Goodbye Tubby & Coco...

On 27th June 2006 my brother lost his 6 year old girl dog, Coco, a sharpei to lymphatic cancer and just few weeks ago on Sept 3 2006, he lost his boy dog, Tubby to liver cancer at age of 7.5 years old. Both dogs showed similar symptoms and gone very quickly when they started to bloat. I wondered, how is it that dog's lifespan today is getting shorter and shorter these days? Could it possibly be the food they are taking, the excessive medication or injections we put them thru unnecessary annually? Whatever it is, they are gone so fast and it seems just yesterday they are cuddley cute puppies and a bundle of joy to be with..... Dogs are strong in nature and I wonder if they are putting up an act and won't show they are in pain unless necessary, they then choose to go when the moment is right (sometimes suddenly). Well, at least that seems that way for both Coco and Tubby...they both seem to have "chosen" the "right" time to leave.

You see, my brother had to travel for work in Australia a year ago and can only manage one dog. He got Coco adopted before he left and Tubby went to Australia with him. Coco was doing well except for some skin rash and weight loss under the care of the new owner. However, immediately on the night my brother touch down in June 2006 in Singapore for a visit, Coco started to bloat up like a balloon in her tummy region. She was perfectly fine the day before and very strong, eating well, skin healing, etc. We will never expect her to have such a big tumour in her all along. Anyway, after the diagnosis, we attempted to treat her, but sadly, she passed on the 2nd day after surgery. That is just about 1 week after her bloat started and within the short period my brother is back in Singapore to attend our youngest brother's wedding. You see, Coco adores him, I'm sure she'd like to see him before she passed on, she held up till then I supposed. The tumour was so huge in the x-ray I can't believe she is not showing any signs of illness before. Well, she got her wish, and that is to see my brother before passing on.

For Tubby, he chose to leave when my brother is out of the country for a job assignment back in Singapore. He was placed under the care of a doggie kennel. As always, when my brother had to travel, off he goes as usual to the kennel. The kennel people copied my brother's contact no. wrongly and they can't get to him when tubby started to bloat like a balloon, exactly the same sign as Coco 3 months back. The vet adviced to have him put down as he seem to be in pain and suffering. They put him down to alleviate his pain and all these happened when my brother is still in Singapore oblivious to it all until he return to Australia 2 weeks later only to have found out what happened when he called the kennel to have Tubby back. Tubby loved my brother too...he is such a sweet baby and always waiting eagerly for my brother to be back home from work every day. He basically can't live without him. The only rational I can think of why tubby left before my brother could get to him is because he does not want my brother to make the tough choice between putting him down or doing all we could to get him back to health. Knowing my brother, he will do anything to get any of his dog back to health. He already tried that for Coco and i'm pretty sure he'd do likewise for Tubby. Tubby is smart, he choose to leave when my brother is away so as to avoid having him make the tough decision yet again. And I guess Tubby chose this path for his reason. Why I believe this is so... is because it happened very soon after my brother left for Singapore. He was fit and healthy before he left Tubby at the kennel and again, did not suspect anything is wrong with him, let alone a long standing liver condition.

Anyway, some of you are probably wondering if it's possible our animal friends really go thru those thoughts. Well, why I am open about it is because i have read many books on animal communicators and what happens when they talk to animals. Before our pets pass on, many of them actually know their time is up, however, some held on longer then necessary for reasons usually pertaining to their human. All they can think about is how are my humans going to handle it, they are not afraid of leaving but worried about humans taking their death. If they can, they will make the choice that deems best. Some even run away from home just so to alleviate the family members from seeing their beloved dog dead at home, etc. If only we can let them go easy, they will leave in peace when their time is up...

I'm glad both my brother's dogs are painfree and having fun in heaven right now. Being animal lovers and have had a few pets before, each passing of a pet is just as painful as the previous ones that left us. It never get easier with each of their passing. We take time to heal, accept and move on with our life. Just like the passing of a loved one, the passing of a beloved pet is just as painful, sometimes even more so then human counterparts as our animal friends love us unconditionally. Which makes it so hard to let go.....And when we are ready, we will be having fun with yet another bundle of furry joy again.

Read a couple of books that mentioned our pets that passed on sometimes do come back in another physcial form to be our new pet. Same soul but different body especially if they choose to be with us physically again. They behave and love the same activities, food, treats, etc you will probably notice quite alot of similarities but may not be aware it could be the same soul.....so if it happens to you, congratulations! Your animal friend is back with you again! Treasure the experience!

