home and Texas is quite far away from here. Well, if we can find dog monuments closer to us, we might go and see them instead. There should be more dog monuments in the world.

Jumping

Hello, Orange here!

Sometimes, Paula or Daniel closes the gate between two rooms in our house. I do not like that, but I have learned how to deal with it, at least when they seal off the opening between the livingroom and the bedroom. I can jump over it. I do not always do that, but it happens. It feels good to know I can.

Storm

Europe was hit by a great storm today. It hit the British Isles first, then moved east and northeast. The meteorologists said it would hit Örebro, but it never came this far north. We do hope that Daniel's parents' summer house on the west coast and forest in Småland make it all right, though. Nature can be a fantastic, but also horrible, thing.

Normal Time

So now we have got normal time again. For a little while, we will see the daylight again on our morning walks. I like to have daylight on the morning walks. It would be better if humans would not shift the time twice a year, but had normal rime the year around. No other animals that I know of have daylight savings time (the name probably meaning saving an hour of daylight each morning for the evening). We should not either, I believe.

Late Morning

I like Saturdays. Most of the time, we sleep until late, instead of the early morning walks we take on the weekdays. Of course, even in the weekdays, we dogs can go back to sleep after the morning walk, but it is still better not to have to go out.

Another Japanese Tsunami

Japan's east coast, hit in the spring of 2011 by a big tsunami, has been hit again. This time, the tsunami was much smaller. The earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, 10 km below the sea surface at a distance of about 320 km from the coast. The tsunami that reached the coast was not higher than 30 cm. This was a relief. Not all tsunamis are devastating. Still, one hopes the lesson is learned from the last big one, because eventually, there will be more big tsunamis. Perhaps not in the next decade or so, but sometime. There must be better protection for humans, dogs, nuclear power plants etc.

Deceiving Smell

Daniel had left a paper bag in the kotchen, close enough to the floor so one of us dogs could reach it. The bag smelled of tuna and salami sandwiches. Sometimes, the great dog nose deceives us. We got hold of the paper bag and ripped it open, but there were no sandwiches inside. There was just a little smell left. Too bad.

Slow Internet Connection

Sometimes, the Internet is so slow loading my blog page, that I forget what I was going to write about. Fortunately, this do not happen often. It did tonight, though. What a disappointment.

Some Snow Is Still There

Hello, Orange here!

Thé older dogs told me the other day, that the newly fallen snow would soon disappear. I am not sure what they meant, because there is still snow left on the ground. "Soon" usually means the same day, at least. Sure, most of the snow is gone, but not all. I like the snow and want it to stay. I am also intrigued by the silence on the subject of the disappearance of all snow, when I try to address it. The older dogs are not always completely right. They know this, and they understand that I have come to realise this as well. I love them, nevertheless.

Great Result for Karstuhl's Daughter

My granddaughter Puma, daughter of Karstuhl, participated in a match show today. Among three Shiba pups, she was best puppy. Then she won the puppy group final for group five. She went on to become second best in show. It may have been just a match show, but there were many pups who participated. It is a great result. Karstuhl, Mum, and I are very proud of this new star in our lineage. What more may come in her future? Probably a lot of good show results. We are looking forward to hearing about it.

Full Moon

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have a full Moon in the sky tonight. I like that. It reminds of my official name: Aangenaam Full Moon Eclipse. There is, unfortunately, not a Lunar eclipse every time there is a full Moon, but you cannot get everything. The full Moon is beautiful as it is, too. I guess this is one reason for our wild cousins, the wolves, to howl at the full Moon. We do not howl ourselves, the dogs in this family. It would not do, being indoors, even though the full Moon light is shining in through our windows and curtains. I show my appreciation for the full Moon by writing a blog entry instead. It is quite possible that this blog entry gets more readers than I would have gotten listeners, had I howled at the full Moon.

Something Called Snow

Hello, Orange here!

