This blog entry is dedicated to a family member whose perceived image is divided into two main schools of thought:
- Rambunctious bundle of energy who strikes terror in non-believers; or
- Rambunctious bundle of fur who is oh-so-adorable
Yup, you have guessed right: that would be the only furry member of the Hougang household - Furgie.
It has always been a childhood dream to have a dog of my own but due to parental objection, that dream was to be fufiled only after I set up my own home. Luckily enough, I also married a man who is (1) an animal lover (sort of) and (2) not allergic to dog hair. With all angles covered, we set out in search of the Perfect Dog.
Before setting out on that journey, we had debates on which breed of dog we wanted. Unfortunately, YSY and I had widely differring views on this.
"Pug?" Epitome of fugly.
"KC cocker spaniel?" Too pansy-ass.
"Boston terrier?" See 'Pug'.
The debate went on and on cos basically my idea of a pet dog ran more along the lines of cutey-pie-lapdog-ish while his was anything with perky ears and pointy snout. Digression: I like my Men In Black while he watched The Mask one time too many - animal cum movie buffs will remember Frank and Milo well.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, we settled on corgis after months of debate. Next came the issue of where to source for one as corgis were not (and still is not) a popular breed in Singapore. Purchasing one from a pet-shop was not one of our favoured options as we have read about the horrors of puppy mills and the terrible conditions in which dogs are bred. To buy from a pet-shop will only encourage the financial motives for which puppy mills are set up for and that is not something that we want though the cost of a dog from the pet shop will probably be easier on our wallets. To find a specialised corgi-breeder in Singapore (who hopefully is ethically responsible as well) was almost impossible because as mentioned earlier, corgis are not a popular dog breed here.
By a stroke of luck, we found an online ad by a home-owner looking to sell his corgi pups. This fitted our goals exactly: not from a pet-shop where the corgi could possibly be puppy-milled and it was not bred with the intention of profits thereby compromising the dog's health. We arranged a meet-up with the uncle to assess the corgi's 'buy-ability' and Furgie was presented to us for the first time in a carton box, sleeping soundly. Our concerns that the uncle was home-breeding for monetary gains were allayed when he told us that if we wanted to buy Furgie, we could only bring her home after her second vacination (this would be when the puppy was around 4 months old which conincide with the minimum legal age requirement for which puppies can be sold in Singapore).
When Furgie was finally ready to be taken home in October 2009, she has changed radically from the tiny bundle of sleeping fur when we first saw her to a playful puppy who is eager to jump all over us (unfortunately, this trait has remained with her till this day. Trust me: being jumped on by 2kg of fur is waaaaaaaaay different from being ambushed by 25kg worth of muscle - I have the bruises to prove it.) Her ears which were droopy at 2 months of age, had also stand to attention in the characteristic 'antenna ears' of corgis all over the world. I fell in love again...
(to be continued...)
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