Official Photographer - Bernard Wee
Offical Groomer: Awesome Pawsome
Fetch-Box Singapore
A Powerful Picture Speaks More Than A Thousand Words
When I first saw this on a friend's Instagram page, I jumped. I knew I had to write a blog entry while the words are still fresh in my mind.
You might think it is just a picture depicting a happy family unit with their pet. But what some people might not know... is the power of this photo and what it represents. Traditionally, Muslims have been taught that dogs are "unclean" animals and should they get in contact with one, they must perform a cleaning ritual seven times, one of which must be earth.
Yet in the light of the Hari Raya festivities happening, the appearance of such a picture tugs at one's heart strings and wonder if there is a change happening at our doorstep.
I am sure that there will be flak but for now, let's appreciate the fact that the love for Man's best friend is shown in the best of light in this instance.
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| Picture credit: @dinierhmn |
"As far as I'm concerned, people are more interested in giving God's creations a good home. In a time where there are bigger issues in Islam such as abortions, masturbations etc and someone taking care of a dog is NOT an issue. There is a popular story where I heard during Ramadhan where a female prostitute gave a thirsty dog the water in her shoes and she went to heaven for her good deeds. I still cannot see why loving something, in this case, a dog is a sin. I may not be the most well-versed in the Quran but I know promoting hate is wrong in Islam and it applies to canines too." - Dinie Rahman, @dinierhmn
Labels: dogs, dogsofinstasg, mixed breed, muslim, pets, picture, stories
Treats Of Creativity - Feed My Paws
With this dreary weather, it can only mean one thing, sharing The Wong Dog's latest finds - meaning what Cory and Cole have been munching on! Let’s hope these two rascals keep their weight down with all the exercise I am giving them! 
This time, the boys received a fabulous care package from the up-and-coming Feed My Paws! Owner and professional dog sitter, Crystle Tan made it a point to ask which of her many treats and cakes would suit the boys. I ended up quite a haul. She explains that this is simply due to the well-being of every pet, “Every item on the menu is typically made-to-order.”
Starting Feed My Paws in November last year, Tan had a head start in her cooking skills when she had to prepare home-cooked meals for pets with different nutritional needs every day. “My customers were very happy to see the difference the meals made to the lifestyle of their pets,” she says. Soon, her customers were taking orders from her and that encouraged Tan to go into this full time.
Delivery day came and Tan made sure the boys had something extra special! An extra packet of Beef Lungs and pup cakes were added to the mix!
Cory and Cole’s sampling platter:
1. Little Carrots Biscuits (From $10.00)
Who knew that carrots treats could look this good? Adding in Manuka honey for a boost of antioxidants, it is a guilt-free moment every time I dished one out for good behaviour.
2. Mighty Milk Animal Cookies (From $14.00)
It is a zoo out there! These are almost too cute to let the boys chomp everything down! Using lactose-free cow’s and goat’s milk, these are easy to digest. Insisting on using organic produce, these Might Milk Animal Cookies also contains organic brown rice flour and coconut oil.
It is a zoo out there! These are almost too cute to let the boys chomp everything down! Using lactose-free cow’s and goat’s milk, these are easy to digest. Insisting on using organic produce, these Might Milk Animal Cookies also contains organic brown rice flour and coconut oil.
3. Organic Mini Cupcakes (Set of four for $9.80)
It is going to get messy! But can you blame the boys when they smelt so fragrant? With ingredients brown rice, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato among others, you can also choose from a variety of meats such as Beef, Salmon, Pork and Chicken.
It is going to get messy! But can you blame the boys when they smelt so fragrant? With ingredients brown rice, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato among others, you can also choose from a variety of meats such as Beef, Salmon, Pork and Chicken.
4. Pork and Apple Cinnamon Cookies (From $12.00)
If I love the fragrance of pork and apple cinnamon combined, can you imagine how much more the boys will enjoy it? Well, the sure did by running away from me to enjoy these relatively large biscuits in their own quiet corner.
If I love the fragrance of pork and apple cinnamon combined, can you imagine how much more the boys will enjoy it? Well, the sure did by running away from me to enjoy these relatively large biscuits in their own quiet corner.
5. Beef Lungs (From $10.00)
Trust me, from personal experience, making this is no easy task! But Tan has managed to perfect the process which took 15 hours to prepare! Looking at the speed the boys devour these portions each time, I doubt they truly know how much work went into it!
Trust me, from personal experience, making this is no easy task! But Tan has managed to perfect the process which took 15 hours to prepare! Looking at the speed the boys devour these portions each time, I doubt they truly know how much work went into it!
