Arse Luck Sunday

Thurs, 16 October - Sun, 19 Oct 2008: Arse Luck Sunday

Lynette, Kiri and I finally got to meet up on Thursday, weeks after Lynette's return from London. We met up for lunch at her hotel, exchanged gifts and hugs and spent an enjoyable 2 hours catching up on each other's lives.

I had been going back to the parental home after work every day since Sunday to look after Amber and Chocky, so it was Covert Twin's turn to look after the doggies on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, I went back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters and thought I had died and gone to heaven because the fridge produce drawer was full of CANDY! Liquorice allsorts in all colours of the rainbow, dark chocolate pastilles, liquorice-blackcurrant humbugs, red liquorice chews, chocolate-coated liquorice stubs, liquorice ropes, white chocolate bars, slabs of chocolate with alcohol-filled centres! Apparently, Jake's aunt had just returned from another trip to Australia and had got us all loads of candy. I think Jake’s aunt deserves an Auntie of the Year Award for her thoughtfulness and generosity. I am sure the local dentists would agree with my nomination. We spent the rest of the week scarfing candy until our teeth hurt.

Keisha came over for boarding on Friday night, as Hui-Min would be attending her cousin's wedding in Singapore. I love this arrangement because it allows Keisha to socialise with her old friends and because I love having guests, two-legged and four-legged, anyway.

Covert Mum and Covert Dad arrived at KLIA around 0230h on Saturday, and so I went back to the parental home to see them. I helped them with the unpacking, tidying up and laundry, and hand-washed their sweaters for them. I gave Amber a bath and brushed her teeth, but was concerned about Chocky's chesty cough and asked Covert Twin and his girl not to get Chocky's fur wet yet. I called up the vet to fix an appointment, crammed everyone into the Battletank, and off we went to see Dr. Peter. Dr. Peter diagnosed Chocky as having flu and fever, and gave him 2 shots to speed up the healing process. We clung to Chocky like rodeo cowboys to stop him from bucking. To reward him for being such a good boy, Covert Twin got him a huge new bag of Bil-Jac dog food.

After the vet visit, I resumed cleaning the parental home. Cleaned the living and dining rooms, kitchen and my bedroom. Took Amber on a car ride and a walk, took the parents out to dinner and did a load of ironing.

Sunday was Arse Luck Day. I took Amber for a walk in the morning and then proceeded to cook rice and prepare the vegetables for lunch. I suffered a non-fatal electric shock when I was straightening the cable of the rice cooker. I felt a jolt go through my left arm and the force threw me off my feet. My arm hurt as though I had been lifting weights. There was a burning sensation in the tip of my index finger, as though I had burned myself on a hot stove. I’ve had it with that rice cooker! The 20-year-old rice cooker has got to go. I will be getting my parents a new rice cooker. No way will I ever let them touch the infernal appliance again!

Having recovered from the electric shock, I got the rest of the lunch things ready, cleaned the house and washed the driveway with rainwater. Went to the SPCA after lunch to help out with the animal care and kennel work.

Shadow and Mini-Me were in good health and very happy to see me. I assured them that I would be taking them home and let them rest in the big carrier while I went about my duties.

Rose and I bathed and tickwashed the dogs from Kennel E and the maternity kennels. Adoption rates have been stable but surrender rates are still 10 times higher than adoption rates. Many of the new admissions are pregnant or ill, which is frustrating and sad, because they will then have to be needlessly euthanised.

After bathing and medicating the dogs, I helped Rose put the dog-washing gear away and started cleaning the shelter. Reve let the dogs out to play and cleaned the Mummy Kennels while I cleaned the office and front Reception/Admin area. Then I started cleaning the cages behind the office. Reve and I had to confine a female dog, a relatively new admission, as she was in heat, but this did not stop the male dogs from sticking their paws in between the cage bars and howling their messages of undying passion to their lady love.

I made the mistake of opening her cage door just a little so I could clean inside. Before you could say "Safe Sex!" a male poodle-crossbreed made a heroic leap into the cage and began making advances, accompanied by vigorous drooling, at the helpless female. Being the responsible adult here, I had to try to separate the two, of course, and so I stepped in with nothing more than gloved hands to separate the two. He is, after all, a mere poodle-cross.

The pasting I received from the poodle was amazing. I shouldn't have been deceived by the fluffy wing-like ears and the vacuous Hello Kitty face. He had a death grip and it took me a few minutes of swearing and prying before I could free my thumb. It took a while before I managed to get the poodle out of the enclosure, having received no help from the female dog. My thumb was swollen but there were thankfully no puncture wounds, thanks to my rubber gloves.

I resumed soaping, scrubbing and disinfecting the Puppy Areas and the Cattery. While I was in the Cattery, I was approached by a black-and-white tomcat with a bad case of the flu. He came up to me and pleaded with rheumy eyes, expecting me to help reduce his suffering. I picked him up, put him in a cage with food, water and a litter tray that kindhearted Reve had prepared for him after hearing my report, and put up a sign informing the vets that I would like him treated for flu, vaccinated, neutered and released, at my expense. I will pay for his flu treatment next week, and I hope he would be ready for vaccination by then. I can provide home care until the vaccination period is over, and then bring him back for neutering. At the very least, by removing him from the Cattery, I could prevent his flu and eye infection from spreading to the other cats.

I finished cleaning the shelter, put my new kitty (which I have named Tuxedo) in a warm place, cleaned myself up, put Shadow and Mini-Me in the Battletank and drove on home.

Since Shadow and Mini-Me behaved so well in the carrier, I decided that a 10-minute stop at the night market wouldn't hurt. I stopped by for a drink and a corn-on-the-cob before driving the kitties home. Once out of the carrier, the kitties, although neutered, behaved like their usual rambunctious selves. Shadow immediately started scaling the walls and furniture and pouncing on all the other cats' tails.

It has been pretty much an ordinary Arse Luck Sunday. I washed my stinky shelter clothes, changed the bedsheets and the rugs, cleaned the 'Quarters up, uploaded some photos onto Facebook, applied ointment onto my injured hand and wondered if the cats would ever let me have my bed back.

Covert Operations, Over!