As a pup, I know I have still a lot to learn about the world. Some of the knowledge based on personal experience came early this morning. This early, the ground was covered in a white sheet, about two centrimetres thick. It was soft, cold, and parts of it did just barely stick together. The older dogs called it snow. I noticed that some of it, somehow, could turn into water. It was strange, though not in any frightening way. It was just fun. I was told, however, that the snow would likely melt and disappear soon. Apparently, a lot of it was melting already. This was the word used by the older dogs to describe the event when the snow turned into water. It had something to do with the temperature. I would learn more about this in the winter to come, whatever a winter is. It sounds interesting, anyhow.

Lack of Gender Equality in Communistic China

China is a communistic country, at least its only legal political party says so. According to communism, all humans are supposed to be equal. Still, there are a lot of jobs in China, that women are not allowed to have. These includes many forms of engineering. I guess this is what communists in China claim to be gender equality. I would laugh, if I was a human.

Breeder's Group

We got a letter from the Småland-Öland Kennel Club today. This club arranges the dog show in Växjö in November. We will go there, and for the first time ever, there will be enough of us with the Aangenaam name, that we will make up a breeder's group. This will be fun! It gives all of us an extra chance to enter the show ring. I love that.

Animal Cruelty

An old woman in the area around Timrå, north of us in Sweden, has killed a fox with her bare hands. I believe she should be prosecuted for animal cruelty. She swung the fox by its tail in the air, then hitting it against her stone staircase on the outside of the house. The fox had done nothing wrong, just walked outside of the fence where the woman held her hens. The hens had been scared, of course, but that is in the nature of hens. I hope a prosecutor takes care of the case.

Blog Entry from Mobile

We had already gone to bed tonight, when I remembered I had not made any daily blog entry for this day. Fortunately, Daniel's mobile was close by, so I borrowed it and made this entry. Modern technology is fantastic!

Plastic Bottles

Hello, Orange here!

Plastic bottles are fun toys. They give you just the right feeling, when you chew on them. The trouble is, they also make noise. Sometimes, when I feel like chewing on a bottle late at night, Daniel just takes it away from me. He says I am disturbing everyone who tries to sleep. Perhaps I am. I think the bottle manufacturers should consider this, when developing new bottles. Could a bottle be manufactured, that is not noisy when you chew on it? I sure hope so.

Entertainong a Guest

Hello, Orange here!

We had a guest here last night, a dog whose human is a friend of Paula and Daniel. She stayed in our guest room. I guess you are supposed to entertain your guests, but could not do that. Perhaps this is just as well. It was just one night, so there was little time to become friends anyway. Maybe we will meet another time, another place, and become friends. Time will tell.

No Food Have to Be Wasted

It has been estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year. This is about one third of all food produced in the world. I do not believe anybody can have the opinion that this is a good thing. On the other hand, there is an easy solution to this problem. Instead of throwing food away, humans would give more of it to their dogs. If there are no dogs in the household, dogs should be acquired. Of course, not all humans like dogs (even though all dogs like humans), and these humans should not have dogs. In these cases, the waste disposal fees should be higher. With more dogs in society, less food would be wasted. It does not have to be more complicated than this.

Rain

Hello, Orange here!

It was raining today, at lunchtime, we had to go out in it. I did not like it, but you have to do what you have to do. I wish for better weather tomorrow. The older dogs say it will only get colder from now on. Winter is coming, they say. I do not know what that is, but I hope it will not rain much in the winter. I guess I will have to wait and see.

Party!

Paula is at a party at Örebro Castle today. I am sure she is having fun.

Meanwhile, we are having fun at home with Daniel. It is a more common night for us, but fun all the same.

Daniel actually had an invitation for dinner downtown tonight. Some of his colleagues who usually work in other towns came to Örebro this afternoon for a meeting tomorrow. They asked Daniel if he wanted to join them for dinner, but this was late this afternoon. I understand that he said no, he already had plans for things to do at home tonight. I believe it is impolite to ask so late. Well, they are bound to meet later, anyway.

