Bitten for the Very First Time!

Last Sunday, we went to the newly opened Citta Mall at Ara Damansara for a walk besides looking for a place to have our breakfast. We were there a couple of weeks before to try out the Papa Rich which was the only outlet opened then. This round, we see that more restaurants and cafes have opened.

We went to San Franscisco for our set breakfast and Ryan was absolutely crazy over their American breakfast set. In fact, he finished one of the sausages and half of my ham.

After a hearty breakfast, we took him to play sand art for the very first time. He was interested initially but this boy has absolutely no prolong attention span. Half way thru, he was more interested in playing with the color sand in the buckets..!!

Once that was done, we took him to have a look at the pet rabbits that were on display. There were a couple of very furry ones on the table and he enjoyed patting them and they were happily licking and nibbling his hand...(that was when I captured the moment in the picture above!! The little white rabbit gave him a small nibble). Then we saw two more slightly larger ones on another table attended to by the lady behind the stand...Ryan wanted to pat them as well and the lady was kind enough to let him sit on her lap and played with the two rabbits...

Suddenly, one of them gave him a big nibble, a bite actually. Ryan let out a scream and frowned. Blood was oozing out from his tiny thumb. "Rabbit bite me!" Rabbit Bite me!" The lady quickly took some cotton to wipe off the blood and put a plaster over it.

But he was a brave boy. No tears. No crying. Just a massive frown on his forehead and repeatedly said "Pain. Pain. Rabbit bite me!!"

We took him home after that and wash his little wound with Dettol and put on some ointment. The bite was quite nasty for a small little boy. Luckily the bleeding has stopped and it looked fine this morning when I sent him to school.....

So, there you have it...his very first bite by a rabbit ...

A sore loser!

Ryan and Zoewe likes to play together. And Ryan likes to take Zoewe's favourite toys like her ball and pebbles while Zoewe would like to take his little building blocks away. They were playing as usual and Ryan managed to grab Zoewe's favourite `sepak takraw' ball and was walking everywhere in the house with it. Zoewe was following him all the over the house and trying to grab it back whenever she gets the chance.

I managed to grab this video and see how a sore loser Ryan can be when he lost the ball to Zoewe. Fortunately, Zoewe is such a good nature pet and she totally just ignored him and walked away.

Zoewe's 2nd Birthday!

Zoewe finally turned 2. It was as if we only brought her home yesterday while she was just 3 months old. How time flies. I can still remember clearly how little she was and how active she was, jumping all over the house, not forgetting peeing and pooing all over the house ....sigh. It was initially a nightmare trying to house train her. And the Sunday mornings that we have to take her for her puppy obedience training classes and the stress I had to go through to ensure that she listen and obey me with simple instructions to pass the final test. (Incidentally, if she fails, it is not her fault but the owner who have not done enough!! stress!)

I can still remember seeing her in her cage at a pet shop and how cute she was. I actually called my wife who was then in Hong Kong and lied to her that I actually place RM500 deposit for a puppy! (Just to get a kick out of it. haha). She was shocked and repeatedly questioned me whether am I sure of the responsibilities that come with it. When my wife finally came home, I took her to have a look at Zoewe at the pet shop and we told ourselves to have a cooling period and will proceed to get her if she is still there one month later. One month later, when we went back to the pet shop, there she was. Much larger now but ever so cute. She kept on `hard selling' herself that my wife could not but to agree to `adopt' her (with the condition that she will only play with her, while I would have to shoulder all other responsibilities...that's what husband is for...sigh)

I can still remembered how she jumped over the bean bag on the 3rd day at home, knocked her head and went into fits. I thought I have lost her there and then. Thank God, she was fine after a check with the vet.

And then, a month after she came home, we found out that Ryan was on his way. We were struggling to decide whether we should keep her or give her away (with mounting pressures from friends and families that baby and dog does not mix well). But by that time, Zoewe is more than just a pet. She is family. We could not just give her up and decided to ensure that she gets the equal amount of love and attention that we would give to Ryan.

Since her arrival, she has brought nothing but sheer joy and adventure into our lives. She is without temper, without mood swings, ever so ready to give, ever so ready to share her bubbly cheerfulness, ever so ready to love.

