Eating with Mocha

Happy Food Day Mami!

2009-05-20T00:00:00.000+08:00

Mocha : HAPPY HAPPY FOOD DAY MAMI!

Yab yu Mami!

***Mami's not feeling well since they arrived home last Sunday night from Bicolandia. I wish she feels well on her Food Day, and I also wish for lots of food for me :D

Happy 72nd Monthsary Mami and Dada!

2009-03-19T23:50:00.000+08:00

Mocha : Happy 6th ~~Anniver~~Foodsary Mami and Dada! Yabyu! Where's the food ? :D

Mocha : Happy Food Day Ninong Raki! Where's my food gift? :D

New Family Members

2008-07-22T20:33:00.001+08:00

Hello guys!

I just want to inform you that my Lola adopted one puppy and named him Bruce. And my slutty baby sister Tria gave birth again to five little kittens, unfortunately one died :~(.

I will post their pictures and stories on my next post :D. For now, I need to eat my snack then sleeps.

Goodnight :D

Pose for PAWS

2008-07-16T15:33:00.000+08:00

My dada received an email from PAWS (The Philippine Animal Welfare Society) inviting us to join the "Pose for PAWS" on July 20, 2008 at Eastwood City from one o'clock in the afternoon to six o'clock in the evening. My dada and I wanted to come but since I am still in heat, mami will not allow me to go :~(. Maybe next time if my "period" is done I can go. :D

Here is what dada's received email from PAWS says:

Dear friends,

You and your pets are invited to pose for PAWS

July 20, Eastwood City, 1 to 6pm

Attached POSTER

Your contribution: P395 per backdrop.

There will be three backdrops at the venue. You can have your photo taken at one backdrop or at all of them - depending on your budget.

Now's your chance to have your portrait taken with your pet - and help raise funds for the PAWS animal shelter.*

Please forward the attached poster to other pet guardians and animal lovers.

See you on the 20th!
-The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

I am In Heat... :'(

2008-06-28T17:33:00.005+08:00

What is Heat?

According to Squidoo, Estrus ("heat") is the mating period of female animals. When estrus occurs, animals are said to be "in heat" or "in season." Dogs generally have their first estrous cycle at 6-12 months of age. Large breeds may not have their first estrus until they are 12-24 months of age.
Female dogs in heat are somewhat similar to a human female in menstruation. During the "heat" cycle, the dog may became pregnant.

The estrous cycle:

1. Proestrus: Starts with the appearance of vaginal bleeding. It normally lasts from 4 to 9 days. Increased swelling of the vulva and possibly an increase in urination. Male dogs become very persistent, but she will not yet mate with them.

2. Estrus: The female will accept the male and conception can occur. The vaginal discharge is more yellowish than bloody. Usually, the stage lasts for 4 to 13 days. Your female will allow any male dog to breed with her at this time.

Metestrus and anestrus: Periods of ovarian activity, but with no symptoms. False pregnancies can occur during metestrus.

Symptoms

The dog will bleed from the vagina and may have swelling of the vulva and increased urination. Small
dogs will of course have less bleeding and may be harder to spot.

I just hate it when I'm in heat, I can not play inside Lola and mami's room. and I am forced to wear my undies with panty liner on it! grosshhh.

Rain.. Rain... go away!

2008-06-22T14:00:00.004+08:00

sleepy me plus the ponytail of my bored mami =)

Since early this morning, it's already raining so hard in our place plus the fact that its brownout. Coolness! The only thing that mami and I can do is sleep and wait for our lunch (Nilagang Baka) that is being cook by my lola. (It makes me more hungry when waiting!)

Finally before lunch time, electricity came back. We ate lunch (I sit at the table beside mami :D). Rain is still pouring hard and I badly needed to go out to make a pee but I do not want to get wet. My lola accampanied me to her mini garden to make a pee, but still I cant because I still get wet. And at the end my kind lola allowed me to pee on her laundry place, she said that she will just clean it. =) (yabyu lola)

I hate it when it rains! I can't go out... I hate it when i step on wet cements/floor. I hate it when I can't play with my friends outside :(.

*Sigh*... I wish rain will stop soon... All i can do right now is sing...

*Rain, rain, go away
Come again some other day
Mocha want to go outside and play
Come again some other day :(*

After i post this entry, I will just sleep. (still raining hard!)

Doggie Trivias

2008-06-14T16:34:00.004+08:00

Here are some facts and trivia about us. =)

Enjoy reading.

- Female dog bites are twice as numerous as male bites.

-The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.

-The Beatles song Martha My Dear was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog "Martha."

-The canine nose works one million times more efficiently than the human nose.

-The average dog has 42 permanent teeth.

-Most domestic dogs are capable of reaching speeds of 32 kms per hour when running flat out but the members of the greyhound family may reach speeds up to 70 kms per hour.

