Skyler's Plea

You know, I just felt so compelled today to dedicate a blog for a cause that I really appreciate and believe in, so the least that I could do is to SHARE. The one thing that I've learned as an Advertising and P.R. graduate is that as long as you get the message out, it'll reach whoever and wherever it needs to reach. Not a lot of people know this but I've always wanted to form some sort of charity or non-profit organization that could make a difference and make someone's (human or animal) life better.

Well what do you know, someone beat me to it and I'm totally enthused! I discovered that there is a Cebu-based animal rescue group called the Island Rescue Organization (or wittingly called by it's acronym "IRO", which means DOG in the Visayan dialect). I've been quietly following them on Facebook and have witnessed the selflessness that they exude as well as their dedication to give love and care for these helpless animals. This means that someone had the biggest huevos (Spanish for something...if you know it,good. If not, just google it 'coz I feel like it's not appropriate to say it in this context in English! Ha!) and actually made this all happen. What I only concoct in my dreams, is something that they are ACTUALLY doing right now and I think that's just amazing.

They rescued some Pit Bulls from a raided dog-fighting ring in Cavite, a province in the Philippines, and were sent to IRO's sanctuary in Cebu where they rehabilitated these badly abused dogs back to great health and normalcy.

Here are some photos that I grabbed from their page...

I am nowhere near the Philippines right now but that doesn't mean I can just say "Awwww" and feel sorry while I'm reading their sad stories and then call it a day. Nope, I think that's just not enough anymore. There is a need to take action, and that's what I did today.

I decided to skip my purchase of a Chanel eye shadow palette and made it into a donation instead...

To all of you who are attempting to go on a diet, now is the best time to re-think that dinner date because you know it'll  just all go straight to your thighs and add more cushion to your muffin top. It's wise to just donate that money instead and lose a couple of pounds at the same time. Win-Win! 

It's so easy to donate, even Sky can do it. Click here to Chip In. 

On behalf of your Royal Highness, Skyler, we are grateful for your time and support!

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!

Sky in the Summer

As you all know by now, I have a big fluffy monster who resides with me in my apartment. Rain or shine, hung over or not, I have to walk him every morning at 8AM for at least 40 minutes. In the summer, it's the worst for me since I have to expose my skin in the scorching heat until this big picky fur ball decides to go finish his business and do a Number 2. (for those who are not familiar with the American connotation, Number 1 is taking a wee and Number 2 is...? Ahhh, now you get it.)

Akita's are generally easy to maintain, they don't need to get a hair cut and they don't stink as much as other dogs do, at least that's my personal experience with Sky. He can go on for more than a month without a bath and he doesn't end up having the usual stench that dogs have. I always thought I'd have that awkward moment with Sky wherein people would be petting him and then they make that "EW Face" after getting a whiff out of him... you know, like this...

Image Credits: cdslug

We live in Southern California, so the daily temperatures can go up to a hundred degrees in the summer time. With Sky's thick fur, a regular fan just won't cut it so I usually have the airconditioning on for him most of the time until it hopefully cools down during night time. The worst part of summer is when he sheds off his under coat..completely. His undercoat is so thick that I could practically sell hundreds of stuffed toys using only his fur. Here is a picture of the fur I've plucked out off him in 5 minutes, without using any grooming tools.

It's so fun, it's like plucking out cotton candy off of him.

Skyler's mad at me for bugging him on his nap time. Sorry Sky, plucking your fur is so addicting! As you can see, it gets a little bit messy with all the fur flying around. Can you spot that one long strand that landed on his face? Haha.

Hopefully he's halfway through on his shedding! His coat is pretty thin and short now, so hopefully he feels cooler despite the scorching heat.

Don't forget, my fellow dog lovers, to make sure that water is ALWAYS available to your pets. Your dog might be dehydrated without even you knowing. I am a busy person and I can't be always there to fill up Sky's bowl, so I bought Sky a large water dispenser since he was a pup. It's just reassuring that his water bowl will never be empty while I am away for 8 hours.

via Petsmart

Also, remember to be mindful when you walk your dog during the day time. Sometimes the pavement can get too hot to walk on and burn your furry baby's paws. This was actually one of the things that I didn't consciously think of when I used to walk sky on a hot day. During one of our walks, he suddenly yelped and did the tippy-toes like we would if we were walking bare-footed.

