Lemondrop: Getting ready for the Hong Kong trailwalker

I heard from the humans that there is a Hong Kong trailwalker event in November every year and some village dog told another dog which told my neighbour Mr Smith that the dog who wins it will get a lifetime of treats! Of course I am quite skeptical because: 1. which dog would like to eat so much and exercise so much as well? (case in point, my ex-neighbour, Zack) 2. who is stupid enough to sponsor such a prize? But really, I am not taking any chances so I will train hard and win it! I can just imagine, a heap of salami, another heap of freeze-dried liver, another of mature cheddar cheese..... hmmm

So we went to human H's house at Sai Kung. Mommy v was getting ready for the hike while waiting for the other humans to show up.


I don't like sitting still so I sniffed around and did my usual peeing. Oops - I didn't realize it was a Porsche's wheel I peed at! Milkshake, don't linger around to give the game away....


Spud and Doodle were waiting very patiently inside their home while human H was herding the rest of the humans to the starting point (where we were).


And they finally arrived!


So off we went to the MacLehose Trail. Some stupid monkey spelt it as Mack Lee Ho. This is why I like to chase the monkeys so much. They need to get their spelling right!

It was a hot day for a walk so while we were waiting for everyone else to catch up, Milkshake had a rest.


I had a quick salad snack in the mean time. hehe.


Little human m went to hide and none of us could find her! Where was she?!


Spud was also feeling the heat so had a rest on the "picnic table" to cool off.


We met six other HKDR dogs along the way. Dogs in the mist.


It was hard to keep up with the awful heat...


But the reward of rolling in cow dung was worth the uphill trek!


We finally got to the big field of golden grass. Even the humans were happy.


Mommy w played the Yellow Ball with me again! I was very happy indeed.


Milkshake followed Mommy v up Pyramid Hill instead. It's that high mountain in this picture. I think they are crazy to do that, especially when there is the Yellow Ball Game to play.


But Milkshake looked like she really enjoyed the climb.


When we got to the stream, I was so ready for a soak! Milkshake of course went straight for it without any hesitation. We stayed there for a while before mommy v told us both to follow her. Apparently mommy w and some humans took a wrong turn and have gone on a different route.


We managed to find them and had lunch together at Sai Kung town.
Then it was time to go home.


Milkshake looked happy...

Lemondrop: Shing Mun + Samsonite

After a week of awful cold weather, we finally went on a nice hike today. It's one of my favourite hikes, at Shing Mun Reservoir! This one has all the monkeys I can chase and I had a good time howling at them. The silly humans thought I was howling for fun; little did they know that this is what I am born for - to chase annoying animals such as monkeys and rabbits, and when they are cornered, to howl until my masters come and shoot them with their rifles.

Donny and Auntie J and M joined us today. Milkshake and I were overjoyed to see them again and we were extra happy that it was a small hiking group.

Anyway we had the usual break at the Grove, where Mommy v played the Yellow Ball with me again. The water level has gone down quite a bit since the last time we were here!



Donny refused to go into the water to play with me so he ran off into the woods, leaving Auntie M really worried indeed. Milkshake tried to go after the Yellow Ball but no one can beat me when it comes to swimming...


But I had to turn back after getting the Yellow Ball so even though Milkshake was slower than me, she could pounce on me to try to get the Yellow Ball out of my mighty jaws.


But I always manage to out-swim her! Ha!


Milkshake looked happy today even though the water was chilly.


"Please mommy, I want one more!"



Of course I had a few rolls in a few piles of soft cow dung today; I really couldn't help it despite knowing what the consequences are (fierce telling-off from the mommies and a really good scrub from the Water god)...

*

After a short nap, mommy v came home and gave me a bright red Samsonite bag to guard.


She said I can fit into it. She wants to bring me to a place called singapore so I can visit my cousins Kiya and Louie. Frankly I'm not too keen as I heard Kiya likes her food as much as I like mine. Hm.

Milkshake: Who am I?

