Surprise

Hi, this is Al E.

Daddy has not been well, today's surprise was he did not send me to the kennel and worked from home.

I wish he could work from home all the time and not send me to the kennel but I do enjoy meeting my friends in the kennel too.

Daddy has not been well, so, he has been quietly doing his work from home.

I have been his shadow all day, except in the morning where he left me at home alone. He said he was going to see a doctor.

He was back quite fast and I created no damage at home.

Today, it has been quite hot, so I slept for a while under daddy's wet clothes on the clothes line.

We went for a walk in the evening as we always do but I want to go for walks all the time. Today my girlfriend Cherry was chasing me all over, she smells nice and allows me to smell her. She does not bark like the crazy Gaju next door.

That Gaju fella, always barking at me, dunno what is wrong with him. He just does not like me. Once he even attacked me. I have not even done anything to him. Bugger.

But my friend Fifi and Coco were not there today. I visit them everyday too. They like me but I act cool, don't want to show their excitement. They are just puppies and I love the attention they give me. Daddy is nice to them too. But today, I missed them, they were no where to be seen.

Now I am sleeping on my basket, which daddy has put outside while he watches television and works.

I miss mommy, and hear her on the phone.

Anyway, I hear mommy and dada coming soon for Dewali, festival of lights. Why don;t they have a festival of darkness as well ... hmmmmm ..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Door Bell

Ever wished for an amazing alarm cum door bell...the one that do not need to be fixed, logged-in, keyed-in, programmed and etc.....

Well, we have one and it is not a gadget but AL-E. Plus, he comes without any battery that needs fixing or charging...

You see, we do not have a door bell (for our home in Borneo). AL-E does the job pretty well. His bark announces whether it is a cat/dog, guest or ghost/spirit. By the way, AL-E's bark varies between a human, animal and things from other dimension (if any - though I have yet to meet one and have no plans or wish whatsoever to bump into one).

This morning we both decided to sleep a little longer... Out of the blue AL-E (who also sleeps in our room jumped out of his basket and was really uneasy. He came to my side of the bed and gave me an early wake-up call (all slobbery with his wet kisses)...Wait a minute, that is not how it should be, normally he never forces or wakes me unless something is really amiss or someone is at the door. So I had to force myself up, go check the whole house including the balcony etc. etc. Well, nobody and nothing was out to greet me. Thus, I fixed AL-E's breakie and went back to sleep.

Guess what, loud on-going barks...now what...well, lo and behold my housekeeper was at the front door (Note: I was wide awake and did not hear the van dropping her off...).

Oh well, I had actually arranged for a housekeeper next Sunday and not today but I must say that our boy is the real hero and have my utmost respect. From now on, whenever he wakes me up out of the blue, I am sure to wake up, you may never know what or who is at the front door.

Al-E is constantly a loyal companion who provides unconditional love ... now to add to his abilities, he is also door bell and alarm - what more could we have asked for?

YB AL-E injured

We left our boy for an hour yesterday morning and guess what happened when we got home?

AL-E injured a small spot on his paw. There were spots of blood all over the floor. All due to constant scratching of the wood divider...

After a frantic call to the vet and instructions given, AL-E's well and jumping like a monkey ...

I wonder where does he get all energy. It's like the bunny advertisement for Duracell battery (can go on for hours and days without any glitch!)..I wish I have at least half of AL-E's super-duper energy...

Unconditional love

Al E is not different from this cartoon.

We can leave him in the kennel and would go collect him thinking he will be mad at us or upset with us, but he comes running like a maniac, just waiting to jump and slober all over you.

Such is the simple unconditional love you get from a dog, you are his world. Treat him well and rewards are aplenty.

Heroics

Every other day, I read an article about some dog being a hero.

Here and there, everywhere, everyday there is a dog saving a person.

"Dog hailed as hero for guiding rescuers to owner's body" is among a recent headline.

"Dog pulls toddler out of burning building."

Some religions believe that dogs are evil, or the devil and if you have a dog, angels would not come into your house.

I believe somewhat the opposite. The dog is an angel that keeps the evil out.

Al E is not different. Numerous times he has warned me of something, or barked at a stranger lurking around the house.

Yes, he barks at nearly everyone, but I have learned to recognise the different barks.

And sometimes he just goes quiet, to warn you of something strange. He goes extremely quiet and listens attentively for any strange sounds.

No difference on Thursday night - but read Nils Musings for that story.

Al E has his heroics and he is a hero at the same time. A loyal, good, kind-hearted and loving pet.

He may whine and destroy a few papers here and there and create a bit of a mess when left alone for a few hours, but Al E will always be #1 pet.I can treat him like my son but he knows he is a dog and that I am his master, and we both love each other unconditionally.

