Tokyo' s New Mayor

Tokyo has a new mayor, Yoichi Masuzoe. He had the backing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party. An important difference between him and his main contenders was also that he is in favour of restarting the Japanese nuclear power plants, that has been idle since the 2011 tsunami and nuclear faliure at Fukushima. He has the same view as the PM and cabinet in this issue. I guess restarting the nuclear power plants can be a good idea. Lessons have been learned since 2011, it is unlikely any such accident may happen again. It is also good to counter the use of fossil fuel such as oil and natual gas. We will see what happens.

Olympic Games

The Olympic Winter Games have started in the Russian town Sochi. Sweden has got results already, a silver medal in ladies' skiathlon. Norway is leading the medal league, though. This should not be a surprise to anyone interested in winter sports. My late father, who was from Norway, must be happy in Heaven.

East Sea?

The legislators in the US State of Virginia has enacted a law requiring all school textbooks to state that the Sea of Japan has two names. This sea, between Japan and Korea, has always been called the Sea of Japan in English, but people of Korean descent in Virginia has claimed that the Korean name should also be included. They say the single reference to the name Sea of Japan make them feel hurt, because it is the Japanese name and Japan occupied Korea for some decades before and during the Second World War. The Korean name of this sea is, in translation to English, East Sea.

Well, in English, the sea between Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Denmark is called the Baltic Sea. The Swedish, Danish, and German names are essentially the same, and would be East Sea, if translated into English. Perhaps people in Virginia of Swedish, Danish, and German descent should also whine about the name of a sea in school text books, claiming that the Baltic Sea should also be called East Sea?

I think the legislators in Virginia have made fools of themselves. You cannot, you should not try to, alter traditional names in your own language by legislation, neither for politically correct reasons, as in this case, nor for any other reasons that I can think of. I do not only say this because of my own Japanese roots as a Shiba Inu, I think this must be a general rule for any legislators.

I wonder what the rest of the English speaking world will do. The most probable thing is, they will not do anything. If the new alias for the Sea of Japan ever comes into general use, it will not be anytime soon.

Pangaea

It has been said that a long, long time ago, all of the continents of Earth were stuck together as a giant continent. This ancient continent is usually called pangaea. These days, we do not need a continent stickning together. Thanks to human inventions, humans and dogs can go anywhere in the world, even across the oceans, despite being land living animals. In a way, human civilisation has created its own Pangaea. As a dog, I am thankful for being part of it. It does give us great possibilities in life.

Composer Mamoru Samuragochi, a Fraud

The Japanese classical music composer Mamoru Samuragochi has admitted that he is a fraud. He has not written the music he has claimed to be his own since the mid 1990's. Mamoru Samuragochi has become known not just for his music, but also for being a composer despite having turned deaf. He has, thus, been called a Japanese Beethoven. Now he admits that he has had a ghost writer since 1996, even though the ghost writer did not write everything, at least not from the start. I think it is sad that a composer has felt the need to do this. A lot of people are angry with him, and I understand why. They feel cheated. It is as if you would hope a beautiful dog would win Best in Show, only to discover later this dog had a disqualifying fault that was hidden from the judges and audience. I hope this is an odd case, that most classical composers are actually the composers who they claim to be.

Claws

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We had our claws cut today. This is one downside with being civilised and living mostly indoors in a protected environment. Wolves never have to have their claws cut, because they use them in a way that makes them naturally short. It is not fun having the claws cut. The bright side, however, is getting a treat afterwards. Wolves never get treats.

Horrible News from Sochi

Stray dogs are killed in Sochi. This is terrible. Dogs should not be strays, but strays should not be killed, they should be taken care of. Can I watch the Olympic Games with peace in my mind, when I know this? I am not sure I can.

Old Songs

Paula is playing songs from older Swedish Song Contests. She says many of them are much better than the current songs. I was not around back then, so I cannot remember them from before. Maybe she is right. There are some nice songs, anyway. No songs is about dogs, though. I think song writers make mistakes when not making more songs about dogs. There are so many songs about love, why not the love from a dog?

