Buttercup – The Little Dame...

Ok, so Eric didn’t blog today, which traditionally means, I have to.

Top in my mind right now, is Buttercup.

And how much poop comes out of that little thing!!!!

We’re still trying to house-train her… Again, my parents are absolute champions. Retired, they’re at home all day and will take her outdoors every couple of hours… so here’s hoping to zero-rizing “accidents” in the house *keeping our fingers crossed*

I’ve noticed that our little dame doesn’t really like the garden very much. Even when we’re coaxing and cajoling her. She will resolutely stand her ground, her short stumpy legs cemented to the porch, she will look up (and I mean up) (I’m about 5’ 9” and she’s all of 10” tall) and grooooooooooooowl!!!!

I don’t understand why, it may be that she’s not been to many gardens, or it may be that she simply doesn’t like grass… but then again, Patchee used to sleep on my car, and I never understood why either… so *shrugs*

She’s all grown up so thankfully, ripped newspapers and bitten shoes etc are all child’s play to her….. *Which is SUCH A RELIEF!*

She’s a dignified little matron this one….so she will come play with you WHEN SHE FEELS LIKE IT. She’ll “let” you pamper her a bit, nuzzle a bit, and she will layan you a bit, and once she’s decided that you’re settled where you are (reading the papers, watching tv, lounging around) she’ll walk away, about 3 feet away, flop down and let out a HUGE sigh…. Then she’ll let her eyes droop a little. (And boy are those eyes big!). Mid-droop, if you so much as move a muscle, those eyes BULGE out and POP back to attention! She’ll perk her little head up and watch you, 100% alert again. When she’s satisfied that you aren’t going nowhere, she’ll lay down her head, and the drooping process begins all over again.

But she never sleeps…

She gets excited and overjoyed when you come home, come down stairs, wake up, walk by her, HAVE FOOD IN YOUR HANDS, or simply call out to her… But come to think of it, I’ve never seen her asleep.

She’s an old gal, her muzzle’s speckled with white, and yet she doesn’t sleep.

And I kinda figured out why…

I think she’s afraid that if she DOES go to sleep, she’ll wake up and no one will be there anymore….

The poor thing….. If only I could take away the anxiety she’s feeling!!!

I’m pampering her all I can for now, just to assure her that she won’t ever be abandoned again.

Hey there Buttercup!

She’s HERE!!!!

It was a Saturday. We expected her arrival in the late morning. But my dad and I both woke up early, and in anticipation of her arrival, went out for an early brekkie and went dog basket hunting.

Pugs are a toy breed. The largest toy breed. So we needed a big ass basket. Found one, that could probably house a cat. So we hunted some more.

In the end, we settled for a stop gap measure, and bought a big bright yellow bread tray. Stuffed it with old t-shirts and glazed it with a soft comfie old purple blankie….

At 10.46am, the dog rescuer called to say that they were on their way.

5 mins later, they alighted the car, Buttercup in tow.

My heart leapt a bit, soared a bit, fluttered a bit and cried a bit!

She was a compact bundle of contradiction!

She’s stocky but soft,
She’s fugly but gorgeous,
She’s sweet but determined,
She’s old but so child-like,
She’s lovely but tough,
She’s naughty but disciplined
And most importantly, she’s here! She’s here! She’s HERE!

She shadows each of us in turn. Everywhere we go around the house, we hear the clickety-clack of her nails on the floor. This will go on for all of 3 minutes, after which, Buttercup gets tired, and belly-flops onto the floor.

She snores… hehehe…. And has an underbite that fixes that mug of hers into a perpetual “Hey you!!!! Wanna fight????!?!”

But she’s so sweet. Her eyes are child like and when she starts wagging that tail, it seems like she’s about to shake her butt off!!!!

She’s a nuzzler. She’ll come up to you, and wait patiently by your side, all the while looking at you with those big big eyes of hers till your resolve melts away and you start lavishing her with pets, kisses and massages. Once she accepts you, she’ll hunker down, STUFF her head into your thigh, arm, leg, face (whichever part of your body she can actually reach) and nuzzle her face there….all the while snorting (kinda like a cat’s purr) her happiness.

And her bed, we made one for her at first in a big yellow plastic bread tray, which was replaced by a very respectable ikea dog basket. Did she take to it? Yes. For all of 2 minutes, cause she decided that the 3 seater sofa next to her bed looked better on her.

So she’s made the 3 seater sofa hers.

Which is fine, cause the once rarely used yellow sofa is now a hub of activity. I find myself doing all my reading there, book in one hand, and the other mindlessly petting that little rumbling engine of a pug. My dad and mom have their coffee there and seem to hang out on the yellow sofa a lot more now too!

She’s a little magnet for affection my little Buttercup, and what makes you really, really wanna lavish love and affection on her is that she doesn’t demand it, she just … well…..is.

And ladies and gentlemen, this is Buttercup!

To read Buttercup’s (previously called Pinky) story, click on this link = http://malaysiandogsdeservebetter.blogspot.com/2009/04/pinkys-story.html




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Search for Buttercup.... the wait.

I want a pug. I’ve always wanted a pug. And I want to name my pug Buttercup.

I’ve been saying this, very annoyingly, like a broken record for MONTHS, if not years now. But have I done anything about it? Nooooooooot reaaaaaaaaally…

Until recently. I decided that I really, truly want a pug.

I scoured the net, I called a few breeders. Prices varied from RM800 – RM1600 per puppy.

*Gulp*

But hey, I’ve always wanted a pug! But then I thought, heck, if I’m gonna pay good hard earned money, I want a BLACK pug!

And they are rare.

