Sitting by the Computer

Daniel spent most of the evening by his computer. Paula was not at home. This made the evening boring.

I do use the computer, or similar device, once a day to write my blog. This does not take hours, like the time Daniel spent today. He said there were things for the kennel he had to do, and things for his political party. I still believe he could have spent a little time with us in the sofa.

On the other paw, there are many evenings when both Paula and Daniel spend most of the time with us, not to mention the holidays, when a lot of full days are spent with us too. There is really no reason to complain.

Ivory Smuggler Sentenced to Prison in Tanzania

A Chinese business woman, who has lived in Tanzania since the 1970’s, has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for smuggling hundreds of elephant tusks. She smuggled the tusks to East Asia, where they are in high demand despite elephants being an endangered species.

The sentenced is hailed with joy by many people, mostly because the woman has been at the centre of smuggling operations. She is not just another small time dealer.

I like this sentence as much as most people. Poaching and smuggling ivory is an evil business. There are so many other materials to make things from, you do not have to use a material from an endangered species. I hope for a decline in poaching.

Full Moon and Birthday

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The Moon is full. This feels good today, since it is my birthday, and my name is Full Moon Eclipse.

There was an eclipse of the full Moon last month. One would think the higher powers could have postponed it to this full Moon. This would have been an even better mark of my birthday. Eclipses are not postponed, however. I have had a great birthday, nevertheless.

Engagement Day

A lot of years ago today, Paula and Daniel got engaged. They married the next year.

I guess this is worth celebrating. I never got engaged to my big love, Kenny. We had a great life together anyway, and pups. Human traditions are different than dog traditions. I guess that which fits humans does not always fits dogs, and vice versa.

Congratulations, Paula and Daniel!

Minced Meat

Hello, Gerstuhl here!

We got miced meat in pur food today. This was great. I wonder if there is anything that beats meat, when it comes to food. Minced meat is like the essence of meat. It is great. I wish we could have it more often.

Seizing Smuggled Rhino Horns

Customs in Hong Kong has seized a huge load rhino horns, which two men tried to smuggle from Africa, through Hong Kong to Vietnam.

The rhino is an endangered species. This is mostly due to supersticion in Asia, where they believe the horns from rhinos have powers which no scientist would recognise. I hate superstition that makes humans do stupid things, like making animals endangered. It is a great thing, then, that these rhino horns were seized.

Vegetables

Paula had a sallad for dinner. A lot of lettuce and other vegetables.

There were some cheese too, and a little meat. This is why I asked to get a taste of it. Do not think I want vegetables, if I am not really hungry. Cheese and meat is tasty, however.

Gun Shots

Daniel’s brother Elias lives in a suburb of Stockholm with his dog Sheldon. It is normally a quiet and peaceful place. Today, however, a bank close by was robbed, police were chasing the robbers, and gun shots were fired in the street where Elias and Sheldon lives. Sheldon was alone at home when this happened. He managed to safeguard the home, however, no villains even attempted to enter it. Kudos to Sheldon for being a good watchdog.

Ice

Hello, Gerstuhl here, again!

One might think that when there are temperatures above the freezing point for many days, the ice on the ground would melt and disappear, making it easier to walk. This is not the case. Instead, the snow melts and freezes at night, so there is more ice on the ground, more slippery, more difficult to cross.

Well, the older Shibas tell me this is just a transition into spring. It will probably just last for a few days, if the thaw continues. I hope so. I do not like to walk slowly and carefully across the ice. We will have to see what happens.

Tagliatelle

Hello, Gerstuhl here!

We got tagliatelle for dinner tonight. This is a funnily shaped pasta, like spaghetti, but wider and flat. It is quite tasty, like pasta usually is.

Dogs are carnivores. This does not mean, however, that we cannot eat anything else or loathe anything else. Pasta is an example of tasty food which does not need to contain meat.

Cold

It is warmer outside. The snow continues to melt.

It is also warmer indoors, thanks to the warmer weather outdoors.

Paula, however, has a cold. We feel sorry for herand lay close to keep her warm. It is rather cozy, though.

Lasagne

Paula, Daniel, and I spent the evening with Paula’s sister Mia and her children. We had some lasagne. I got a really big serving of lasagne. It was really tasty, as always, when Paula cooks it. Paula is great at making lasagne.

It is nice meeting the children. They know my granddaughter Soya, so they know how to communicate with a dog. I wish all human children would grow up with dogs, so they would learn how to communicate with us in the self evident way that children learn languages and communication.

Swapping Back

The other night, Paula and Daniel swapped places in bed. Now theyjave swapped back. I hope it will stay this way for a while now. It is not that I am opposed to changes as such, but swapping places in bed is an unnecessary change, which makes me slightly confused. It is better when both humans and dogs sleep where they use to sleep. When I am tired at night, I just want the normal routines to work, it makes for a sound sleep.

Thaw

It is still early February, but the snow is thawing. I know I wished that there would not be more snow in a couple of days, but I did not want rain, as we have had today.

Weather is a funny thing, sometimes. I bet winter is not yet over. There will be more days with cold temperatures, more snow, later in February and probably even March. It is interesting, these shifts from cold to warm, to cold again. We will see what will come.

Drugs Smuggled in Pups

Some drug smugglers are more ruthless than others. A Colombian veterinarian has been jailed in the USA for smuggling narcotics from Colombia to the USA inside live pups.

The drugs were i serted into the pups in liquid form inside plastic bags. Luckily, the police found out and rescued a lot of pups, some of whom were adopted by police officers.

Smuggling is not the most serious crime, not even when the things smuggled are potentially poisonous things like drugs. Smuggling by the use ofinnocent pups, however, is terrible. This should be considered animal abuse, and this sentence added to that of the smuggling, I believe.

Swapping Places

Paula went to bed before Daniel tonight. She took his side of the bed. Then Daniel took her side of the bed. This was a bit confusing.

I like routines and traditions. Life is foreseeable, if you follow routines. Then life is easier. You can devote more thought and time to other things than just getting an update on new routines, which may not even last.

We will have to see if Paula and Daniel swaps places again, tomorrow night.

Shoveling Snow

We got another snowfall last night. Daniel went out in the morning, shoveling snow. When he was almost finished, snow started to fall again. Luckily, this was more of an ironic twist,it did not come much snow during the day.

I like it, when there is a lotof snow on the ground. It is fun to play in it. Still, there may be limits. We have had enough for a little while now, I believe. You can never control the weather, but you can hope. I hope there will be some days now without much more snow.

Illegal Horse Training Devices

Polocein Australiahas discovered illegal training devices at the facility of a well known horse trainer. There were things to give horses electric shocks tomake them run faster. This is illegal, because it is hurting the horses.

I cannotunderstand how anybody wouldwant to train an animal by hurting it. It will come back to hurt the person, like in this story. It is better to make friends with the animals. If the animals feel like it is fun to win, they will want to win. There is no reason to hurt them, then.

A Lot of Snow

Hello, Gerstuhl here!

We have a lot of snow on the ground now, many decimetres. I have never seen so much snow. It makes for so much fun, when we are out in the yard. I love it.

Good Food

Paula was at home with us all day. I like these days.

Paula often give us tastier things to eat than Daniel does. While Daniel often give us nothing more than dog food, Paula adds tasty things like cheese, ham, meatballs and the odd piece of candy. This happened today, as well. We got a lot of good things to eat. This makes for a great start for the weekend.

Snow is falling. This is also fun.