Seattle!

It is Super Bowl Sunday. The contestants are Seattle and Denver. We do not know much about this sport, but since Mum is from Washington, as is Seattle, of course, we hope Seattle will win. Go, Seattle!

Coming Home

It has been a great weekend with Mia and Stefan, but still, there is no place like home. I came home this evening. It was nice seeing the pack again. Reaffirming my position was done in a few moments, then everything was back to normal. I like it at home.

Qualification Round for the Qualification Round

Today was the first night of the four "semi finals" of the Swedish Song Contest. This is actually the first out of four qualification rounds for the Swedish qualification round to the Eurovision Song Contest. It is, thus, a qualification round for the qualification round. As such, it is never surprising that some of the songs are bad. This night, none of the songs were great, though some were good. It remains to be seen which song will be my favourite in the Swedish qualification round.

This Is Strange

I published a blog post last night, after midnight, or so I thought. This evening, my blog service said this blog post was still just a draft. I published it, but it came after the last blog post. Still, the blog service information said seven people had read it. How could people have read it, if it was a draft? Sometimes, I just think no answer can be found.

Paula on a Thursday

I realize I am writing this after midnight between Friday and Thursday, but that is how some things are.

Paula was off from work today, Thursday. This is one of the perka of working in the weekends too. She did not leave home, but spent all her tome woth us. This is my favourite kind of Thursday.

Weekend Trip

This Friday afternoon, I went out on the countryside with Mia, Paula's sister. I will spend the weekend with Mia and her fiance Stefan. It is exciting, it is not every week that life turns different like this.

There is also a cat where Mia and Stefan lives. His name is Kurt. I would want to be friends with him, but it is not easy to charm him. Cats have different ways of comminication than dogs. I need to figure Kurt out.

New Snow

Hello, Orange here!

We got more snow this morning. It seemed like I was the only one rejoicing. Daniel was not amused that he had to shovel the driveway again, whoch I can understand, but the other dogs could have shown some more enthusiasm. Am I really the only one still loving the snow? It is not that they were unhappy about it, but there were no wagging tails, either. Oh well, the main thing for me is to feel happy about my own love for the snow, is it not?

Pie

Paula baked a pie tonight. It smelled great in the kitchen the whole night. I wish I had got to taste some, but we had alreadye aten. paula promised us some pie for tomorrow, though. I am looking forward to it.

Going Along

Paula did not go herself to her work today, Daniel gave her a ride. He also picked her up after work. I got to go with him both times. This was extra fun in the afternoon, since we went by Paula's parents for a little while. I like it when I must not stay at home all day.

Politics

Daniel is a politician in his spare time. He devotes quite a lot of time on it. Today, his political party decided who will be its candidates for the 2014 city council election. Daniel was chosen on a spot making it safe to say he will be elected and get a prominent position in the city council. We are very proud of him. And wish him good luck in the election.

Judgment

I read this judgment on animal cruelty from Svea Court of Appeals of the 21st of January this year (case no. B10203-13). A man was sentenced to fines for being cruel to his puppy. This makes Me both glad and sad. I am glad the man was fined, but I am sad that any human would be cruel to a puppy. I hope the dog is better of now.

Junior Master Chef

We have another cooking competition on, on TV. This time, children are competing, and they are really good chefs. The show is called Junior Master Chef. I was just a little disturbed when one of the judges ruled that one dish was not good enough, by comparing it to dog food. What is wrong with dog food? This should be a positive description of any dish.

Late Meeting

This evening, Daniel was away. He was at a political meeting, which is quite all right in it self. The trouble was, the meeting went on and on, so he came home really late. We were all disappointed with him. At least, he could have called us, or something. There are so many ways to communicate these days.

Giving Paula a Ride

Paula was away visiting a friend tonight. Daniel and I went to get her, when she wanted to get home. It is always nice to be at service like this for the ones you love.