-A male dog urinates with one leg up to better mark his territory. The scent can tell him many things, including size and health. The size is judged by the height of the stain. Male dogs although, do not actually need to lift their leg.

-A dogs ear is very sensitive, full of sensory nerves that help to preserve hearing. Never, blow into a dogs ear, even gently can hurt a dog. It's not the actual act of wind, but the frequency at which you blow. It's like running your fingers on a blackboard, amplified hundreds of times.

-It is said that dogs come from a creature similar to a wolf called Tomarctus ("father of dogs") which roamed about 15,000,000 years ago. Dogs first became pets for cavemen, while the Greeks used them for hunting and as guards. Romans traveled through Europe and brought their dogs with them. These dogs bred with the local dogs and gradually many different breeds were created. (Information found at: kidzworld.com)

-"According to tests made at the Institute for the Study of Animal Problems in Washington D.C., dogs and cats, like people, are either right-handed or left-handed; that is, they favor either their right or left
paws."

Pink Nails by Mami

2008-06-10T18:36:00.000+08:00

My mami see to it that her nails and my nails are always clean. That is why she makes it a point that every week she cleans her nails while she cut my nails whenever needed (when it's sharp already).

There is one time that when mami is cleaning her nails and i was just watching her do it... she puts a pink nail polish on one of my nails, it felt cold but i did not took away my paw, so mami decided to put a pink nail polish on all my nails. And i think i like it! =)

So, what do you think? Is it pretty? Maybe next time i'll ask mami to try putting different colors on my nails. :D

PayPerPost Approved!

2008-06-06T23:26:00.002+08:00

My dada is the one who really influenced me in blogging. I just started blogging last January 2008. It all started when I am surfing the net and reseaching for food. I came across a few blogs (including my mami's and my dada's and decided to read them and i enjoyed it. I got an idea of having my own blog, i mean flog (food blog)... hehehe... that's why eveyday i ask my dada to make my flog until he finally agreed.

I decided to write my own story on how i survived a tragic accident when i was still a baby and my everyday life. I want to share it all with you.

Through reading other blogs, I've seen some with payperpost on them and thought of trying to monetize my bflog. That is why i decided to sign up for payperpost last month and after just a few days, My flog was approved!

I am happy to know that i will soon earn money through my blog. It also excites me to inform you that this entry of mine will earn $20.00 that I can use to buy my own vitamins, dress, treats and for my medical check up. I can now help my mami and dada in my expenses. =)

Surely payperpost helps blogger enjoy more what they do. =)

For Dog Lovers

2008-03-21T20:59:00.000+08:00

I read this on my tata CB's blog and decided to share it with all of you, since i know that all of them are true =).

1. Dogs don’t interrupt. Sometimes we just need someone to listen. Get a dog and you will know what we mean.

2. People who have dogs are less prone to illness. Dogs keep their humans calm and are the best stress-relievers around. Any dog owner will tell you that no day is complete without a snuggle and a hug from their pet companion.

3. People with dogs live longer. Dogs give people a reason to go on living. They make life bearable and they love without bounds.

4. Dogs are not ashamed to show their feelings. They snuggle close and lick your face whether there are people around or not.

5. Dogs can sniff cancer. A recent study in the US has shown that a Miniature Schnauzer was able to sniff cancer growth in a human. A cancer-sniffing dog from Nova Scotia is getting a gold star. Georgina Bramwell’s Pomeranian is earning a spot in the Purina Animal Hall of Fame after the dog’s constant pawing led her to find a cancerous lump in her breast a year ago. “I thought Teddy Bear was crazy when he was digging at me,” said the 76-year old from Waverley, N.S. “The night when he jumped on me, that when I realized, because I didn’t know (my breast) was painful until then.” Bramwell went to the doctor and soon after was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a week, a cancer specialist successfully performed a mastectomy on her right breast. “I wouldn’t have known,” she said.

6. Dogs render a great service to mankind. They are guides for the blind, search and rescue dogs, bomb-sniffing dogs, dogs used to track down criminals, dogs used to sniff out drugs and fake DVDs.

7. Dogs forgive. Dog guardians may be occasionally guilty of not spending quality time with their pets. But these animals do not carry grudges. The minute you remember to bring them out for a much-needed walk or the minute you pick up that frisbee, the tail wags, looks of adoration is again in place, all is forgotten and forgiven.

8. Dogs never complain. The reason why dogs make such great housemates. They never grumble. Whatever works, works. Sleeping on the couch, sleeping on the floor, sleeping with you in bed. Just make sure the rules are clear from the start, and your dog will be a happy dog for as long as you provide for his basic needs and give him a few minutes of your day for tummy-scratching, bonding session.

