BooBoo, Ginga, and the World of Dogs

BooBoo

2014-08-11T16:38:00.000+00:00

My dearest Booboo,
You left one month, 11 days and four hours ago.
I've been wanting to write something since, but have been unable to.

You, as a border collie, were of average height, average weight
having all the typical traits, with all the typical problems
and you lived 12 years, of an average lifespan

To me, though, you were anything but average.
Every night for solid 10 years, you slept right next to me
I shared all my thoughts with you, and you always tolerated it
For the last two years, we lived apart, and I missed having you in my daily life
How you barked, how you ran, how you jumped
How you put your head on my knees under the table when we ate
How you hid under the couch after you did trash so we could only see your tail
How you always took the front seat in my echo and made nose marks all over the windshield
How you would do all the tricks you know before we asked you to when you wanted the treat
How you understood every word we said but only do the ones you were pleased
How you would push me a little when I gave you my suffocating hugs
How you always managed to find stinky things to roll over during our walks
How you loved the snow and ate it like ice cream
How your fur would puff up after we shower you, and how you looked after your each summer shave
How you loved chasing and being chased
How you moved your back legs as if you were dancing when you got a back massage
How you would take a bow when you wanted to play
How you would hide your legs under you when we played with your paws
How you came running to me with your favorite toy in your mouth
How you followed me around the house...

My dear booboo
I hope you felt loved
I hope you had some great time with us
I promised you that I would come back to take care of you
I hoped that I kept my promise
We had to let you go
My dear, did you know?
Where would I go now, where would I put my face?
I can no longer find that soft spot behind your ears
For the last time, on your last day, you let me lay my face there, just like you always did
You sighed, just like you always do
Only this time, I know.

I'm so sorry, my baby.
I love you. I love you.
I love you.
Bye bye, my Booboo.

==========================

12 things you may not know about Boo:

1. He was a surprise birthday gift to me. Only he didn't stay in his box and crawled out and really surprised me. Hence his name "Boo".
2. His full name was BooBoo Nutella Rakotomalala. Nutella for his hazelnut-colored eyes. He only gets his full name called when he is really in trouble.
3. He has had epilepsy since he was two. He had, on average, about one episode per month for 10 years.
4. He had an ear infection and a neck injury when he was little, which is why he wears a harness instead of a collar. He also had a knee surgery to fix his patellar luxation when he was about three. He was always energetic and hyper active despite all these health issues.
5. He ate all our Lindt chocolate Santa under the huge christmas tree one year. He only got some soft deposit after that, no other effects. His foodie adventures also include chinese roasted ducks, foie gras, and kung-pao tofu.
6. He loves bread. His weakness is pizza crust.
7. He had a major vocal fight with a squirrel (on a tree) once. It lasted 30 minutes. I wished, to this day, that I had my phone with me that morning.
8. His birthday is supposed to be Christmas. But he got bitten in the park on his first birthday, so we changed it to Halloween. It suits him better anyways.
9. I once came home and found out that he had got the trash bin out of the cabinet, digged trash, put the bin back, and closed the cabinet door. I only realized that because there was an empty bag left outside.
10. The first time he went to the beach, he charged at the waves. He drank so much sea water he couldn't hold his pee. The next day he didn't drink it anymore.
11. I once left home with the TV on MSNBC, and came back to find him on the couch with the remote under his paw and the tv on Fox. I'm sure it was a prank.
12. He is secretly a mommy's boy. I enjoyed it. I even enjoyed the part that it was a secret. Because then it would be just for us.

Bye Bye, Boo-Boo

2014-07-13T04:46:00.000+00:00

A warm, sunny day. A nice walk, a lovely meal on a blue patterned sheet, surrounded by his closest family, that is how my best friend died.

For 12 years, slightly more than a decade, BooBoo walked with me, sometimes twice, sometimes thrice a day. We met fellow dog lovers, won over a few non-dog lovers, and played a lot. I dedicated songs to him, wrote stories about him, and sang his praises to anyone who would stay and listen long enough.

