Glamour shot

Okay ... so i've been on break from blogging. You have to remember ... i'm used to the cold weather of northern Minnesota so this heat wears me out. All I want to do is sleep (my Human tells me that's what I tell her no matter what the temperature is ... what does she know!). Anyway, I don't have many words to say so I thought i'd just post one of my favorite photos from a photo shoot that I had at Photographers Guild a few months ago. It shows me looking perky ... well, don't be fooled. It's only because the photographer is taunting me with treats. Yes, i'm food motivated, aren't we all????

Most of the time you won't see me looking this perky. Most of the time ... yes, my Human is right ... i'm sleeping :)

On that note, time to go back to bed.

The infamous Filipino "Balut"

My Human just got back a few days ago from visiting her mom in the Philippines. While she was there she took photos of my fellow stray dogs and cats and wrote about it. You should check out her blog.

What she didn't mention was how she asked her cousin Edith to eat a "balut". A balut is a Filipino street snack and a delicacy. It's essentially a duck egg with a fetus inside - between seventeen to twenty days in gestation. When she was a kid she was challenged by her cousin Edith to try one ... she was told "you're not a real Filipina unless you eat a balut!" Well, my Human thought she could take on that challenge. As instructed, she poked a hole in the shell and sucked the juice out. She claims that was tolerable ... or at least, from what she can remember. Then she was told to peel the shell off. Her stomach started to turn. She tells me though that as a kid she was very competitive and was not about to lose a bet or not take on a challenge! After peeling the shell off what she saw was an undeveloped duck embryo, lots of blood vessels, veins (the photo on the right is from the Deep End Dining blog,) what looked like eyes attempting to develop, maybe a beak .... she closed her eyes, and took a bite. Some are lucky enough to bite into soft meat. My Human wasn't so lucky. Her first was a crunch into the beak and her mouth felt the sensation of duck feather --- she says that at that point she knew she couldn't take the challenge any further. She gulped down what was already in her mouth, quickly grabbed a glass of water, another glass, another glass, and yet another glass --- her memories of that experience remain with her decades later and never again has she ever eaten a balut. In fact, she's a vegetarian now and has been one for over 20 years. I wonder if that formative childhood experience had anything to do with it?? :)

My Human grew up in Thailand. You would think she's be used to all this "interesting" delicacies. Her family had a maid growing up ... she tells me how she would often find her maid snacking on fried bugs (water bugs and sometimes worms) with jasmine rice. She would hear the crunch of the bug as her maid Tong would be relishing the flavor of the bugs blended with rice. She said that Tong always had a smile on her face when she was munching on bugs and rice. It appeared to be one of her favorite meals. In Thai she would ask my Human, "you want some?" I'll give you one guess on what her answer was! [If you'd like to learn more about eating bugs in Thailand check out this website].

Well ... my Human has had the opportunity to enjoy baluts and bugs ... I keep telling her how lucky she is to have been given that opportunity. She doesn't quite see it that way. Me?? I'm not picky. I'll eat both baluts and bugs!

Shadow's 2 year anniversary

It was two years ago today when my Humans said goodbye to Shadow. I can sense in their heart how much they still miss him. My Human rescued him from the country roads of Owasso, Oklahoma -- she was training for a triathlon and after a hill workout on what was referred to as "killer hill" she saw him wandering the roads, ribs protruding, dried blood on his ear (obviously a wound that had healed) and filled with ticks and fleas. She took him in that hot summer afternoon. She later discovered that he had been shot ... x-rays revealed he had lead in his skull. Apparently, someone had shot at him and took a little piece of his ear ... as the bullet hit his ear it shattered leaving pieces of lead in his skull. My Human tells me Shadow hated July 4th and fireworks ... on June 18, 2007 he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and given a few weeks to live ... he was a smart boy and decided to tell my Human early in the morning of July 2, 2007 that it was time for him to go. He told her by burrowing himself in a hole he dug by a bush in their backyard and laying in it -- something he has never done before. He was not about to go through another year of fireworks and trauma!

My Human created a video to celebrate his life. It's a beautiful tribute ..... my Humans lost both Shen and Shadow in an 8 month period - Shen to spleen cancer and Shadow to intestinal cancer.

I hope they know that their spirits continue to live on in Missy, Mister, Henry and myself.



My Human also wrote a poem for Shadow on July 4th, "Whispers from Rainbow bridge" -- you can read it here.

My brother the couch hog!