Goodbye Coco, Goodbye Tubby.....Till we meet again, be HAPPY and have loads of FUN in Heaven....
You both are loved & treasured always....


Tubby & Coco at 6.5yrs and 5 yrs old

Exercising for JOY!

I love tennis, but I stopped tennis when I sold off my ex-car 5 years ago as I find bringing equipment, change of clothes, shoes, etc a hassle without a car. I turned from physically active to a couch potato overnight when i used to play tennis at least 2x a week in the past. See how easy it is for us to just give up when we humans can think of "excuses" to stop doing things that is good for body. My new exercise regime is YOGA! Before starting Yoga, I lost my exercise momentum 5 years ago and only got started in Yoga regularly 3 weeks back and I am amazed at my own improvements in some of the poses.

Like most people, I find exercising torturous when I am not enjoying the process. As such, even though i signed up for unlimited Yoga classes for 5 years mid last year (don't even ask me how much I pay for it), I did not attend the classes regularly up until just 3 weeks back. Feels horrible to be paying monthly subscription without making use of the facilities or classes for a full whole year! The number of classes I attended for the past year is no more than the number of fingers on your hands. Before I signed up for the full 5 years course, I thought to myself, maybe by paying for the classes monthly, I SHOULD go for the classes regularly to avoid "wasting" my money.

Well, the paying money part didn't work when the body do not want to be worked. I realised now, it's not going to be money that is going to make me go Yoga. Anyhow, I continued to go for my "once in a blue moon" yoga. And obviously, I am not improving much in my yoga poses, seems standstill to me for the full year due to irregularity. However, I chance upon HOT YOGA in school recently. You see, there are so many classes we are spoilt for choice. When my Yoga centre introduced HOT yoga recently, I gave it a shot and I LOVE IT!! Now, it's gona be so easy to get my butt to work on Yoga from now. I fell in love with it because it is HOT and I have started to perspire AGAIN. Though living in a hot, humid tropical island, I do not sweat a lot. I stay dry in air-con Yoga classes and even while walking on a hot sunny afternoon along Orchard Rd, I am dry. During SPA trips, sleeping in the heated machine doesn't work for me at all. I remain DRY after a hot treatment in a machine! I guess my body is a little more sluggish compared to many.

Today, I will feel uncomfortable if I skip Yoga for more then 1 day. I can't wait to see what I can accomplish one year from now. My investment in the Yoga health club is going to be worth it. My body is toner, my metabolic rate increased and my complexion seems better too after all the sweating (aka detoxifation). Some of you may think It's funny to have perspiration as a motivation for my exercise regime. Well, each one of us is unique, we must find that motivation to move our butt. As for my motivation, you will not understand unless you have not perspired much for a long time. It really felt so good to see beads of perspiration coming off naturally from your body that once stayed shut no matter what you do.

See how our body and mind is playing games all the time. Once we find THAT one motivation, we will go all way out to do what is good for us. Yesterday, during my morning Yoga, my Yoga instructor reminded us that our human body are naturally lazy, we tend to go the easy way out if given a choice. BUT, if we want our health back and the benefits of a regular regime, whatever that is (weight loss, detox, good skin, toned body etc ) it takes effort to derive the benefits. So, knowing that, it makes it easier for me to psych myself up when my body is thinking of giving up. Important bit is to keep telling ourselves we can do better and NEVER GIVE UP. Though we may slag, so long as the mind is willing, the body can be overcome, and of course, have fun along the way is the best way to maintain that exercise regime.

Today, I was the only student in the morning class, feels good to be "focused" on my every moves. It's more challenging then usual as I have less chance to slag, but i picked up a few good tips on some poses I have been doing it in a "not so correct way" in the past as there is less chance in the past for instructors to correct everyone's stance when the crowd is around....

My attitude towards any exercise regime is that I MUST LOVE IT, then, I will be exercising for fun. I believe any exercising regime we embark should be ENJOYABLE, else, it could end up as a temporary craze and we will somehow find reasons within ourselves to stop the regime when our body decide to give up and return to lazy state.

Hope we can all find an exercise regime that we love and stick to it for LIFE! It's good for our body, a good training ground for our mind power and it's definitely norishing for the soul too! When we exercise, for that full hour or so, our thoughts are focused on just doing the workout, chances of our mind wondering to our daily worries lessen and even non-existent.