9. Adopted or rescued dogs are the most Grateful animals in the world. An adopted pet from a shelter pays you back in love and loyalty. Pets in shelters have been abandoned and feel it. When adopted, these pets bond with an enduring love and that few relationships can match.

10. Dogs are life savers. Dagul, a native dog, saved a family in Baguio from a landslide; Champ, a Rottweiler, saved a sacristan from drowning in a flashflood in Quezon.

11. Dogs Heal. The Doctor Dog program of PAWS has been able to bring our therapy dogs, the Doctor Dogs, to the pediatric cancer ward in hospitals and the smiles on children’s faces alone tell us that animal-assisted therapy works. There is an instant between dogs and kids. In one school for autistic kids, the teachers got all excited when a child spoke with one of our Doctor Dogs. What was the big deal? The teacher explained that the boy has been in her class for year and has not spoken a word to anyone. Until that day.

12. Dogs are an effective medium of communication and growth for children. Again, according to the Doctor Dog Manual, “Interaction encourages the development of nurturing relationships and empathic responses. Children learn interpersonal and care-giving skills. Dogs widen their scope of experience and provide a new viewpoint of the world.” “Research has shown that children with pet dogs score higher on measures of empathy, self-esteem and self-concept that those who do not have pet dog.”

13. Dogs reduces stress. From the Doctor Dog Manual courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation (AAF), “One recent US study on cardiovascular reactivity to stress demonstrated that chemical inhibitors to lower blood pressure had no effect on a patient’s reactivity to mental stress. However, following the introduction of a friendly dog, cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress was considerably diminished.”

14. Dogs are good trackers. The participation of Bloodhounds Dolly and Shadow from the AFP-Canine Unit finally led the soldiers to the hideout where Abu Sayyaf kept their hostage Gracia Burnham. Shadow Received the award for both himself and the deceased Dolly an award for bravery from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society last October 2005.

15. Dogs are intelligent. There are studies that show that the German Shepherds that police use as partners on the field may possess the intelligence of a five-year-old child. Language and sign commands are easily grasped. Of course, many dog owners will agree that their dogs often show a greater level of IQ than some of people they meet at work, or in government offices.

16. Dogs know who our true friends are. We know of many people who can “fake” being good friends with you just because of some ulterior motive. Here’s a tip from a PAWS volunteer who actually admitted “dogs-testing” her husband before she agreed to marry him. She was always with her faithful Chow-Chow, named Cookie, when people came a-courting. All her other suitors had been barked at by Cookie whenever they gave her a compliment, which the girl would also feel to be untrue. Cookie seemed to dislike all her other suitors. But there seemed to be a sign that her hubby was the one when Cookie jumped up the couch to sit beside him when he first came to the house.

17. Dogs give us a boost of confidence. They say that if you are nervous about making that big presentation, practice in front of your dog. There are studies that show that dogs actually help children who have trouble reading out loud in class. It seems that kids are scared by the possibility of mispronouncing a word that they commit more mistakes in process. A pioneering teacher asked a student to read to a dog and this improved the student’s read-aloud skills greatly. Now, many schools across the US are also welcoming “Professor Dogs” in the classroom to give kids that morale and confidence boost to take that extra step to excellence.

18. Dogs entertain us. Dogs can be trained to perform tricks. But dogs are most entertaining when they are just being their silly selves. Burying a newfound treasure, chasing after its tail, looking up with puppy-dog eyes when they want something from you.

19. Dogs don’t care if you didn’t brush your teeth or comb your hair. People do not feel the need to be self-conscious about their appearance when there’s a friendly canine at the doorway.

20. Dogs understand us even if we don’t talk. Ever noticed that your dog seem to sense when you are sad lonely? Dogs have a remarkable connection with their owners not just because of their keen sense of hearing or smell, the strength of their emotional bond with their humans can be mind-boggling.

21. Dogs warn us about danger and keep us safe. We all know the value of dogs as a guard dogs. We were told that Pikang, a native dog, who was just being fed leftovers by members of the Jaguar Unit of the 104th Infantry Brigade of AFP stationed in Basilan, proved that she could pay the soldiers back many times over. Pikang, could sniff out insurgents from a mile away and warn the troops by barking or stopping during trek when the enemy was approaching. As a result, the Jaguar Unit was the only unit with zero casualties in the rebel-infested area. Pikang is the lone native dog awardee among purebred dogs in K-9 units at the Philippine Animal Welfare Society’s 2005 Golden Paw Awards.

Aunt Mocha, the Baby Sitter

2008-03-13T20:03:00.000+08:00

My slutty baby shister Tria is now a single mom (her boyfriend abandoned her when she got preggy :~( ). She gave birth to four cute little kittens last month but unfortunately, one of her babies died. He was bitten by a bad dog named George :(.

My mami burried the kitty in lola's small garden (where i pee sometimes when it's raining hard =D ).

