Hello and Seasons Greetings! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas season filled with the joy and blessings of the Christ-child.
Wow! I cannot believe 5 months have passed!!! So much has happened in such a short time.....
Jamaica made history with a medal sweep in athletics at the 2008 Olympics with Ussain Bolt the new local hero. We also lost some great artistes and musicians including the legendary rock steady singer Alton Ellis and soca giant Byron Lee.
We've managed to survive this year's hurricane season with only one close encounter with Gustav.
Closer to home Rebel and/or Zeeks are soon to be daddies...they were asked to father a litter with a neighbour's black Labrador retriever called "Puppy". Rebel's first such encounter was quite an event....we had to let Zeeks, the Casanova, take over...just in case... We are now looking forward to our pick of the litter, who unfortunately will not be staying with us to make the 5-Pack a 6-Pack.
Pic: Zeeks with Puppy
Queenie got another ear infection - 2 months of ear drops and an antibiotic cream and she is OK again.
Noah returned for a day.
Tunda chased a passer-by dog down the road out of sight while I was driving in one day. I can only imagine what transpired ... he came back on his own walking with a slight limp. He's Ok though.
One of our neighbours dogs unfortunately had yet another litter of mutts that strayed into another neighbour's yard and were snuffed out by their dog Taurus. A sad state of affairs.....
Jiggy is now socialised and holding her own with Rebel as they take their turn together around the back yard. She was scared stiff of him at first as he is so rough! But with a bit of encouragement from Pack Leader, Rebel has calmed down significantly!
Pack leader has been happily working on his DIY green energy project and hopes to complete commissioning come January. One third of the house, including my office, will be on solar power !
As for me...a new business venture has been keeping me busy. My Blog entries here will therefore not be quite as frequent.
I'm looking forward to a great 2009 (a year for the K9s! pun intended). It will prove to be a nice little challenge given the world economic crisis. Let us all take one day at a time and have faith that all is well. We have an opportunity to self-correct in many ways. I wish you and your families all the very best. For now from the 5-Pack and all of us here in Jamaica .....
Sometimes we forget just how blessed with beauty and diversity we are here on planet Earth. All caught up in our moment and in everyday life, we forget about all the other ecosystems and all the other creatures, great and small, that are living out their lives as we are.
I was reminded this week by my uncle who sent me a wonderful slide show. The author is due lots of credit and thanks for sharing it. Please take a moment and enjoy in wonder.
As you go through your day, take a moment to stop and look around. You may be lucky to observe another living creature that brings a smile to your face. Remember too that some of them are suffering and on the verge of extinction. Some may not be around for our children and grand children to enjoy in wonder. Take a look at some statistics.
Poodwaddle.com
We need to do whatever we can in our small circle of impact and influence to respect the diversity of life around us and protect our planet's fauna and flora. Let's protect planet earth!
Blessings.....
This weekend we had the pleasure of the company of a small house guest called Noah. His owners are friends of ours and asked us at short notice if we could keep him for a few hours. Naturally I said yes! This would be my first pet sitting stint. Noah was a dream to keep. Unlike our pack he is friendly with strangers and, well, small ...... but his love of attention far exceeds his size. At nine months and still a puppy he is soooooo sweet!
Noah arrived with his bag all packed with favorite toys, treats, water bowl and left over breakfast, which actually came in handy later when he got a little peckish. He took a little while to settle down in the new surroundings. We kept him safe and sound on the upstairs balcony, away form our big shepherds. I stayed with him for a while after his owners left, to get him acclimatised and acquainted. When I moved to leave he'd start to cry. After a few episodes of this, I finally left him, shut the door and stayed a while at the window so he'd think I wasn't far away. Then I snuck quietly downstairs and listened. Silence ...... he was finally OK.
Our guest for the day was no problem at all. He stayed quietly most of the time by himself while I got on with things I had to do. I had to keep him on a long extended leash because as soon as I opened the door, he would dart inside, as if looking for his masters. Throughout the day I'd check on him occasionally to see if he was alright. A few times I opened the door and was greeted with such enthusiasm you'd think he hadn't seen anyone for weeks! I'd give him a good showing of affection and then reluctantly get back to my activities, but always with a short protest form Noah. 
Later on in the evening when he really felt like playing and we got into a long and serious tug of war game with one of his favorite new toys. We played fetch with his chew bone too, after which he spent a good while chewing and eating it with great enthusiasm. That seemed to open up his appetite and he subsequently finished the rest of his breakfast. When our Rebel and Queenie started their routine evening romp, Noah peeped out and quietly observed the dog-on-dog rough play and barking that they usually enjoy. "Hmmmmm ...that looks like fun" , he seemed to be thinking.
Eventually when his owners arrived, he greeted them heartily. He was in his glee! He had a good day it seems but was glad to go home. In departing he was sure to leave his mark all over the yard. His final parting gesture when I sadly waved "bye Noah", was to lift his hind leg and fertilise the gate column. 
Hmmm....what gratitude.......no reshpect Noah, no reshpect !!
