Do dogs pray?

People pray all the time. From time immemorial, humans have been known to worship anything that they consider (perhaps “imagine” is a better word) as representative of God so that they will feel that they’re connecting to God if they pray to whatever that is that they worship.

But what about dogs? Do they worship anything like we humans do? What about my Hu Zer the golden retriever? If prancing up and down, rapid tail wagging, and handshakes are signs, then I seem to be his god…hehehe…because every time I’m home after a long day at the office…he’ll race up to me and like, “Oh my GOD, you’re finally home! I thought you had lost your way! Don’t you know it’s way passed feeding time? Quickly go to the kitchen before I go berserk and get me a dozen of those plump pork wieners that you reserve for your fat European friend Russell. And a quart of Selena Gomez’s favorite Borden milk. Thank you GOD”.

But seriously, do dogs pray? They don’t? How do you know? For all you know, they might be quietly praying when we are not around. Before I leave the house for work, I’ll usually condescendingly say, “Hu Zer, don’t be a naughty boy, ok?”. Yeah right. If only we can read their thought, it would be like, “Me naughty? No Sir. Except for stealing Ucharm’s cat chowder last Monday, I’d always been praying from the moment you leave the house to the moment I pick up your scent when you reach the fifth lamp-post from home”. Hmm, I wonder……..

But what if dogs do pray, what would their prayers be? Well, I asked Hu Zer the other day. I told him to tell me in my dreams. Yeah, animals talk. Just like in the movie Babe. But, you see, humans are not smart enough to understand animal language, so we can only hear them in our dreams. Really??? Really....lol

So, here are two of Hu Zer's recent prayers…

Dear Lord, I know I’m pampered and spoilt. I know I’m having some of the best dog food in the world. Last Sunday my master was having a house party. And there was this tiny little dish called “caviar”. I don’t know what that is but everyone in the room was talking about it. They were mumbling things like Almas…Beluga fish…RM140,000 per kg. I could smell it and man! It’s heaven! Dear Lord, the next time my master does a house party make him drop a little on the floor so that I can have some, whatever that is. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Dear Lord, every morning when it’s pee o’clock, my master is always in bed. OK, that’s not the problem. But he always locks his bedroom door. THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!! Where does he expect me to pee? At his door? On the Fabio leather sofa? I can’t do it in the house. I’ve got to do it in the garden and he knows that. So please make him leave his bedroom door open so that I can wake him up when it’s pee o’clock. Thank you Lord. Amen.

See? Dogs are different. We humans would pray for things like wealth, a promotion, a beautiful girlfriend, a fancy car, etc, dogs are just content with the simple pleasures of life. So, in return, i'd like to offer my prayer...Dear Lord, thank you for giving me Hu Zer. Of course he can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he's a wonderful companion 99.99% of the time. So, thank you Lord. Amen.

Which brings me to one of the greatest mysteries of the English language. Why is GOD spelled DOG backwards? Perhaps there’s something that dogs know and they're not telling. Not even in our dreams. Hmm, I wonder…

If I were a dog...

When I was a little boy I use to make houses out of paper; lots of houses so much so I actually built a whole community of houses, shops, office buildings. Heck, I even made streets out of paper. Together with my collection of miniature metal toy cars and toy humans, I in fact managed to build a whole bloody community complete with police station, a clinic, and trees along the street! So every adult and my adoring parents thought I would become a builder or an architect. Did I? Nope. I soon grew out of it. Toys were for sissies.

When I entered high school, my interest had already shifted. I wanted to be a lawyer. Why? Well, I was in the debating society, so you might say that I'm the arguing type. And lawyers by nature are the arguing type! Ha! But that dream didn't last too long. While some of the debating society members eventually became real lawyers, I joined the hospitality industry. Why? I don't know. But it's a great career and pays well. And you get to travel and stay free if you're working for some established international hotel chain. And eat free as well. And I was working for the Holiday Inns...Ha!

But what if I were a dog? Yeah; a dog. What kind of dog would I want to be? Interesting question. Never thought of that before. Now let's see...a German Shepherd? A poodle? A Chihuahua? Yuck! No, not a Chihuahua. Only rich people like Paris Hilton like Chihuahuas. Hang on...but that's not a career; that's just a breed. But what kind of careers are available to dogs anyway? Dogs can't be doctors. Imagine walking into a clinic and a dog is sitting in the doctor's chair in the consultation room. Or lawyers. Or architects. Or engineers. Yeah, dogs ain't got a lot of choices you know. Oh, I know! I could be a police dog! Yeah! Nobody respects the police like they respect a police dog. He is one mean, no-nonsense, bites you where it hurts type. No one messes around with a police dog. You can't bribe him to look the other way. No, sir! If you are the bad guy and the dog is coming after you, you'd better surrender or else!

Come to think of it; unlike humans, there's no criminals in dog society - only good dogs and bad dogs. What an embarrassing thought...sigh.

If a picture paints a thousand words...