Tria sometimes brings her babies to my bed and ask me to baby sit them for her while she sleeps. She said that she always lack sleep because she's always breastfeeding them.

I love smelling the kitties and licking them beacause I am their Aunt Mocha :D. And as their auntie, I'll take care of them when Tria is busy sleepings.

Of course Auntie Mocha needs to sleep too :D

I noticed that the kitties grow fast. They can now crawl around, that's why Tria always carry them back to their bed.

I'm just wondering why is it that when my mami is carrying the kitties they cry... but when it's Tria or me, they bahave? Maybe they know that I'm their pretty Aunt Mocha =D.

I'll post more pictures of my nieces (yes, all of them are girls) next time.

The Dog Blog Carnival

2008-03-04T14:23:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone!

I would like to inform you that I joined The Dog Blog Carnival. They will be featuring my life story as well as other dogs. Be sure to visit them here.

I'm sure i'll be meeting new friends in their blog and that exchites me very munch, i mean much! :)

Happy ValenFOOD Day!

2008-02-14T11:05:00.002+08:00

Today's the 79th Food Day of my Great Grand Lola Tining but today is also ValenFOOD day! Since today is a double food-lebration, I bet there would be lots of cake, ice creams, pancits, and lots and lots of food!

I'll have to rest now, I need strength for all the food-lebration later.

Happy ValenFOOD's Day!!! MWAH!

Happy 79th Food Day to my Great Grand Lola Tining!

2008-02-14T08:04:00.002+08:00

Today's the Food Day of my mami's grandma Tining. She's turning 79 today. I heard that there will be a food-lebration later and this means cake and ice cream! CAAKE!! YEY!

I love my Great Grand Lola Tining. She made all my clothes all by herself. She also loves to belly rub me :D

Happy 79th Food Day Great Grand Lola Tining! I hope you have more food days to come and more food for me :D MMWAAHH!

Happy New Chinese Food Year!

2008-02-07T19:30:00.000+08:00

Today's the start of the new Chinese Food Year and what a time to celebrate and eat Chinese tikoy! Yummmy! I really love the taste of tikoy. It's like eating bubble gum. Very delicious!

Right now, I'm not feeling well. I threw-up all I ate during lunch this afternoon. My mami gave me my first cereal and milk breakfast this morning without knowing that my Toto Noriel already gave me my rice breakfast :D Who am I to resist food? Too bad that my tummy can't handle all the food I ate. :(

I shared my cereal breakfast with my baby shishter Tria. My mami have our video but our internet connection is having a problem right now so I'll try to share our videos next time.

It's time for me to sleep now, need some rest to regain my strength. Kung Hei FOOOOOOD Choi everyone! Nightie!

*poofood*

Happy Family Date and My Vaccination

2008-02-05T19:32:00.000+08:00

This is the time of the year when I see my vet for my annual vaccination. But today instead of going to my official vet, my mami and dada took me to the Bureau of Animal Industry near the Quezon City Hall.

I was so happy since I will be able to ride the car once again. This time, with my mami and dada.

Here's me smiling on the camera while sitting on my mami's lap. My mami's shy so she requested that I blur her face :D This picture was taken while we stopped by a gasoline station. I'm soo happy to go on a date with my mami and dada.

My mami's talking to me in this picture. She's saying that I should behave and the vaccination would only last for a couple of seconds. I didn't follow :D It was all in my plan to make tantrums so my dada would give me my BreadStix while being vaccinated... SSSHHH! Don't tell anyone.

I had my picture taken beside my very beautiful vet, Dra. Arlene. She's my second vet and maybe I'll see her again next year :D

Here I am waiting for my dada inside the car. We were supposed to have a picnic in a park but luck wasn't with me today. It rained. According to Dra. Arlene, I shouldn't be soaked in water for 3 days. *sigh* I was looking forward in tasting Janet's Tapsilog while relaxing in the park with my mami and dada.

We were also supposed to visit my Ninang Rio at her clinic but mami decided that we should go home since it was already raining hard and traffic started to build up. I was expecting to meet Jollibee because there's a Jollibee store near my Ninang Rio's clinic :~(

When we reach home, my Great Grandlola Tining gave me suman. It's a Filipino rice cake made from sticky rice cooked in coconut oil. Very delicious!

I'm very happy that we had our first family date today but it was also a tiring day for me so time for some Mocha nap!

Rex: The Lucky Dog

2008-02-03T20:32:00.000+08:00

I'm always thankful that I have a loving family, always there to give everything I need. But not all dogs are lucky as I am. Some are abused, sold as food, and some are just being abandoned. I would like to share to you a story my mami read this morning from the Philippine Daily Inquirer about Rex, a black labrador that was rescued from cruel people.

