One Small Month; One Giant Growth Spurt...

Cookie has undergone an amazing physical change in the month that she's been with us...

From the little bundle of fur that we first laid eyes on a few weeks back, she's stretched and grown in all directions... and now beginning to suggest what she'll look like when she reaches adulthood.

But judging from the size of her paws, she still has a fair bit of growing left in her! Fortunately although her growth is phenomenal, Cookie herself is gradually calming down (although she still has her occasional moments of madness), so the cats are beginning to find her a little more approachable - which is good news for everyone...

Join Cookie for more fun and adventures on Instagram and Facebook!

PEACE NEGOTIATIONS...

 It's been about a month now, since Cookie joined the Clan...

A lot has happened in that time. We've had sadness, with the loss of Joey, and we've had some worries with Cookie's earlier illnesses. But life goes on, and although we all miss Joey tremendously, Cookie goes from strength to strength.

The only thing that is still lacking is the all-important vote of acceptance by the cats... Led by 17-year-old matriarch, Jelly, the four felines are taking their time with Cookie. They are still very wary of this little bundle of energy charging up and down their once peaceful territory.

The only one that is making an attempt to at least interact with Cookie is Pumpkin...

After several scuffles and a few well-aimed slaps to the face, its slowly beginning to dawn on Cookie that the first thing she's got to do to make even the slightest progress with the cats is to SLOW DOWN... She gets so excited when she see's any of them that she charges full speed towards them - and no self-respecting cat appreciates a canine missile heading in their general direction.

Out of the four of them, Pumpkin seems to have the most confidence - and patience, to handle the puppy's rough-housing and gives as good as she gets... We have the greatest hope that peace negotiations will begin with her, and the others will follow her lead...

Cookie tries to get close to Pumpkin...

Some however, we are less hopeful about. Lovable teddy-bear of a cat, Monkey, looks at us eternally with big sad eyes, as if asking, "Why? Why did you bring this thing into our home?" He's going to take quite a bit of convincing...

Monkey asks, "Why?"

Cookie still revels in stealing the cats' food and their toys, even though she has plenty of both for herself. And sometimes she has to be rescued when feline patience runs dry and the claws come out. But as the days go by, she is gradually calming down and finding her place.

Mum saves Cookie from the evil cats...

We'll have a small celebration on the day that Cookie and Jelly finally sit down peacefully together...  

Remember to follow Cookie on Facebook!

JOEY: It's Hard To Say Goodbye...

Life is strange. Just a couple of weeks ago I was sat up at 4am with a crying little puppy, trying to find a song to coax her to sleep with, during her first night at home. 

After little Cookie finally calmed down and drifted back to sleep, we felt flushed with success; full of anticipation and excitement at the prospect of us raising her into adulthood. 

And a major part of that process would be Joey, our 13-year-old soldier, teaching the pup the ways of the world and the tricks she would need to get on the good side of her humans. 

But it was not to be... Joey was recently diagnosed with Cushings Disease, her kidney and liver functions became severely compromised and she began to shut down. She was in a lot of discomfort and any further treatment we could inflict upon her would only delay the inevitable... 



She's been a good girl. A tough little fighter, never afraid of anything or anyone. 

I wish more than anything, that she and Cookie would have gotten to know each other. But I take solace that we have furkids up there waiting for her....

Joey passed away at 7:48pm on the 22nd April. Strong to the finish, and despite all the discomfort, she died standing up. Refused to show any weakness. Right to the end. What a way to go.

Joey: Watching the World go by...

She will be missed forever...

EXCLUSIVELY MONGRELS LTD: APRIL ADOPTION DRIVE

Exclusively Mongrels Limited, who rescued Cookie, are holding their next adoption drive very soon!

For those of you in Singapore, go down and support them, meet the doggies, and even consider bringing one of these special "Specials" into your lives!

To find out more about Exclusively Mongrels Ltd, visit their Facebook Page.

- And visit Cookie whilst you're at it!

VET VISIT: THE SEQUEL

After her first week at home, Cookie went back to West Coast Vetcare for her follow-up...

Cookie: on the move!

And when we said she has a huge appetite, we were not kidding. She's put on 1.4kg in just one week!

Although she's been given an overall clean bill of health, Dr. Melvin Tan did notice that her red blood cell count was dropping... Now this could be an indication of the presence of Babesia in Cookie's bloodstream.

Babesias are microscopic blood parasites that cause disease in many animals, and they are spread from dog to dog by ticks. Although Cookie has been cleared of ticks, her first few weeks of life were spent out in the wilderness, where she would have been far more susceptible to tick bites and infections. Its pretty common for all strays to suffer the same fate, and one species of Babesia (B. gibsoni) is particularly common in Asia.

Babesia gibsoni infecting a canine red blood cell

If left untreated, it can cause the sudden destruction of blood, known as acute haemolytic anaemia in dogs. So its off to the vets again in a couple of days to get this test done. Unfortunately Cookie is not a fan of having her blood taken, but it'll be for her own good in the long run!

Follow Cookie and more of her adventures on https://www.facebook.com/cookiebeardog

THE PARLIAMENT OF CATS

Cookie's new home is also the headquarters of a group of four very opinionated cats...

L to R: Jelly, Monkey and Pumpkin

A week into her introduction to the Clan, and they are still very dubious of the new addition - hence the "Parliament of Cats"...

Chucky

All four of them have so far taken a unanimous vote of "No Confidence" against Cookie - and continue to watch her suspiciously from the safe heights of the sofa cushions...

Follow more of Cookie's adventures growing up at her Facebook Page!

MAKING FRIENDS: JOEY

One family member Cookie has to really impress is Joey, the resident 13-year-old Top Dog!

Since we lost Cocoa (our first Singapore Special) to cancer in November 2013, Joey has taken on the role of guard- and watch- dog, and nothing seems to phase her, even though she is smaller than our cats...

Follow Joey on her own Facebook Page!

But now with this new kid on the block, Joey is taking her time adjusting to Cookie. She's still extremely suspicious. But Cookie just won't give up trying to make friends!

For more adventures with Cookie, check out her Facebook Page!