Everything's a toy

Danny's at the puppy stage where he likes to chew...and I'm not kidding. The moment he can get his jaws on something it's happy time.

His chew toy...

...Newspapers...

...Slippers...
...And his favourite: Owners' fingers....

...Ouch.

Danny vs Redang

Two weeks after we got our friend, the bulk of the family set off on a cruise. Mom had been hankering for a trip to Redang; so entrusting Danny's toilet training (which isn't going very well) to our helper, Rhoda (who's been spoiling him rotten), I chucked the parentals + brother (who were extremely excited) on a 2-night cruise to the island famous for its corals and marine life.

After hearing so much about it, it really didn't disappoint.

First sight of the beach

Second sight of the beach with someone's head spoiling the pic.

The big attraction is diving or snorkeling. (The people who look like they've drowned are all snorkeling.)

While dad opted for a snooze in the shade, mom and bro decided on snorkeling. (Hmm...bro needs to lose weight.)

Me? I opted for the age-old past-time of wading. Hey, I can't snorkel. I keep thinking I'll hit my head or choke on some fly going past my snorkel.

I haven't been to many beaches but the waters here are so clear. I was thigh deep in the water and I could still see my feet! (FYI, those are the weird objects at the bottom of the pic. Weird object at the corner is the camera case.)
Also, you get little schools of little fish swimming about. They're all white so you need to spot them by their shadows.

How does this post link to Danny? Well the sun, sand and sea couldn't distract dad. The moment I came out of the water, he handed me his handphone and told me to dial home and ask about him.

I did. And of course what else could he be up to but messing up the house.

Noah's Ark

A couple of days after Chassard passed on, we decided to donate all his stuff to Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS) in Johor. (They were previously located in Singapore but had to move as the rent was too high.)

So on Saturday morning, we packed up a half-eaten bag of dog food, a worn collar, a brand new bottle of shampoo and a host of leftover medication, and headed up north.

I expected to see dogs in their own pens and some cats roaming about but boy was I surprised. The moment I opened the car door, a friendly mongrel face pushed his way onto my lap for a bit of TLC.

Once we entered the building, we were surrounded by packs of dogs, all hoping for some attention.

And forget the pens. It turns out that Noah's Ark's 800 over dogs all roam free on some 10 hectares of land.

Not all the dogs came to us though. Appearantly those that did had been cared for by humans before. Others were quite happy to snooze in the afternoon sun.

These guys were behind a fence but the gate to the compound is wide open. This is one of the "territorial" areas. Although there are no barriers stopping the dogs from roaming all over, they have established certain territorial boundaries. Only a handful are able to cross into another area without getting into trouble.

But interestingly enough, if it rains, they will let any dog take shelter with them. Better than some humans, eh?

One of them is Toby, my mom's favourite. At a certain point of our walk, she joined us and lead us around the compound as if she owned the place.

This is my favourite. I don't know his/her name but she is such a sweetie. She looks ordinary but she came nosing for a pat and she's got lovely fur. I would have played with her longer but another dog chased her away.

And they are not called Noah's Ark for nothing. In addition to the dogs, they also have 400 cats (sorry no pics), a couple of monkeys, horses and guinea pigs.

How did they come by their horses? Well, once the horse gets too old for work at the turf club or zoo, they are shot and fed to other animals. These are some of the lucky ones.

Noah's Ark allows all their animals to live out their lives in peace. In many cases, it gives them a second chance.

With all the land to roam about, Chassard would have loved it.