----------
You Lucky Dog!
By Alya Honasan

MANILA, Philippines – Luck, we think, is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Me? I think God sends Lady Luck to bonk us on the head with much-needed blessings that are still part of His plan, whether we’re harassed humans—or one really lucky dog.

Actually, this story is as much about the love between people and animals as it is about luck. It wasn’t luck that brought me to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Animal Rehabilitation Center on Aurora Boulevard last November 1, All Souls’ Day. My late dog Muffin has her name on the memorial wall there, and I had gone to light a candle and bring flowers in her memory. It was lucky, however, that PAWS director Anna Cabrera was there, too. “Hey, we have a rescued Labrador here,” she told me.

The dog had been living in a cage on the sidewalk outside a house in Quezon City, a nylon cord tied around his neck for a collar, constantly exposed to sun and rain and dirt. He had been starved so much that he was reduced to eating his own feces and any rats he caught. Lucky for him, a kind-hearted neighbor, a woman and animal lover named Eva, took pity on the animal and would occasionally feed him, cajoling the owners to please just give up the dog. One day, they did call her; if she didn’t take the dog, said the barbarians, they would just sell him to dog meat traders. An incensed Eva actually transported the animal in a tricycle, in the rain, to the shelter! Eva was this dog’s real savior and good luck charm, and may she be blessed a hundredfold for her good heart. As for the people who did this to him—may they have the worst possible luck on this earth!

It wasn’t just luck, too, that moved me to do something. The dog was a black Lab, but was so filthy we thought he was brown. He stank to high heavens, had mange and open wounds all over his body, and his ribs were visible even from a distance. Anna was afraid he was already gravely ill. Then, he looked at us with a pair of beautiful brown eyes and wagged his tail—before throwing up something vile and yellow. I was filled with pity and indignation at how people could allow this to happen to the creatures that we, as humans, are supposed to be stewards of. Then again, if we can slaughter dolphins, murder turtles for sunglasses, and make horses, dogs and chickens fight to the death to entertain us, what’s the big deal if you leave a caged animal hungry for days, right?

Four days later, on November 5, the dog was at my veterinarian’s clinic. We had named him Rex, for “resurrection”—my friends and I were determined to give the dog a new life by paying for his medication. It was my eternal luck to have friends who cared about animals as much as I did. My friend Dr. Marga Carpio of Vets in Practice didn’t charge for her services, and was loving, thorough, and optimistic that he would recover. The diagnosis was a bad case of mange, malnutrition, and infections in his paws and skin. Despite that, Rex had bounded energetically up to the clinic, and Marga pronounced his internal organs in decent condition after some tests and shots. Rex wanted to live just as much as we wanted to save him.

On November 10, less than a week after first taking him to the vet, I brought Rex home in my arms, still stinky and almost hairless and covered with wounds. The plan was to care for him until PAWS found a family that would adopt him. In the meantime, I was determined to turn him into a beautiful dog again.

Thus began the two months of my life with Rex. I walked him every morning, fed him, gave him his medicated mange baths (based on Marga’s detailed instructions), and introduced him to a tennis ball. We piled on the antibiotics, mange medicine, multivitamins, and mountains of dog food, with my friends giving me donations that pretty much covered everything. I even got dog stuff for him for Christmas! I introduced him to my dog Banana, and it wasn’t just luck, either, that my dog is a sweet, friendly creature who took to Rex and became his regular playmate immediately.

I was ready to keep him if nobody took him, but I sent out an e-mail blast anyway. If he stayed with me, he would have to be kenneled half of the day and walked once every morning. No sleeping under my bed for him, as space, logistics, and previous occupants (read: my fragile elderly mother) kept me from bringing another big dog into the house, so he would have to live in the garage. I offered him to anybody who was willing to give him a better life than I could.

My friends disseminated the letter and the first pictures of a skinny, sad-looking Rex, which reached dozens of people. Then my friend Popi got lucky: She got a response from her friends and fellow potters, EJ and Eva Espiritu (yes, another Eva!), who live on a pottery farm in Silang, Cavite (www.cornerstone.ph), and had been thinking of getting a dog to keep their 4-year-old son Gelo company. They took one look at Rex’s “bad” picture, and wanted him. He was going to have the run of the place and sleep inside the house with them. How lucky was that?

My friends Popi and Joy, Anna and Liza of PAWS, and I met the Espiritus over dinner before Christmas, and we knew we had found Rex’s new family within minutes. A side story: as we said our goodbyes—Gelo gave me a hug that reduced me to tears—and bade each other Merry Christmas, the Espiritus discovered that their car was missing! Luckily, we discovered that it had just been (unjustly) towed, a holiday solicitation from the greedy neighborhood parking authorities. Still, that couldn’t ruin our happiness, as we made a date to bring Rex to Cavite after the holidays.