Al E misses his human mommy. And daily cherishes time with his human daddy.

Such is life, and it's beautiful.

So sorry lah

Dear mommy,

I am so sorry to have created a mess during your 2 hours Starbucks break...I miss you lah so I decided to chew some newspapers.....Sometimes nice to chew on newspaper (like you chew some gum)...

But I know you hate it but I can't help it lah...Forgive me ya. I love you so much.

Hugs,
AL-E Baba

AL-E Botak

Can you imagine what my mommy did to me....

Recently, mommy acquired a new passion or shall I say a new hobby...that is being my personal hair-stylist. The only problem is that she only knows one style......Just look at the pictures!!!

My dear mommy got a wee bit too excited and cropped off all my lovely locks.

Initially mommy only intended to cut off the tangled hair/fur (those that is hard and unmanageable). However, something got over mom and she started chopping all my fur...

On top of that daddy calls me 'botak' or AL-E Botak.......Grrgh

Although it is a relief to be free of tangled hair/fur, I just can't wait for my fur to grow back. Sigh!

My training

Dear Mommy and other friends,

Every Wednesday Daddy is taking me for obedience training with Robin.

Robin is quite a nice person and with Daddy has been training me quite well.

Today, I continued to learn how to walk properly. I also am doing well in the sit command. Every now and then Daddy and Robin would use the down command, which is different from sit.

In addition, I have learned the over command which means I have to jump over some obstacle. I sometimes like jumping over the obstacle and sometimes I am refusing.

Today I also learned the stay command. Daddy or Robin will first ask me to sit. Then they give me a treat and ask me to stay. And I am supposed to remain sitting.

I did quite well with stay and Robin and Daddy also let go of the leash and I still just stayed in the sitting position.

Due to this, I got a lot of sausage treats which I love. I did not even eat the food Daddy kept for me outside but I did drink a lot of water when I came back.

Now I am soooooooooo tired and knocked out by Daddy's feet under his table as he is working and in a call with some people that I do not understand.

Anyways, I am well and training is going well for me.

Tata, woof woof and bow wow for now.

You're welcome at my water bowl anytime

Dear Mommy,

This was forwarded by a friend to daddy who read it to me:

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'

'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.

'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.
'Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.' The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.
'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book....

'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?'

'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.'

'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.

'There should be a bowl by the pump.'

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered.

'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'

'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.. That's hell.'

'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?'

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

You are welcome at my water bowl anytime Mommy (and Daddy)!!

Tata, wwof woof and bow wow.

Dearest Mommy

Dearest Mommy,

Where have you disappeared? Every time you go into that building with your bags, you never come out. Daddy tells me you have gone to Kay El to take care of your mommy. And that I and your mommy or my pati have some similarities in terms of when we are sick.

I do not know what Kay El is or what an aeroplane is but maybe one day we all will go together and go into this aeroplane and go to Kay El.

I miss you very much and have been going to the room and your side of the bed and peeking into the bathroom to look for you but to no avail.

I have been taking care of daddy as much as I can and to be honest, he has been taking care of me as well.

He makes sure that I am hugged and kiss everyday, that he plays ball with me and takes me out for a walk everyday, we also do some obedience training and he gives me treats. Daddy has been quite obedient so far ;)

He also ensures that I get my vitamins everyday and that he too eats his vitamins. Apart from that he has been combing my hair every day and cleaning my ears as well.

I am still having some dry skin problems and some rashes and daddy has put some olive oil on me. The oil is soooooooooooooo tasty that I like up his hands clean.

Daddy's leg too has some bites and rashes from some insect, I hope he gets well.

Daddy sends me to Ani every weekday and collects me later. Ani and Nelly and Dr Sharon too have been taking care of me well.

Daddy is sometimes tired but he still does all the things and still vacuums and cleans up.

I miss you and I know you miss me too. But don;t worry too much, I am well here and daddy is taking care of me and vise-versa. I hope you are taking care of yourself.

Tata, woof woof and bow wow for now.

Love always,
Al E

Be happy Don't Worry

Hi Al-E boy,

Heard from daddy that you have been a little 'sad' and looking for me...

Well, try not to sulk so much and I will be in no time...will be in KL for a short period only.

Love ya. Take care of daddy.

Love,

Mommy

My AL-E boy

Dearest AL-E,

I will miss you dearly when I get back to KL...sniff, sniff, sniff.

Take care of daddy ya...be good and eat your vitamins okay. Do well in your class...don't give Robin & daddy a hard time (I know you will do well).

