Are you a Primitive Dog fan?: February 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

We're all good climbers in our family

Kimaya's brother Rishi hikes regularly with mom Yvonne on Table Mountain in Cape Town!

Sometimes Sipho goes too.

Rishi on the hike

After the hike...

Sipho

Photos: Yvonne de Kock

Cape Town

South Africa

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Kiba and Kimaya go rock-climbing

Kiran, the other human in our family, goes rock-climbing every sunday with friends. Bouldering, to use the technical term.

The climbers go to some very pretty places around Mumbai. We still have some pretty places.

Kiran has been wanting to take the dogs for a long time. One of the climbers took his dog along last year, and Kiran has been wanting to take Kiba and Kimpy ever since.

So finally we all went on a trip yesterday: Kiran to climb and the rest of us as spectators.

The other climbers were very nice people, and one of them was a dog lover!

Kimaya turned out to be a natural rock-climber (in her own way), jumping from boulder to boulder like a mountain goat! Kiba on the other hand seems more a coastal kind of dog, not much enthused by climbing though he enjoyed exploring the new terrain and marking as much territory as he could. HOW do dogs generate so much pee?

Here are some snapshots!

Going up the hill

There's a dog lover here! Yayyy!

Kimpy started climbing first! Not bouldering obviously, but climbing doggy style.
My arm was not supposed to be in the pic. She was leaping up the rocks and I had to make her 'stay'
with a hand signal so we could click a photo.

Watching the climbers prepare

Kiba soon lost interest in the humans

I tied their leashes to this strong creeper, but they tried pulling down the creeper, tree and all

This local female followed us up the hill...

...and settled down on a rock at a safe distance, to watch us

Kimaya made squeaky noises. I think she wanted to make friends.

Kimpy tried to drag me all over the hillside. I'm sure if I'd let her off-leash she would have gone off and not been able to find her way back.

What fun I'd have if I weren't stuck with this stupid biped mother...

We'll probably be doing this again so look out for more rock-climbing photos instead of just beach bum ones!

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Twitches

Twitches isn't just a pretty face (and pretty everything else). She's also a survivor. Read how she fought for life and won - with lots of help from owner Vishakha and Kartik.

Vishakha's story:

I got Twitches when she was a few days old. She was still blind and deaf. She was found by the roadside by somebody who already had nine dogs and 16 cats and couldn't care for such a small puppy. So I volunteered to take her for seven days.

I had to feed her every two hours and burp her and make her poop and pee. By the end of the whole process it seemed like I had to start all over again.

I live alone so I was constantly on dog duty. Every morning my boyfriend would come and relieve me for a few hours. It was EXHAUSTING.

Then she got aspiration pneumonia because of an unformed palate.

I saw her gasping for breath at 2 a.m. So I called my vet, who said with such a small puppy you should be prepared for the worst. I asked him if there was anything I could do other than hold her upside-down and shake the liquid out of her lungs. He said go get her oxygen at the animal hospital.

So at 2 a.m. I took a cab to the hospital, bawling and crying all the way. It was during the Ganpati festival so we were held up in traffic. But when we finally got there the doctor on duty said there was nothing wrong with her, she was just hungry, and sent me home.

Next day we took her to the vet, did x-rays and tests and found she had aspiration pneumonia. She couldn't breathe. So we started her off on antibiotics and other medication. It was a 10 day course and soon she was better. I had almost lost her that night. I never slept till she got better because I was scared she would die of breathlessness. The worst sight ever is to see a little helpless puppy gasp and cry for breath.

My boyfriend and I watched her constantly for the next few months.

Learning to stand and walk

She has a slight squint

Growing bigger

Now she's 4.5 months and 10 kilos. I miss her being 200 grams and the size of my palm.

She has adorably weird ears

She thinks I'm going to brush her teeth here. She LOVES
brushing teeth.

She likes to drive

At 4.5 months and 10 kilos

With friends Tommy and Chinky

With Kartik and friends Tommy and Chinky. Tommy and Chinky are Dr Manik Godbole's family!

With Chinky and Tommy

It was totally worthwhile taking her in. She's absolutely adorable and beautiful and pretty obedient for a four-month old.

I plan to go to the US soon and will take her with me.

Photos and story: Vishakha
Mumbai

Read about Chinky and Tommy here.

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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Chica, Mexi-dog

Remember Mexican dogs Talla and Cricket? Here's another pretty girl from that part of the world. Meet Chica, a rescued pup from Cancun. She now lives with Shawn Forcier's family in Canada.

It has taken some time for this tropical pup to adjust to the cold Canadian winter.

Chica means 'beautiful baby girl' in Spanish.

"Chica is highly intelligent, very aware and attentive, very affectionate, as well as agile and fast on her feet with her long slender legs," writes Shawn. Sounds very like many Indies I know, specially the intelligent and aware part - common to pariah-type dogs everywhere!

Photos: Shawn Forcier
Canada

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Travels in Thailand with LittleDog

Remember I mentioned LittleDog's shift from Kolkata to Thailand? He's loving it!

Some beautiful photos by Dominique - they're always beautiful.

The first pictures are of a national park the Brands stayed at. LittleDog made a new friend, one of the owner's dogs.

Photos: Dominique Brand
Thailand

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Batuk and Xela

This is the best portrait I've ever seen. The best.

Batuk and Xela live in Canada with Kristina Rapson. That's Batuk on the right and Xela on the left.

Batuk is an INDog-mix, rescued by Kristina as a pup from the streets of McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh. He loves his home in Canada. Kristina manages a dog boutique and cafe, so he also gets to go to work with her. He will be turning a year old on February 19.

On the left is Xela, Kristina's second dog, adopted from the street in Guatemala.

And this is a puppy portrait of Batuk.

Photos: Kristina Rapson

Canada

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Ponky

Lovely INDog Ponky belongs to Amitabh Banerji. Here is her story, from Amitabh's brother Ashish:

Ponky was picked up as a very small pup by my wife and brother from Gorai beach, in May 2010.

All the Indies at Gorai beach seem to thrive on the abundance of dead fish which is washed ashore during tides. I suppose as Ponky's mother was a fish eater, Ponky too has developed a strong and obsessive appetite for fish (whenever cooked in the house). Though the local vet has suggested that fish or its remnants not be fed to her at all as it may make her ill. We buy fresh chicken and make her a stew with that and green vegetables. Apart from that, kibble/biscuits/tit-bits from us when we eat...

Biting the cell phone to get my brother's attention

As usual, she has been somewhat spoiled with an overdose of love and affection and she believes herself to be half human! She sleeps on the bed with my family members and is overprotective of us all. She hasn't bitten anyone but is certainly very aggressive towards strangers, even the house helps.