Apple Juice

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula's parents have bought an apple juice machine. You put apples in it and get apple juice out of it. This is supposed to be good. I do not realy see the need for it, but I have never been that fond of apples, either. I would rather have a machine producing meatballs.

New Bag of Food

We are a relatively large pack of dogs, here in this house. Daniel came home with a new bag of dog food today. I do not think it was long ago he brought the öast one home. It must be a bigger thing for those dogs who are just one or two in their family to get to start on a new bag of food. Perhaps they often get smaller bags, but I think the bags may still last longer. Well, I do not care that much, the main thing is always to have food, not how often your humans bring home more of it.

Anniversary

Today, Paula's family celebrated the anniversary of their family, when Paula and her sister first met their parents. This was in Colombia, where Paula and her sister were born and where their parents went to get them. Adopting children is not that common, but I have a good understanding of it, since my litter brothers and most of my pups have been adopted by other families. Adoption is a good thing to do, it is a way of giving love to children who would often have had much less space or love but for the adoption. I congratulate Paula and her family on the anniversary.

Sorrow

We celebrated Linni's birthday with her yesterday. Today, we are mourning with her instead. linnis father Kenzo passed away today. I know how this feels, I have also lost my father. We try our best to comfort Linni.

The Perils of Reruns

We missed the live airing of the Formula 1 qualification this morning, Swedish time. We thought we would watch it this evening instead, in a rerun. We had intentionally not read any reports. However, the person reporting from the show just prior to the rerun reminded the viewers of the race tomorrow, while revealing who would start from the pole position. What was, then, the point of watching the rerun? We turned the TV set off instead and prepared for bed.

Aunt Linni's Birthday

My dear Auntie Linni is turning twelve years old today. This is a respectable age, not least because she was diagnosed with severe hip problems in her youth. These problems have never stopped her from taking walks with us, doing the occasional Shiba Inu rush in the garden or jumping up into the sofa in the living room. We sometimes wonder whether her hips ever were as bad as they were diagnosed to be. Her joints are a little stiffer these days, but this could just be due to her age.

Auntie Linni is not really my aunt. I just call her this, because she was the adult dog living with us besides my Mom and Dad when I was born. We are not related. We are, however, very good friends. It is easy to become friens with Auntie Linni, because she is such a friendly dog herself. She has always been very helpful raising pups, as well, even though she has never had any herself. I sincerely hope she will live on for many years to come.

Happy birthday, Linni!

Ice Hockey

The ice hockey season started a little while ago in Sweden. Daniel is disapponted that his team Djurgården does not play on the highest league. Djurgården is a team from Stockholm, and there is, in fact, no team from the capital playing in the highest league. This feels a little strange. We have our hopes for Örebro, though, the team from our home city which does play in the highest league. Örebro won tonight, 3-0, against Frölunda from Gothenburg. This was good. Djurgården also played a game tonight, against Karlskoga, the town just to the west of Örebro. Djurgården won. It was thus a good night for both the teams we root for.

A Little Extra

Hello, Karstuhl here!

I have taught Paula and Daniel a trick. When They want me to get indoors, they give me some candy. I usually stay outside until they do this trick, to make sure they do not forget it. It happens, however, that I go indoors without insisting on them giving me candy. It annoys me a little, but then, sometimes, I want to go in without needing to think of this training. I have to follow my whims once in a while, and I have noticed that neither Paula nor Daniel does forget the trick. They can always do it when I insist upon it. This is good. I have a great couple of humans.

Old News

When surfing the Internet today, I encountered an article about wolves and research on why they howl. Even though I believe I understand wolves better than the average human does, given that I am of the same species, I thought the article was rather interesting. It was, however, old news. The article was from August this year. I will gladly post links to new articles, but not to old news like that. It would not stand up to my personal sense of quality. Some may have a different opinion, but this is the way I rule my blog.

