Corgie passed away

The cutest dog in the Dino household, Corgie, has passed away sometime at dawn of Oct 7, 2011.

Dino dad and i almost got heart arrest to discover her motionless lying by the wall of the patio table, her tongue black and dropped out of her gaped mouth; her eyes were not even closed.

The night before she had been spotted with palpable enlarged stomach. She wouldn't eat her dinner - the first time. We knew something was very wrong. We even decided to rush her to the vet early next morning for scan. But she didn't last the night.

Vet suggested she died of GDV (Gastric dilatation-volvulus), also known as 'twisted stomach'. We've always prided ourselves the better pet owners who are quite knowledgable in dog-cat medical and behavior studies. But when it came to Corgie's case, we were acting like idiots, not having a clue of the sight of Corgie's condition in the last few hours before she died.

Another possibility the vet had suggested was heart attack. Last moment, i'd decided to call off the post-mortem, thinking whatever that had took her life must be either if these two possibilities.

Corgie has never had any health problem since the first year she came to our house through a friend who had caught her wandering in the street heedlessly. She was estimated to be no more than 1 year old when she entered our life: white, short, fluffy and her signature round brown patch on her white back. we even nicknamed her 'Japanese piggy'. Our neighbor also thought her breed is 'pig-dog' (猪仔狗). Hilarious, but adorable.

The first six months after her arrival, our house turned into a huge green cage, literally. She was peak on heat, trying everything to climb out through every little inch of chance she spotted. She would even pull out the nail on the wall using her nose and mouth so the plastic fence - we've erected temporary after discovering her outside the house when we got home from work one day - be wide enough for her to slip out. Through out her heat, there were at least 3 incidents, through ways we were still baffled until today how she'd did it, she was found outside wandering, so the security guard had informed us. Smart, wasn't she?

She was very intelligent. Perhaps the previous owner had had trained her - a pure breed corgi couldn't have been born stray - she responded to training very well. As mentioned in her breed guide, she had attentive eyes to owners - the one-owner type. So caring for you is most easy, though we had a little challenge in changing her one-dog-alpha mentally when she met our other older dogs Pepsi and Beagle, that are double her size. Plus, she loved picking at her food, throwing out foods which were less favorable and making her eating place messy with. And she loved attacking the cats' food bowl when we turned our backs.

So, her face was always a picture of sunny day, that sweetest smiling face when panting (she always panted), big bat years fronting and super super fast feet during jogging time.

6 years on, all bad habits had been successful changed and she'd recognized her fourth place in Dino's hierarchy of dominance, everything went well except her hyperactive trait. Too active, in fact. Every action was always an excitement; fast and snappy and lightning speed. Even waking from her sleep was like a spring. Truly justified her ancestral lineage of a hunting breed. We told ourselves that we must be prepared one day she might collapse with an heart attack when she gets older.

This year her left hind leg started limping occasionally. We thought a few things: hip dysplasia, prolapse disc (prone to long bodies dog) and long nail growth that made jogging uncomfortable. Only recent month she slowed a lot during jog time, even totally stopped to rest mid way. Concerned, we decided to bring her to vet for a whole full body checkup. Plus to clean her teeth.

One thing about Corgi, respite an A+ doggie, was her reluctance to let a fourth person - after me, Dino dad and my older sister - approach. So, vet always has an issue coming near her. Vaccination day was always quite a drama. On the morning of Oct 7, we took her to her vet. As usual, she struggled like hell in Dino dad's arm. Because this time the doc needed to test her knee cap, Corgie was muzzled and clamped down. Now thinking back, she might have struggled too assertively (almost 5 minutes). After coming home, she was seen fine the whole afternoon. Only started to shun food and breathing hard and drink quite often during night time.

We could see she wasn't comfortable that night - and stupid us didn't come across it to be the onset of heart attack of GDV. We even ruled in kidney failure - so Dino dad stayed up with her on the couch till 1am, all the time resolute to bring her to vet first thing the next morning.

Corgie didn't last the night. While slept, she breathed her last breath downstairs. She might have whined, but i think it was better we didn't see her go. Because it would be devastating for us, being helpless in the middle of night in a country where animal emergency care was not an option; in a Muslim country where dogs have no place.

Corgie weighted only 8kg when we sent her off for cremation. She used to weigh 10kg; she was only 6kg when we first took her in - the same weigh as our biggest tuxedo cat, Dharma. Today, her urn has been buried under the tree across our house, where she'd liked to wee wee whenever we let her out supervised.