All the breeders said “Sorry miss, they are very rare in Malaysia”. So I did what I do best.

I procrastinated. Days turned into weeks, and still no pug.

Until 3 days ago.

Mucking through petfinders.com I saw a pug for adoption. She was recently rescued from the Selayang pound and had just undergone surgery to remove stone crystal build up in her bladder. She was 4 years old, had been abandoned, cut open and sewn up again and from the 2 kinda murky photos posted up, she was heart wrenchingly ADORABLE!!!!.

I checked the comments, someone had requested to adopt her before me.

My heart sank but I put in my request anyways. You never know right?

Then I call her fosterer, only to be told that another lady had called much earlier and was viewing the pug on Friday, sorry, we have other dogs for adoption if you’re interested.

“No, thank you” I reply.

And head hung low, I go about my day.

2 hours later, another fosterer calls me. Turns out the pug’s treatment, surgery and care was given in a veterinarian’s clinic in Klang, a stone’s throw from where I live! So solely because I lived in Klang, my request trumped Ms Sunway's who called earlier. It made more sense to let me adopt the pug (who needed constant care because of her surgery) since I’m closer to the vet, and the fosterer (who lived 5 mins away from me) could help with her care.

WHOOOOOOOPIEEEEE!!!!!! The pug’s MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“She’s old.
She’s been abandoned.
She’s had surgery.
She needs constant care.
She’s ONLY to be kept indoors.

She needs expensive prescription dog food.
She needs regular eye drops.
She needs constant companionship.
She needs loving.”

But I wasn’t listening anymore. She’s MINE! Nevermind that she’s not a black pug! That adorable little face on that compact little body is MINE! MINE! MINE! To love, to pamper, to spoil! I can’t wait!

But wait I must.

She’s only coming to Klang from Bkt Jalil tomorrow (Saturday).

Till then, I’m a bag of jumping beans… I’m excited beyond words.

My parents have been absolute champions about this. My dad’s going to spoil her rotten, that I can guarantee, and my mom’s bustling about the house, creating a cosy little corner for the little one.

We’re waiting for you Buttercup!

Little Hubert...

We almost missed him J and I,
For he’s so small, he escaped our eye
We had turned our backs and almost exited
Yet, tucked away in a jar he waited

J said “Hey wouldn’t it be nice?
To have him for pizzazz and spice”;
At once a twinkle in my eye did gleam
“He’d fit right in my car!” I screamed!

I coaxed a little and in minutes three;
He bought me Hubert, I beamed with glee,
My little seahorse, shall play the field
In his new home, on my windshield



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Bluff-bluff…

I called Ming the other day, to get her opinion on something…

Me :
“Ok…. Hypothetically right…. If I….”

Ming :
“WAIT!!!!!!!! I just spent the past 2 hours baby- talking to my sons. Please…. Nothing more than 5 letters when you speak to me now… my brain hasn’t re-adjusted…”

Me :
“Hmmm…..”

*ponders*

“Ok… bluff-bluff right…. If I decided to…”

I didn’t really get to ask her for her opinion that day. Cause she burst out into hysterical laughter!!!!

What?

What’s wrong with “bluff-bluff”?

Didn’t we ALL use it when we were kids playing games of pretence?

Kid # 1:
“Bluff-bluff we are Eskimos living in the North pole. So it’s bluff-bluff very cold. This blanket is our bluff-bluff igloo. Now you must bluff-bluff go hunt for polar bears.”

Kid # 2 :
“Then you must bluff-bluff start a fire. (Reaches for an orange t-shirt). Ok. Bluff-bluff this t-shirt is the fire.”

Said kids will then pretend to shiver like it’s 300° below and crouch around the “fire”.


You get the drift?

Ming didn’t. Cause apparently, around HER neck of the woods, kids didn’t say “bluff-bluff”, they used “Say-say”…. So:-

Kid # 1:
“Say-say we are Eskimos living in the North pole. So it’s say-say very cold. Say-Say this blanket is our igloo. Now you must go hunt for say-say polar bears.”

Kid # 2 :
“Then you must say-say start a fire. (Reaches for an orange t-shirt). Ok. Say-say this t-shirt is the fire.”

Said kids will then pretend to shiver like it’s 300° below and crouch around the “fire”.


Hmmm….. I thought…. INTERESTING….

So we decided to analyze it.

We deduced :-

1. When saying “say-say”, the kids were really mimicking “Let’s say” which is commonly used by adults to hypothesize. Kids being kids, had listened to the adults and had simplified “let’s say” to the babytalk version of it. Hence “say-say”.

We both agreed this was very clever indeed for 3.30pm on a weekday afternoon and gave ourselves a pat on the back.

Then, we tested her “Say-say is really ‘Let’s say’” theory on my “bluff-bluff”.

We deduced :-

2. Didn’t work. Cause try as we might, we couldn’t imagine what “bluff-bluff” was mimicking. We tried to crack our heads to think of a phrase, commonly used to hypothesize, that “bluff-bluff” could have come from?

We tried and tried, and came up with nothing.


Then Ming, in a flash of brilliance shouted “EUREKA!”

Before I could let her know that “Eureka” doesn’t sound anything like “bluff-bluff” she said :-

“It’s HOKKIEN!!!!”

Me :
“Huh? Isn’t "bluff-bluff" English?

Ming :-
“NO! It’s direct translation from HOKKIEN!!!! Think about it!”

So I thunk about it…

AND BURST OUT LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, “bluff-bluff” is direct translation of “kay-kay” which is Hokkien speak for… well…. “bluff-bluff”.

*Sigh*

Only in Klang….. Only in Klang.

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