Category Archives: pets

I Dieeeeee!!!

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This picture is just too cute!

I have wanted a pug for the longest time. It’s my favorite dog breed. And the more banlag (wall-eyed) they are, the more adorable they are to me.

Four of my former officemates in Shell had pugs–one had the mother while the other three bought her offspring from different litters–and I died of envy every time they would talk about or show me pictures of their pets. As much as I’d want to have a pug right now, Abet and I already have our hands full with our labrador and our beagle.

Should we decide to get another dog, I’ll make sure we’ll get a pug this time. I read that they’re good with kids. I can totally imagine my future children riding our dogs like horses. Maybe I’ll even get our kids some kiddie equestrian riding apparel. How cute would that be?

My family can’t get enough of animals

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Because, you know, five kids just isn’t enough. :P

Since my youngest brother Joe brought home his first pet, a guinea pig, in 2005, our home has never been out of pets. Since then, we’ve had more guinea pigs, birds, rabbits, hamsters, fish, a dog, and two cats come into our home to keep us company. But I guess there will always be room for one more.

Remember Josie, the newborn kitten my siblings picked up last month that didn’t make it? My sister was devastated when they lost her that they wanted to get a new kitten right away. They’d even go on kitten-hunting trips within our subdivision to look for a new kitty to take home. When Abet’s friend Mario had kittens to give away, I asked for a black-white-orange one to give to my sister. Mario showed Abet a video of the kittens so he can choose, and Abet fell in love with an orange one. So instead of getting one kitten, we got two: Josie (#2) for my sister, Ludwig (after our favorite composer, Beethoven) for us.

But the kitty-twins are so close to each other, they’re always hugging, we can’t bring ourselves to separate them.

Mama made me choose between the twins or Phoebe. Since Abet and I are already very attached to our little Beefy-Cat, we agreed to let our Big-Big stay with them. So now they have four cats. That doesn’t include the six palamunin cats in our backyard that my mother feeds everyday.

I miss Josie and Big-Big a lot so I often make my sister send me pics via Twitter.

But wait, there’s more. Meet Sistah.

Like Sophie, she’s from the PMA grounds. Her dad’s a black Lab while her mom is an Aspin (asong Pinoy). Joe brought her home from his trip to Baguio last week, she was in his backpack (open, of course) during the whole journey to Manila. Abet already saw that Joe’s backpack was moving when he arrived, but the rest of us didn’t, we all shrieked when Joe pulled out a puppy from his bag. She’s the cutest thing, I swear, but I’m sure this will be a big one when she grows up. So now they have two dogs at home.

But why stop there? Things are about to get crazy… Chicks!

These aren’t pets, though. These babies will be dinner in a month’s time. My dad and brothers enjoyed slaughtering and roasting chickens for our Christmas lunch that they got these chicks in time for my mother’s and Joe’s birthdays in January and February. I don’t think we’ll be naming them. :P

And so, our crazy household just got even crazier, and that’s how we like it.

 

Happy Birthday, Uma!

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Our dear, darling mimingcat Uma is one year old today.

*wipes tear*

When my brother rescued her one rainy morning from the trash, her eyes were still closed and her umbilical cord was still attached. We didn’t know if she’d survive, she went a couple of days without a name so we wouldn’t get too attached. She was so thin and frail back then:

She has grown into this crazy, chubby beauty:

one of her favorite hobbies is to watch over Maisky the hamster

And what’s a first birthday party without party hats? My sister May made hats for all the pets.

Sophie

Apu

Cello

Robert & Raymond

I was supposed to bake her a cake but I was too tired today, we put her birthday candles on monggo bread instead:

For dinner, we had my parents’ wicked paella, which they slaved all day to make, but that’s because today is also their 33rd wedding anniversary. Uma has good timing, no? There’s bound to be good food every year on her birthday.

I can’t say enough how smitten we all are with this cat. She has brought so much joy into our home. We all went to her for comfort when we went through a difficult period last year, even my dad especially my dad. We enjoyed having a cat so much that we adopted a second cat, and now it’s double the fun.

Before we had Uma, I absolutely hated cats. Couldn’t stand them. Now, I’m a cat-lover for life.

