I made SO cry!

We were watching having dinner in front of the TV and I was telling SO about my phone call with my mother this afternoon.

Mother had this Indian lady friend who was being evicted from her home cos her husband squandered away money instead of paying for their housing loan. And as such, they had to move to a smaller flat.

And she had these 2 dogs. A partially blind poodle, which my mother gave her many years ago. The poodle wasn't blind then. It developed catarats due to old age.

And then the friend also had this 3 year old shi tzu bitch .

Well, this dog has some skin problems and her owner has never brought her down for walks. NEVER.

And as this indian friend was not that well off, she could not afford to bring the dog to the vet for its skin problems. And she fed her dogs rice and vegetables.

So I asked if SO wanted to adopt her. The shi tzu. She was obedient and she peed on papers. And she's not naughty or mischievous!

And then there was this silence when I was telling SO this.

I turned around and saw that his eyes were red and he was tearing!!

Somehow, he was sadden by this information!

But the thing is....well, this was NOT the first time I was telling him about the Shi Tzu!

I told him about the dog a few times last year and this time he was crying?

He said it was so sad.

So I asked him, what's so sad about the dog? I told him about the dog before .....many times.

He said it was sad that the shi tzu is going to be homeless after the family is evicted.

I asked him...So? What's there to cry about?

And he called me a cold, heartless BITCH!!!

Frankly, what's there to cry about? If he had cried or tear up during the very first time I told him about the dog, I wouldn't be surprised. But this is the countless time!

So, yeah, we are adopting the Shi Tzu.

Why not? We got the space and we can afford to feed her well and bring her to the vet for her skin problems.

And so yeah....a new bitch is coming to this home soon.

A dream of 2 doggies

Last night I had a dream of my 2 dogs.

SO and I were in this cafe and there were these 2 dogs caged right outside the cafe.

I recognise the dogs as Gin and Bell, whom in my dream, had gone missing.

A staff of the cafe was grooming the dogs, trimming their fur, bathing them etc.

So I asked SO to go over and ask how much they cost.

The response was $60 and $70. And I was thinking in my dream, so cheap.

However, SO was like this miser, saying that they are our dogs in the first place so why should we pay?

I was like, just pay for Gin. It's only 70 bucks.

So we got back Gin. She had gone from a silvery ashy silky to a poofy poodle. Well, in my dream, I know it was absurd and I remembered thinking, she turned white out of fear.

We were going to leave Bell in the cafe but after thinking over, decided to buy him also.

He got epilepsy and I dun think he would last long with any new owners. They would probably put him to sleep once he started foaming and twitching.

End of dream.

During the duration of the dream, I was turning and tossing in bed, moaning. Yeah, I was aware it was a dream and yet it felt so real. I woke up at about 4 am this morning and could not go back to sleep any more.

I need a dog

I so need a dog.

It has been about 2 months since my baby Gin died. And since then I have not hug anything fluffy and furry.

I so need a doggie hug right now.

Bell is so frigid, like SO that he growls the moment I carry him.

I want to get Bobby, my mom's dog over right now.

And oh yeah....I have not cried over Gin for some time. But it made me sad when I think of her.

How I wish I could clone my Gin

Reading this nearly made me cry. How I wish I could clone my Gin.

But US$150k or even US$50K is beyond my reach.

There is hope. Maybe in a few years time, when prices go down, I may be able to clone my Gin again. That's why I am still keeping parts of her fur and claws.

----------------------------

The Straits Times
06 Aug 2008

Dog lover sells house to pay for 5 clones of beloved pet

Commercial cloning of pet dogs in South Korea takes off; camels may be next

SEOUL - THE loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Ms Bernann McKinney could bear.

Now she is the happy owner of five cloned Booger puppies, minus US$50,000 (S$68,600) and her house.

'This is a miracle,' said Ms McKinney at a news conference in the South Korean capital. 'I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again,' she said, blinking back tears of joy as she cuddled the five black puppies - all of whose names include the word Booger.

The puppies were born to two surrogate mothers on July 28, said RNL Bio, the company which arranged for the re-creation of Booger through his refrigerated ear tissue.

Ms McKinney, 58, a movie scriptwriter in California, sold her house to raise the US$50,000 to pay for the cloning. 'I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day, when everyone can afford to clone his pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone.'

