Our mom and Chow Chow's mom (Aunty A) arranged for a playdate for Hershey and Chow Chow at the park last Sunday.

The humans tried to take a few nice photos of the 2 of them so that we can blog about it, but it was more difficult than anyone could imagine cos neither of them was interested!! Trying to get a decent photo of ONE dog is hard enough... trying to get a decent photo of TWO dogs is almost mission impossible!!

Looking Right...

Looking Left...

Looking Right (again)...

And finally one decent photo!!

After all modelling is hard work, so Chow Chow and Hershey took a much deserved rest... (Chow Chow's brand new little sister was at the park too!!)

Actually Chow Chow did better than just lie down to rest. He took a mud bath in a hole that some other doggie had kindly dug and left behind earlier. (See evidence of a muddy Chow Chow below)... His poor daddy had the unenviable task of bathing him when they get home!!

*** Aunty A, we are hoping for good weather from now till Sunday (so that 'THAT' hole stays dry) and hopefully Hershey and Chow Chow can have another play date this Sunday!!

One morning, Mom was jolted awake feeling breathless and felt like there was something pressing on her body and she couldn't breathe properly. The picture below explains the source of her discomfort...

Clearly, some doggie was searching for a soft and cushy place to lie on and she found the best one in the house! LOL...

We are overwhelmed by all the sweet, encouraging messages that we received for Aunty Jo and Max in our previous post... Yet again, we are overcome with gratitude by the outpour of love and compassion from all around the world. A number of the messages were left by kitty friends whom we have never 'met' before and we are so touchedQ THANK YOU to our friends, both old friends and new friends!! We will compile all your messages and bind it in a book for Aunty Jo as a keepsake of Max.

Thank you again, to all pups, kitties, hamsterriers, birdies and your humans too!

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I know that Christmas was some 3 weeks back, but good things still keep happening to us! We received a surprise parcel from Addie, Lucie and Hailey, with a lovely card from the girls. Our mom cannot get enough of Hailey's cute, tiny paw print! THANKS girls!!

Lucie's mom found out recently about Lucie's health issues. Unfortunately it seems like surgery isn't an option... We know that Lucie's mom must be so worried about Lucie because these 3 girls are all so dear to her. We really don't know what we can do except to cross our paws and hope for the best. Lucie is still very young and totally deserves to spend a long life with her family because that is where she truly belongs.

(Shane here) Don't know why, but all the things that have happened around me recently made me re-evaluate my love for Huskee and Hershey and how I have been treating them. Life is just so fragile and unpredictable... you can be here today and gone tomorrow. I think I have not been very fair to Huskee & Hershey ever since I lost Chloe in late June 09. Maybe it's because I have been too wrapped up in my own grief and too focused on my own pain, which is why I ended up neglecting them and not showing them as much love and attention as I used to. It's not a 'valid' excuse and I don't condone my actions. Don't get me wrong, I still love them as much as ever, perhaps even more, but I just have not shown it to them.

I feel very bad about it because it is not their fault and they are the innocent ones who have been patiently kissing away all my tears, trying to comfort me by cuddling close to me and not asking for a single thing in return. I think Hershey bore the brunt of the lack of attention and sometimes, even my foul mood because she livess with me whereas Huskee lives with my sister and parents, who dote on him and 'worship' him 120%. And to make matters worse, it is Hershey who has been spending the most time with me over the past 6 months, even more than my husband because she is at home with me all day... I guess I have taken her for granted.

Although Hershey is still very young, I hate to think that I have 'wasted' the last 6 months of her young life by not showering enough attention on her... Everytime I call her name, she'll happily prance to whichever room that I am in with typical puppy enthusiasm. So did I take her out as often as I should have? Did I give her enough belly rubs? Did I praise her often enough? I honestly don't think so.

As I am typing this on the bed, she cuddled closely next to me with her paw on my arm and head under my chin, waiting for me to look at her and into her lovely chocolate brown eyes that is oozing with so much love and devotion.

Give your pups/ kitties/ hammies/ birdies a hug and a kiss today, ok?

We found out this morning that mom's friend, Aunty Jo's doggie, Max, passed away last evening. Max was 13 years old and he hasn't been well for a while due to kidney failure. Aunty Jo had been doing everything she possibly can to try and make him well. Despite all that was being done, sadly Max's condition took a turn for the worse on Monday and he lost his battle last evening. He was brave throughout and fought hard battle, with his best friend alongside him every single step of the way.

Aunty Jo is devastated because she's lost her best friend of 13 years. Max doesn't have a blog, but if you can each take some time leave some words here for Aunty Jo, we will pass it on to her and we know for sure that she will appreciate it lots. Thanks guys!

