our journey. this far.

stumbling upon infamous singaporean celebrity blogger xiaxue (wendy cheng)'s blog post (http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/2010/01/empty-pen.html) regarding the giving away of her dog, and the note at my door from my housemate regarding the misbehaviour of my dog, which nearly made me cry,



i suddenly had the urge of blogging about my own journey with the love of my life, my puppy monster. well, he's not exactly a puppy anymore, but he's still every bit of a lil furry monster.









dont mind the randomness of the pictures (in no particular order or sequence) though.

it all started in january 2009. when he decided to get a puppy for me for valentine's. fyi, i never had a dog my entire life and was actually scared of dogs. i never really dared to play with dogs, even the small ones. after contemplating several weeks, we both decided that we'll get a shihtzu puppy. found my baby online actually, and when we went and see him at the family's house, i fell in love right away.



it did take a couple of minutes for me to get used to stroking the puppy. mind you, i've NEVER really played with furry animals beforehand. half an hour later, i was carrying the scared little puppy in my arms walking out of the family's condo, and into the car where he fell asleep right away in my lap. he laid there for at least half an hour without moving. took him to a friend's house where he played with the other dogs and fell asleep under the table in a matter of minutes.



the first thing i noticed bout the puppy, other than the fact that he's super duper adorable, he falls asleep really really quickly and he SNORES. except that its really soft and cute. he whimpers quite a lot as a puppy, i came up with the name WHIMPER. well, at that point, he was 7 weeks old and havent really started to respond to his name. several days later, we decided that TOY TOY is a much better name for him.



looking back at our first night together, he was just a tiny seven month old puppy who was afraid of the dark. we left the bedroom light on that nigh because he whimpers when the it was dark. we laid a soft pillow right next to our bed where he snuggled in and fell asleep right away. oh, and he snores.



he NEVER barked until, i think the third or fourth day. when he first barked, i was like a very proud mum who just heard her son blab out his first word. =) his first few barks was out-of-tune, a little on the squeaky end which was really really cute. we would try and make him bark because it was awfully cute. now? it annoys both of us to no end whenever he decides to go on a barking spree. =.=






HIS LITTLE MEET-and-GREET PICTURE SESSION WITH MY RED STUFFED PATRICK DOG


the first time he met my stuffed dog, he was afraid of it =.= barked and refused to get near the red stuffed animal. hah.


slowly

slowly

now smile darlin smile =)

and now, they're best friends. HAH =.=

we did have many firsts with him, of course, we didnt have to teach him how to walk. i mean, its puppy insticts. besides, he was seven months already. oh, but i do remember guiding him through his first steps. he was so afraid of split levels. just ONE single step down was a big deal for him. there was this step down from the car park area to the shaded pathway. he refused to just walk down the step which was BARELY EVEN half a feet. it was awfully cute. i remember us, squating next to him as he walked left and right trying to find a way to avoid stepping down half a feet to the lower ground. richard showed him a couple of times, he just looked. i tried talking to him and ask him to step down without fear, he just stared. we tried walking away so that he's forced to overcome his fear of that half step, he just stood there and watched us walk away. we didnt manage to teach him to walk down the steps the first time, but we did try.

second attempt was at a restaurant where there was about 5 steps leading up to the restaurant. after dinner, we thought of teaching him to step down those steps again. squated next to him for almost fifteen minutes and nudged him to step down, he just was too scared. in the end, he barked of frustration and i just carried him down. went back to the first half step and tried to teach him again. when he FINALLY got all his guts to step down that HALF step, we were like proud parents of the toddler who finally walks his first step without support =) now he's this little pro monster who loves climbing up and down steps, although he still falls every now and then.

HIS FIRST ATTEMPT AT RIDING A KID's BIKE

him being awfully terrified =(

hah. a proud POSER +)

well, toilet training was quite a pain. although at seven weeks, he actually knew where he was supposed to pee and poop, which was on the papers, he wasnt all that accurate. we had huge ass carpets on the floors and rugs here and there, and he just seems to like peeing on them. it was tough, i would not deny it. i had to clean the carpet almost everyday since he enjoys peeing there =.= (due to marking and his familiar pee smell on the carpet). after several times of manuallly cleaning the carpets and sending it for dry-cleaning, we decided that its best to remove the carpets since it is easier to mop away wee on the floor than it is to clean wee from the carpets.

it really was tough. one of the toughest parts of owning a pet, is cleaning their poop and wee. when we first had him, richard and i had an agreement that i would clean puppy's wee and richard will clean his poop. it was fine at first, but after some time, i HAD to get used to picking his poop, which was quite a pain. its quite alright to clean poop if he pooped nicely on the papers and all i had to do was to gather the papers and throw them into the bin and lay clean papers for him again. problem was that, he is a little bit of a 'clean freak', ie, when he already pee-ed on the papers, he would REFUSE to poop on the papers and would do it on the floor. imagine picking up watery sticky and smelly poop. urgh.

