Maya and I woke up at 5:00 am in the morning to FaceTime with an entire room full of guests. After the call, Maya's video was projected on a big TV. Hope this brought some joy and entertainment to everyone.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Monday, September 9, 2013
Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
Yesterday was my dad's 60th birthday. Due to my work schedule, I wasn't able to fly back to Taiwan for the big party, but I decided to have Maya make a short film to wish her "grandpa" a happy birthday. Though my dad never allowed us to have a dog while we grew up, he had became Maya's number one fan, and always refers to her as his "grand-dog".
Maya and I woke up at 5:00 am in the morning to FaceTime with an entire room full of guests. After the call, Maya's video was projected on a big TV. Hope this brought some joy and entertainment to everyone.
Thank you dad for teaching us to be earnest, honest, and always curious. Happy birthday and every unbirthday!
Maya and I woke up at 5:00 am in the morning to FaceTime with an entire room full of guests. After the call, Maya's video was projected on a big TV. Hope this brought some joy and entertainment to everyone.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Happy Bring Your Dog to Work Day
Yesterday was "Bring Your Dog to Work Day". Though it didn't really affect me, since almost everyday is my "Bring Maya to Work Day", it came to me as a good time for a post like this.
I felt really lucky when we went shopping for an office space and found this nice dog-friendly building right in our budget range. Being able to take Maya to work with me made my transition from a stay-at-home doggie mom to a full-time workaholic much easier for both of us.
I was a bit afraid Maya might not be accepted by all my colleagues, but fortunately she won over everyone's heart without even trying. The first thing everyone does in the morning as they step in the office is to say hello to Maya. I would literally get scolded on the days I didn't bring her.
It is interesting to find that feeding Maya seems to be somewhat fulfilling. I can clearly see the smile on everyone's face when they hand her a treat. Maybe it's the way she enjoys every bits of food that makes us all appreciate the little thing more. Letting Maya out of the baby gate seems to also turn into a fun game. Every time I step out for a break I would come back to a pup running loose in the office. I guess Maya's shiba mind control is working really well here.
I was a bit afraid Maya might not be accepted by all my colleagues, but fortunately she won over everyone's heart without even trying. The first thing everyone does in the morning as they step in the office is to say hello to Maya. I would literally get scolded on the days I didn't bring her.
It is interesting to find that feeding Maya seems to be somewhat fulfilling. I can clearly see the smile on everyone's face when they hand her a treat. Maybe it's the way she enjoys every bits of food that makes us all appreciate the little thing more. Letting Maya out of the baby gate seems to also turn into a fun game. Every time I step out for a break I would come back to a pup running loose in the office. I guess Maya's shiba mind control is working really well here.
All in all, I am grateful that Maya has been truly welcomed to the big family and glad she's able to spread some happiness along the way.
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| Pictures taken by my lovely colleague |
Monday, February 11, 2013
While I was Gone
I have been on a few lengthy business trips since I started my new job in December and it was kind of hard for both humans. For me, I'm so used to staying home with Maya, it's weird to not have her in my daily routines. For Maya's daddy, it's his first time taking full responsibility of taking care of her, and it sure wasn't fun having to walk her early in the morning before work, and rushing back after work to take her out again.
As for Maya, she seems to adjust well without me. She went to a friend's house for a doggie party:
She somehow sneaked into a Japanese bento shop where she usually waited outside, because the owners wanted a Shiba Inu badly and was thrilled to meet her:
Thanks to the technology, I was able to video "chat" with her every night. She wasn't able to recognize my face on the screen, but do response to my voice, especially to that "NO" when I caught her trying to steal a treat from the coffee table.
Nothing is more heart warming after a long flight home to see a pup dashing to the door, wagging her tail and jumping up and down. Since I got back, she has be extra cuddly as well.
As for Maya, she seems to adjust well without me. She went to a friend's house for a doggie party:
She somehow sneaked into a Japanese bento shop where she usually waited outside, because the owners wanted a Shiba Inu badly and was thrilled to meet her:
However, not all places were that welcoming, and she wasn't able to enter the Japanese garden:
Nothing is more heart warming after a long flight home to see a pup dashing to the door, wagging her tail and jumping up and down. Since I got back, she has be extra cuddly as well.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Our Journey from Taiwan with 13 Dogs
On December 11th, we had the most memorable flight of our lifetime. We brought back 13 dogs (in 10 crates) from Taiwan to their forever homes in the US with us across the Pacific Ocean.
