The only sweat glands a dog has are between the paw pads!
(That explains the toe jam!)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Hachiko
Today I was surfing the web and was reminded of something I havent thought of in years...
I remember as a girl I would read the story of Hachiko and cry till my head hurt. It was, to me the most tragic tale ever. For those of you who dont know it - it is about an Akita called Hachiko who walked his master to and from the station every morning and evening. One day the master has a heart attack at the university where he works and does not come back on the evening train. He dies. But Hachiko goes faithfully to the station every day for the rest of his life (8 years more I think) every evening, waiting and searching for his master in the departing crowds. He died sitting in the very same spot he had waited in all those years.
The story is true and it happened in Japan, and till today there is a statue of Hachiko at the station where he would sit and wait. Hachiko is something of a hero in Japan even now. The devotion and immense love that he showed is something most of us can only hope to see in our lifetime. It still makes me cry.
So go read that story...or see the movie they adapted the story into "Hachiko-A Dog's Tale" and see for yourself what true and unconditional love looks like.
I remember as a girl I would read the story of Hachiko and cry till my head hurt. It was, to me the most tragic tale ever. For those of you who dont know it - it is about an Akita called Hachiko who walked his master to and from the station every morning and evening. One day the master has a heart attack at the university where he works and does not come back on the evening train. He dies. But Hachiko goes faithfully to the station every day for the rest of his life (8 years more I think) every evening, waiting and searching for his master in the departing crowds. He died sitting in the very same spot he had waited in all those years.
The story is true and it happened in Japan, and till today there is a statue of Hachiko at the station where he would sit and wait. Hachiko is something of a hero in Japan even now. The devotion and immense love that he showed is something most of us can only hope to see in our lifetime. It still makes me cry.
So go read that story...or see the movie they adapted the story into "Hachiko-A Dog's Tale" and see for yourself what true and unconditional love looks like.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Back in a jiff
Incase you are wondering about the silence - I made the mistake of getting involved in something totally not PC related and boy is it killing me!!!! I should be able to ditch it by today - or tomorrow at the very latest...after which I have lots of new exciting things coming up for you all. And yes, I have actually managed to plan and do some of those on the side when I was not being stifled by the work at hand! :-)
So dont give up on me just yet - in the immortal words of Arnie Bhai..."Aah'll be Bach!"
So dont give up on me just yet - in the immortal words of Arnie Bhai..."Aah'll be Bach!"
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
'Grr'eat to know...
It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Speaking of Food....
Over the last couple of months I have had a lot of people ask me why I chose to start Pet Chef, so I thought this would help explain.
This is not a new idea. Three years ago I got my Beagle and a couple of months later my Pug joined the family. I grew up with dogs and love them to bits but growing up it was always my poor mother who had to deal with the feeding and cleaning up after them. Once these two arrived - I was on my own and had to make so many choices for them.
When I moved to Bangalore I had a 16 hour a day job and was hardly home so I had to settle for getting a fish just so I would have someone to talk to when I came home. But I spent a lot of my time dreaming about having a dog again and what life would be like if I could come home to a wet nose and doggie breath! So anyway - eventually the job was swapped for one that was more flexible and my two brats made an entrance.
I promptly went out and checked for the best food that was available and actually did a lot of research on doggie nutrition. This was about the time the whole melamine scare happened and I remember sifting through pages and pages of info to make sure that what I was feeding my babies was not among the recalled and high risk food.
Anyway - the long and the short of it is that I sorted that decision out, but I was still being stared at every time I had a snack or meal. I have even had my crazy Beagle steal a chilly off my plate and scarf it down with no apparent reaction! It got me thinking - while dogs like their routine and don't take well to constant changes in diet, that doesn't mean they don't appreciate good food! So every now and then I would make them a special treat that would be their version of my chips and pizza and cake minus the sugar and salt and preservatives and other nasties.
I considered selling my stuff back then but I was still kind of stuck in the rat race and the only person I asked for an opinion was horribly discouraging so I just went back to making things for my two and put bigger plans on the back burner.
The big change came last year when I had to have surgery and was told that my lifestyle had to change or I would be going back to the doctor sooner than I thought - and the first thing that came to my mind was that I should resurrect the plan and see where it takes me this time.
So here I am - and I'm looking forward to being able to give all your dogs the same yummy break from the everyday food that mine have enjoyed so much. I have a policy that I will never make for a dog, something that I am not willing to put in MY mouth - so, while some of you may not like the taste of the treats since they are usually low on salt and bad-for-dog stuff - they really ARE healthy for you AND your dog!
This is not a new idea. Three years ago I got my Beagle and a couple of months later my Pug joined the family. I grew up with dogs and love them to bits but growing up it was always my poor mother who had to deal with the feeding and cleaning up after them. Once these two arrived - I was on my own and had to make so many choices for them.
When I moved to Bangalore I had a 16 hour a day job and was hardly home so I had to settle for getting a fish just so I would have someone to talk to when I came home. But I spent a lot of my time dreaming about having a dog again and what life would be like if I could come home to a wet nose and doggie breath! So anyway - eventually the job was swapped for one that was more flexible and my two brats made an entrance.
I promptly went out and checked for the best food that was available and actually did a lot of research on doggie nutrition. This was about the time the whole melamine scare happened and I remember sifting through pages and pages of info to make sure that what I was feeding my babies was not among the recalled and high risk food.
Anyway - the long and the short of it is that I sorted that decision out, but I was still being stared at every time I had a snack or meal. I have even had my crazy Beagle steal a chilly off my plate and scarf it down with no apparent reaction! It got me thinking - while dogs like their routine and don't take well to constant changes in diet, that doesn't mean they don't appreciate good food! So every now and then I would make them a special treat that would be their version of my chips and pizza and cake minus the sugar and salt and preservatives and other nasties.
I considered selling my stuff back then but I was still kind of stuck in the rat race and the only person I asked for an opinion was horribly discouraging so I just went back to making things for my two and put bigger plans on the back burner.
The big change came last year when I had to have surgery and was told that my lifestyle had to change or I would be going back to the doctor sooner than I thought - and the first thing that came to my mind was that I should resurrect the plan and see where it takes me this time.
So here I am - and I'm looking forward to being able to give all your dogs the same yummy break from the everyday food that mine have enjoyed so much. I have a policy that I will never make for a dog, something that I am not willing to put in MY mouth - so, while some of you may not like the taste of the treats since they are usually low on salt and bad-for-dog stuff - they really ARE healthy for you AND your dog!
Welcome Doggie People...
...to the Pet Chef blog. I am hoping that this will be a fun place for all you dog lovers to share stories, opinions, news and experiences. I will also have regular articles with useful information that you may be interested in. If you have something you want to post - send it to me by mail and I will be happy to oblige!
To get things started - here is something I got by email from someone in Canada - its quite amazing and very sweet!
To get things started - here is something I got by email from someone in Canada - its quite amazing and very sweet!
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