Happy Birthday Zoewe.

Best of Friends

Many of our relatives and friends were shocked when they learnt that we have Zoewe (our toy poodle) at home roaming around freely when we have Ryan, all the more so, when they heard that Zoewe sleeps in the master bedroom as well. "You cannot have dogs at home when you have a baby!". "You should give your dog away!" "What if your dog bites him? A dog is still a dog."

We understand that they all meant well and we are grateful. Honestly, we were also apprehensive when we found out that Ryan was on the way, only months after we bought Zoewe, although we made sure that we bought a breed that shed the least and is children friendly. We too have thought of giving her away but she has become so much a part of our family and we could not bear the thought of parting with her. So, in other to have the best of both worlds, we made sure that she is constantly groomed and trimmed and used the best grooming shampoo available (to prevent disease or shedding). We are glad that we did our homework before we went ahead to buy any puppy of our fancy because, Zoewe has proven to be really baby friendly.

As Ryan turned one, we have started to allow him to interect with Zoewe directly under our tight supervision. Our objective is to make sure that he does not develop a phobia or fear of animals and above all, we wanted him to be animal lover from a young age. As you can see from the pictures, the two of them have clicked pretty well and have became best of friends. In fact, they each have found a new play mate.

We have also invested in a air filter cum air purifier to be placed in the masterbedroom to make sure that whatever little dust or shedded fur will be filtered as much as possible. Zoewe has lost that privilege to sleep on the bed with us nowadays as Ryan has taken over that privilege, but we are glad that she has not display any form of jeolousy. We just got to make sure that we have not love her lest with the addition of Ryan.

It is always a joy to see both of them playing together and hearing Ryan's laughter whenever he is with his `big sister'......

Our daughter!

No no. We are not expecting our second one so soon although I would love to have a daughter and my wife certainly desires another baby. For now, I am contented with having and devoting my time to Ryan and our other `daughter', Zoewe our toy poodle.

....Before grooming....

....After grooming...

I was attracted to Zoewe when I first saw her in Sept 2007. After some deliberation and reaching an agreement that she would be MY responsibility while my wife's responsibility is to play with her (yes, you heard me right), we finally brought her home in Oct 2007. Ryan was not even in the picture then. One month later, we found out that Ryan was on his way.

Like many parents, we were a little concerned now that we have a lively puppy jumping about in the house with a baby on the way. There were so many questions to answer. How would she adapt to having a baby in the house? What are the risks? How would the baby adapt to her? Are there health and hygiene risks? Many concerned friends and relatives were advising us to give up Zoewe before Ryan arrives but she has by then became so attached to us and we to her. She is family. So close that she snuggled up and sleep with us on my bed.

Luckily, we did do some research before selecting the breed knowing exactly the type of dog that we want. We knew that we would have a baby eventually and we wanted a child friendly breed. We also wanted a breed that does not shed heavily or at all. Part of our deliberation prior to acquiring Zoewe was is she suitable for our family?

Zoewe is a toy poodle and now at 4.8kg, she is certainly large for being a toy poodle. One major reason that we selected her breed is because, toy poodles being child friendly, playful and loyal is also one of the fewer breeds that actually does not shed or very little if well taken care of.

Having an active dog that demands your equal attention with a baby is not easy. It's good that we have went through the basic dog training program. At least, we can get her to understand simple commands and we, on how to handle her and understand her emotions and needs. Is she jealous now that we are also paying so much attention to Ryan. Of course. She has this tendency to wanting to play and dragging all her toys to us when we are attending to Ryan. But she will obediently wait when we tell her that we will play with her later. And we make sure that we do not disappoint her.

Of course there are adjustments to be made with a pet around the house. No matter how obedient and lovely Zoewe is, she is still an dog with basic animal instinct. We are forever attentive and diligent whenever Zoewe is anywhere near Ryan. And we definitely cannot put Ryan on the floor or sofa unattended.

If you are thinking of a dog sometime soon especially with little children, do some prior research on the suitable breed. It will help tremendously.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to make adjustments and dividing our attention to both Ryan and Zoewe, but the efforts are well worth it, because Zoewe is also part of our family.