He had a wonderful personality. He knew his toys by name, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and how to best communicate it. He lived his life on his own terms. He ate when he wanted, played when he wanted, and stayed alone when he wanted. You had to learn the tricks to make him want to do something that you thought was best for him. For example, sometimes a “Come, Boo-Boo,” would not make him want to walk with me. However, “Bye Bye, Boo-Boo” would make him rush. He didn’t want to be left out of any adventure.

The illness came quickly. The best medical technology in the world and the best doctors in the world couldn't improve his quality of life. Yes, it slowed down the moment of separation by replacing organic life functions with medication. But what a life? Of having food, the life force, poison him slowly, feeling weak and hungry, but feeling even worse after eating. Not being able to take the stairs, not being able to sit or walk or run.

We tried our best to keep him going, but he didn’t want to stay any more. Sometimes, it is time to let go.

A warm, sunny day. A nice walk, a lovely meal on a blue patterned sheet, surrounded by his closest family, that is how my best friend died. I couldn’t quite believe it still when the doctor said he was gone. There was no difference, it was just like he had gone to sleep; no sharp transition between life and death; he looked at peace. I still kept hoping that life was like the magical world of Harry Potter, and that Boo would just get up and say that the injection had only killed the disease and not him. That didn’t happen. I wished him goodbye in the language he knows best – “Bye-Bye, Boo-Boo”. And this time, he didn’t come with me.

Ginga Boo on the Issues, 2012 edition

2012-09-14T02:19:00.002+00:00

Well well well, it's been a long wait, but the US elections are upon us again. Ginga and BooBoo, being red blooded, natural born US citizens (though without birth certificates, long form or short - Ginga ate them when he was feeling particularly hungry one afternoon), have decided to share their opinions on the current issues facing the nation. Especially after the popularity of the last post in 2007, they felt it was their duty to inform their fellow citizens, of course, following in the footsteps of USA incorporated and outsourcing the back-office stuff (typing) to their favourite Indian.

1. Job creation
Ginga (Democrat) - Well, I will continue to have my job of sleeping, eating, pooping, peeing and getting massaged as long as my scientist parents can continue to pay me. So anyone that wants to fund science and technology has my vote.
BooBoo (Republican) - If we take the money out of government science funding and give it to corporations, they will spend it all on research and the parents will earn more and we'll eat treats all day, perhaps on a yacht in Nice.

2. Health care
Ginga (Republican) - I don't need to go to the doctor, I don't want to pay for BooBoo to go to the doctor. If I need anything there's always the emergency room.
BooBoo (Green party) - Pills are too expensive without insurance. Single payer all the way! We're moving to the UK (or at least Vermont, because I can't swim).

3. Gay rights
Ginga (Democrat) - Yeah, I have the right to be gay and the right to be straight. I want to be officially family with BooBoo.
BooBoo (a little too liberal) - No discrimination here. Let everyone have rights. Where is my beloved blanket?

4. Favourite election slogans
Ginga (Democrat) - On a bumper sticker I saw the other day - it's just like driving a car with automatic transmission, D to move forward, R for reverse.
BooBoo (Republican) - NoBama!

5. Favourite dog ?
Ginga - BooBoo.
BooBoo - Border collies are the only proper dogs. The rest of you are weird. Get back in your places, stop running all over! That goes for you humans too!

Ginga boo are grandpas now

2011-11-19T20:08:00.005+00:00

Ok, we are slackers and have not posted anything for too long.
So GB had met a new friend this year.
Murphy, a one year old puppy, who visits us regularly.
I thought GB are still very active and sometimes others think they are puppies themselves. But next to Murphy, they are obviously grandpas.
Murphy would want to play with them, and they would just back away. Murphy is clearly too loud for them as well; and moves too much.
My dear GB are so calm and graceful next to the little one, it's fascinating!

A summer getaway~~

2010-06-20T02:13:00.001+00:00

Pocono Mountain, PA

Booboo's ark...

2010-04-01T17:44:00.003+00:00

He ended up pushing it away...
Oh, well, I guess the world would have to wait.....