Meet Sophie

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Coinciding with June being Adopt-A-Cat Month®, my brother Joe brought home our second rescued weird-looking cat. Like Uma, we’ll insist that she’s cute, hehe!

Joe found her on the PMA grounds when he was there last week for summer music camp. He brought her home all the way from Baguio.

I reckon she’s 6-7 weeks old. Joe named her Sophie because she looks so confusing, she’s like one big code.

Uma is a big sister now! The first few days were difficult, Uma hated the new kitten so much, she was practically murderous. She had quite an attitude problem when Sophie first arrived, it left me wondering if cats have PMS. They’re slowly warming up to each other now.

We’re giving them a little bit more time to get used to each other. I’m sure they’ll be BFFs soon!

I want a zoo!

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I love pets. At one point, we had a bunny, a pair of guinea pigs, a pair of hamsters, a pair of parakeets, and seventeen fish in our home. We got into canine and feline friends rather late, but now that we have Cello and Uma, and Abet and I have Django and Whiskey, I can’t understand why we never had dogs and cats before.

Good thing my future husband loves pets as much as I do. He’s a dog-person more than anything, but he won’t mind having little critters around. He loves animals in general.

I won’t be able to take Uma with me once I move out (my brothers won’t allow it, they love the cat too much) but Abet says we’ll just get another kitten. He’ll also get me my pair of gouldian finches and my marine tank so I can cross these off my 31 Before 31 list. I would like a rabbit as well, we’ve had a rabbit at home in the last five years. Of course, Django and Whiskey will also be coming with us.

I can imagine our future house now, a menagerie of pets and pet stuff such as aquariums, cages, pet bowls and bird baths. Our future kids will grow up exposed to the fulfillment and responsibilities of being pet owners early on, I’m sure they’ll be animal lovers as well.

What to get the pets?

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I forgot to worry about christmas gifts for babies. . . not human babies, but our pet babies here at home. They deserve a little something from me this Christmas for keeping me sane.

Uma actually already has her fair share of presents, she was actually the first one in our household to receive a Christmas gift, when the package sent by Meow by Kate (a.k.a. Nugget’s human) arrived last month. Uma received a kitten book and a cute cherry-blossom print collar.

Thanks, Kate!

And the other day, Momon and Ros bought her some toys. Because we’re low EQ, we gave the toys to the kitten right away, Christmas seems too far away.

Thanks, Momon and Ros!

I’m going to get Uma more toys, and get Cello some more chew toys. As for Apu, kangkong and carrots are enough to make him one happy rabbit.

I still do need to get presents for human babies: my godchildren and babies of my friends. I wish it were as easy to think of presents for real babies as it is for my pets.

Our dog is 3!

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This is our Django, the adorable yellow labrador retriever Abet and I share, and he’s three years old today! That picture above was taken more than a year ago, he’s humongous now.

Abet had always dreamed of owning a yellow lab, I’ve known that from the start, and we had planned on getting one once we’re married. Just after our first anniversary, I said, “why don’t we get one now?” We met Django exactly two years after Abet and I met. And his mother’s name is Andrea!

We named him Django, just like the dog of one of Abet’s favorite classical guitarists, Julian Bream. Julian Bream, on the other hand, named his dog after one of my favorite jazz guitarists, Django Reinhardt.

Django is Abet’s dog, really. We planned on getting the dog together, but when we got the puppy, Abet won’t let me pay for half, he said it’s his Christmas gift to both of us. And Abet won’t let me contribute to the dog’s food, because I can’t afford it, hehe! Abet insists on feeding Djangsky nothing but premium dog food (Canidae). And I refuse to clean up after the dog, nu-uh. Have you seen how large a lab’s pupu can get? Abet does all the work, I get all the fun.

Django is exactly like me–cute, smart, loves making pa-cute and papansin to Abet, loves to have is its belly rubbed, loves to sniff Abet, eats a lot, sleeps a lot, and is really ututin. No wonder Abet loves him so much!

I love you, too, Djanggir! You be a good boy, you’re a kuya to Cello and Uma now. Happy birthday!

Uma Girl

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Our baby girl is three weeks old now. She’s so guwapa especially now that her eyes are already open.