cleaning up after him was a serious pain in the ass. he had issues with pooping and having shit stuck on his fur which he hates and would cry and bark like a mad dog whenever it happens. and guess what, you would HAVE to pull the shit out of his fur. fuckin disgusting like mad. imagine how much worse it is when the shit is watery and slimy. urgh. *pukes*

oh, and the smell. urgh. a pain in the ass. our house never smelled the same anymore. no matter how you clean the floors or try to clean up after him the minute he poops or pees, it still gets stinky. if you are a clean freak who cannot stand your house not smelling like a garden of roses, trust me, you would want to think twice, or a hundred times before you decide of getting a dog.

by the way, dogs get thirsty at night. we didnt know that at first and always wondered why Toy Toy's face smells soooo bad in the mornings. we thought it was morning breath. till we realised that he gets thirsty at night and drinks his own pool of pee. he now has a bottle in the bedroom to drink from, in case he gets thirsty.

imagine this. we wake up every morning to smell pee. he has a habit of pooping in the mornings. so you'ld have to clean it. in a rush? great. expect to be greeted by the stench of horrible pee and poop when you get home. i still get very annoyed now and then. although he now does his business in the toilets or balcony, it still stinks as hell as if he just did it in the middle of your living room. it doesnt matter how tired you are when you get home after class or work, you will HAVE to clean up after him.

i'ld admit that i have, on numerous occasions, got VERY mad at him for having smelly poop and causing the whole house to smell like DOG PEE. you may think, fuck, its just simple job as picking poop. but it isnt. you not only have to pick his poop, clean his papers and lay new papers for him, wipe off his pee stains from the floor. you ALSO have to scrub the floor and clean it with very strong detergents in order to make the smell go away. try doing that EVERY SINGLE DAY and still come home to a house which smells like DOG PEE.

of course, people ask me why i dont take him outside to do his business.

firstly, he was already paper-trained when we bought him. its not as easy to change a dog habits as it is to start cultivating one.

secondly, who has all the time in the world to take him out to do his business twice, every single day, about the SAME time?

oh, besides, he rarely gets to walk outside because i cannot accept that he walks on the dirty pavements, the road and the grass and then comes home with dirty paws and rolls onto my bed. sure enough, we take him out a lot. to dinners at chinese restaurants with us, breakfast at the nearby coffee shop, joy rides in the car, playtime with dogs of friends. but i carry him 99% of the time, unless its shower day whereby we would bring him out to run since we're gonna shower him after his walk anyway.

dont be fooled with that angelic face. i assure you, he's the most irritating monster in the entire world.

i dont know about big dogs, but i am pretty sure that small dogs have issues with independence, temper and attention. everyday when we get back, even if its just from a quick bite at the shop nearby or a quick drive to buy cigarrettes, he throws a tantrum. he gets mad. he jumps up and down and runs around you like a mad dog. okay, he might be quite okay if its just for a minute or two, try leaving him alone for like 8hours while you go to work.

imagine this. 8hours of tiring work or class. you come home. to be greeted by a VERY angry mad dirty smellydog who jumps on you, barks and bites at you to no end. on top of that, you'ld find you favorite things bitten and bits of newspapers ALL over the floor and pee stains EVERYWHERE. oh, and a bit of poop here and there. try. if it doesnt annoy you the first time, trust me, you will be VERY annoyed after some time.

ah. yet another angelic picture of him.

did i mention that Toy Toy does shows his temper? his teeth-ing period was one of the toughest points. since he is not locked up or tied, and has access to the entire house, just imagine how much things he has destroyed. especially when we're away during the day. he's quite okay if he's left alone for, say, four to six hours. but when he's left alone for much longer than that, bravo. he'll transfrom into this terminator. he would show his temper, his anger and his resentment towards you for leaving him alone.

how?

1) biting on your furniture. especially the wooden ones. the legs of the cabinet and tv racks, the legs of the coffee table. the sofa cushion and pillows.

2) biting on your wires. toy toy has been walloped many times for delibrately biting on wires despite knowing that he's not supposed to. imagine richard's frustration to change internet connection cables and his laptop charger cables which costs rm150 each time Toy Toy decides to chew on them out of anger.

3) biting your favorite shoes. i'm smart to not leave my beloved shoes out for him to bite. but he has bitten my favorite pair of slippers and sandals whenever i forget to keep them. and richard's leather shoes and sport shoes.

4) pee-ing and poop-ing at places which he obviously KNOW you would notice and be pissed with him. leaving a trail of wee all over the floor and on the rugs. anywhere but where he is SUPPOSED to.

5) chewing on newspapers and tissues. and leaving bits of them scattered ALL over the floor.

6) did i mention that my dog is a smarty pants. he is able to jump onto the chairs and bite things on the tables, like your books and papers.

7) chewing on your laundry.mind you, i have a 2 n half feet tall heavy laundry basket but he always manages to topple it over to bite on my FAVORITE pieces of clothings. my 150bucks LaSenza nightie which i fucking wore for one time only. my expensive bras. making holes in my tops and tearing them apart. oh, and breaking the straps of my spagetti tops. biting off the buttons on richard's shirts.

8) biting your important things. like breaking up two of richard's handphones while we were sleeping. and both our spectacles

9) barking to no end.