She said she would consider training some of the puppies as service dogs for the handicapped or elderly when they arrive at her home next month.

RNL chief executive Ra Jeong Chan hailed the event as the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog.

The operation was launched in May by a Seoul National University team led by Professor Lee Byeong Chun. He played a key role in creating the world's first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy, on a non-commercial basis in 2005.

RNL originally charged US$150,000 to clone Booger. But it agreed to reduce the price to US$50,000 to celebrate what it calls the first commercial deal for a pet dog. The company has said it expects the price to drop as technology improves.

Mr Ra said Booger's case opens the way for global commercial cloning services for pet lovers since the success rate for dogs is high. Up to 300 dogs could be cloned next year for wealthy animal lovers in the United States and elsewhere, he added.

RNL will contest claims by a US dog-cloning firm - BioArts International - that it is infringing on its patent, Mr Ra said. The university would also undertake an ethical review of his firm's business to prevent indiscreet cloning.

'For my next project, I will consider cloning camels for rich people in the Middle East,' he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Return of the Pee

Bell has fully recovered as of yesterday. He is not limping any more.

And hence he would be peeing all over the house again.

Damn! Maybe there is some way I can make him walk around the house less. And pee less.

No Pee!

Bell injured his left hind leg on Sunday. We came back from the movies to see him limping about.

On Monday, the limping got worse. He was just lying there on his tummy and refusing to move.
But the best thing was that there was no pee!

The whole place was spotless! I was overjoyed! This is the first time in years that the whole place was without any urine. Obviously, Bell can still limped about but he just did not peed!

His appetite was still pretty good. He had some cherry tomatoes and some pieces of bread for breakfast. And some tasty dog treats.

But by yesterday afternoon, my joy turned to worry. It was strange that he did not peed all day! He peed yesterday morning when SO brought him out for a walk. But after that, there was just no more pee for the whole day.

SO suggested that we brought him to the vet last night, but that Bitch came home so late that the vets were closed by then.

So SO brought him down last night and the floodgates just opened. He just peed and peed downstairs.

I suggested going to the vet this morning about his leg condition but there was no cars available for rental today. And SO wanted to monitor the condition. He's so lazy! His excuses were that it as not life threatening and that he had to work.

Anyway, when I woke up this morning at 11am, Bell was lying on his belly. He growled and did not get up and followed me when I called his name. I really thought his limp condition had turned for the worse. So I called him and tempted him with a snack treat. He managed to get up and limped to the kitchen.

So I suppose his leg condition is now much better. His appetite is still okay and there is no pee in the house. Hurray!

Hopes that he pees in the afternoon or evening. And if his leg condition did not improve soon, would probably have to send him to the vet soon.

Mother called and Revelations about lunch that day

Mother called this morning again. We have talked a lot these few days. More than I ever wanted to.

She said that I should not have told my sister that I went for this and that surgery and that I am going for more surgeries. She said I could give my sister the wrong impression that I had too much money and too vain.

I asked mother if my sister said anything about it. She said no. I told mother, it was only one eyelid operation 2 years back and I only spent $2500 on it. Compared that to the thousands my sister spent per month on herself. Mother and I gauged that sister spent about $1k on car parking, another $1k on car loan repayments, and about $1K or more on food, another $1k on shopping and golf. So how can I compared to her? I dun have expensive taste like her. My personal expenses is less than a thousand a month.

Frankly, I am quite surprised that my mother was open minded about plastic surgery. She wouldn't do it herself but she has no objections about other people doing so. Her friends did it, some of my relatives did it. And mother did not blinked an eye.

Unlike my sister, who believes in natural beauty and that people should not be shallow and superficial ...blah....blah....but lived with what they are given....blah...blah...

Well, frankly we make our own choices and decisions, our lives are not indicated by others. I stand by my choices and dun expect all other people to accept them. But please respect my choices just as I have accepted yours.

I have accepted my sister lavish lifestyle and the choices she made in life.

Mother and I also talked about bringing Bobby to my place soon. She warned me that Bobby pees everywhere. Even on sofa, tables and beds.

We did talked about spaying Bobby. A neutered dog is less likely to mark territories. I am still thinking about it. Bobby is about 8 years old and now is better than never.