Your responses throughout Snoop’s ordeal have been heart-felt and positive – from the time he had his lump removed and diagnosed, to the decision that I had to make to amputate, and to after the amputation. If he was human, he would be very grateful because I know I am.

Many of you expressed sadness which is expected. So let me share with you some pictures and a video (1:46) which will show you that, although he’s not the same as before, he hasn’t lost any of his spirit.

And to make sure that he remains healthy for a long time yet, I will be adding more freshly cooked meat to his diet for extra nutrition to protect and strengthen his joints, especially the ones around the remaining front leg.

Snoop post-amputation from Marcus Ooi on Vimeo

There are no-frills airlines such as Ryan Air, Air Asia, and Virgin Blue. There’s even a no-frills cruise company called EasyCruise. And now, what must be the first one in the world, there’s a no-frills hotel called “Tune Hotel” located in the heart of KL, Malaysia.

If you think the colours look familiar, you are correct. This innovative enterprise is founded by the same guy who founded Air Asia, Tony Fernandes. The easiest way to describe it is that it’s a dirt-cheap boutique hotel – rooms start from RM$9.99. Yup, 10 Malaysian ringgit (AUD 3.59, USD 2.94).

True to the no-frills concept, you only get a room, a shower and a bed for the price. You even have to pay for air-conditioning – 5 hours@RM4.99 or 12 hours@RM9.99. Otherwise you have to make do with the ceiling fan. Other things that you can buy include towels, toiletries and food. Needless to say, there isn’t a mini-bar but if you choose for a no-frills hotel, you ain’t the type who’d spend $3 for a mini-can of Coke anyway.

It’s located near a monorail station, and very close to Asian Heritage Row, the newest clubbing district in KL. The monorail allows easy access to the Chinatown at Petaling Street, and the shopping area of Bukit Bintang. If not the monorail, then other interesting places like Zouk, KLCC and the Twin Towers are a short taxi ride away.

This may seem like a sponsored-post but it isn’t. I wished it was though – spruiking for a commercial venture with a cool concept like this is way easy. Maybe they might catch this post, and let me try out the place for free next time. It would be good for a place to crash after a night out clubbing. Woohoo!

(via Rojaks)

The operation was done yesterday and it went smoothly. The spot where they amputated him looks worse than it really is. He also had his body x-rayed and it showed no other unusual growths, which means that the cancer never spread. In hindsight, perhaps it was a good thing the lump wasn’t cut out when I first discovered it back in December. Otherwise, Snoop wouldn’t have had these past 6 months with his 4 limbs to run around with. It was a blessing in disguise, but probably also lucky that the tumour was not aggressive.

When I picked him up at the clinic this morning, he had a lot of energy though it was weird seeing him hop around on his three legs. I think he was still trying to run, but at least he didn’t fall down.

The painkillers and sedatives kicked in soon after we reached home and he’s been sleeping ever since. I will get a video of him in motion when he’s not so groggy.

At the moment, it feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off me and my mood has changed for the better. Was talking to Blinkymummy last night about our pets and I said, “I read that in a situation like mine, humans feel more about it than the animal would.” To which she said, “That’s expected because we impose our values on our pets.”

She’s right. They enrich our lives so much being a part of our families, that we tend to think of them as more than just animals. In the end, all they really need is food, shelter and lots of love and company. And there’s lots of those in our household.

Time for a bit of levity. The original filename of this picture was “dumbbitch.jpg”. Hahaha!

The only reason that this would be appropriate, would be that she has a problem with her back or legs and she couldn’t walk properly. But then if she did have those problems, she wouldn’t be able to ride a Segway anyway. So no, this isn’t appropriate.

I fished out some choice comments from the Gizmodo thread:

1. America, FUCK YEAH!
2. She’s so white and nerdy!*

* see Weird Al Yankovic’s song of the same name. Heheh.

(via Gizmodo via LiveJournal)

“Real life gets in the way of blogging.”

There have been a few times that that has happened in the past, but none more so than this past week. I’ve been sounding positive with the posts so far, and even though I’m a positive person now it wasn’t always been like this and it definitely takes a determined effort to see the brighter side of things.

Albeit briefly, depression or at the very least melancholia have crept in from time to time since the day Snoop had this surgery. Feelings of grief and sadness are natural. Afterall, humans are empathetic and compassionate beings. However, I let these moments happen but I don’t let them linger.

Shelly commented that I should put my positiveness in a pill, and coincidentally posted something titled “Perception vs. Reality“. Her post was about how our reality is perceived through our own conditions and prejudices.

And I agree with her. The reality remains the same no matter how we choose to perceive it. Therein lies the key: we have the choice to be positive or to dwell on the negative. I choose to see the positives in less than ideal situations.

Though that is not an innate skill of mine – I had to learn it. You can too. There are many things in life which you will not have control over, but you do with your perception. So, choose the positive.

Got Snoop back from the clinic this morning. He had been there since Tuesday morning for the surgery. He looks well and lively. The diagnosis was what I have prepared myself for. The lump was a kind of tumour and with a bit of it left in place, it will keep growing back at the same spot. This will require painful and stressful surgery everytime it needs to be cut off. The sorta good news is that it is not an aggressive tumour and it hasn’t spread anywhere else, but it might over time.

The vet and I both agree that having repeated surgery to cut it out is not a good long term solution. Plus, by leaving the tumour to grow, Snoop might develop cancer somewhere else. So the other option is amputation of the leg and it will be scheduled for sometime next week. I wasn’t sad about it because it really had to be done, though I wonder how will it affect his personality.

My family and cousins were more shell-shocked because they haven’t been updated about it as constantly as I was. It’d be an interesting time helping him walk on three legs, but better a live dog than a dead one. I’ve always been practical about things, and I is definitely not sentimental.

No point dwelling on what couldn’t be avoided. Instead I’m going to focus on the positive – Snoop’s only 6 this year. He’s got quite a few more years left in him yet.

A dog is like a kid who never grows up. He depends on you for everything. You provide food and water, and you pick up his shit. You take him to the vet and give him his medicine. He doesn’t know what’s good for him or what’s bad for him, until it happens to him.

Since Snoop had the surgery, the waiting for the lab analysis results of his lump is especially hard. The past few days I’ve gone from worrying to optimism, and back to worrying again. I find myself drifting with random thoughts at home and at work.

What if it is cancer and it has spread to other parts of his body?
What if amputating his paw wouldn’t save him?
But he’s been fine all this time, if it’s cancer surely he would have shown signs of being ill?
Should the lump have been removed earlier? Should I have insisted that the vet operate even thought he didn’t suggest it at the time?

As a result, self-doubt and melancholia have set in occasionally. This must be like what parents go through when their children go through a major illness. Or when they go out alone with friends. Or when they first get their license and drive. Or when they first started having sex. Is this what my parents went through – the constant worrying?

So why do we do it? The most obvious answer is unconditional love and the satisfaction in watching them grow and be healthy. At least that’s what I feel it is with pets and young children anyway. I’m not too sure about teenagers.