Jozu

Its been weeks since I last heard from my friend Albar. Tonight, of all days in the calendar, i decided to text him. Turns out, it was his dog, Jozu's bithday! Jozu must have sent me a telepathic vibe so I would greet him. How big are you now, little guy?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOZU!

- The Secretary

Daisy, a poodle princess

Yesterday, I learned that Daisy, one of my favorite poodles in the internet, is seriously sick. I'm sure it will help if we can send positive vibes to her. Sweet Daisy, we are all praying for your recovery. :(

Vacation Stories Part II: Meet the Secretary's Pets

Some of you know that I have eight dogs living with my Mom in Iloilo ( learn about my city in Wikipedia). Four years ago, I left to pursue a career in Manila but had to stay indefinitely when I married the Animal Doctor. I am still plagued by separation anxiety, but my job pays for the good life my dogs are currently living. It takes a 45 minute plane ride on weekends every other month for me to see them, and so, I look forward to vacations where I can stay longer. Our time together is so precious, I can't even afford to sleep!

Dee-Dee Marie, who is turning ten years old, is my very first dog. I remember being scared of her on our first meeting, when her brothers and sisters started jumping up my legs ( silly me). The person who gave me Deedee had to pay P1,500 ( somewhere between 30-35$) to the breeder. I think Deedee is worth billions now- or even more-if I can even put a cash value to how much I love her.

Dexter Franklin Toblerone J, Jr, nine years old, was given to me by Deedee's veterinarian in Iloilo City. Deedee was terribly sick at that time, and the vet promised to give me a new dog if Deedee dies. Deedee recovered( miraculously, if I may say so. I think my non stop bawling scared her illness away), but I adopted Dex anyway. The vet kept him in a very small cage, and it was only after I brought Dex home and given him a bath, did I realize he was spitz and not a golden retriever pup.

Here is Luning Ann, aka Inday Lou, (Inday is an Ilonggo endearment for a sister or daughter) eight years old, looking sad and miserable on the day of my flight back to Manila. Lou was born out of Deedee and Dexter's mating. Of all my dogs, she is the sweetest, she follows me everywhere, even inside the bathroom when I take a shower. Lou has never been mated, and right now I am torn whether or not to have her spayed before she gets pyometra. My other vet ( not the Animal Doctor) here in Manila quoted P14,000( between $311-320) for the operation and I might go for it in January next year- hopefully I can deal with the jitters. He will use gas anesthesia so the risk will be minimized. And I will request to be sedated too.

Poput, seven years old, is Dex and Dee-Dee's son after their second mating. I learned my lesson and had Poput neutered when he was two months old. All of Deedee's offsprings had poor skin and coat when they were puppies, but look at Poput now with his glorious mane. Poput did something strange when he was 4 or 5 years old. I was seated on a stool in the middle of the garden watching the dogs play, when all of sudden, he ran to me, lifted his leg, and peed. Yes, directly at me. The vet interpreted it as a form of marking, maybe Poput was telling all the other dogs that I was his fire hydrant.

This apricot toy poodle is Cleo Marie Mae, aging between 7 to 9 years old. She used to live in the veterinary office where the Animal Doctor used to work. Her owner, some rich lady, split up with her boyfriend and decided to rid herself of the mementos of their relationship, including their surrogate child. Cleo came to live with me in my apartment in Manila in 2005, and for a while we had fun living an independent single lifestyle. In 2006, Cleo had enough of traveling and decided to retire in Iloilo.

Jennilyn, is somewhere between 4 of 5 years old. I adopted her from the same veterinary office where I got Cleo. Jennilyn was a product of another person's igorance ( her Mom had just survived distemper when the veterinary staff mated her with another dog ) and was kept in a cage entirely since birth. She was thin and had wobbly gait when she came to my apartment in 2006. In that same year, I decided to relocate my Manila dogs to Iloilo which was a far better environment.

Puppy, now three years old, is a cocker spaniel pup the Animal Doctor bought after Jumbo's (Deedee's son, he was airlifted to Manila in 2005 for treatment of Ehrlichiosis) death. Instead of being happy and grateful, I got so angry with the Animal Doctor because like most misguided people, he thought animals were toys that made nice gifts. I was still grieving and totally unprepared to meet the needs of a very young animal. In 2006, I relocated Cleo, Jennilyn, and Puppy to Iloilo.