Aunty Jo, we will never be able to replace Max's place in your heart, but if you ever want a dose of doggie kisses or if your fingers are itching to give a ear/ head rub, you know where to find us... Hershey, the Energizer Bunny, will always be ready for you!! She is still waiting to complete the scrawling the rest of her name on Aunty F's arm.

*** Tribute To A Best Friend ***

Bright sunlight streams through window pane
unto a spot on the floor....
then I remember,
it's where you used to lie,
but now you are no more.

Our feet walk down a hall of carpet,
and muted echoes sound....
then I remember,
it's where your paws would joyously bound.

A voice is heard along the road,
and up beyond the hill,
then I remember it can't be yours....
your golden voice is still.

But I'll take that vacant spot of floor
and empty muted hall
and lay them with the absent voice
and unused dish along the wall.
I'll wrap these treasured memorials
in a blanket of my love
and keep them for my best friend
until we meet above.

Author Unknown

Just before New Year, mom was shopping in one of the malls when she came across a shop selling infant/ kid's clothing called 'Baby Chloe'. It made her very very sad and leaky because she is missing Lucas and Chloe so much, and it is even more acute especially during special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas and New Year. Not a single day goes by without us thinking of our Angels.

We can only imagine how perfect it'd be if they are here with us.

We can only dream of how wonderful it'd be to hold them close and never let go.

We can only put a smile on our faces and pretend that our hearts are not broken and everything is okay.

We can only hope that somewhere in Heaven, our 2 little Angels know how much they are being loved, and are missing us as much as we miss them

We can only pray that one day, we will all be reunited and our family will finally be complete.

Now that the holidays are over, it seems like things are getting back to 'normal' i.e. chaotic. Mom's work email is begining to get swamped with emails and she is muttering more HBO words under her breath every time a new email comes in (I have a pretty rich HBO vocab now).

But the good thing is that it seems like she will be able to work from home indefinitely (**jumps for joy**) although she still needs to make some infrequent trips back to the office to collect her mail and for the occasional meeting or two. So this is pretty good news to us for the new year. Hopefully this is an indication of more good things to come.

With mom spending more time at home, it'd also mean that she'd have no excuse not to take us out for more walks and to make yummy food for us.

Just after Christmas and before the New Year, a package (below) arrived in the mail addressed to 'Huskee Boy's Mom'...

The package came all the way from Mexico, from a sweet dachshund who owns all the prettiest dresses... Miss Lorenza!!

In the package was a 'Fortune Lamb'. You can read all about the story of the Fortune Lamb from Lorenza's blog here. Lorenza and her mom are so kind to send our mom a Fortune Lamb (cos according to the tradition, you cannot buy the lamb yourself and someone has to give it to you as a gift). They hung this lamb on their Christmas tree to charge it up with positive energy before sending it out to us, and we have also abided by the rules of the tradition and have hung the lamb on our door since New Year's day. Hopefully, we will have an abundance of good luck and everything nice in 2010.

Muchas Gracias, dear Lorenza and mom!! We appreciate your kind thoughts behind this gift (and we promise that we will keep the lamb safe from Hershey.. When she first saw it, she thought it was a toy for her and she sat at the door eyeing the lamb for the longest time!!)

This is our very first entry for 2010!! We'd like to wish all our dear friends a Happy New Year ... May the year ahead bring you and your family lots of good health, love, and happiness. Hopefully this will be a better year for everyone; humans, pups, kitties and hamsters alike! As for us, we only have one wish - For our mom to get pregnant soon and for a healthy baby at the end of 40 weeks. It may seem like a simple wish, but it is really filled with trepidation and uncertainties. **crosses paws**

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Following the previous post on mom's 'Cinderella' heels, MANY of you kindly cautioned us about keeping them safe from Hershey's evil teefies. We are thankful for your reminders because this is what mom caught Hershey doing right after the initial photo was taken... (Note: No shoes were harmed in the process). The heels are now kept on the highest shelf, waaaaay out of the reach of those evil teefies.

And last but not least, here's a long overdue THANK YOU to our friends. Just before Christmas, we received a package in the mail from our good friends - Kaos, Sasha, Gunnar and their lovely mom! We weren't expecting anything from anyone at all, so it came as a big surprise when the postman knocked on our door (actually he rang the doorbell). The beautiful rose artwork on the bag was specially stitched for our mom by their mom... beneath the rose are their mom's initials 'HW' and the year. This is a gift that our mom will always treasure. Kaos's mom also sent a bag of Hershey's 'Hugs' chocolates with a note to our mom that each time she ate one of those chocolates, it represents a hug from them! Awwww.... that's really sweet beyond words. They also included treats for Hershey and I!! Thank you guys... you are so so thoughtful and we love you sooooo much!