I worry about her sometimes, she hasn’t grown much since the day Momon rescued her just after she was born. I like to think that she’s well fed with us, there’s always someone to feed her ’round the clock. Poor kitten probably didn’t get enough nutrition before we got her, I’m willing to bet that the mommy cat was never given kitty prenatal vitamins when she was pregnant.

I’m glad Uma is thriving, though. I’m already smitten with this kitten.

And now for some animal news…

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We have a new kitten!

Actually, my brother Momon does. I woke up last Friday morning to something crying just right outside my window, and being in the just-awoken state that I am, I initially thought it was our rabbit, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. When I realized that rabbits don’t cry, I went outside to check, and I saw the cutest sight: Momon feeding the tiniest kitten I have ever seen using a baby bottle.

Momon saw the kitty near the garbage can outside our house as he was taking out the trash. It was a rainy morning, and the kitten still had its eyes closed and its umbilical cord attached. Being the softie that he is, my brother rescued it. He Googled about how to take care of a newborn cat, and upon reading that he needs to feed it a cocktail of evap, plain yogurt, pancake syrup, and an egg yolk, off he went to the nearest SM Hypermarket to buy all those, plus the feeding bottle.

We couldn’t think of a name for the kitty off the bat, because as the T.S. Elliot poem performed in the musical C.A.T.S. goes, “The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, It isn’t just one of your holiday games.” My mom decided to call it Uma, though. So Uma it is. It fits right in my mom’s hand.

The kitten looks much better than it did two days ago. (I keep saying it because we still don’t know the gender). My brother actually went to Cartimar to buy a can of baby formula for animals. If there was an hgh spray for kittens (kgh spray, then?), I’m sure he would have gotten one too! He’s doing a good job of doing mommy cat duties. Just like when Cello was still a baby, the kitty stays in his room.

Meanwhile, someone wasn’t all too happy with the new addition to our little menagerie:

That’s Cello barking furiously at Uma. Total waste of energy, really, because aside from being blind, that kitten is still deaf.

I actually don’t like cats very much. Oh, who are we kidding, I HATE cats! But I’m getting fond of this little one, it’s just too adorable to resist. I hope Uma survives, and I hope it won’t leave once it grows up.

–=-=–

Our puppy got attacked yesterday.

Momon and Cello went out to buy some softdrinks, and our neighbor’s two dachshunds attacked Cello without any provocation. Now the poor thing has bite wounds on his backside. Ooooh, those mean dachs! I don’t know how they could hurt this little thing:

Mako the brother and Cello the doggie

Now you all know I’m a big dog-lover, but when I see those dachshunds, I’ll feed them some M&M’s mixed with Ajinomoto! (I keed! I keed!)

–=-=–

Apu is one happy rabbit these days. We don’t keep him in his cage now, he’s free to roam around the backyard. We actually wonder why we haven’t thought of that before.

I just love these animals, they keep me sane and happy like nothing else can.

Pets in Chatuchak

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One of the touristy spots in our Bangkok itinerary is the Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Weekend Market on a Saturday afternoon. Also called JJ by the locals, it is the largest market in Thailand with over 5,000 stalls. It is actually said to be the biggest weekend bazaar in the world and would certainly make any shopaholic go into a frenzy. You can get practically anything in Chatuchak, from the usual clothes and accessories to a garlic press, or bluegrass albums, or Thai handicrafts, or the cutest ‘Happy Birthday’ cake candles (I bought some at 35 baht a set, around P50). I won’t be suprised if a stall somewhere within carries Ferrari parts.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Some of the wares in JJ: colorful bangles; pretty oil burners; Threadless knockoffs

But you know what we loved most about our Chatuchak visit? The pet section! Abet and I are total animal lovers.  Abet had fun playing with the animals on display, and I think the animals had fun with him, too. 

Chatuchak Weekend Market

I wanted to get this little critter because I’ve always wanted to have a pet hedgehog:

Chatuchak Weekend Market

But not as much as I wanted to take home one of these puppies! Abet and I love beagles, I hope we can get one once we’re married.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Naturally, being in the pet section of the market reminded me of the beloved half-beagle at home, I just had to get him some treats. You know those candy shops at the mall where you can buy your sweets by weight? There was something similar at Chatuchak, except that the store was selling doggie treats at 25 baht (P36) for 100 grams.