I have mommy v and w all upset and agitated. Mommy v went somewhere far, far away during Chinese New Year and when she came back she smelled of a rottweiler and a.. desert dog... a saluki? Anyway she came home and started asking me, "Are you Pimms? Are you Pimms? Tell me, are you Pimms?" Mommy w has since asked me a million times too.

Here are some pictures of Pimms:







Here is a picture of me:


What do you think? heehee. I'm not telling!

Mommy v is visibly upset. I desperately want to tell her that whether Pimms is me or not, I don't care because I now have a forever home with her, where I don't have to worry about being abandoned on the streets or having nothing to eat for days on end. I only live for today; waking her up to her everyday, having her around to pet me and going for long runs with her, is more than I can ever ask for.

Milkshake: Our favourite hike at Tai Long Wan once again!

Today's hike was extra crowded as we had many new friends, both humans and canine.
Here's Dai Sao, the 9-year old beagle. I wonder if Lemondrop will look all white when he grows old.


Even the dogs from the HKDR kennels were out today. I recognized some of them but I felt too embarrassed to say hello; they are still desperately looking for a nice home to go to, while I was in and out of the kennels in less than a week. I feel so sorry for them...


We had to take a ten minute taxi ride to the start of the hike but we were delayed for a while as Solo got car sick and threw up his breakfast. The unlucky taxi is the one on the right... all the humans were trying very hard to clean up as best they could.


Arlo also joined us today. He was gearing up to go!

Lucky, my three-legged friend, was also at the hike. She was barking less than usual (but still loud) and she kept up with all of us and sometimes even led the pack. Having one less leg doesn't seem to hinder her at all.

Ohhh.... Solo has grown to be quite the looker! He has a stoic charm about him, and he looks remarkably handsome with his black coat and long legs. I just couldn't take my eyes off him!


Lemondrop is still my favourite buddy and I love running with him. It was cloudy and drizzly but it was still a great day out.




We got to the beach again and everyone was let off leash. Lemondrop was, predictably, chasing the Yellow Ball the whole time.


While I was investigating some of the rubbish on the beach, I accidentally smeared some grease on my paws - neat! I'm looking grubby for a change.


Probably the only time when Lemondrop is not around "treat time" by auntie J. Look how Lucky loves her food!


The rest of the pack finally caught up with us at Sai Wan beach.


This is Prancer, another Lab cross. He is crazy about sticks and the Yellow Ball, just like Lemondrop. The humans said something about me not having the labrador gene because I don't like chasing the Yellow Ball, and I wish I could tell them that I just don't see the point of retrieving balls. It's so pointless and anti-social! I would rather play with the other dogs.


Donny is very spirited so has to be kept on the leash almost all the time. Mommy v took him up the hill first (it seemed to me she was dragged along by Donny!) and he waited for his mommy, auntie J.


This was the last we saw Lemondrop for a while. We went all the way down to Tai Long Wan beach and suddenly mommy v and w realized he wasn't with us. He wasn't at the front of the pack which was very unsual so everyone got into a panic. I knew where he was - at the BBQ area we passed by just after Sai Wan. Lucky earlier found something smokey and edible so obviously Lemondrop joined in. Knowing that mommy v would disapprove, he went into the bushes and gorged himself to his heart's content, while all the dogs moved on. So after his feast, all of us were long gone. But somehow he managed to find his way back to the top of the hill and when mommy v and w were going back up the path to look for him, his nose brought him back to us. I knew he was alright but both mommies looked visibly worried. He is most definitely going to suffer a bad tummy ache later from all that rubbish he ate!


Mommy v ran a lot more today and took us ona different trail from the others. Some parts were quite pretty.


Redding loves the ocean and water and boats. It must be because of his history - he was actually found on a boat drifting in the sea. So it wasn't a surprise when he jumped into the sampan straight away without any prompting.


Compare him to Lucky, who had to be carried onto the boat.


The boat was very crowded today...


We needed two boats for all 21 humans and 24 canines.


All too soon, the hike ended and we had to go back to the city. If only I can do this everyday...