Ultra Sound

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula took me to the veterinarian today. She wanted to confirm what I already knew: I am expecting pups. I am not comfortable with the ultra sound checking for pups, but Paula was glad to see at least one pup for sure. I expect to deliver the pups in February. This is a good month, I was born on the 19th of February and my first litter on the 15th of February. It feels good.

A Japanese and a Swede in Caterham

The Caterham Formula 1 team will have a perfect driver line up this year, at least if you are to judge from the nationality of the drivers. The experienced Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi will be the number one driver, while rookie Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson will be number two. It is also worth mentioning that Marcus Ericsson won the 2009 Japanese Formula 3 championship, so they both have connections with Japan. How can you go wrong with a combination of Japan and Sweden?

Basic Rules for Swedish Dog Breeders

The Swedish Kennel Club has enacted new basic rules for dog breeders, which came into force on the 1st of January this year. If you are thinking of getting a dog, remember that every serious dog breeder in Sweden follow these rules. You can find them on the homepage of the Swedish Kennel Club or by following this link. These rules are in Swedish. If you do not know Swedish, at least make sure your Swedish breeder know about these rules.

Crisp Rain

Rain of crisps is sometimes falling in our kitchen. It is mostly Paula who make this happen. I like it, because I really like crisps. Tonight, though, only Mum and Calvin was in the kitchen when the rain fell. This felt a little unfair. I have to do what I can to be in the kitchen next time there is a crisp rain.

Hunter

Hello, Karatuhl here!

My son Suzuki, who lives in Finland, has started a career as a hunting dog. He hunts hares with his humans and may soon start to hunt bigger game. I like this. Hunting is a traditional Shiba occupation and a worthy occupation of any dog. I wish him all the luck!

OK, This Is Enough

We wanted some snow, all of us. We now have snow on the ground. Still, the snow has kept falling all night and all day. Daniel has shoveled the driveway three times today. It is about two decimetres of snow now. This is enough, we do not need any more snow. Enough is enough.

Learn How to Draw!

Dog shows are often the subject of critizism for being too focused on the looks of the competing dogs. Dog shows can be described as the dog fashion industry, so in part, it is natural that it is about looks.

The dog show world is, however, nothing compared to the human fashion industry. Many female human fashion models and acresses are photographed, but then the photographies are manipulated in many ways to make the woman look "more than perfect". This means that she often look unnaturally thin, but not as unhealthy as such a thin person would normally look like.

I believe a photography should be a picture of the real world, not an idealized fantasy world. The manipulated photographies probably affect the viewers more than the manipulators think, because the viewers presume the pictures show the real women.

If you want to make pictures of "more than perfect" fantasy women, I believe you should learn how to draw. Many comic book heroines look "more than perfect". However, since the viewers recognize the pictures as drawings right away, even on a subconscious level, they do not presume this is what real women would look like. A good drawing can make a great fantasy come to life, a photography should not.

Tax Deduction for Dogs

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The Administrative Court of Appeals of Stockholm has ruled (case no. 4147 - 4152-13, judgment 19 Dec. 2013) that a man could not get a general tax deduction for having a dog which he used in the line of duty. He does not work full time with his dog on duty, but just part time. The court therefore says that his expenses for the dog is private costs. He could not prove that he had had certain costs, either.

In one sense, I can understand the court. It rules according to the present Swedish tax laws. On the other hand, I believe every human should get tax deductions for each dog they have. Dogs are such an asset to any person. For instance, it is proven time after time, that dogs make humans live longer and happier. I would suggest a common tax deduction for each dog registered as belonging to a certain human. This would be a great political reform.

Green Spaces are Positive for Mental Health

Human scientists have found that living in or near trees, grass, and other growing things, has a lasting positive effect on your mental well being. This sounds reasonable. I believe it is the same thing with dogs. It is better to have a lawn to run around and play on, than a hard asphalt square. Parks, trees, small areas of grass, are essential for every dog taking a walk outside (you all know why, but it is not only that). It makes sense that it would be equally essential for humans. After all, we all developed in green surroundings, so it is the natural habitat for us.

