Hachiko & Greyfriars Bobby

Hachiko was an Akita dog that used to meet his owner at Shibuya station when he came home from work. One day his owner suffered a stroke while at work, died and never returned to the station. Hachiko, however, would return each night to the station ever waiting for his friend and master.

A bronze statue of Hachiko stands near the main crossroads in Shibuya. It is one of the most famous meeting spots in Tokyo.

Hachiko Statue, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Over on the other side of the world in Edinburgh, I photographed the statue of Greyfriars Bobby a Skye Terrier who spent  fourteen years guarding his owner’s grave.

Greyfriars Bobby Statue, Edinburgh, Scotland

Although unlikely, if I ever make it to the grave of Bobbie, the Wonder Dog in Oregon, I will have completed the Super Dog Triple.

Pu’s 14th Birthday!

Today is Pu’s 14th birthday. I just checked an online chart and it says Pu is around 88 in human years.

Dog Years to Human Years Conversion Graph (www.calculatorcat.com)

Seiko made Pu a cake (sliced bread) with a topping of mixed vegetables. Once the candles were removed, it was wolfed down in a matter of seconds.

Happy Birthday Pu!

Pu's 14th Birthday

On the Bookshelf: Marley & Me

Marley & Me by John Grogan

Just finished reading Marley & Me (along with several million other people if you believe the sticker on the cover). For those who haven’t heard of it, the book is a collection of anecdotes about the author’s life with his crazy labrador Marley.  The first few chapters are pretty much my life with Bear, while the later chapters are pretty much my life with Pudding. The last few chapters were tough to read. Pudding is 13 years old and almost completely deaf. She sleeps about 22 hours a day, and only has short ambles around the garden as her legs are a little wobbly. Hopefully the magical elixir that seems to extend life on Okinawa will work it’s wonders, and Pudding will be able to sniff, snooze, and watch over Bear for years to come.

Bear v Bearista

Bear (the dog) is not a fan of other bears, no matter how smartly dressed / cute / collectable  they are.

Bear v Starbucks Japan Bearista

Note that Bear ripped out the bearistas eyes, disabling its prey, before trying to remove the brains!

Lab Report – Bear test

 

 

Hartz Chew n' Clean (before)

 

Just got a Chew n’ Clean toy for Bear.  A bargain at only 3 bucks.  

The Hartz website states: “Our Chew ‘N Clean® Tooth Scrubber™ was developed by veterinarians to promote dental hygiene during chewing. Great for aggressive chewers, these durable multi-material toys are safe and long-lasting and promote hours of chewing. Rotating rubber rings help gently massage gums and clean teeth of plaque and tartar.”   

Opened pack, gave to Bear, and thirty seconds later saw this….

Chew n' Clean (after)

Chew n’ Clean : developed by veterinarians, destroyed by Bear.

Lab Report – Bear gets her 9 vitamins and iron

Got up this morning went into the kitchen, ground some beans, stuck them in the coffee machine’s little gold filter funnel, filled the reservoir with water and swtiched it on. Normally I have granola, but today I grabbed an unopened box of Frosties and popped it on the kitchen counter. I went to turn on the computer and check the news while the coffee machine did its magic.  

Five minutes later, having read that a North Korean ballistic missile was about to be fired over (or possibly into) Japan, I returned to the kitchen.

I was greeted with the smell of fresh coffee and  ….

There were two suspects.

Pudding was fast asleep.

Bear was racing around the kitchen with a mad gleam in her eyes.

I picked up the trash, then had my cup off coffee with a piece of toast.

Lab Report – OAARS Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society

The Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society  OAARS is a fantastic program whose main goal is to find homes for stray and unwanted animals on Okinawa which would otherwise be euthanized ( a polite way of saying killed).  I am writing about them here (in a blog that is meant to be predominantly about photography in Japan) because my friends Theresa and Michael saw that there were some labs that needed homes and hoped I’d be interested.  As much as I would love another lab, or two or three, Pudding and Bear are quite enough right now. Hopefully, however, there is a reader out there who would love one of these beautiful creatures, and make the dogs, the people at OAARS, Theresa, Michael and myself extremely happy.  As an added bonus adopt one of these dogs and you can then come and hang out with Pudding and Bear at the beach!

 

Sam a gorgeous one year old yellow labrador retriever

Samantha (Sam's sister) another gorgeous yellow labrador retriever

Lola a gorgeous 9 month old cream labrador retriever - present owner has allergies and can no longer keep her

Labrador retrievers are quite possibly the best dogs in the world. They are loving, smart, sensitive, beautiful, playful and have great temperaments (although Bear has some issues). But…..

 until they reach Pudding’s age (13), and especially when they are young,  there is more potential energy inside a labrador’s body than in a nuclear power station. You must be willing to vent that energy with regular walks, a home they can explore (destroy) and plenty of attention. Labrador’s love to swim so Okinawa is a great place for them to live.

 I also read that labradors make great family pets, however if you have small children a young pup will  treat them like bowling pins. Bear is 30 kilograms of solid muscle with a low center of gravity, and the ability to accelerate, decelerate and turn in a fraction of a second.  

Also consider your budget. Labradors are big eaters. Pudding has cans of regular senior dog food, while Bear (because she has skin allergies) has Super Gold Fish and Potato dried food. Also budget for the costs of vaccinations, check ups and all the various ailments that dogs can get. There are many other things to consider which I am sure OAARS will explain to you, so please please adopt a dog, but don’t make it an impulse action.

Before I forget, there are of course many other dogs and cats available for adoption through OAARS. Please check them out, it might be the best thing you do today, and possibly the best thing that will ever happen in an adopted dog or cat’s life.

The Lab Report – Puppy Power

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but is no match for an inquisitive labrador.

The Lab Report – Bath time

 

Bath Time

Living on a subtropical island  has many advantages, one disadvantage however is that there are far more ants, termites, mosquitoes, cockroaches, spiders and other creatures that enjoy living on the island, and consequently in your home, and it seems on your dogs. One trick the vet told us was to buy a bottle of brown sulfurous liquid that turns your bath into your own personal onsen.  The dogs are quite happy to relax in the warm water, and the little critters that have been hiding in their coats are so disgusted by the noxious water they abandon ship (or dogs in this case) and are washed away down the plug hole to have new adventures in the sewage system.

You must remember to shampoo the dogs afterwards otherwise your faithful friends will wander around the house smelling of rotting eggs. Delightful.

Pudding goes for a swim / paddle.

Beautiful warm sunny day today. Ran my second 10 km, this time in 1 hour 2 minutes with an average bpm of 169. Took the dogs to the beach so they could swim. Bear happily sprinted out into the water, but Pudding was quite content with just paddling around in the shallows. 

Pudding goes for a paddle.