Every now and then, we come across pictures that cause us deep thoughts. Pictures that seem to send out radio signals; it's almost like they're trying to communicate with us. We can look at it a million times and yet not tire of it. Oftentimes, they are pictures that relate to our heart. Pictures of war, of peace, sadness or joy. Pictures that bring back memories of our youth, our loved ones, our struggles.

This is one of those pictures where words cannot adequately describe its message. It is a picture that encapsulates love in its purest sense. It brings back vivid images of Harvard law student Oliver Barrett and music student Jennifer Cavilleri in the 1970 blockbuster "Love Story" and its (crazy at that time) tagline "Love means never having to say you're sorry". The dog you see in the picture is Schoep, a Shepherd mix, cradled in the arms of his best friend John in a lake in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Schoep is 19 years old and is sick with arthritis and, obviously, old age. 19 in human years is equivalent to 133 years.

As I silently watch the short clip on wusa9.com, different emotions came rushing through my mind. Sadness was my first reaction. As Schoep lie in John’s arms, I could feel both John and Schoep’s sadness. Death is something that no one escapes from; no matter if you are the most brilliant scientist on earth or the richest philanthropist. My next thought was gratefulness. Tears began to well up blurring my vision as I softly whispered, “Thank you Schoep for being a loyal friend”. If you imagine Schoep as a human like us, then you would realize how profound his loyalty is. He came into John’s life when he was just a bundle of fur adopted from a shelter. You could say that he had lived and would die one day for no one else but John. It didn’t matter to Schoep whether John was the richest man in the world or a beggar. The day John took him home; John became his best friend forever. This kind of love, dedication and unwavering loyalty, to my mind, surpasses even a mother and child or a husband and wife relationship.

As we go through life, we sometimes lose our focus and subsequently lose our way. In our relentless pursuit of wealth, we forget the importance of ethics, morals and values. The picture of Schoep and John can only be described as "inspirational".

Thank you, Schoep, for reminding me to be a good man. So long buddy.

Best Friend or Slave?

Recently I was watching some video clips on YouTube. There's this one about a cute little sweetheart called Ava who was playing with her dog, a big German Shepherd called Brown. She had in her hand a doggy bone and was teasing Brown with it. At one point, her daddy (who was filming the clip) told Ava to give the bone to Brown. Like a good girl, she did. But the moment Brown had it in his mouth, the daddy (in a sharp voice) told Ava to retrieve the bone from Brown. I could see from the expression on little Ava's face, young as she is, that she knew it was wrong and dangerous to try to snatch the bone from Mr. Brown.

Of course I jumped up with shock and disbelief! What kind of daddy is that? What if Ava had listened to the daddy and had done as she was told and Mr. Brown, in a moment of animal instinct to protect his food, decides to "engage with the enemy"? It would be a messy disaster to say the least.

But wait, that's not all to it. The (expletive deleted) daddy, now that he can't get Ava to do what he wanted, he proceeded to ask Ava to "kiss Brown on the nose". I mean, what kind of daddy is that? Seems to me, he wants to film Ava getting hurt!!!

Anyways, that clip drew plenty of comments from viewers. Some actually agreed with the daddy's actions. But of course many disagreed like me. The few that thought that it was a bright idea "explained" that dogs must be taught who the master is. They said that Brown must be taught who is the "alpha dog". I find such "explanations" quite unacceptable.

From time immemorial, we've been told a trillion times that dogs are man's best friend. Is this how you treat your best friend? That they must obey our every command or else? Must they come, go, sit, sleep, eat, rollover, stand on their hind legs, run in circles, jump, attack, or do whatever before they become our best friend?

I don't know about you, but for me, that's not how I would treat my best friend. And for those who feel that it is not wrong, well, all I can say is this...he is no longer your best friend. He's your slave.

Woof! Woof!

Are you good at keeping promises?

How good are you at keeping promises? Yeah – like the little secret that you told your friend never to tell anyone else. People make - and break – all sorts of promises in their daily affairs. Especially politicians – these people make the most promises and they will routinely break it without batting an eyelid. Some make promises out of necessity, and they break it too, out of necessity. A promise is much like a vow – maybe not as dramatic; and solemn as the one below:

“I, (your name), take you, (her name), to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

Unfortunately, many people don’t really mean what they say. Many people say things in the heat of the moment. It could be due to a feeling of love, lust, fear, anger, joy, sympathy, hate and sometimes when they are sad or lonely. But most of the time the vows or promises they make are way beyond what they would humanly do. Sure, it’s nice to hear someone say, “I’ll die for you”, “You’re my only love” etc, etc. Every one of us go through life making vows or promises that we eventually break because of certain circumstances or situations. You may be a husband or a wife, or a CEO, a salesman, or a soldier, or a spy, but like people say, "when push comes to shove" the real you will surface. No one can honestly tell you that he will make good his vow no matter what. Not unless you are a GoGo; like good old Raja Boy.

Dogs don’t need to say all those bullshit. The day you bring him home, he will come with an unspoken promise to be your best friend until the day he dies. Whatever is said in a wedding vow is what you’ll get from your GoGo. And unlike us cheating humans, dogs will keep their promise. No matter you’re Bill Gates or a homeless beggar, he’ll love you just the same - unconditionally.