And suddenly spring is here~~

2010-03-28T17:57:00.003+00:00

Because we are lazy, the blog post for the winter didn't get really far...and now it's SPRING!
Well GingaBoo's been having a blast since the winter. They had tons of visitors, played lots of snow, and are now enjoying the sunny weekends.

We've been walking around Princeton quite a bit whenever the weather is nice on weekends. GB really love the river and campus. They are true Princeton tigers!
After a long and harsh winter (which they enjoyed!) and lots of comfy food (which they also enjoyed!!), it's time for all of us to walk the extra fat off!
Hopefully we can keep this up and get more regular posts from now on....

The first big snow day for Ginga Boo!!!

2009-12-19T17:09:00.008+00:00

Today we have 2-3 in. snow and finally GB gets their snow fights!!
All dogs in our apartment complex are super excited and they met few doggie friends of theirs that they kept barking at...

And last weekend we enjoyed a nice sunny day at the D&R trail

put up our tinny X'mas tree, baked an apple tart so ginga can drool at it....

Meanwhile, kitty is still minding her own business..

We are all looking forward to the first X'mas w/ GB and fat cat here in NJ!!
Let it snow~ let it snow~ let it snow~~~

GingaBoo's Birthday Celebrations!!!

2009-11-15T18:26:00.006+00:00

Ginga and Booboo both turned 7 this year!!!
For their birthdays, we bought a cake plus cookies for booboo (it's on Halloween) and I made "pupcakes" for the first time for ginga this weekend~~ (of course they share with each other)

My pupcakes turn out to be super popular~~ In the end we decided to put the icing all over their faces...

Obviously they don't mind...
Happy birthday to GB~~~

In between their birthdays we also went to check out yet another trail near Princeton...They had great fun and so did we!!

Oct-25 walking through Princeton campus

2009-10-26T00:31:00.004+00:00

Today the weather was great so we took Ginga and Booboo to walk around Princeton campus. Fall around here is really much prettier. So colorful and last much longer compare to Indiana. GB enjoyed very much the walk and chased many squirrels (we did not enjoy that).

We also met a cute doggie Halloween parade. Although I think GB were happy they didn't have to dress up like those dogs...

Oct-11 Rocky Top dog park

2009-10-11T18:41:00.004+00:00

We went to the rocky top park at Princeton today.
It's a private fenced park require membership, but we enter with one-time fee just to check it out. Not a lot of doggies there but all friendly.

There's a small pond which booboo gladly dig in. Ginga on the other hand was only at the edge.

Other doggies are quite playful with their toys. Few labs like to fetch and swim.

This dog likes to stay with GB.

The weather is super nice, leaves turning colors now so GB is enjoying the scenery.

This whole time the fat cat is chilling on the balcony...

GB take on the Atlantic Ocean~~

2009-09-23T16:39:00.005+00:00

Last weekend GB and I drove a long way to RI to visit our old friends on vacation there. It's their first time seeing the ocean and they did great!! Now I think they won't mind a beach house of their own!

GB's reunion with Ranjit and Shilpa

2009-08-15T16:14:00.005+00:00

Ranjit and Shilpa finally came visit! And we had a blast!!
My family friends invited all of us to their house for a BBQ that weekend and the food was AWESOME!!! Only GB refused to go into the pool, probably because the water is too clean! We realized that booboo is only interested in being a life guard, while ginga is focusing on making sure that the food is being cooked.

The reunion

At my friends house, chilling in water

ginga watching his parents

booboo being a life guard

Ginga is always in the kitchen

Our meal!

Happy with the fruits!

Some pictures of GB and fat cat taken by Yu-Tzu when she visited...

2009-07-30T16:41:00.003+00:00

Kung Fu Ginga!