Till we chat again, have FUN at WORKOUT!

Interested in this puppy? ADOPTED! :o)

He is so sweet....look at his face, BUT, chinese workers in an industrial estate was tempted to have him for stew! Someone rescued him in time and now awaiting adoption. Do spread the word around and if anyone keen, ask them to visit this site for more detail.

Dog for adoption

Do spend sometime at this forum, one of my most favourite forum in the internet. Tata!

Vegetarian dog lives to 27 human years & still ALIVE!

Accidently come accross this article. I never encourage dog owners to put their dogs on a vegan diet as I believe they are carnivorous by nature and should have regular meats for optimal health. This article astonishes me. Most healthy dogs live up to 12 - 14 years old but this sweety is 27 years today!

Makes me wonder if I should cut down on meats and add more veg. to my dogs' diet, which i hope can add more healthy years to their life! Maybe meats are becoming "toxic" due to hormones injections, medications fed and not to mention the trama they go thru before being served on our dinner plates. All these add on to the level of toxidity of most meat source even for human consumption.

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!

One More Doggie?

Came across a really cute poem by a dog loving friend. Though I have never met this friend, we are so in sync when it comes to feelings towards our animal friends....

Chris, it has been a real pleasure knowing you though we have not met ..... Here's the poem you sent me, for all you dog loving people out there to laugh about!

The picture below are my bunch of friends from my estate, all dog loving friends i come to know during our daily walks together. All have progressed (except 2 of them) to have more than one furry kido. Read the poem below and you'd understand why. ;o)

One More Dog
One dog is not trouble, and two are so funny
The third one is easy, the fourth one's a honey
The fifth is delightful, the sixth one's a breeze
You find you can live with a houseful, with ease
So how 'bout another? Would you really dare?
They're really quite easy, but Oh Lord, the Hair!
With dogs on the sofa, and dogs on the bed
And crates in the kitchen, its no bother, you said
They're really no trouble, their manners are great
What's just one more dog and one more little crate?
The sofa is hairy, the windows are crusty
The floor is all footprints, the furniture's dusty
The housekeeping suffers, but what do you care?
Who minds a few noseprints and a little more hair?
So let's keep a puppy, you can always find room
And a little more time for the dust cloth and broom
There's hardly a limit to the dogs you can add
The thought of a cutback, sure makes you feel sad
Each one is special, so useful, so funny
the food bill grows larger, you owe the vet money
Your folks never visit, few friends come to stay
Except other dog folks, who live the same way
Your lawn has now died and our shrubs are dead too
Your weekends are busy, your off with your crew
There's dog food and vitamins, training and shots
And entries and travel and motels which cost lots
Is it worth it you wonder? Are you caught in a trap?
Then that favorite comes up and climbs in your lap
His look says you're special and you know that you will
Keep all the critters in spite of the bill
Some just for showing, and some just to breed
And some just for loving, they all fill a need
Winter is a hassle, but the dogs love it true
And they must have their walks tho' you are numb and blue
Late evening is awful, you scream and you shout
At the dogs on the sofa, who refuse to go out
The dogs and the dog shows, the travel, the thrills
The work and the worry, the pressure, the bills
The whole thing seems worth it, the dogs are your life
They're charming and funny and offset the strife
Your lifestyle has changed, things just won't be the same
Yes those dogs are addictive and so's the dog game!
Author Unknown

Today Marks the 5th Anniversary of 9/11 Tragedy

Many who have had close calls with death usually turn their lives around and found their true purpose in life thus contributing to humankind in a huge way. Escaping death from any tragedy event is a wake up call for many and I believe it is God's way to get us to re-examine our life purpose and enable us to quickly focus on our life mission(s).

In our daily living, it is common that when tragedy strikes, we tend to blame and make ourselves victims of the events that befall us and many even question "Why Me!?". If we were to contemplate and accept the situation as an opportunity to learn, grow and blossom from such misevents, we would not only enrich our own lives but also impact the lives of people around indirectly when we focus on the positive aspects of living.

How we live our lives really depends on our own decisions. The same "setback" happening, one can overcome the it quickly and look at it as opportunity for them to grow and contribute back in service to humankind, another will use the unfortunate situation as an excuse to lead a life of misery and even blame their failure on the event.