Blowing Coat

I have started blowing my coat. It is all right to do this now, since the show season is over. Of course, there are a few shows left this year, as always, but the summer time with its many shows is over. I just wish I have a nice enough coat again once it is time for another show. It might not be until November, so I can make it. Is this not a sign of a professional?

The World's Smallest Dog

The Guinness Book of World Records has declared a Chihuahua bitch living in Puerto Rico, USA, as the world's smallest dog. She is called Miracle Milly, she is 9.6 centimetres high and weighs half a kilogramme.

In the FCI breed standard for this breed, 500 grammes is the minimum weight for a Chihuahua; anything less, and she would be disqualified on dog shows. I do hope she lies above this limit. We would not want to have a Guinness World Record holder for smallest dog, who would not fit the breed standard, would we?

The Result

Hello, Karstuhl here!

I did not win at the Eckerö dog show. I received Excellent and a CK, but was second best bitch with a reserve-CAC and a reserve-CACIB. I fell on the finishing line, so to speak. Well, the winning bitch was a fine representative of our breed, so I am far from embarrassed losing to her.

Show

Polly is with Paula and Paula's mother on a dog show in Eckerö, Finland. i wish Polly's mother would also have been going there. It is no fun staying at home.

Essential Elements

There are essential elements in many things in the world. An essential element in a blog post are words. In the body, most elements are essential, in one way or the other. One example is potassium (abbreviated K for the latin word kalium). Paula has too little potassium in her body. This week, she has been at the human hospital and received some potassium boosts. The human medicine veterinarians examining her now has a theory on why she has had constantly low amounts of potassium lately. They will evaluate their theory and we might have an answer in a week. If they are right, the problem may be solved. We all hope for this. It is no fun knowing that a loved one lacks essential elements in her body.

Pets Rescued After Flood in Colorado

There have been floods in the American state of Colorado. When rescuing families, the motto has been that no pets shal be left behond. The rescuers learned this from the rescue operations after the hurricane Katrina, where humans would not allow rescue parties to bring them along without their pets.

I believe this is the right approach. Dogs and cats are as much family members as the two legged individuals. We are as much a part of human culture and society as humans are themselves. Thus, we have earned the right to similar treatment as humans get. I like the Colorado rescuers' approach.

Cat and Kittens Abandoned on a Train

Personel on a regional train on Sweden discovered a female cat and five small kittens of her in a railway cart they were cleaning. It is unlikely the cats were forgotten, they have probably been abandoned. They did not even have any water to drink, though the kittens could drink their mother's milk. I cannot understand who would do such a thing. I have had small pups, you are never more vulnerable as when you have pups, and it must be the same with kittens. If they find the human responsible for this, I hope he or she will be sentenced to a harsh punishment for animal cruelty.

Growing Strawberries Indoors

The Japanese corporation Sharp is known for its electronics. Their newest idea, however, is growing strawberries in a controlled, indoors environment in Dubai. This is interesting. If you could grow strawberries and other farm products indoors like this in a larger scale, imagine how you could lower the transportation costs and make products more available across the world. I especially like melons, but I guess melons are too big to consider growing indoors in the most immediate future.

Big Cat Genome

Human scientists have mapped the genome of lions, tigers, and snow leopards. This is a vital part of trying to preserve these big cats. While I have more sympathy for wolves than for big cats, I feel some kind of kinship to these carnivores as well. We are all top predators, as are humans.

It is interesting to note, however, that the most successful top predator besides humans are dogs. There are a huge amount of dogs in the world. Our ancestors did the right choice in teaming up with humans instead of competing with them. The big cats and the wolves are competitors of humans, hunting for big prey and threatening humans, while we dogs help humans and get help back. The domestic cat did a similar thing, though they do not stand as close to humans as we dogs do.

I do hope the big cat species will survive. They are beautiful animals and there should be room for them on Earth.

Past Midnight

I mostlu have no trouble deciding upon what to write in my blog, but inspiration never came to me this Sunday. Now it is already past midnight. It annoys me, since the blog is supposed to be daily. Oh, well, better luck this Monday, I hope.