Her sudden death devastated us momentarily. But we were surprised we could recoup fast - though each memory and photo of her brings tear to our eyes. We are thinking maybe we haven't pulled the plug, liked we did to our 'big fella' Beagle - lost his tail bone to bone cancer in just two months and Coffee, the big wolfie golden Husky-like dog, in her fight with bladder cancer. Throughout our lives, we have pulled the plugs of quite a number of strays we've rescued and had no chance of survival. Each time that happen, confusing emotion - did we did the right thing tumult - would plague for months. For Corgie's case, she passed on herself and the duration was only an overnight. She might have suffered the last few hours, the consolation is that death came quick, unlike Beagle and Coffee.

Also maybe we have reached a junction in life we are feeling tired of keeping pets. We have cared for over 20 cats (died and still living) and 8 or 9 dogs (some managed to rehome). With Corgie's deceased, Pepsi, our 14-year-old mongrel, is the last surviving 'daughter' in the house. We've seen and cried over and buried too many deaths. I think it is time we take a breather. Which also means sorry to the future dogs and cats, if they happen to cross our path, as we won't be helping them much. We've decided long ago that the best we would be doing is to rehome them or to hand over to NGOs.

Foods that you don't feed your cat

I've search everywhere in thestar online for this article and the funny thing is the search result came 'NIL'. Then i went to www.katztales@lepak.com, the writer's website where this article originated. And there too the articles is no where be found. Sigh......i thought to save the typing effort. Never mind la, the content is worth keeping.

Ellen Whyte wrote:

Before commercial pet food was made, cats were fed table scraps. There are three problems adopting this as a routine diet.

First, some coca products like chocolate milk, and onions are toxic to cats. Onion relatives like garlic and leeks can also be problematic. Cats who eat too much liver can overdose on vitamin A.

Second, people food tend to be high in salt.

Third, scraps consisting of rice and vegetables aren't nutritious for cats.

Forth, cats that eat too much fish can suffer from taurine deficiency and lose their eyesight. Too much fish can also lead to vitamin E deficiency and cause a killer condition called steatitis or yellow fat disease.

Cats' bodies work in unusual ways, so its very hard to make sure they can absorb everything they need from these diets. Although dry food is convenient, recent studies show that cats fed exclusively on dry food have a higher chance of developing urinary tract difficulties than cats fed on wet food.

Many products now have added ingredients that acidify the urine, but critics say these can lead to bladder stones. Current consensus is what giving pets wet food is an important preventive tactic.

Apart from food concerns, water is also extremely important for car health. All cars must have access to clean fresh water all the time. Clean the bowl twice a day to prevent dust and other contamination.

US Presidential pets

First Family George Bush's pets get in the Halloween spirit, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008, in a portrait on the Blue Room balcony on the south side of the White House. From left are Miss Beazley, Willie the cat, and Barney. The dogs are Scottish Terriers. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

President Bush calls for his dog 'Barney' as he stands on the West Wing Colonnade at the White House in Washington.

President Clinton (buttocks up) tries to broker a peace plan while introducing first cat Socks to his new dog Buddy during an impromptu meeting outside the Oval Office. In the background, White House photographer Sharon Farmer assists.

President Bush tries to get his dog Barney interested in going up the steps to Air Force One, as Bush prepares to depart Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, en route to his Crawford, Texas, home.

Socks the cat, who belongs to President-elect Clinton, gets his moment in the spotlight outside the governor's mansion in Little Rock.

Socks the cat peers over the podium in the White House briefing room. A White House groundskeeper was walking Socks when he stopped and lifted Socks to the podium.

First lady Barbara Bush and her granddaughter, Marshall Lloyd Bush, visit with first dog Millie and her six puppies in the residence of the White House.

President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter play with their dog named Grits on the south lawn of the White House in Washington D.C. after returning from church. Earlier that day a group of people were arrested for planning to disrupt the church service in protest over the neutron bomb.

Nancy Reagan cradles Rex, the Reagans' King Charles spaniel, as she and President Ronald Reagan stroll along the White House south lawn.

President Gerald Ford and his daughter, Susan, and their dog Liberty take a moment for a photo op on the South Lawn of the White House.

Luci Johnson, the daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and her fiance, Pat Nugent, greet the Johnson family collie, "Blanco," July 11, 1966 in Washington, DC. Luci and Pat flew back from a stay at the LBJ Ranch in Texas with President and Mrs. Johnson. A White House staffer holds the leashes of Blanco and the two Johnson beagles.

