Just got news that Thunder has left for the Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little boy. My condolences to his loving family. They did a wonderful job providing him with only the best. The good ones die young they say…
Thunder turned 7 years old 8 days ago. You are sorely missed…
Filed under Rainbow Bridge
Since the longest time, there is a yearly and much ado hype around this Pet Expo that takes place in one of Malaysia’s largest shopping malls. It boast to be “the” place for all pet lovers and it is the largest gathering of anything related to pets – product suppliers and breeders from all over Malaysia. My last visit was 3 years ago and it was about time I revisit this “big” event now that my children have taken a keen interest in animals.
The only good thing that I can take away from this event is the vast variety of good animal products from a wide range of raw, holistic to organic offerings. Conventional kibbles are still selling like hot cakes. Whatever product a supplier is carrying, there is a subtle message that says, “mine is the best”. I can only sympathize misinformed pet owners that may be sucked into the whirlwind of “which is the best” tornado.
Yes, the wide range of good animal products is the only observation I appreciated during the entire visit. The huge amount of dislike will be discussed throughout the rest of this blog entry.
Three years on, looks like nothing have change as far is animal welfare is concerned. I had the “privilege” to see under aged puppies, cats, hamsters, sugar gliders, rabbits, guinea pigs, raccoons, prairie dogs and everything in between. There is this little booth that was bursting with large number of small animals caged up and another with puppies caged up – all up for sale. Whatever that can have a value on its head, is up for sale.
The most heart wrenching and appalling thing for me was that a few steps away from all these booths, you will find the likes of SPCA, PAWS and MDDB booths. Welfare organization looks like a very lucrative business to me in because all I see is a few sad looking puppies/dogs and a huge donation box filled with cold hard CASH!
How do I look at it?
If you have ever played the game called “CATCHING” or “POLICE AND THIEVES” back in school days, that’s exactly how I see the entire situation. HYPOCRISY at its best. My mind literally formed an image of the pet sellers going, “Nay, Nay, Nay, Nay, Nay – You cannot catch me” in the face of all these welfare societies and associations. It is utterly shameful.
The amount of effort to form and run such welfare societies should really be used to form task forces that targets and solve the “root” cause rather than being at the end of the “life cycle” of the problem. Animal welfare societies that concentrate too much of their effort in rescue is really breeding and encouraging pet sellers to sell more. Why should they worry because you will always be there to clean up the mess and after sales. What we need is a society that goes around shutting down bad/deplorable breeding facilities, put animal abusers behind bars and much more!
I guess all these are but for the idealistic minds because looking at how the nation is plagued with human welfare issues, we should not expect anything less or more when it comes to animals. But do not be surprised how the priority has changed for pet owners. We have humans living in deplorable condition but a lucky pooch eats holistic organic dog food which I myself cannot afford.
We rather splurge on a creature that loves us unconditionally but failed to love a fellow human unconditionally. That is just how ludicrous the situation is.
So now that I have written on my views, what action am I taking or what I am going to do about it? As for this nay sayer, I will never ever buy a ticket for such an expo and definitely will not ever buy a pet from such an expo/establishment that sells under age animals. It is of course easy for me to type my grievances behind the keyboard but, I (and all of us for the matter) is far more powerful than we think. We are the consumers that have the full power to make a change. After what I have seen today, I am reclaiming back that power. The power to stop buying.
When the buying really stops, then the killings can (truly be stopped) too….
Filed under Ramblings
Here I was in the waiting room at the car service centre and cannot help but to notice a lady with what appeares to me as a Sugar Glider bonding pouch. Firstly, I arrived at that conclusion based on experience and I guess it is only natural for one to notice certain things that he/she is intuned to. Growing up having all sorts of pets have indeed implanted or at least made me very aware the presence of cute furry animals.
My thoughts immediately turned into wonderment as to why we are fascinated with clingy pets. To tame sugar gliders, one need to bond with them and the one most important way is through scent. I have reasons to believe that people with strong body odour will have a lot of ease bonding with their pet sugar glider. Those who smell good have nothing to worry about as somehow your sugar glider will recognize you by scent anyhow. So yeah, you need a bonding pouch to keep this little marsupial comfortable and close to you at all times.
So why are we so drawn to keeping clingy animals as pets. I believe humans have the nature to nurture. We want to take care of another living creature and the more it acts like a little baby human, the more we are drawn to it. I am sure if given the choice, most of us will have no qualms raising baby chimpanzees and gorillas. Again, the human like behaviour is what draws us to another species.
No one notices that the lady have sugar gliders in that pouch because they were so comfortable being hung around her bosoms and it is also sleeping time. I guess the sense of achievement by successfully raising another living creature also plays a part to keep us interested in raising pets.
Filed under Random Topics
Just fell in love with these and had to bring them home to add on to my ever growing collection of bunnies!
Like, no?