Let's all choose to WIN in life and NOT allow life situations to rule us. No matter what happens, we still have a CHOICE how we want to lead OUR LIFE. Amist any setbacks, when we start to appreciate what we have and count our blessings, our moods will be uplifted instantly and we are in a better frame of mind to think of what to do next as well.

Let us now spend a few mins to pray for 9/11 victim's family and let God work miracles in the lives of those who survived the tragedy. Let this little prayer for all affected by 9/11 now find their lives a blessing to all around them and making our world a happier place.

Lastly, may we all have a willing heart to be STILL and LISTEN to God's prompting and hear his gentle voice daily les we stray from HIS purpose.

Appeal and petition for stiffer sentence for Old Airport Road cat killer

Everyone out there especially Singaporeans, remember the cat torturer and killer in Singapore? He has been caught! BUT, we need more appeals for stiffer sentence to deter potential future cruel acts to animals. It saddens me the way he catch the cats by befriending them first! It's ultimate cruelty to our animal friends.

Let's all sign this petition put up by SPCA Singapore and do our part for our animal friends, then leave the rest to justice.

Sign your petition here!

The Invincible Steve Irwin Closes His Chapter...

I dislike hearing too much news, the only news I listen is from the radio every morning on my way to work or from my friends who would talk about news topic once in a while if it interests them, I will only pick up the bit I'm interested and read on from there.

Today, I came to work as usual and heard from my cousin Pate that one of my favourite wildlife tv star Steve Irwin just passed on.... I wondered how could someone so strong and invincible die so young and how did it happened? My thoughts go straight to his wife and 2 young children... Steve changed my perspective on wildlife totally, especially crocodiles. He had so much love and passion for what he does and he is always so upbeat, motivational and inspiring.

I love animals but I never knew how to appreciate huge creatures that cannot be cuddled such as crocs or cold blooded reptiles like snakes. But the respect and love Steve gave to every living creature on earth is something I came to learn and appreciate through watching him in action on TV. This has changed my perspective of wildlife totally and I have since been able to see beauty in even the most "scary" animal on earth.

We should never take any one creature on earth for granted, we must learn to live in balance and harmony with all creatures on earth. Any disruption in wildlife will eventually affect us as well. All living creatures on earth are dependent on one another. Isn't that what heaven is to be? Living harmously with all God's wonderful creation....

Steve's death was tragic and a major loss to his family and the world. The only comfort is a quote from him in his living days "I have no fear of losing my life. If I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it. - Steve Irwin".



Well, he would die for that stingray that killed him!! If he were to live today, I'm sure he will share that the stingray is acting out of defence, she's a beauty, be careful of her barb as she'd hit in self defence....etc. It's one in a million chance anyone get hit by a stingray barb and it happened to him, that one in a million.

Let's continue to live his legend in our heart by loving every living creature the way he did, unconditionally.

Good bye Steve, your legend continues within us....
Thank you for sharing so much of your life with us. May God protect and bless your family now and forever more...

Your Breath can HEAL!

Thought it is timely for me to share about one of the course I went to that have shaped my life a great deal. I've completed breathworks course for a few months now, it is an awesome experience, just using our very own BREATH helped me feel so free, so sane amist challenges and be at peace no matter what happens around me.

Breathwork is a form of breathing that can help us relieve stress, better manage our lives, learn our limitations and overcome them, learn to love life and lead a fullfilling life and enjoy the bumpy rides along the way.... All these seems so far fetched to me back one year ago as I was still struggling with life, I have since overcame my struggles and learn to let go and live life well.

Breathwork not only help heal one physically but emotionally as well. According to Louise Hay, all physically illnesses we harbour have a related emotional issue. When we deal with the emotional issue, we are able to heal ourselves. Breathwork deals with our emotional issues. It is nothing magical, it gets us to the root cause faster then if we live life as we are and discover it at a slower pace(if at all). All we need is a willing heart to unearth and discover ourselves at deeper level, amazing things happen and we grow to love ourselves more (confident, cheerful and loving etc), grow closer to family, friends and even God (btw, it works for any religion you are in). When we are positive and happy, we attract more positivities, happiness and blessings in life as well...

There is one full time breathworker here in Singapore, Faizal. If you are are keen to find out more about what it is, feel free to email her at breathconnection@yahoo.com

If you reside in other countries, check out this site and find a breathworker in your area. www.ibfnetwork.com

I encourage everyone to experience it especially if you want to change your life for the better, breathwork is the best place to kick start the ride to FREEDOM!