Gone to the Dogs

Bogart the Wonderdog!

Bogart the fambly dog. My parents adopted him from a shelter in Amsterdam. He is half-Maltese and half-Jack Russell. This is him wearing his orange and getting ready for Queen's Day in Amsterdam :)

Bogart as a puppy with his favorite rubber chicken in Zandvoort.

A photoshopped image(to look like a painting) of Bogart in the snow with his plaid fleece coat at a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Dresden

I know nothing! Well nothing that can be put on a blog that is interesting.

Although, I want to start volunteering at this organization that helps street dogs and cats find homes. They are set up at one of the parks here every Sunday and boyfriend and I go and lament at how bad we each want a dog but no money, no space and my landlord won't allow it, plus I am out of the house most of the day everyday and it gets soooo hot in my apartment that it wouldn't be healthy for the dog.

But...when I do what needs to be done and move out then I should be able to get one! I really miss having a dog. My parents' dog, Bogart, is the best! My parents got him at a shelter in Amsterdam when he was a puppy. He is soooo spoiled, but we love him so much! I miss him (yes, mom I miss you guys too!! haha!) terribly and tried to replace that feeling of having a dog with a super soft terry/cotton fabric toy dog...He's good to cuddle with at night, but alas, it is not the same.

Boyfriend has been thinking about getting a dog. He always sees this half-Husky half-Golden Retriever mix and has fallen for it! He always wants to ask the guy if it is for adoption but doesn't want to be rude. But finally, he asked the guy on Sunday. I think it is up for adoption, but since my Chinese is limited and the owner guy was laughing and joking with me and speaking very simple English, I don't know if he was serious or not.


So anyway, now I am always going to the sites to see what dogs are up for adoption and to see about volunteering opportunities. I emailed them but they haven't emailed me back. Maybe I need to send a CV?

I was talking to mom about this and she has been lecturing me that I need to start meeting people and making friends. The thing is, I have been a hermit for the past couple of years trying to get myself and my life sorted that I have put friends on the bottom of my priority list and still am.
I also think that this has to due with my past experiences in Elementary, middle and high school. At those times, a lot of my good friends moved away and most of the others weren't good friends and were usually mean to me or made fun of me or spread rumours about me for whatever reason. So I've learned to detach myself...I'm not saying that it is a good thing, but it is my self defense.
Also, when you live abroad, friends come and go so easily! They move to different countries or go back to their home country and none truly stay forever. You try to email and stuff but soon it all fades away and you mesh back into your own life..moving on.

But thinking about volunteering for this group would be good for the doggies and kitties and good for me as well. I want to help those animals find good and loving homes just like Bogart did and hopefully one day I can adopt one of my own. I think it will help me because I can do some good and hopefully meet people with one of the same interests as me: DOGGIES!! :)

I know I am very busy with teaching and I still love it of course, but I really want to help doggies and kitties find good homes!


As for why you should NOT buy from pet stores, here is the wiki on that in Chinese, English and Dutch ironically!

Don't buy a pet from a pet store...adopt from a shelter or something! Here's why!

Chinese Version: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B9%81%E6%AE%96%E5%A0%B4

English version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_farming

Dutch: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broodfokker

Some Taiwanese websites:

Taichung Paws: http://www.taichungpaws.org/contents/eng/index.htm

Animals Taiwan (Taipei): http://animalstaiwan.org/index.php

savedogs.org: http://www.savedogs.org/english/index.html

If any of you who read this have any positive information about street dogs in Taiwan/Taichung or know of any more organizations that help these dogs, please feel free to comment. Even if I am not accepted to volunteer at this organization I want to contribute in any positive way I can!

One more thing...here is an American site where you can buy nice gifts, clothes jewelry, fair trade products, coll things made form recycled material and etc. Everytime you buy something from the animal rescue site, they will donate a certain amount of food to animals in shelters. I bought a few things from there and they donated like a 100 or so bowls of food from my purchases.

you can also donate to the rainforest, Breast Cancer fund, Child Literacy, Child Healthy and etc. Hmmm maybe I can ask mom if she can order me something from there ;)

http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do?siteId=310&origin=1460

Rainforest: http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do;jsessionid=20E96467764AC17655BC31DC306B3008.prod-a?siteId=221&link=Store_Header_ARS_to_TRS

Literacy:
http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do?siteId=2001&link=Store_Header_TRS_to_LIT

Child Health:
http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do?siteId=314&link=Store_Header_LIT_to_CHS

Breast Cancer:
http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do?siteId=224&link=Store_Header_CHS_to_BCS

Hunger:
http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/site.do?siteId=220&link=Store_Header_BCS_to_THS