It all started with a post by the House of Two Bows of M.C.'s journey back to the Bay Area with 9 dogs. Before reading her post, I didn't even know there's a need for this kind of volunteers. I kept the idea in mind, and contacted AHAN as soon as we booked our tickets. AHAN then forwarded our information to a lady in Taiwan, Mary, and I've been exchanging emails with her since then.
At first, I thought there will be like one or two dogs, but then she told me there will be 10, then it increased to 20 something! However, when we got to the airport, we were told that our airline, EVA, wouldn't allow that many. Luckily there's another volunteer traveling with China Airlines the same night, and would be taking the remaining dogs. Since EVA charges more for transporting dogs, we were afraid that we would be adding extra burden, but it actually turned out nicely. As neither airline would be able to take all the dogs, having volunteers on both made it possible to accommodate for all. No dogs were left behind!
The entire trip went pretty smoothly. We showed up at the airport around 8:00pm, 3.5 hours before our flight took off, and waited for all the dogs to gather in the lobby. The airline weighted and sealed up each and every crate, which took about two hours. Then we sent them off to x-ray and into the tunnel. I was really afraid that the foster parents may start crying as they waved goodbye, but they kept it light spirited. From then on, it's out of our hands. I did check with the flight attendant before boarding the plane, and she ensured us all dogs are all safely on board.
At the other end of the globe, the crates were already waiting for us when we got through the immigration line. Because there were too many crates for us to handle ourselves, we had to hire some porters from the airport to help us. The volunteers in Taiwan had already prepared for it and had given us some money to pay as tips. Well, the only bad experience of the entire trip came from these porters. They bargained for more money on top of what was already a pretty generous tip. We ended up paying a few extra dollars out of our own pocket just to get things moving and be sure they wouldn't mistreat the dogs. I'm totally fine with help paying some of the expenses, but along the way, there were many people that deserve that money more than them. For the amount of money they made with that little time they spent, it just seems greedy. Next time, I'll know to start with a much lower price and let them talk their way up. I'll also be more specific of the number of porters I need, instead of letting them all gather up on their own.
After a bit of hassle going through Customs (mostly because we brought food ourselves, nothing to do with the dogs), we finally got to the lobby of San Francisco Airport. A local volunteer came to meet with us and took over from there on. We actually arrived a bit earlier than expected, but there were many new families already waiting desperately for their new members. As the crates left one by one, we felt a little bit empty inside. (So we rushed back to pick up Maya!)
Before the trip, I though we will be dealing with a rescue organization, but to our surprise, all the volunteers were actually individuals who adopted or captured the dogs, nursed them back to health, and paid for all the bills on their own. For each dog, they would probably need to spend more than $500 for vet bills, spay/neuter, government documents, a crate, and oversea transportation. It may not sound much from the US standard, but do note that the average salary for a fresh college graduate is around $750 per month. Besides, after spending so much time, effort and money, they may never see or even heard from the dog ever again. They did it all in the faith that the dogs will find a better life here in the US. It was shocking for me to learn that none of rehoming fees from the dogs' new families ever get back to the foster parents. Even though I understand the local rescue here needs the money they collected to run the organization as well, I do hope the foster parents can somehow be compensated, so they can have more resource to help more dogs. We felt humbled when they thanked us for transporting the dogs, cause we knew we really did nothing comparing to their devotion.
All in all, it has been a great journey and we will definitely do it again in the future. Wish each and every dog a wonderful new life!
It all started with a post by the House of Two Bows of M.C.'s journey back to the Bay Area with 9 dogs. Before reading her post, I didn't even know there's a need for this kind of volunteers. I kept the idea in mind, and contacted AHAN as soon as we booked our tickets. AHAN then forwarded our information to a lady in Taiwan, Mary, and I've been exchanging emails with her since then.
At first, I thought there will be like one or two dogs, but then she told me there will be 10, then it increased to 20 something! However, when we got to the airport, we were told that our airline, EVA, wouldn't allow that many. Luckily there's another volunteer traveling with China Airlines the same night, and would be taking the remaining dogs. Since EVA charges more for transporting dogs, we were afraid that we would be adding extra burden, but it actually turned out nicely. As neither airline would be able to take all the dogs, having volunteers on both made it possible to accommodate for all. No dogs were left behind!