Filed under Rabbit Artwork
Though I never thought I had to write any disclaimer as the opening of my post but I had to because of how “sensitive” whatever I write on my own space had become. In fact, expressing my thoughts on my own blog is something I really enjoy and I hope my readers do too. So before you read on, please know that this post entry is written for all the like minded people who take life and the rabbit hobby a little less seriously. It is not for weak hearts or one with extra sensitive emotional sensory.
If you have done any science experiment, you should know that there are a few sections on an experiment journal namely – objective/introduction, materials & methods, hypothesis (what you think will happen), result and a conclusion. Raising and breeding rabbits for the last seven year is nothing short of a long term experiment. There has been so many lessons and I continue to learn.
If I would to write a science journal in its simplest form, it will look a little similar to the following:
1. Objective/Introduction
To produce a rabbit according to the “Standard of Perfection”.
2. Materials & Methods
Materials:
a) Constant supply of Rabbit Feed
b) Vegetables & Fruits
c) Hay
d) Water
e) Two (2) rabbits – a buck & a doe
Methods:
Feed, Water, Breed and Repeat
3. Hypothesis
A herd of rabbits that look exactly the same and in essence resembles the physical traits as describe in writing, the Standard of Perfection.
4. Results
a) None of the rabbit look like the other
b) When two rabbits look almost similar, they behave differently
c) Some are born dead, some peanuts, some runts and some normal
d) Some live longer while some shorter lives
e) Some “perfect” while some have impairments
f) Various colours
and the list goes on…
5. Conclusion
The Standard of Perfection is nothing but perfect.
And what follows in this blog entry can be taken as my explanation of the Conclusion.
To truly understand this blog post, one should read on the topic of Eugenics and Biodiversity. In short Eugenics is a belief and practice that supposedly will improve the genetic composition of a particular species. It has been practised on humans and more largely on other species. I believe Eugenics gave birth to words like “Selective Breeding” and “Cloning”. Dolly the sheep was the outcome of cloning which I believe was the fruit of the experiment to produce an exact carbon copy of a sheep. The hope for cloning is to produce a living being that is “perfect” and can be free from all diseases. The entire practice of Eugenics is to produce something so strong and perfect that will make the world “perfect”. But take a look at what the world is still what it is today. We still have AIDS, cancer and all the viruses mutating into different strains – H1N1 is one of them.
Esther Inglis-Arkell has written something that made perfect sense in her article Why Eugenics Will Always Fail.
The fact is more than obvious. This world is made for diversity and no two living beings are the same. I have grown up being in the midst of identical twins throughout my life and to be honest, even though they are identical twins, I can easily recognize each one. They are just different!
It is a “no brainer” that a living being is made up of so many different categories of traits – physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, social, intellectual and environmental. Some of these are relevant to animals while others are not but it still boils down to diversity.
And while nature is teeming and bursting with diversity, the question is whether or not we are closing the doors and limiting nature by slapping it with the “Standard of Perfection”?
Are we kidding ourselves with an idea or ideal?
Or are we shaping our minds to accept the unrealistic expectations?
Or we are simply following blindly without reasoning our actions?
Or it all boils down to wanting to belong, to fulfil our longing for affirmation and seeking to fit in the crowd?
Keep asking questions and seeking answers because that is how we learn and grow in life…
In all seriousness though, I hope someone can help teach me to recognize the “rat” gene in certain people so that I will be able to identify those with the more desirable and lovable “hamster” gene. 😛
Filed under Thoughts
There is a universal etiquette or code of conduct practised by rabbit enthusiasts. It is the courtesy to give the rightful breeder the right of first refusal. Let’s say that breeder A buys a rabbit from breeder B, breeder A will ask breeder B if he or she is interested to have the rabbit back should breeder A no longer wants to keep it. Many breeders including myself appreciate such a gesture as it is a sign of respect for a fellow breeder. Should breeder B declines the offer, then it is up to breeder A to decide his next course of action.
I was recently given the right of first refusal and I was over the moon not only because it was the first in my 7 years in the hobby that this has happened but also the rabbits were returned to me in very good condition. It felt like “finally, there is hope for humanity!”. I am just so delighted and it truly inspires me knowing that people do appreciate good values.
One of the rabbits returned to me was Houdini. I can never forget this little girl and the reason for her name is self explanatory. She is the little bunny that will perform disappearing acts and I had to spend my mornings looking for her when she was 14 days young. She has grown quite a bit now and I do not have to worry if she will escape from her cage anymore.
Filed under Bunny Business
I have to admit that in many occasions, I have been tempted to give up on a lot of things in my life just to accommodate the busy schedule. I believe it is a natural reaction to simplify life or to “de-clutter” when we lose clarity in life. Giving up something that you are passionate about can be very difficult. Passion is what feeds the soul and to give up only means that there will be a dent on your soul.
We can sure be overwhelmed by other commitments and priorities but just like any other feelings, what you are feeling it is temporary and will go away after some time.
As a dear friend puts it, “never make rash decisions that you will regret later and that will ultimately hurt your soul”.
So, whenever you are feeling bogged down and need some revitalizing, take a step back, relax and breath in all the cuteness your pet have to offer…
Filed under Everyday Life, Random Topics, Thoughts
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 