This is Destiny Joe Aringkingking ( dont ask me about his last name, it just popped in my head) around 2 to 3 years old. He was given as a gift to our neighbors who did not know a thing about dogs. They let him roam in the street outside and basically just forgot that he was a living thing needing quality food and water. My tummy was bursting with a human baby at that time so I managed to ignore Destiny's pathetic cries at night by covering my ears with a pillow. I vowed to save him after I gave birth. Several months later, I barged into our neighbor's house and "confiscated" Destiny. I invoked the law which penalizes the neglect of animals. It was a good thing that the owners did not charge me of theft or tresspassing--maybe they learned how much I spent just to keep their dog alive.

Destiny, after I groomed him on the day of his rescue. He was severely matted and infested with ticks.

As of this date, I have not heard of any person criminally charged of neglecting their pets, although Republic Act 8485 ( The Animal Welfare Act) penalizes this.

Jack Flash is an askal ( asong kalye or stray dog) pup that came to our house in 2002. My Mom agreed to let him in after I assured her that the puppy was only looking for transient residence and will be on his own as soon as he hits adolescence. Well, it never happend. I mean, Jack grew up but my Mom had to spend thousands for the reconstruction of our fence to keep Jack inside.


This is our honorary dog, he is a topiary in the shape of a dog. Sometimes he grows little flowers all over his body and I find those really cute.


This is Pepe, the gold fish I bought to teach my son Miggy about responsibility. Pepe died on Miggy's second birthday. Rest in Peace, Pepe.


We have two other dogs, six cats and two rabbits that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but I will never forget them.

We, who choose to surround ourselves with lives
even more temporary than our own,
Live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps,
We still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding the necessary plan."

Irving Townsend, from "The Once Again Prince

Addie

Addie gave me, Trudis, several awards. This is the first time I ever got an award and I am so happy. I will pass those wonderful awards later. Thank you Addie. I hope you have a nice celebration. All of us wish that you stay pretty and healthy and happy for many, many, many, many, many, many, many, manyyyyy months- more than we can ever dream of counting.

We love you!!!

We got an award!

We got a treat when we visited T-man Angel's blog today. T-man came down from Heaven to receive various awards from his friends and he passed one to us.

Thank you, T-man Angel. The Secretary is so thrilled to receive our very first award since we started blogging. We would like to pass this to Sweepy and Aki, our doggy pals in the Philippines.

Sweepy is a Super Dog who barks at humans who are neglectful or cruel to animals. When we wrote about the plight of stray dogs in Barangay Sto. Tomas in Pasig City, Philippines, Sweepy came to the rescue and barked at the barangay captain to desist from capturing stray dogs because we have gathered evidence that they are not equipped to operate an animal pound in their barangay hall.

We presume that the good barangay captain was afraid to earn the wrath of a Super Dog because we have been monitoring Barangay Sto. Tomas and we have not seen any new stray captured since Sweepy's barkings. There are now only two dogs left from the group that we first saw crammed inside the cage in front of the barangay hall. We can only hope that the other dogs were transferred to the City Pound and dealt with in a humane manner. The cage now has a makeshift roof above it and the remaining two dogs have water. Job well done, Sweepy! Dogs like you inspire us to continue working for the upliftment of neglected and suffering animals out there.

Aki, on the other hand, is a new kid on the block, er, blogging world. He and his companions Pooper Scooper and Dr. Heinz never fail to amuse us with their silly antics and hilarious stories . Reading blogs like Aki's is a good way for us to relax and unwind after being distressed by the bad things happening to animals.

See you next time ( and hopefully more awards to pass on).

Poodle Style Rock- A-Bye Baby

Tongues: Updated

My friend Jozu has a very loooong tongue.

While I, Trudis, am lot more discreet about it.

Update: Here's a picture of our new friend Aki showing off his very long tongue. He reminds me of a...froggy! hehehe

Barking out to Shantee and Sweepy, show your tongues guys!

Waru and his new puppy BFF

It was not long ago when our good friend Albar broke the news that his adult boxer, Waru, was mated for the first time to a pretty boxer gal named Rhea. Fingers and paws were crossed as Waru was born without any littermates- an unico hijo- while his mother never succeeded in getting pregnant again ever since. You bet Albar was brimming with pride when he told us that Rhea had whelped to a litter of seven bouncing boxer puppies in their farm in Tagaytay, Philippines.