President Richard Nixon pats the head of his Irish setter 'King Timahoe' as he walks from his office in the Executive Office building to the White House in Washington D.C. on April 30, 1970. White House electrician Traphes Bryant holds back the other first family pets "Pasha," a Yorkshire terrier, and "Vickie," a miniature French Poodle.

President Warren G. Harding, standing with his Airedale terrier "Laddie Boy."

Pauline, pet cow of President William Howard Taft, on the lawn in front of the State, War and Navy Building, Washington, D.C. The photo was made between the years 1909 and 1913.

President Herbert Hoover poses with his police dog "King Tut."

Sen. Richard Nixon, Republican vice presidential candidate, relaxed with his family on the lawn of their Washington D.C. home on Sept. 28, 1952. With the senator was his wife, Pat, their children Julie and Patricia, and their cocker-spaniel, "Checkers."

IKEA Korea is fur-kids friendly

Look!!!! Shoppers can bring along their pets to IKEA. How nice. Well, your pet might catch a flea or tick, but what the heck, give your pets a break for staying within the 4 walls of your house whole day and many more days.

Tama is the purr-fect antidote to financial gloom

This is an amazing news. Love this cat. It looks exactly my Tortoiseshell Booda at home.

TOKYO (AFP) - As the economic might of Japan faces up to the global banking crisis a single cat has boosted the finances of a small Japanese city by millions of dollars, according to a study.

Tortoiseshell Tama is the master of the unmanned Kishi train station where she was born and raised, on the provincial Kishigawa Line.

But it is not her labours on the platform which have seen the cash rolling in.

It is rather Tama's irresistible charm which has brought tourists flocking in their thousands to the western city of Kinokawa to see the feline worker patrolling in the uniform of her office -- a Wakayama Electric Railway cap.

With 55,000 more people having used the Kishigawa Line than would normally be expected, Tama is being credited with a contribution to the local economy calculated to have reached as much as 1.1 billion yen (10.44 million dollars) in 2007 alone, according to a study announced last week.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor at Kansai University's School of Accountancy, said picture books and other merchandise featuring the feline stationmaster also produced significant economic effects.

A television appearance and other publicity surrounding Tama -- who receives cat food in lieu of a salary -- was worth 280 million yen, according to Miyamoto.

Tama was born from a stray cat brought to the station by a cleaner and kept by Toshiko Koyama, a local who runs a grocery store next door.

The station went unmanned in April 2006 as the line was losing money. But Tama stuck around.

She rose to national stardom in January 2007 as the railway company formally appointed her as "stationmaster".

Corgie rescued Dharma from the lock-up store room

It was 8:30pm and Corgie was incessantly smelling, scratching and making small whining sounds hovering at the store room room. She wouldn't came away despite luring with her favorite toys. So we opended the store room door and let her go in to find what she was having in mind. True enough, Dharma, our king-of-the-house cat came strolling out of the room.

Its not the first time that Dharma got lock-up in the store room. The first lock-up experience was sometime back in 2005. Loud banging noises from downstairs woke us up at around 7:30am, coming from the store room. After we opened the door, he went straight to his sand box and wee for almost 5 minutes. Poor guy was lock-up for more almost 10 hours. Despite our extra care not to leave the door ajar for long this boy still found his way in. Never understood what's so interesting for him inside.

Corgie, the she-hero. We were so thrilled to witness first hand live how dog actually sniff out hidden things (as shown in Animal Planets), well, a cat in this case. This incident has again proved that she is a pure breed cardigan corgi. Such distinctive ability only be found in a hunting breed. Its true because Pepsi, the big sister of the house, a pure mongrel, has never shown interest in hunting, except for grass. We nicknamed her the 'moo-dog'.

Cot for a catnap

This is the winning picture of the day 18 July 2008 in The Star VIEWS section. Photographed by A. Ram Kumar Rao. It says "The feline visitor seems to have found this hospital bed just the right place for firty winks."

Loved this picture because this feline is a direct resemblance of our King of the house - Mr Dharmaboy, below, relax in the crook of heaven.

Please spay your cats

Cats breed fast!

For cats owners, please watch this well made video by PETA. If you are not owning cats but able to touch cats, please extend your compassionate hands to help control the over-breeding of stray cats within your residential area.