In the meantime, Rex had grown from a bony 21-kg to a meatier 28-kg dog. His skin was still damaged, but improving, thanks to (free) fat supplements from Marga and constant applications of virgin coconut oil. He was no longer hunched over tentatively, but was barking and ready to play when he greeted me every morning. He learned to wait until he was let out of his kennel thrice a day to poo, and was now eating more leisurely instead of gobbling up his food. As my friend remarked, Rex had learned to accept affection again—and had finally realized that life had gotten better. On December 13, Rex was neutered so he would stay healthy and could no longer contribute to this country’s population of unwanted dogs who suffer the consequences of their owners’ irresponsibility.

Finally, it was January 13, 2008, the day we were to bring Rex to Silang. Eva Espiritu and I had been texting each other as the family prepared for Rex’s coming: what kind of sleeping arrangements should she prepare, what dog food does he eat, how often do they let him out to poo? My heart was bursting with joy, even as I felt a tinge of separation anxiety creeping in. The day before, Marga gave Rex a final check-up, wrote a love letter to the Espiritus filled with instructions, and kissed him goodbye. He was now a whopping 33.4 kg and free of mange, albeit with some bald patches remaining—a big, chunky bundle of joy. That last afternoon at my house, I scratched his belly and threw a tennis ball for him, a miracle animal whose life was about to get even better.

Rex snored on my lap for most of the drive to Silang; Popi and Joy accompanied us. Gelo ran out to meet him when we got to the farm, and was surprised to see how big his dog was! Rex was immediately at home, sniffing around the garden, catching the tennis ball that EJ and Eva threw at him, and allowing his belly to be scratched. I watched him leap to catch the ball, and felt a lump in my throat when I saw how beautiful he had become. My friends and I slipped away quietly as he was still playing, and I cried on the drive back home—good tears, because although I was already missing him, I knew he was where he belonged.

Even if I do still miss seeing those brown eyes, I am eternally grateful that I have the happy ending I had wished for. Eva and I are still textmates, and we plan to visit them again. As of this writing, a week after we took Rex to his new home, he has entertained visiting children at the farm, and has even visited Eva’s folks in Las Piñas. The filthy, malnourished dog we chanced upon at the animal shelter was now a well-loved companion living in a wonderful home with a family that dotes on him.

People tell me Rex is a lucky dog. I like to think all of us who have met Rex are lucky, as well—Eva, the woman who saved him, the PAWS people who have made animal welfare their mission, the vets who nursed him, my dear friends who share my passion, the Espiritus who now have a new “baby.” I’m fortunate to have been in a position to do something for an animal in need, even as there are thousands of animals out there who are nowhere near as lucky as Rex. But more than anything, my life has been touched by a special creature who taught me quite a bit about love and patience, and turning a life around. And that makes me the luckiest one of them all!

If you are thinking of getting a pet, please consider a shelter animal, and you too can turn an abandoned dog or cat’s life around. Contact PAWS at tel. no 475-1688, www.paws.org.ph.

----------

Chocolates Are Bad for Our Health

2008-02-03T19:33:00.000+08:00

I've always asked my mami why she doesn't give me chocolates. She said that chocolates are bad for me. And eating a single bite of chocolate would kill me. Of course I wouldn't like that to happen. I still have doubts so I researched the internet about chocolates and dogs. Here's what I found:

----------
Why Dogs Can't Eat Chocolate
By: Dr. Dawn Ruben

The worst a Hershey bar can do to you is add an inch to your hips. But that same candy – even in relatively small amounts – can make a dog or cat very sick. Make no mistake: For them, chocolate is poison.

In addition to a high fat content, chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, two different types of stimulants that affect the central nervous system and the heart muscle, as well as increasing the frequency of urination.

Symptoms of Poisoning

If your 50-pound dog gets his paws on a single chocolate-chip cookie, it probably won't cause him serious problems. However, if he gobbles up more – a pan of brownies, say – he may develop vomiting or diarrhea.

Once toxic levels are reached, the stimulants kick in, and this is when you really have to worry. Symptoms include: restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination and/or excessive panting. If your pet isn't treated, he could go into a seizure – possibly even die.

How Much Is Toxic?

The amount of chocolate that it takes to poison your pet depends on the type of chocolate he's eaten and his weight. White chocolate has the least amount of stimulants and baking chocolate or cocoa beans have the highest. Here is a list of the most common sources of chocolate and the amount that leads to toxicity:

White Chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 45 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe toxicity occurs when 90 ounces per pound of body weight in ingested. This means that a 20-pound dog would need to ingest at least 55 pounds of white chocolate to cause nervous system signs. A 10-pound cat would need to ingest 27 pounds. Yes, that is twenty seven pounds! White chocolate has very little real chocolate in it. Therefore, the levels of caffeine and theobromine are very low. Tremendous amounts of white chocolate need to be ingested in order to cause toxic signs from chocolate. It is highly unlikely that white chocolate ingestion will result in the toxic neurologic signs but, the severe gastrointestinal effects from a high fat food develop with much less white chocolate ingestion.