Love you sooooooooooo much and will be missing you sooooooooooooooo much.

Bisous,
Mommy

Shades

My future's soooooooooo bright that I got wear shades.

Look at my daddy trying to fix sun-glasses on me (see pictures). I was feeling rather uncomfortable but as usual daddy has to have his way. Apparently it is for my own good. Daddy purchased this specially designed sun-glasses for dogs from Belgium.

Anyhow, I let both mommy and daddy take my picture(s) of me wearing it for awhile (5 minutes). After that I wriggled so much with it that they both had to remove the glasses. Cool.

Obedience Training

Today Daddy and I started obedience training classes.

I thought this class was for me to teach daddy and mommy to be more obedient to me, but I was so disappointed. In the end, it seems the classes are for me.

It is not very easy.... not because I am difficult but more because of the corrections daddy has to do.

Daddy will yank my collar if I do not follow a command.

Most of the time I follow his commands to sit or come here and he praises me when I do it.

But there are times I do not do it and he has to yank my chain until I choke a little.

Yesterday after the training, I was a little upset and angry with daddy. But I guess that is how it is going to be for a while.

There was also one idiot who riled me up by trying to bully me and was being bad and condescending, so I barked and barked at him and would have bitten his hand off if Robin and daddy did not hold me back. I guess some people are just not that good, I pity the dog that is with that idiot.

In that sense, I am happy that I have mommy and daddy who love me to bits.

This morning, I was back to normal. All is forgiven and licks all over the face and following daddy like he is my GPS (global positioning system).

I have to do his commands on a leash at least 10 to 15 minutes daily.

And the classes will continue for about 6 weeks. Hopefully after that I can do more fun stuff like the agility stuff, it is like a playground out there.

My favorite things

AL-E's favorite things:

1. Sleeping/Taking afternoon naps too.
2. Kissing mommy and daddy (more like slobbering wet kisses)
3. Licking itself like a 'cat'! (daily ritual).
4. Barking. Various versions. Differs between strangers, family and friends.
5. Treats (all kinds).
6. Love green apples (actually all kinds of apples).
7. Jumping on the balcony.
8. Running on the beach (Walking only applies when tired).
9. Eating sand.
10.Eating bugs.
11.Sniffing at each and every animated stuff in the house.
12.Sniffing mommy when she is all done-up with makeup.
13.Sniffing anyone with perfume on.
14.Bullying our friend Kupps...he he he kwakakakaka
15.Greeting all our friends (I think AL-E has the impression that all our friends are his pets/toys).

That's all for now.

B'day party for AL-E Baba

Dear Mummy and Daddy

Thank you so much for a lovely party last night. I enjoyed the orangee pink cake.....Make sure you give me the other half tomorrow.

Love you both.

Sincerely,

AL-E.

p.s. Thank you dada for all care and entertainment. I will miss you when you go back to KL....How I wish that all of you can stay in one place.....Sigh!

Missing you

Hi AL-E boy,

Missing you so much.........sob sob sob.... can't sleep well.

I wish I can take you with me as a passenger (on the plane).

Thinking of you.

You behave and take care of dada my dear.

We will both see you soon (just in time for your birthday)..

Cheers, lots of love,

Mommy

Easter Sunday

Hi Daddy,

How are you? I heard you are having a splendid time with friends & their respective families in Wein (Vienna).

Yesterday, mommy had a party. All her friends, which are also my buddies drop by i.e. Anjali, Kupps, Ani & Dr. Sharon.

I had such a fantastic time jumping on everyone (including Kupps..he he hehe kwakwkakakakakakak). They all played with me too.

Ms. Ange brought her fancy new gadget (D90) and took some pictures. I hope you like them.

Append here some of the snapshots.

Love you sooooooooo much,

AL-E Baba

Minor Mayhem in Luak Bay

AL-E still gets all worked up when I leave him at home for couple of hours to do errands or meet up with friends. Maximum hours he has been by himself so far has been about 3.5 hours.

However, there is a little price to pay...just look at the pictures. That's his shredded newspaper artwork. If I do not place any newspaper then I will have yellow stains and 'stinky sausages' on the floor. I have fixed lots of sellotape but nowadays our little monkey can rip them too. Sigh!!!

Any idea to fix this minor problem?

Note: Managed to fix the partition issue and now another problem has cropped up i.e. AL-E's all time fashion with ripping newpaper.

Happy Birthday daddy

The only recent pose of mine with AL-E.

Taken by Dr. Sharon at Angel Clinic using my mobile.

Our boy moves so much ...it was quite a difficult task for Sharon but she managed to do it well.

This picture was taken on your birthday.