Despite being able to know how to care for Sky during the summer, I still don't know how to react when I see him like this on the couch...

Do I shoo him away or do I just pretend that I don't see a big furry, shedding dog laying on my couch like he paid for it? Look at that solid gaze!

Have a Happy Monday! =)

Toodles! =)

The Fur Will Fly

It was quite a decent evening as I strolled around the outdoor mall to finish some last-minute shopping before my mom and sister went back to the Philippines. While we were about to leave the mall, my brother suggested to pass by the pet store and check out the puppies, so I obliged. As we came into the store, we saw cute furry little things lined up one after another. I remember there were a lot of Chihuahuas available at that time and I thought to myself, I can't have a dog like that. It's too small for me... One day, being the klutz that I am, I'm going to end up stepping on it and that'll be the end of a sad, short story.

Image by www.freedigitalphotos.net

So I kept walking down the aisle until I finally reached the back of the store and looked up at the last two puppies that were displayed in their own separate cages. There he was, second to the last cage... It was a huge puppy which at first glance seemed to look like a Husky or German Shepherd mix but on the label it said BREED: AKITA. I've never seen an Akita before nor have I ever heard about them so I got really curious. Black mask, white boots, pink paws and whoa... his face looked like a mix of a bear and a wolf!

The store had booths where you can interact and play with a puppy, maybe to give you that final push so you can say the magic words, "Swipe that card!" The Akita was still okay to play with, so I said, Hey why not? Let's get him in the booth! Boy were we in for a treat... right when they placed him on the floor inside the booth, he started running around and tugging at my brother's jeans (this was I think one of the reasons why I wanted to have him, so he could annoy the crap outta my brother and tear his designer jeans! Ha!). This Akita puppy just wouldn't hold still... he wanted to play and nibble and run around. He was cute, but so what? Every puppy always looks cute,right? And then it happened... he let me hold him and I placed him on my lap... he didn't move nor fickle around. He just stayed there, perfectly still.

Skyler almost 2 months old at the pet shop

All I remember after that was me telling my mom, I don't think I can leave this store tonight without him. I don't know why but I cannot let him go.  As romantic as it sounded, I did leave the store without him. I could have taken him home right then and there but my siblings and mother convinced me otherwise so I can think it over, at least overnight. They argued that being a large breed dog, it will be very difficult and expensive to maintain it and most especially, we have to check the temperament. I don't want to wake up one day with my pet dog chewing on my thighs with a side of barbecue sauce and have him go murder every other dog we see at the park.

Pretty much most of the common descriptions that I found for the Akita were loyal, highly intelligent, aggressive (especially with food), strong-willed, dominant and stubborn. In short, this cute bear-faced puppy can well be a terrorist if I don't train him properly. But despite all odds, I called back the shop the next day, signed the blank slot for the pet's name as "Skyler" and took this Akita home. Sadly, just two days after we got him from the shop, we found out that Sky had in fact, pneumonia and only had a 50/50 chance of survival. I was stressed out and devastated... so I went under my blanket and cried my eyes out just like this guy... er girl... unknown specie...

Luckily, Sky's vet is awesome and was able to nurse him back into excellent health! The first two years with this dog was the most challenging part as I had to constantly watch over him, get him potty-trained (I think I covered my whole entire apartment with training pads) and made sure he wasn't destroying anything. To date, Skyler almost set the apartment on fire twice (he turned on the stove on two separate occasions), he has dug the carpet, ruined the blinds countless times, chewed on the walls, dug on the floor and the wall, chewed on the door, chewed on my designer shoes (Kate Spade, Guiseppe Zanotti, Stella McCartney R.I.P. *tear*) and sunglasses, chewed on USB cables, chewed on PS3 controllers, you name it... HE CHEWED IT!

My toe is not an exception!

Skyler wearing my sunglasses at 3 years old with his Auntie Kiwi.  He eventually chewed on it too.

Then there's the expenses. *Gulp* Big dog equals big appetite. I have to buy him the biggest bag of dry food available, treats (lots of them), rawhide, toys (he LOVES squeeky toys but none of them could last him longer than a week and he decapitates all his stuffed toys), have him groomed and have his regular clinic visits. One time, he chewed on a bone and it didn't sit well with him so I ended up rushing him to his vet. I left that clinic $350 dollars poorer, to think at that time I only pay $15 for my own doctor's visit. During the summer season, I have to leave the air conditioning on almost 24/7 as well as the TV (preferably HBO) so he doesn't  fry with his double layer of fur.