Milk Chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe signs occur when 2 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested. This means that a little less than one pound of milk chocolate can be toxic to the nervous system of a 20-pound dog. A 10-pound cat would need to ingest 1/2 pound.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 1/3 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe signs occur when 1 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested. This means that as little as 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate can be toxic to the nervous system of a 20-pound dog. A 10-pound cat would need to ingest 3 ounces.

Baking Chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe signs occur when 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested. Two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog. A 10-pound cat would need to ingest 1 ounce of baking chocolate. This type of chocolate has the highest concentration of caffeine and theobromine and very little needs to be ingested before signs of illness become apparent.

Even if your pet doesn't eat enough chocolate to induce toxicity, the candy's high fat content may cause him to vomit or have diarrhea at much smaller amounts than those shown. If that happens, watch him carefully. If his symptoms don't clear up within eight hours, call your veterinarian (if your pet is very small or young, call within four hours); aside from toxicity issues, you don't want the animal to dehydrate. Try to be as precise as you can about the type of chocolate the animal ate, how much he took and approximately when he ate it.

The sooner you get help, the better off your pet will be. If the animal is showing signs of toxicity, he has a good prognosis if he's treated within four to six hours of ingestion. The effects of the chocolate can linger for 12 to 36 hours, though, so your pet may require hospitalization.

Source
----------

No chocolates for me! I'll just enjoy my favorite vegetables and fishes. :D

Goodbye Lolo Luigi

2008-02-03T18:16:00.000+08:00

My mami told me today that my lolo Luigi died yesterday. My dada told me that he was buried at their garden beside my lola Casper who died 2 years ago. I'll miss you lolo. Food bye :(

My First Food Day!

2008-01-31T20:52:00.000+08:00

I celebrated my first Food Day last November 22nd 2007. My dada and mami bought me a very delicious Braso de Mercedes cake. My Lola Marlen prepared simple pancit for my visitors. That day was very memorable for me. My Lola Marlen even bought me a new dress that day.

Here's one of my Food Day balloons! My mami bought these at Divisoria.

Here's one of my food day guest. Her name is Puchie, my Great Grandlola Pat's beautiful but snobbish daughter. She's a 6yr old Japanese Spitz and really loves to go out with her Nanay. Though she doesn't like me, we do share common things like belly rubs and vegetables.

Here are my lolas, lolos, and great grand lolo & lolas. They're eating my food day foods.

Here's me getting ready to blow my Food Day cake!! That's my mami arranging my Food Day balloons.

Blowing the cake! Happy Food Day to meeee!!!

My mami took this picture while I was sleeping. This was after my Food Day celebration. I was very tired but am really happy... and full. :D I won't forget this day. A day I never thought that I would reach when I met that tragic accident a year ago. I'm really lucky to be loved by so many.

I'm looking forward for my next Food Day celebration and I hope my dada and mami buys me a bigger cake... and some ice cream too!

One of my very first videos

2008-01-24T21:05:00.000+08:00

My mami took this video when I was just a few weeks old. I don't remember what I was dreaming but I'm sure that it's something related to food. I'm chewing while sleeping :D

My Inspiration

2008-01-24T20:02:00.000+08:00

I've been watching cooking shows on YouTube and it has always crossed my mind to start a food blog. But I'm too busy eating or sleeping (you could see that very well on my picture above). And then one day while searching for some cooking show videos on the internet, I came across the blog of Daisy the Curly Cat.

I can't forget her website so I nagged my mami until she agreed to design my own. And now here it is. My very own food blog! So what to expect on my site? Well... expect a lot of my pictures and videos, and my day-to-day experiences with my friends, family, and foodmates. I'll tell you about my foodmates some other time. :D

Besides, if a 13yr old boy can blog about adult money stuffs, so could I... with food of course :D

Under Construction

2008-01-23T22:45:00.000+08:00

Sorry if you're encountering some link problems since I've just started this blog a few minutes ago. My dada has already registered my domain at http://mocha.bengero.com but it would take a few hours to update on the internet. You could use my mirror address at http://eatwithmocha.blogspot.com in the mean time. Sorry :)

Hello World!