2009-07-01T14:06:00.003+00:00

On a peaceful night, the furious three - Master Booboo, Master kitty, and Master ginga; and their Master Shifu (Me) were chilling in our Valley of Fatness watching Japanese Drama. Suddenly, we sensed our greatest fear, Tai Lung the Fly, had escaped and headed towards us. He followed the trace of the light in our living room and found the valley. He broke through our screen; circled around the valley killing and destroying our peace. Seeing the damage, Master kitty decided to lead the furious three and confronted the fly in our narrow living room. She carried her fat belly and attacked the fly with Black Tiger Kung Fu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tiger_Kung_Fu) and Short Range Boxing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duan_Quan) using her short arms and fat fists. Master BooBoo came from the side and tried to corner the fly with his incredible Dog Kung Fu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Kung_Fu) and Lost Track Fist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizongyi). However, Tai Lung the Fly out beat them and escaped time after time. Finally, Master Ginga had arrived. Though a bit afraid, he had listened to Master Shifu, me, to think of the Fly as food. Then the miracle happened: with his amazing Kung Fu Buddhist Palm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fut_Gar) and Ground-Prone Fist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditangquan), he accidentally hit the fly with his big head and Tia Lung ended up on the ground, no longer moves. The Furious Three returned with great honor, and The Valley of Peace returned to its greatest calm and Japanese drama rolls on~~
The leader of the Furious Three: Master Kitty

Mercer Dog Park

2009-06-29T00:50:00.005+00:00

Here are some pictures from the Mercer county dog park...
This dog park, although a bit small, is less than 10 min from our apartment and is becoming a regular spot for gingaboo to visit. We go there two-three times a week, if the weather permits it. They've met lots of doggies there, but no specific friends yet~

GB's journy to Princeton and beyond...

2009-05-19T19:52:00.013+00:00

Ok, this post really should come about a month ago but we've had a busy month settling in...well, not really. We are just lazy! Anyway, here is how GB and the fat cat got to where they are:
At the beginning of April, we drove two cars with ginga, booboo, fatcat, and bunch of furniture on the road trip from Purdue to Princeton. We had to stop for a night just so the fufus wouldn't be too tired/stressed. Ginga, with no surprise, was doing very well in the car and the hotel; comfortably took one of the bed all to himself.

Fat cat was the one who stressed out, hiding under the bed and it took her awhile to start exploring around the hotel room.

Booboo, while doing quite well in the car and in the hotel, had a seizure episode on the second day on highway. We had to make an emergency stop, but he as usual was fine soon afterward.

Once we arrived at the apartment it didn't take them too long to establish each other's position.

But it took us awhile to deal with the people in the apartment and settle in with a new routine. Now that everyone is used to the new place, we started to explore more around the Princeton area! So far, GBs have been to the Carnegie lake trail around Princeton,

The mountain lake park

The Princeton communiversity event

The Prospect park in Brooklyn NY

And the Mercer county park! (pictures to come)
Alright! It may seem like we do not work, but, actually, we, we don't....
There's still a list of parks that we would like to pay a visit so the GB can decide their favorite one. But, they already found their favorite doggie pastry store on Nassau!!

GB to the big apple~

2009-05-17T00:26:00.006+00:00

Today is the day that GB pays their first tribute to the big city!!
They saluted the Statue of Liberty on Verrazano bridge through the misty sky
They got off at fifth ave in Brooklyn headed to Prospect park.
They were joined by their parents and friends, running across the meadow,
Enjoyed a whole afternoon full of sunshine and BBQ
Played frisbee and fetched sticks
Walked the waterfall trail
observed ducks
barked at kids
left lots of marks
got massaged from many people
saw lots of city dogs
and safely returned home!

Updates On Valentine's day

2009-02-15T14:59:00.006+00:00

Many apologies For the lack of updates from the World of Ginga, Booboo and Chleo.
The 4-legged considered firing their current ghost writer and hire a new one if he did not make it write by them.
So since the most interesting tidbits from Ginga, Booboo and Kitty come randomly and are often caught when I am away from the computer but with my phone at hand, it made sense to get the guys a twitter account that allows for photos to be posted instantly.
So if you are on twitter, follow them at http://twitter.com/gingaboo. If you are not a twitter person, the updates are available in the right column.
Since they are now media moguls, Ginga , Boo also have a facebook page on dogbook Chleo is evidently on catbook.