Jatujak Weekend Market

We spent so much time at the pet section that we didn’t have much time to go around the market anymore. If they displayed fish and birds, oh, I would have been there until night time! We weren’t able to buy much, too. Just some souvenir shirts for pasalubong, the requisite magnets for our collection, and items for our future home. Our pockets need to be thankful to those animals!

Meet Cello

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cello

This half-Beagle/half-Lhasa Apso pup is my brother Momon’s baby. He’s the new apple of our eyes, everyone in our household is in love with him.

I have learned to clean up doggie pupu and wipe doggie wiwi. I never did that with Django, the yellow Lab I share with Abet, but that’s because Abet does all the dirty work. But Cello is just so cute and so tiny and a little toilet paper and Lysol is enough to take care of his mess.

I’m just so smitten with this puppy.

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My March

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Well, looky here. I can’t believe it’s the already the second week of March. Actually, I can’t believe that it’s already March, didn’t we just celebrate the holidays?

I’m loving my March so far! At the home front, it’s been very happy and fun lately, we’re really blessed. We’re all excited about Joe’s vacation mid-month, and we’re glad that he’s now a yearling or a third class cadet–that’s a second year student for us civilians.

This month, I’ve also been doing good with my fitness goals. I have a rather ambitious goal for this Lenten season, and I’m well on my way to achieving that by Easter. I’ve been trying to eat well since Ash Wednesday, but I amped it up at the start of the month by going to the gym after work. I actually went four times last week, and this week I’ll aim to go everyday. I’m on a roll! During lunchtime, I now utilize a phrase I didn’t really use before: “Half-rice lang po, ‘te.“I am so getting my sexy back this year!

Has anyone seen Alice in Wonderland yet? I’m a big Tim Burton/Helena Bonham Carter/Johnny Depp fan, so this is something I’ve been looking forward to since last year. The reviews on my friends’ Facebook statuses are mixed, but Abet and I are still looking forward to watching it in 3D. We’ll wait for a couple of weeks for a) our paychecks, because we’re currently poor; and b) the opening weekend crowd to die down (but it’s mainly the former, haha!).

Speaking of movies, I’ve been “craving” for some movies lately, I’m making Abet download random movies I’d like to watch again: Land Before Time, Fern Gully, The Cutting Edge, Drop Dead Fred, etc. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older (aren’t we all?), but I want to watch movies from my childhood again.

And speaking of poor, Abet and I have been staying in a lot recently. Weekends are now spent watching movies and TV shows on his laptop instead of going out. We take turns choosing movies. So far he’s picked Somewhere in Time, I’ve chosen The Graduate and Children of Heaven, a beautiful Iranian film about a brother and sister and shoes. We also make the other watch our favorite TV shows: he’s now watching How I Met Your Mother and Glee, and last night I watched the pilot of Ed (ancient, I know, but it’s his favorite). We just make popcorn with their cool electric popcorn maker. I guess we’ll be having more of these tipid movie nights in the next 18 months 20 years.

You know what I’m most looking forward to this month? My boyfriend’s birthday! Abet will be turning 29 this year–pwede na nang mag-asawa! :D

Have a good month, y’all!

Pug Envy

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Meet Pugly, my officemate Bennie’s new baby:

He’s got the face only a mother could love:

But I think he’s just adorable:

Three of my officemates now have pugs (Jarwin has Teddy and Jerry has Kimi). They’re all siblings. I am so envious I want to cry.

I can’t afford to get a pug right now. First of all, I don’t have the money to buy one, and secondly, I just can’t take care of it. I can’t deal with doggy poo. I share a Labrador Retriever with Abet, but Django lives with him, so I don’t do any of the dirty work. I just play with him on weekends when Abet has already bathed him and cleaned his pen.

But I really, really, really want a pug.

Maybe I could convince Momon to handle the cleaning of the dog’s poo, save some money, and maybe I’ll change my mind when Eliza’s mommy pug has another litter.