I have grown up with dogs in our house or out in the yard. My mother is a dog lover and at one point, I remember the most we have had totalled 14. From toy poodles to great Danes, we had them. The big ones stayed out in the yard and the small ones inside. One thing I have come to know is that if the dogs are in the house with you, they are the most loving and the most loyal ones. Kjartan too had his own dogs in Norway. He used to go cross-country skiing through several mountains (I was told) with them.

In Vancouver, I had my office on the mainland and I traveled out to Vancouver Island to visit Kjartan and the operations very often. The travel took me a total of 7 hours by car, ferry and finally, the boat to take me out to the fish farm. To help with the boredom, I got myself a little lap dog - a Llasa Apso named Kenta. He was always with me, even in the office. As for Kjartan, he had Wiskun tied to the fish farm and he used it as his home and office. A fish farm consist of several floating cages out in the ocean and a floating house used as accommodation, office and feed shed. The whole system is self-contained. The length of the system could easily equal the length of a residential block. Anyway, this was a good place for Kenta to run around, chase a few birds and I don't have to worry about him getting lost. Feeling sorry for Kjartan being alone during those long winter nights, I got him his own dog - a female Lhasa Apso named Tiko. So now, Tiko and Kenta have each other to play with. Well, they did play a lot because Tiko got pregnant. After 60 days, she gave birth by caesarian to 4 puppies which she raised beautifully inside Wiskun. None of the employees were allowed to go inside Wiskun to take a look at the puppies even though I can see they were very eager to. Kjartan said NO because it will stress out Tiko. Long story short, for 3 months, we had 6 dogs inside Wiskun and we took them sailing with us. It was lots of work loading them all into our dinghy, row them to shore, walk them, tire them and then row back to Wiskun. But it was a lot of fun. After 3 months, it was time to make the decision - we cannot have them all with us. So, saying goodbye to mama Tiko, the puppies came back to the mainland with me and I transferred one by one to good homes.

Tiko and Kenta sailed with us all the way to New Zealand. We cannot bear to leave them behind. Flying them straight to Norway was out of the question because Norway requires 6 months of quarantine. When we heard that New Zealand (a rabies free country) changed the quarantine period down to only 1 month, we went for this route. Quarantine them there and then fly them home to Grandma and Grandpa. Norway will now take them without quarantining them. It was very expensive because New Zealand has lots of rules with incoming animals. We had to do blood tests and veterinary checks in French Polynesia. When we arrived New Zealand, the same tests were done again. They were quarantined in Auckland. So we tied Wiskun in a marina in downtown Auckland. From there, we can easily take the train out to the quarantine facility to visit them. It looked like prison and probably feels like doggie prison too, complete with automated gates and electric fence surrounding the area. After one month, they were free! You should have seen the joys in their faces when they were released back to me. Now they are both in Norway with Kjartan's parents. They too are getting old as both of them are now past 13 years old. Tiko is almost blind and Kenta has arthritis. I sure miss them a lot.

After one year here in Samal, right beside the beach, I long for another furry companion - this time a yellow retriever who will love to go swimming. I asked my cousin Ruben to look for one and on the day before Chinese New Year, he called and said there is a breeder with several pups ready to go at 3 months old, with papers. Off we went. I armed myself with 2 experts on choosing the best - Ruben and his friend Randy who owns a pet shop. When we arrived, all the puppies were out on the yard, in their cages waiting for us - all 7 of them and all females. Just what I wanted. It was so difficult to choose - they all looked so cute and lovable, looked the same too, except for the size. The only way we can differentiate them was the color of their collars. My father taught me that we have to look at the number of whiskers on both sides close to the ears, and also the one below the lower jaw. It must have only 2 each. 3 means they are not good dogs, can't learn very well and loves to eat. Having only 1 means it is too fierce and will bite even the master. So we were all busy checking the whiskers while the breeder looks on with a confused look on his face. Finally we chose 2 - one for my mother and one for me. I chose the smallest one, because I have this thing for runts in the litter - they are the survivors. Both Kenta and Tiko were runts in their litter. Ruben said Feng Shui has indicated that that day was a very very good day to buy dogs. 

It has now been 4 days since. Every morning, at 6 am, I take Sheeba out for a swim. At first she was hesitant and scared of the lapping waves. But her retrieving instinct is so strong and it took over. She now dives into the water to go fetch the plastic bottle I throw out for her.  The first 2 days, I went out with my pajamas and end up getting into the water to show Sheeba how to swim. I really didn't need to, she is just a natural swimmer. I got smart yesterday and wore my swim wear. Now I go in swimming with her.

By 8 am, we are both showered and ready to go to town. I go to the office and Sheeba goes to visit her sister at my mother's house. In time when she is not so curious and playful, she will stay with me in the office. Now, she has taken possession of the house and is starting to bark at strange noises inside, even the house help when she touches the things inside. It is her guarding instinct and her barks are not annoying, just short bursts of woofs. At nights, she lays down beside my bed and makes noises when she needs to go out to do her thing. Being a puppy, that is like every 4 hours.

Addendum: Kjartan is back and we are happy and together again. One sad news that he tried to avoid telling me but had to because I kept on asking how Kenta and Tiko are - Kenta is now in doggie heaven. He is buried in the family yard, pain-free and sleeping peacefully. Goodbye, Kenta. You had been a very good and loyal friend to us.