10) [will leave this empty cause i KNOW he'll come up with something awful to annoy me to show his frustration]

until the day where you LEARN to keep EVERYTHING out of his reach, he will continue to be a terminator. although now that he's much older and matured and he seems to know things he's not supposed to do, i dont know when he would decide to go mad and destroy my things. its an issue of trust here. of course i dont trust him, he's a goddamn puppy for goodness sake!

no matter how patient you are, you WILL lose it. all this dog business will seriously push you to the limit. maybe for some people, its easier to deal with all this dog business alone since couple DO argue about dog responsibilities. but for me, i get more frustrated doing it alone. its always good to have someone to share your frustrations, and take turns with the whole dog business thing (especially the cleaning up) when you're so sick of it and need a break. someone to call in the middle of the day and whine about how naughty the dog has been or tell my frustration when he destroys my favourite things. someone to talk to about how angelic the dog has been or how irritating he has been for the day. i suppose that's why god made adam and eve no? its no fun doing things alone. at least not with the whole dog issue.

funny like mad no? he'ld always lay on his back when he craves for attention and wants us to rub his lil furry tummy =) sort of like human hug as a form of affection.

awwww... look at that cute lil furry face =)

=)

oh, and did i mention that small dogs have issues with independence? well, i wouldnt say ALL small dogs are dependant, but mine certainly is. when he was about few months old, he would bark NON STOP whenever we leave the house for work. like seriously NON STOP. thank god for considerate neighbours who never really said anything.

Toy Toy cannot be left alone. it was so difficult to mop or vacumm the floors cause he would be all so hyper excited and chase around the vacumm cleaner or mop which makes it REALLY hard for me to clean. i used to lock him up in the bedroom while i do the chores. and he would bark like there was no tomorrow. a long long time ago when he occasionally barks as a puppy, or when he hears my voice over the phone and barks, i find it really cute. now, its PLAIN annoying.

if you expect small dogs to be like cats, well, dont. he cannot be left alone even while i shower =.= so i either leave the toilet door open so he can stare at me like a perverted dog =.=, or bring him into the shower with me, and let him get all wet WHILE he stares at me showering =.=

barking issue is a pain in the ass. seriously. it isnt cute anymore, its just PLAIN PAIN IN THE ASS.

he sticks like glue. seriously. he's always afraid that we'll leave him and never come back =( although its really cute and loyal of him, but at the same time, it does get a lil irritating. think *the annoying clingy boyfriend who wants to be with you ALL the time*. well, Toy Toy's a lil like that. craves for attention ALL THE TIME.

there were several times when he pee-ed on my bed. DELIBRATELY. right IN FRONT of me. not even because he thinks i wasnt looking or because the toilet door was closed or anything like that. it was just plain because he was angry with me. for god knows what reason, maybe for waking up late or not giving him enough attention.

urgh.

Toy Toy say HI =)

i LOVE this pic. looks as if Toy Toy's LAUGHING. OMFG!!!

me trying to make him take a pic while he forcefully ROOTS his ass to the floor =.=

okay. dont worry. i'm not gonna give him away or leave him on the streets to starve, get bitten and die. despite how much i RESENT and HATE him sometimes, in fact most of the time. i still love him to bits. even though it is tough now, and it'll be even more tough later on, i've promised myself that i will TRY my BEST to provide for him, to love him and to make him the happiest dog in the world.

i may not be able to spend ALL my time playing with him, or feed him with the most expensive food, or bring him along ANYWHERE i go, or provide the BEST environment for him to live in. but at least i know he's happy and he's gonna be happy with me, for the rest of his life, perhaps another ten more years. dont ask me HOW i know if he's happy or if he loves me back. i just do.

this is the very dog i have LOVED from the beginning. the one who would jump around happily when he senses that i'm in a great mood, the one who would lay quietly in my arms and stare at me while i cry. the very one who would run under the couch and under the bed whenever i wallop him, and then come out few minutes later to snuggle next to me. the one who would sleep by my feet everynight, and quickly snuggle up to richard's side of the bed whenever he leaves early for work, so that i wouldnt be alone. the one who stays awake with me when i stay up late for assignments or while i wait for my man to come home after a long night out. the one who i hug and console whenever he wakes himself up from his nightmares and whimpers (mind you, dogs do have nightmares!), the one i comfort when he's upset or angry. the one i sayang everytime he vomits or has diarhoea. the protective lil baby who would bark at strangers at the door. the one who would run to me whenever he sees the lightning streaks and hears the loud thunders. the very dog i sit down to feed him his dog food, one 'biji' at a time. the one i cuddle and carry in my arms every single day. the very one i KISS everyday. the one i talk to and confide my deepest fears and secrets and feelings. the one who jumps up on me excitedly everytime i come home as if i'm his long lost lover.

i suppose its a love-hate relationship between us. as much as i love him, there are times where i hate him so much and hate myself and richard for bringing him into our lives. but when i look into his eye, the cute lil furry animal, and all the things we've been through this one WHOLE year. i know deep down within, i have so much love for him. i just have to remind myself whenever times are rough.

no matter what happens, he'll always be the one i love. all my life.