The entire trip went pretty smoothly. We showed up at the airport around 8:00pm, 3.5 hours before our flight took off, and waited for all the dogs to gather in the lobby. The airline weighted and sealed up each and every crate, which took about two hours. Then we sent them off to x-ray and into the tunnel. I was really afraid that the foster parents may start crying as they waved goodbye, but they kept it light spirited. From then on, it's out of our hands. I did check with the flight attendant before boarding the plane, and she ensured us all dogs are all safely on board.
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| Dogs and their foster parents showing up at Taipei airport. |
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| Dressed up for the long flight. |
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| Oops! Potty accident! |
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| Puppies from the same litter. |
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| Anxious but calm. |
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| Foster parents saying goodbye as the dogs go through x-ray. |
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| The crates that went to the other airline were standing by after us. |
At the other end of the globe, the crates were already waiting for us when we got through the immigration line. Because there were too many crates for us to handle ourselves, we had to hire some porters from the airport to help us. The volunteers in Taiwan had already prepared for it and had given us some money to pay as tips. Well, the only bad experience of the entire trip came from these porters. They bargained for more money on top of what was already a pretty generous tip. We ended up paying a few extra dollars out of our own pocket just to get things moving and be sure they wouldn't mistreat the dogs. I'm totally fine with help paying some of the expenses, but along the way, there were many people that deserve that money more than them. For the amount of money they made with that little time they spent, it just seems greedy. Next time, I'll know to start with a much lower price and let them talk their way up. I'll also be more specific of the number of porters I need, instead of letting them all gather up on their own.
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| All the crates waiting for us in the baggage area. |
After a bit of hassle going through Customs (mostly because we brought food ourselves, nothing to do with the dogs), we finally got to the lobby of San Francisco Airport. A local volunteer came to meet with us and took over from there on. We actually arrived a bit earlier than expected, but there were many new families already waiting desperately for their new members. As the crates left one by one, we felt a little bit empty inside. (So we rushed back to pick up Maya!)
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| In SFO lobby waiting for the new families. |
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| A family brought their dog to meet his new family member. |
Before the trip, I though we will be dealing with a rescue organization, but to our surprise, all the volunteers were actually individuals who adopted or captured the dogs, nursed them back to health, and paid for all the bills on their own. For each dog, they would probably need to spend more than $500 for vet bills, spay/neuter, government documents, a crate, and oversea transportation. It may not sound much from the US standard, but do note that the average salary for a fresh college graduate is around $750 per month. Besides, after spending so much time, effort and money, they may never see or even heard from the dog ever again. They did it all in the faith that the dogs will find a better life here in the US. It was shocking for me to learn that none of rehoming fees from the dogs' new families ever get back to the foster parents. Even though I understand the local rescue here needs the money they collected to run the organization as well, I do hope the foster parents can somehow be compensated, so they can have more resource to help more dogs. We felt humbled when they thanked us for transporting the dogs, cause we knew we really did nothing comparing to their devotion.
All in all, it has been a great journey and we will definitely do it again in the future. Wish each and every dog a wonderful new life!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
My Belated Birthday Present
Two years ago, Maya joined our family a week after my birthday. I thought no other present could ever top that. This year, a few days after my birthday, Maya's out of the cone and stopped itching. It's a very different type of joy, but certainly on par with getting a new puppy.
She has been out of the cone ever since, though she still scratches every once in a while and still chews on her feet. It'll probably still take a while for everything to heal up, but at least she's much happier now. Last year, her itchiness stopped around this time as well, but with the help of Atopica, so it's definitely something seasonal. I also have been avoiding our local park in the past few days because they've been fertilizing the grass areas. Not sure if this is a factor or not, but I'll continue to do so for a while to see if it makes any difference.
I made a "wish" that if she stops itching by my birthday, I'd donate $200 to a Shiba rescue and be on a vegetarian diet for a full month. Though it's been a bit late, I'll fullfil my promise and start my new diet tomorrow. I also made a further commitment to be on a year-long vegetarian diet starting from my next birthday, if she can remain itch free till then. I will be more than happy to comply.