Albar decided to bring one of the puppies in Manila to live with Waru who only had Albar for his companion since his own puppy days. Dogs are by nature pack animals, so we were glad that he is to finally have a canine companion even though he had no complaints with Albar.

One of the many things that Albar worried about ( aside from his dog's health of course) was how Waru and Jozu would get along. As mentioned, Waru was used to being alone, or with the company of humans. Albar also worried that Waru, muscular and heavy boned that he is, could easily trample over Jozu and crushed him to a pulp!

With a bit of trepidation, Albar allowed the two to play but was quick enough to separate them when innocent jostling turns to rough housing. Soon however, Waru learned to control his movements and was actually, surprisingly gentle with Jozu. The little pup in turn seemed to have found a sense of security in the company of his father and friend.

Waru and Jozu: Best Friends For Life

(photo posted with the permission of owner)

Deedee's Ball

"This ball is mine"



" This ball is mine."

" You don't understand English?"

Chi in the Office

I found this post about dogs in the office in one of our favorite Pinoy pet blogs tonight. Gail made me recall those doggone days when I would bring dogs to work in Ortigas Center. I was able to sneak a total of five canines on separate occasions. One slept on my lap while our company President was giving a pep talk.

This little chi pretending to be a yuppy- young professonal puppy- belongs to my old friend Vic whose dogs I used to babysit way back my single days when I was living all by myself.

Hitler: " If I only have a pair of opposable paws, I'd be glad to help you type your pleadings."

"You sat on these files for weeks. Let me help you now."

"Oopsy, I smell your boss coming, quick hide me!"


"I hope your boss wont come near and check if I'm real coz I'll bite!"


"Im dog tired"



"Next time I am staying home and watching TV "

Fluffy, the substitute pet

The Secretary has lived in many places away from home. Loneliness gave her the uncanny ability for striking friendships with just about any dog nearby her rented space, be it the landlord's dog or the neighbors. In exchange for yummy leftovers and plenty of hugs, these dogs are game enough to substitute as her pet.

This is Fluffy, becoming all sweet and cuddly for some tasty dinner leftovers.

Fluffy wondering why The Secretary had to leave every morning.

Fluffy waiting for the Secretary to come home at night.
It was a good feeling to have someone so happy just to see you home.

Marshall, the Panty Raider

(Note from Greenwoods Pet Clinic: We were shocked to read about our client Marshall in the front pages of no less than The Philippine Daily Petquirir. Below is a verbatim quote of the news.)

"Oopps, I did it again" was all Marshall "The Golden Boy" Retriever could say when agents of the Canine Secret Investigation ( CSI) Manila arrested him on Monday.

The notorious canine was indicted for panty larceny in 2006 and was serving house arrest when he carried out what the Secretary of Justice considered as the dumbest underwear heist of the decade.

Mr. Retriever apparently left a piece of evidence so damning he was nailed before he could even finish chewing his loot.

CSI Agents raided Mr. Retriever's sprawling mansion at Greenwoods Executive Village, and found a cellphone containing an image of him with the stolen panty. DNA results of the drool found in the underwear disproved claims by Mr. Retriever's counsel that the cellphone image was a Photoshop fabrication.

Meanwhile, the CSI already refuse to disclose the owner of the stolen property, but confirmed to the Media that it was not Britney Spears'.

( The CSI Manila has tried to get in touch with Greenwoods Pet Clinic to confirm reports about Marshall's worsening panty addiction. The Animal Doctor, however, refused to divulge information, upholding confidentiality of veterinary-patient relationship. )

Dexter, the Toy Terminator

(Note: Amidst the debate on the proposed National I.D System that will undermine every citizen's constitutional right to privacy, Greenwoods Pet Clinic was stunned to learn that the Department of Defense had been conducting surveillance operation on one of our own!)

Subject is known to go berserk at the sound of a squeak toy.
Will pounce on the defenseless object and instantly de-squeak it.
Four victims in the last month:
Red Ball,
Blue Ball,
Mr. Duck, and
the Idiot who squeaked Mr. Duck directly into subject's ear.

Source: Military dossier on Mr. Dexter Franklin Toblerone Jay Jr.

( We strongly advice our clients to check store bought squeaked toys, especially those in the form of a ball or a duck. We strongly believe that the bugs used by the Military in their covert operations were implanted in these toys. )