2008-01-23T22:28:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my Food Blog or what I call a FLOG. My name is Mocha and I'm a 1yr old female dog born on the 22nd of November 2006 in Quezon City, Philippines. You can read all about me below :)

As of today, I'm 1yr and 2 months old. My favorite pastimes include eating and sleeping. Oh, I also love to chew my mami's slippers when she's actually wearing it. It's quite boring to chew on a slipper that doesn't move right? :D I have a little sister named Tria. No she's not a dog but a very cute and friendly girl cat. We love to play bite and seek. :D

My tatas, totos, lolos, and lolas call me Mocha, Mochie, Moki, and a lot of other funny names. My mami always call me bebe. I don't care on what name they call me, the important thing is that they always give me fooood. :D

When I was only 2 months old, I met a tragic car accident that almost killed me. My mami's cousin (my toto francis) and I where playing when it happened. I chased his toy outside our home and into the streets when suddenly, a speeding car hit me. I was lying on my blood on the street when my mami saw me. I heard her crying and calling for my great grandfather (my mami's lolo :P) but I cannot move.

My mami rushed me immediately to my vet. They've injected something to me that really hurt. I was crying, my mami was crying. My vet said that I needed to have an x-ray since I might have a broken bone in my eye or head. But it was already late that night so they decided to have my x-ray the next day. My vet tried his best to stop the bleeding on my mouth. I lost a lot of blood that night and had to spend the rest of the week with dextrose and other apparatus connected to my body.

Luckily, my x-ray results were fine. Nothing was broken but the effects of all the antibiotics and medicines my vet gave me to lose all my hair :( Good thing my mami loves me very much that she gave all her time to me. I recovered and now here I am blogging :)

MY FAVORITES

Every night, my mami gives me my vitamins. I love the taste of it. Very yummy and makes me strong and healthy. It's called Tiki-Tiki Star Syrup. I think this is the reason why I love to eat. It really improves my appetite!

My family is not rich. So my mami and dada can't always buy me expensive doggie treats. That's alright since Breadstix tastes way better!

I get my Breadstix treat every breakfast, breakfast 1, breakfast 2, breakfast 3, lunch 1, lunch 2, lunch 3, meryenda 1, meryenda 2, meryenda 3, dinner 1, dinner 2, dinner 3, and my midnight snacks :D Yummy! You see, I really love to eat :D I hope Monde Nissin reads this so they could supply me a year worth of Breadstix :D

Last Foodmas Season, my Lola Chie from Maryland sent a box of Snausages and Milk Bone to my cousins. My dada gave me some. They were really delicious!

I asked my dada to buy me more but it seems that these doggie treats are not available in the Philippines. :~( Anyone from USA care to send me these treats? I would really appreciate it :)

Here's my bone. My dada bought this one at SM Hypermarket. I love to chew rawhide bones. I was asking my mami to buy me more but my dada said that rawhides are bad if I swallow it. :(

Here's my mami's slippers. I love to chew all her slippers especially when she's wearing it. The slipper in the picture is her nth pair because I really love chewing it :D I don't chew it if she's not wearing it though. It's kinda boring to chew a slipper when it's not moving :D

Here's my bed. The big green pillow was made by my Lola Marlen. The small pillow was my mami's pillow. But because she loves me so much, she gave it to me. I hope my mami gives me more pillows and more foood. :D

MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Here is my baby sister Tria (right picture). She was given by my lola's friend last year. We love to play bite and seek. Tria loves anything that's plastic. She always plays with plastic bags and plastic toys.

Here is my Lolo Luigi. He's my dada's pet. He's already 7 years old and according to our vet, he's part Japanese Spitz and part Labrador. He's really really big. He's the daddy of my Kuya Pocholo :)

He don't like cats and especially dirty and ugly mice. He also dislikes my dada's newsboy :D

Here's my Kuya Pocholo (right picture). He's my dada's pet. Like me, my kuya cholo loves to sleep. His favorite food is Sinigang. We only met last Foodmas of 2006 since my Kuya Pocholo lives with my dada.

My Kuya Cholo also almost lost his life. He was infected with Parvovirus but he survived. Thanks to his vet.

I hope I could meet him soon again :)

Above picture is my extended family. First block of picture is my cute brother and sister Dottie and Boric. They were born last November 13th 2007. Second picture is me and my friend Sassy. This picture was taken last December 25th 2006 at my dada's house. Sassy was featured on TV. She's a hero dog. She saved my dada's aunt when she fell. She was recently given an award by PAWS. Third picture is my baby shishter Aning. She's living with my dada right now and she loves to eat like me :D. Fourth picture is my Lola Kirara. Last picture is my Tita Jacky, she's the mommy of my Kuya Cholo.

Above is my latest picture from the recent Foodmas :D

SUPPORT ME

Do you want to support me? You can send me foods, medicines and supplies. Just contact my mami at this email, lalaineski (AT) gmail (DOT) com or my dada at lastikman (AT) gmail (DOT) com

You can also support my bflog by posting your 90x90 advertisements. It's very cheap! For only US$5.00 a month, you can enjoy a months worth of advertisement on my flog's sidebar. Just contact my mami or dada ok?

CONTACT ME

TO BE UPDATED!