Snow!

There is snow on the ground now. Quite a lot of it, actually. We are all happy, except for Daniel, who is annoyed when showeling it away from our driveway. Well, you cannot expect everybody to be fully happy about a thing, can you? Daniel does see advantages with the snow, he says the white snow makes the gloomy winterland brighter, which is good. I like that, too.

Rain, Rain, Rain

The rain is pouring down today. It is getting quite frustrating for us wh want to have snow on the grund in January. Rumour has it, snow will start to fall tomorrow. I believe it when I see it.

Club Meeting

Daniel is a member of the board of the Swedish Spitz Club. This makes us a little prod. However, he sat in a telephone meeting with the board tonight for two and a half hours. This was no fun. It is better when he hangs out with us.

Cardboard and Paper

It can be fun to play with paper and cardboard. Sometimes, Paula and Daniel leave a paper bag with old paper and cardboard in the kitchen, and we get hold of it and play with it. It is fun. I cannot understand why Paula and Daniel are annoyed, when they pick up the pieces that are left. They were the ones who left the paper bag there. Well, I am happy despite the annoyance.

Junior World Championship

Sweden was host for the Junior World Championship in ice hockey, with the finale played today. Sweden played against Finland for the gold medals, but lost in overtime. Even though Sweden played better throughout most of the game, Finland made the ultimate goal. When everything comes around, it is not enough to be best, you win if you score the most goals. This is comparable to when you lose in a dog show to a dog you think is not as good compared to the breed standard as you are yourself. You may be the best, but this is not always enough. On the other hand, the Junior World Championship is comparable to a junior class at a dog show. It is more important that Sweden win in the upcoming Olympic Games and World Championship. We have chances to get revenge.

Rain

It is the begining of January. Our town and countryside is usually covered with snow this time of the year. This is not the case now. We have hardly had temperatures below the freezing point for a month. Today, we had a lot of rain and the lawn is getting muddy. It is no fun. I want it to be winter.

Unlikely Cause of Death

Some mass media has published the improbable story that the disfavoured uncle of the dictator of North Korea would have been trapped in a cage with starved dogs and thus killed by the dogs, who would have eaten him.

I could never believe this, when I heard about it. The overwhelming majority of dogs are not likely to eat humans, no matter how starved they may be. If they do, it is certainly because they have been taught by their humans to do so, which is also unlikely. The story did not come from North Korea, either. The American historian Dr Tim Stanley has also published an article where he dismisses the story as unlikely. I could not put it as well as he did, but I have to agree with him.

I do not believe more than that the uncle of the dictator has been executed, but probably in a way more likely to actually kill him.

Party with Dogs

We saw some kind of reality TV ahow tonight, where some people were at a costume party. The great thing was that their dogs were invited to the party, too. These humans really knew what a natural part of all human life dogs are. I wish this could happen in Sweden some time.

A New Year

Hello, Orange here!

I have just experienced my first new year celebration. It was fun and contained a lot of good food. I was a little annoyed, however, that people were using so many crackers in the middle of the night, it was disturbing. Now there is a new year. I do not feel like anything is different. It feels just like last year. Maybe the changes will come gradually? If this is so, why did we have such a big celebration last night? Oh, well, if there are changes, I guess I will notice it, eventually.

Happy 2014, everybody!

Happy New Year!

We wish all of our readers a happy new, unsuperstitious year. The New year is often celebrated with fireworks and crackers. The origin of this tradition, however, is superstition. People believed they should make noise to scare demons, trolls et cetera off for the new year. Unless you believe in such monsters, skip the crackers and fireworks, and keep the friendly animals like dogs happy. I am not afraid of the noise, but too many dogs are for it to be funny.

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.