So for me, I don’t mean to offend anyone, people who don’t love GoGo are sending a message that they are not friendly by nature. They may behave in a friendly way, but deep within their heart, they probably don’t have ALL the qualities of a friend that a GoGo possesses. That is why I said before, in my list of friends, Raja, has remained at the number one position. And although he is gone, the position has never been replaced.

Warmest regards

Happiness is going to PD

Many years ago, I worked as a Head of Department in a 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur. My job was hectic like hell. Every day, I'd be at my office by 8am. Often I won't be home until past midnight. By the time I get home, everyone would already be in bed. Sometimes, when my mum had made some nutritious herbal soup, she'd leave a note on my bedroom door and tell me to warm the soup left in the fridge and drink it before going to bed.

But no matter what time I get home, there's always one member of the household who is always there, wide awake waiting for me. Yup, that would be Raja. By the time my car pulls up at the gate, he would be standing there quietly waiting to greet me in the darkness. Before getting into the house, I would play with him for a while. Sometimes, I'd quietly sneak him into my bedroom and let him sleep on the floor. Somehow I sleep better with Raja beside me.

Weekends to me is time to detox from my crazy career. Different people do different things to relax. Some would play weekend golf, some would go fishing or hunting, and yet there are others who'd do nothing but stay home and watch TV. My work involves managing or meeting people, lots of them. So, for me, my idea of relaxation is to get away from people. And Port Dickson offers the perfect getaway.

Port Dickson, or just "PD" to the locals, is a beach resort about 2 hours (back then there was no North-South highway, so driving time is much longer along the federal trunk roads) from KL. By 9am, I'll be all set to go. With Raja in the front passenger seat, we're off! By the time we reach Seremban town, it would be around 10am. I'd usually stop by the A&W hotdog joint to have breakfast. We'll both have a corny dog and root beer with ice-cream in the car. Normally I'd feed Raja first as I can't eat mine peacefully with a hungry canine fighting for his share. In any case, Raja would finish his breakfast in under one minute. Then I'll have mine, and he'll just sit there salivating.

Another hour later and we're there - beautiful PD. Back then PD don't have all those big holiday resort hotels crowding the beach area that we see today. But still, many parts of the beachfront are quite populated by weekend tourists; mostly Malaysians from other towns or cities. Some would be there who came in their own cars, while many were groups that came in hired buses presumably organized by their companies or schools to spend an overnight weekend by the sea. But there's a particular stretch of sandy beach way beyond all the regular pinic spots that's surprisingly very quiet. And that's where we'll disembark.

Raja needs no introduction to the sea and soon we'll both be frolicking in the water. Once in a while, we'll meet one or two small families who are there with kids. Somehow, they would be dog lovers too, and before long, all fears of a big German Shepherd dog are gone, and they, especially the kids, would be playing with Raja barking in happiness. Make no mistake, Raja is a fearsome looking and HUGE dog, and he can be REALLY intimidating if he detects an unfriendly stranger. His two longest teeth in front is about half the length of my thumb and unless you are made of steel, you'll have to go to the hospital if those two teeth happened to be clamped around your arm or backside! LOL!!!

Anyways, by 4pm, both Raja and I would be quite happy to leave. We'll both have a shower in one of those "pay-to-shower" facility before we hit the road for home. This weekend fun by the sea would remain for a long time until one day I found a job in another part of Malaysia.

Do you have similar happy memories that you would like to share with me?

Warmest regards

Woof! Woof!

My blog is dedicated to animal lovers. If you love animals, especially dogs, then you're welcome to come and share your stories with me. I'm particularly fond of dogs; any breed of dogs.

What do I know about dogs? Not a lot really. But I do know that dogs are "a man's best friend". As this is my debut post, I'll keep it short and simple. Later I'll write about some of the happy times that I shared with my "best friend".

My Best Friend
Many years ago I had a big-bone male German Shepherd. His birth certificate says his name is Cosmo. But I called him "Maharaja", or "Raja". My family called him "Raja Boy". Sadly, Raja died very young from heartworm disease. During the short four years of Raja's life, he had, except for money, given me everything a "best friend" could give to his buddy. If you look up the dictionary for the definition of a "friend", Raja would have no troube filling all the qualities. Until today, on my list of friends (including my human friends) that I've built over the years, Raja has remained at Number #1 position.

I know a lot of people go to YouTube to watch short clips of the beautiful dogs put up by their adoring owners. I do too. I can spend a long time just watching the clips of happy dogs playing with babies or kids. Once in a while I'll make a comment. But I still feel that our best friend deserves more than just some short clips. We need to honor them by reserving a space that is devoted entirely to them. Hence, this blog.

You will notice that the header says China GoGo. Well, for those who are not familiar with the Chinese language, "GoGo" actually means dog. The word "GoGo" is usually prefered by kids and girls. Men normally refer to their dog simply as "Go". Its like saying "doggie" and "dog".

Do you have a GoGo now, or had one before that you once shared your life with? Feel free to share your experience, or post a pic of your beautiful GoGo here.

Warmest regards.