Relaxing

Chained

I took these photo's when I arrived in Ganghwa. Documenting some of the dogs in my neighbourhood. Six months since my arrival and many of them aren't here anymore.

The Reality Is...

The reality is that although our house looks pristine and white in the lovely spread Canadian House & Home did in their current issue, it really isn't like that in real life...

I thought I would share a few images with you of Ned and my mum and dad's Golden Retriever, Gus from the weekend. We had Gus over to stay for a couple of days and look what they got up to!

Obviously Ned became very scared once he spotted me...he jumped off the sofa very quickly and couldn't believe that Gus had the guts to remain there without any worries what-so-ever. If you look closely you can see that the white slip covered sofa is in a terrible state...I think it might need a new cover in some hardy denim next time round!!

Just a bit of evidence to show you that we actually live in a white-with-dirty-smudges-everywhere house!!

The fruits of these practices and policies are to be seen

I met Torca and his owner at the Durbanville dump next to Morning Star. Torca was brought here to an open field to mate with another Pit Bull Terrier.

When the two dogs met they immediately confronted each other in a hostile way and when Torca jumped on the back of the bitch she bit at Torca and the informal mating meeting was over.
The owner of the bitch went back home to get a mask for his dog so that they could mate with no violence involved.

Torca’s owner came to us to ask for a cigarette while he was waiting for the quickie to take place on the soccer field.
The dog seemed relaxed, but when confronted by anther dog he became fearless and violent.



I have heard about dog fighting before, but I have never seen or spoken to anyone involved. This guy (let’s call him Sylvester) was bragging about his dog and the fights he had won. Apparently there is big money involved in the fighting and breeding of fighter dogs.

Sylvester, with his dog tattooed on his arm, started telling me about the dog fighting industry and how Torca is regarded as one of the top fighter dogs in the area. Torca was underfed so that he could remain versatile.

The dogs receive medical care at home when they get hurt, as you can’t take them to the vet because they are violating animal rights.
Mobs of people come together on open fields to fight their dogs with the hope to win a bet and make some money.

It saddened me to see such a beautiful animal being forced and encouraged to fight other dogs for financial gain.
Sylvester loved his dog, but he did not love animals. If Torca had to die then he would just replace him, though his tattoo would remain for life. Or he could just call his next dog Torca again.

A Collar for Ned

I just came across these very cool Mascot dog collars and leads. I think I am going to have to order one in for Ned. Only problem will be trying to decide on which colour.....probably Navy.

A Bed for Ned

Ideally it would have been great to have had a bed built for Ned just like this one above when we were renovating last year however, we weren't considering a new puppy at that time. So, after all my thoughts of where or what Ned will sleep in it seems he has opted for the easiest option of all. He loves to sleep on a towel, albeit an Ralph Lauren towel, on the floor right next to my side of our bed....yes I know I am a softie letting him sleep inside but that's just the way I am. I couldn't sleep knowing he was outside all on his own. He has found his resting spot and I'm thrilled.

Image 1 - via Brabourne Farm Blog