I know, i know .... if you look at the photo on the left you would think my brother Mister is an angel and is this sweet innocent pup who just likes to sleep ... even though he IS a couch hog!! Well, don't let this photo fool you. My brother is a bundle of energy. My Human tries to wear him out by taking him for runs with her but a lot of times that isn't even enough. Yesterday, they shipped him off to daycare so that he could have playtime and exercise. I have to admit, it was nice and quiet at home with just Missy and Henry.

Whenever Mister gets back from daycare we have to really check him out ... he smells like all these other dogs and we HAVE to make sure it's really him. I think Missy really misses Mister (now that's a mouthful to say!). Missy isn't the best with all dogs but she just LOVES Mister and LOVES to play with him. I'm finally starting to get a hang of this "play" thing ... the other day I tried to join them in this crazy thing called "play". My Human smiles when she sees me try to butt in on their play .... she says I bark, wag my tail, make this move that she calls "play bow", and then she says I run away when Mister or Missy start chasing me. Well, all I have to say is, give me a break .... i've never played before so i'm a little skeptical of all of this but i'm willing to give it a try. Missy and Mister seem to have so much fun even though you would think they were killing each other if you heard them. My Human says she'll get a photo of me playing some time so I can post it on my blog...

Well .. today is going to be a beautiful day. Be sure to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. I know I will!

Later,
Ahnung

Dogs Rule!

I know it's been a while since i blogged ... when my Human took a vacation I decided that I needed to take a vacation too. Of course, I needed a longer vacation. And I don't know how you all feel about this heat, but it's killing me!! I'm used to the cold weather .... i get a little more lethargic with this heat. My Human tells me that it could be sub-zero and i'd still be lethargic ... what does she know??!!! Anyway, i'm really still on my vacation, but i thought i'd share a photo of me hanging out with Mister and Missy. We decided we'd hog the red couch .... our Humans had no where to sit and watch TV .... YES, we rule the house!!! :)

Party Time!

My Humans are getting ready for their vacation! They're excited to get away for a few days .... frankly, I don't understand how they can be so excited about it when they're going to be leaving us behind... Well, we'll show them!! :) Missy and I will get to hang out at home with our pet sitter Kristen. My Humans have shipped my brother Mister off to our Auntie Laura's house because he's way toooooo much work for any pet sitter! He gets into stuff and eats whatever he can get his grubby paws on ... but hey, we love him anyway. To be honest, I'm gonna miss the guy. I think he kinda gets a bad rap. He's not as hyper as everyone seems to think he is. I mean, look at that sweet face ... doesn't he look innocent, calm and precious??? And those sweet brown eyes? Come on now ... how can he possibly get into any trouble?? :)

Anyway, we hope our Humans have a nice time on their vacation! We'll miss them but we'll have a great time back home without them. If we're lucky we can fool our pet sitter into feeding us more food!!! She won't know any better! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Enough is enough!

I've been living here now for almost 6 months. Now, don't get me wrong ... I appreciate that my Humans have taken me in and rescued me (via the path of Karen Good of Red Lake Rosie's Rescue, and then Pet Haven, from a horrible life of having to scavenge for food on my own. But enough is enough .... We get fed twice a day. My Human tells me we all get high quality food made from organic human-quality ingredients (editor's note: Ahnung is fed California Natural lamb and rice kibbles topped with organic yogurt and organic carrots; Mister is fed Nature's Variety raw diet because of food allergies we discovered this is the only food that works for him; Missy is fed Evo reduced fat kibbles - she is on a diet, not that she cares to be on one!; Henry is fed Nature's Variety raw rabbit)

Well, YOU be the judge of what i'm protesting ... Take a look at the photo at the top. There's a little bowl and a big bowl ...

Okay ... now take a look at the photo of Mister with his cute red bandana (yes, I admit, he's cute!). And then take a look ... no, take a close look at me with my easter bunny ears. You see my expression? .... just as i'm protesting those silly bunny ears, I'm protesting the lack of equality when it comes to food.

I digress ... back to my point:

Little bowl vs. Big Bowl
Skinny Dog (Mister) vs. Big Dog (Ahnung ... that's me!)

Now, who do you think gets to eat out of the little bowl? And who do you think gets to eat out of the big bowl??

Have I made my point yet? And if I haven't, let me tell you what pushed me over the edge yesterday. My Humans bought this contraption they call a "grill" ... it takes up space where I sleep on my patio, but I was even willing to be okay with that, until yesterday! Take a look again at what I get to eat, and now take a look at what my Humans get to eat!


Please don't think i'm not grateful, but let's be real now .... if you were given the option of little bowl, big bowl, or marinated grilled veggies (and my one Human even had shrimp on a few of the skewers) .... what would you choose?? Me ... i'm deprived of both quality AND quantity!

Today, I am officially submitting a complaint to the powers at large ... join me in my protest!