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| Maya's first day home, taken on 9/25/2010 |
On Friday, I was really worried about the Shiba Inu meetup taking place on Saturday. I was afraid Maya would be scratching every other minute or so, and would just not be fun for any of us. Maya's daddy then came up with the theory that she's only scratching because we were restricting her, and it's a mental issue. We should let her scratch till she's satisfied and she'll get over it. Of course I said no, and dismissed the crazy idea.
Well, he went ahead and took the cone off anyways while I was taking a shower. According to him, it was all bloody and chaotic at the beginning. Maya was scratching like crazy, and he just repeatedly cleaned her up with a baby wipe and kept applying some Vaseline over the wounds. This went on for like ten minutes, and then she decided to stop scratching. Well, I'll be damned. However, we are both glad I wasn't there to witness the ten minutes of craziness, cause I would put that cone back on for sure.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Message From My Dad
I got an email from my Dad after he saw my post about Maya's conditions:
It inspired me to take out our humidifier and kept it on throughout the day. So far, it does seem to make her less itchy.
As for the baby comment... Come on Dad, it's easy for YOU, because Mom did all the hard work!
"With the same effort, you could have raised several easy-going babies like you and your sister. I almost have cured my itchy and dry eye problem by steaming. Therefore, try to put Maya in a wok, and cook her. Good luck. -- Dad"
It inspired me to take out our humidifier and kept it on throughout the day. So far, it does seem to make her less itchy.
As for the baby comment... Come on Dad, it's easy for YOU, because Mom did all the hard work!
By the way, I finally got a chance to put together the LEGO "backhoe loader" I bought for my boyfriend last Christmas. Maya lost interest after realizing those colorful little pieces aren't treats for her.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Caspian
Caspian is a 2-year-old poodle mix my friend PC and her boyfriend recently adopted. We were really excited, because we don't have many friends with dogs. Most of our friends are immigrants living in rental apartments, working crazy hours in Silicon Vally, and/or just starting a family. Owning a pet is usually low or nonexistent on their priority list.
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| Caspian |
We took Maya to a playdate with Caspian last Sunday. Though they didn't interact much, they both had a good time at the dog park. Caspian did well with other dogs and would check back with his owners every now and then. I can tell there's already a strong bond between them.
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| Maya and Caspian |
According to his owners, Caspian was found on the streets, taken to the shelter, then placed in a foster home by a rescue. He's suffering from some separation anxiety when my friends leave for work, but they are working hard to overcome the issues. We hope he can soon realize he's now with a loving forever home and no need to worry about losing his humans ever again!
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| Always happy to meet a new friend |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
GuGu's Visit
GuGu (姑姑) means "auntie" in Chinese, more specifically calling father's sister. My boyfriend's sister, aka Maya's GuGu, came to visit us over the weekend. Just like every guests who met Maya for the first time, she fell in love with her right away.
The weather was great and we spent a nice afternoon at Stanford Shopping Center and Stanford University. Among the stores we visited, the new Microsoft store earned the most dog-friendly award. They had a water bowl by the door, three staffs greeted us, and Maya even scored a cookie. Maya's GuGu was really surprised by how many people stopped us to ask about Maya along the way.
We also got a cute little gift from Maya's GuGu: a shiba family mini-lego set! It took us about half an hour to put together the 120+ pieces.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Lip Balm
After two dog park visits and a hike in the woods over the weekend, Maya seems to start itching a bit again yesterday. I guess we pushed it a bit too far. For now, it's kind of manageable, so I'm still debating whether to give her Atopica or not.
I also started to wonder, whether wiping her face after every walk is drying out her skin and makes her more itchy. With that in mind, I started to look for some "edible" body lotion, and the idea of using a lip balm came to mind. I've been eating it everyday myself after all.
So far I'm very pleased with the result. Every time I see her scratching, I apply a bit on her snout and she'd stop for a few hours. After trying so many things over the months, it's nice to claim that something actually works.
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| Labeling the lip balm so no humans use it by accident |
How spoiled is Maya? I have a good collection of lip balms I don't like sitting there collecting dust, but I gave her my favoriate one.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Starting a Blog
Our baby girl, Maya, has been suffering from allergies since early June. We've been desperately trying everything to cure her, but so far still not much progress. I decided to start a blog to record our efforts and to have a place to rant. Let's hope she'll feel better soon and we can use this place for more joyful posts.
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