Finally a few fun stories:

- Booboo managed to lock Khleo in the closet, I have no idea how.
- Ginga and Kitty had a Valentine nap together
-Booboo did not like to be left out, voiced his anger and got a scratch on the nose from Khleo for being such a sour loser.

Now a few photos of the V-day evening:

Happy belated V-Day everyone. Hope you don't get your nose scratched ( Boo is fine , he is a tough, albeit too vocal guy)

Thanksgiving in photos

2008-11-28T03:00:00.012+00:00

First, a bit of playing and exercising:

Then a bit of eating (& begging for human food).

and finally, the tryptophane kicked in. Time for a nap:

Happy Thanksgiving to all from chilly Brunswick land, IN.

WE Are All Mutts

2008-11-08T00:36:00.003+00:00

From Obama's 1st press conference:

It's the family's second criteria that may be the more difficult one to fulfill. Obama said the family would prefer to adopt a puppy from an animal rescue shelter.
"But obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me," said Obama in a self-deprecating reference to his father from Kenya and mother from Kansas. "So whether we're going to be able to balance those two thing, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household."

Ginga and Booboo are nodding along: yep, we are all mutts.

Ginga and Booboo endorse...

2008-10-08T23:35:00.005+00:00

Top 7 reasons why Barack Obama is the choice for Ginga and Booboo:

7) they too got to live the american dream despite foreign parents.
6) because 80% of the rest of the world ( humans and pets) cannot be all wrong.
5) What's the deal with drilling in the polar bears' habitat ? You mess with polar bears, you mess with Ginga and Booboo.
4) You mess with Moose, same deal.
3) Shooting wolves ( Boo's cousins) from a chopper: WTF !?
2) They know all about being attacked based on their odd middle name ( Boo "Nutella" Yu and Ginga "fatasso" Warrier)
And....
1) because Hannity and O'Reilly are just too darn annoying. No one is allowed to bark louder than Booboo and Ginga :).

Speaking of world peace

2008-09-28T17:56:00.004+00:00

If we can achieve this, it should not be much harder for world peace...

Bravo!! Bravo!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!

2008-08-24T15:56:00.004+00:00

Dear daddy,

Mommy Imei tells me that today is your birthday. Happy Birthday (Wooof wooof)!!
I didn't really know what birthday is. Then she tells me that it's the day you can have a whole cake. It must be a really nice day! She says whoever wishes you happy birthday usually share a piece, too. Does that mean I get some cakes??
Did I tell you that last week when we went to the park I found really nice smelly water and managed to get all dark and messy?? And this time it didn't come off!!! Finally I am just like booboo!! But mommy washed both of us with stinky soap and it was all gone :(
I have been doing really well the whole summer! We had a lot of cheese sticks and honey. The little black cat no longer scratches my butt, and she likes to mimic my poses now. I think she looks a lot like me. How is your vacation so far?? Mommy says you are at a hot place with lions. Can you bring me back one? It sounds delicious!!
Okay, gotta go eat now!! Happy Birthday WOOF WOOF~~

--Ginga

PS: here is a birthday song from Booboo and I:

A nice Saturday~

2008-08-23T21:13:00.002+00:00

It is very nice today so we decided to take the doggies for a run on the soccer field. The silly parents forgot to bring a camera so I just have to describe everything:
GingaBoo were running happily with each other, wrestling around and scaring people who were there playing soccer. They took a bath in the little water stream to cool down and sit right by us to get some shadow. We then took them to the fountain where booboo loves to play with the water. But the winner today was ginga! He's no longer afraid of the fountain, he actually walked in to the middle part and laid down in the water~~ He did scare a student there by approaching him with his big smiling face...
Then it's parents chilling time. We sat outside a coffee house having our gelato, the casher nicely brought gingaboo ice water. They laid by us and was just having a good time while another surprise turned up: It's Buddy!! Buddy and his daddy is back in town for a visit!! It's so nice to see buddy again. After so long gingaboo must have missed him. We also met stretch earlier this week. GB are meeting up with all their old friends!! A very nice saturday :)