Bored out of his mind watching HBO

When one has too much time on their hands, one gets bored. And sometimes, Sky has to pay for it. The best part of it all is, he plays along 'coz he somehow knows that I enjoy kidding around.

Sorry Auntie Kiwi, I think we stretched out your headband!

Skyler pretending to be my "lechon" (roasted pig) Yep, he plays dead like that

You know how experts say that dogs can't really understand what humans are saying? Maybe they can't, but they sure can feel how you're feeling. One day, I was feeling down and stressed out and out of nowhere, this big bear of a dog comes to me, reaches out with one of his long arms and lands his huge paw on my lap, as if trying to comfort me. That's the thing about dogs... they never judge you nor hold grudges against you.

Skyler giving me a paw shake

My boyfriend once told me that I saved Skyler because if I didn't take him that day from the shop, he would have surely died from pneumonia. I actually think it's the other way around... I think Skyler saved me. He really taught me to be patient and to know how it's like to care for something invaluable as well as appreciate the small things in life. If you respect animals, they will respect you. Treat animals with care and dignity, as they have feelings just like we do.

Forever paws-in-crime...

My big monster giving me a big kiss

Oh and by the way, mess with me and I'll sick my dog on ya. Just kidding! =)

Toodles!

Mirror, Mirror

If it was raining at all in your side of the world, that was probably me shedding all those tears watching the HBO documentary focusing on different issues and stories about dogs in the U.S. I gotta warn you, this will probably be one of the most serious posts that I will ever write but I really, really need to get this off of my chest.

About 2 million dogs are put to sleep annually in animal shelters due to a surplus of stray dogs as well as "surrendered" dogs. When I say surrendered, it means that the owners willingly send their pets to the shelter and leave them to be (hopefully) adopted by other people or euthanized, if no one wants to adopt them. Do you know that some shelters still use gas chambers to "euthanize" dogs and cats? I've honestly heard about these gas chambers before but actually seeing a footage of dogs being dumped in one small container and getting gassed to death...that is another thing. It will change you, it will change how you see humans. That 60-second footage (edited by HBO) will change your life, I know it changed mine.

This is what we do. This is what we, precious humans do to helpless, healthy dogs. These dogs never hurt anybody, never killed anybody, never lied, never cheated nor stolen but we kill them anyway. Let me ask you a question..who the f*$&#* died and made us humans the ones to decide on who lives and who dies on this planet?

This overpopulation of dogs is caused by puppy mills ( unlicensed/ unregulated breeders who over-breed dogs under the most extreme living conditions for the sole purpose of PROFIT-MAKING) and irresponsible pet owners who don't spay or neuter their pets. You may call me an irresponsible owner because I haven't had Sky neutered yet. But it's only because he is the only dog in the household, he lives in an apartment so there's no way for him to jump out of a backyard and run away plus I do want puppies from him later on. Trust me when I say that I'll keep ALL of the puppies if I have to. I won't even second guess it.

A photo taken of a typical puppy mill

The reality is that people treat animals like merchandise. If you don't want them anymore or change your mind about them, you can always send them to the animal shelter. Oh, I had to move to a different city or state and I can't take the dog with me. Oh, it was getting too expensive to maintain a dog. Oh, I just don't have the time to take care of a dog anymore. Oh, I didn't know that the dog was going to grow that big. Are you f*&$#*^* kidding me? Once you take an animal into your home, it is your duty to take care of that animal until they die. If for some really valid, good reason that you REALLY cannot take care of the animal, it is your duty to make the effort to find them a new home.

 My dear readers, I beg you. Don't take in an animal just because you thought that a cute puppy would be such a great gift to your girlfriend/boyfriend or your daughter/son. That puppy will eventually become full grown and it takes a lot of time, dedication and effort to take care of it.

If you don't believe me, watch the same footage that I couldn't bear to watch anymore. Press play if you dare. I cannot even hold back my tears as I remember the sick, inhumane and downright cruel act of putting animals in a crammed up box and killing them through carbon monoxide. The video is old but the method is STILL shockingly used by some shelters up to this day.

"Non violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all living beings, we are still savages." - Thomas A. Edison

..ergo, we are still savages.