Tan assures me that all her produce are 100 percent natural and uses human-grade ingredients. She is so serious that there is even a furry panel of judges who have tried and tested every recipe before she puts it up for sale. “In fact, I think they are sometimes a little too honest!” she laughs. Though I did not pry, I suspect these picky judges are none other than Hoovy, a 12-year-old Chihuahua and Skotch a six-year-old Pomeranian. “Skotch was a very sickly pup when he was one and half years and we made countless visits to the vet. Skin issues, diarrhoea and vomiting and even a viral infection,” she explains. Upon the advice of her vet, she started cooking for Skotch and he has been healthy ever since.
Her quirky creations are inspired by the very things she eats and said her dogs staring at her each time was the starting point to everything, “You know how it is, when you eat something and they never stop staring?” To ensure that all the food produced is nutritionally balanced, she seeks the advice through veterinarian friends who informs her the best ingredients to use.
Feed My Paws is also about giving back to the community. Tan does her best to work closely with a number of dog shelters here in Singapore. “I always appreciate playing their dogs and watching them chomp down on their treats is one of the best feelings in the world!” she says. Tan has big plans for Feed My Paws and hopes that in time to come, it will become a household name for furkids on our little red dot, “I would like people to think of our dog treats that are not only healthy but adorable and fun. With a successful business, it also means I can contribute even more to our local shelters and I am definitely looking forward to that.”
Labels: dogs, homemade, pets, review, treats
Treat Of The Week – Superdog Kitchen Strawberry Jelly Mint Tart
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| Strawberry Jelly Mint Tart |
The Wong Dogs could hardly believe such beautiful-looking tarts were available exclusively for dogs! As such, I had Gwen Tan of Superdog Kitchen make a Strawberry Jelly Mint Tart.
Besides knowing the
boys will gobble every slice they are given, I was partially attracted to its
rich colour. Honestly, looking at the pictures, could you fault me?
Upon opening the box, the
Superdog Kitchen Strawberry Jelly Mint 9-inch tart was revealed. I loved how it
was sturdy and nicely formed (picture above) with a comfortable-looking brown crust. Even when
serving up the slices to Cory and Cole, it did not crumble into a sad-looking
mess – something I cannot say the same for many other tarts: even human ones.
The Strawberry Jelly Mint Tart
uses minimal ingredients and contains fresh strawberries, agar powder,
wheat-free and gluten-free flour, garbanzo bean flour, butter, honey and eggs.
Further research on what garbanzo bean flour is revealed it to be made of
chickpeas and are rich in protein, dietary fibre and a good source of iron.
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| Close my eyes and pray that my owner allows me to eat soon. |
Taste-wise, a small nibble
revealed a strong burst of strawberry flavour – proving that Superdog Kitchen are
no stingy poopers in the ingredients section! Also, just inspecting the tart up
close revealed.
“The Strawberry Jelly Mint Tart
was a fun idea that I came up with. I do know of some dogs that dislike fresh
fruits so making it into jam seems tastier for them. Additionally, topping it
with mint enhances the flavour too,” says Gwen.
Even after their second slice,
Cory and Cole were still begging for more. Sorry boys, it ain’t tea time every
day for you. Till Gwen does a low-fat and low-calorie version of her Superdog
Kitchen tarts for you, you will have to wait till special holidays and
birthdays!
ON SUPERDOG KITCHEN
“There is a need for dog owners
to know what they are feeding their pets!” That is what Gwen Tan of Superdog
Kitchen told The Wong Dogs what inspired her to start the business. Starting
out with a partner, this entrepreneur also said that it is high time that the
image of canine food is reimagined to be more enticing, “It need not be just
what is seen and sold at pet shops. Pet owners can shop for their dogs as well
as do their grocery shopping.”
In fact, Superdog Kitchen is so
particular about how their products affect their pets that they have special
considerations for dogs with allergies and have a custom order form on their website
where customers can tell Gwen more about their dog so that something unique and
safe be created for their precious furkid. “In fact, one of our products named
Bruno’s Bento was inspired due to a particular canine who doesn’t eat anything
but lamb and Cai Sim. This was also
one of my biggest challenges to make a birthday meat tart for him but Superdog
Kitchen did it,” she says.
Besides baking up a storm in the
kitchen, Gwen makes time to attend as many events as possible such as the
previous SOSD’s Pack Walk and the pets magazine picnic party. These events also
allow Gwen to introduce new products where she gamely gave me a portion of
Watermelon & Coconut Water for Cory and Cole. “Coconut and watermelon water
can keep them hydrated on a hot day. Coconut water has natural electrolytes
while chilled watermelon adds a certain sweetness, prompting dogs to munch on
the fruit.
When asked where Superdog Kitchen
sources their ingredients from, Gwen gamely said that everything is bought from
NTUC Finest due to their relatively small size, “It just does not make sense to
buy in bulk from a supplier yet. Of course, we hope this changes when we
expand.” She also adds that Superdog Kitchen’s philosophy is simple – genuine,
honesty, sincerity and ethics. “We never hide what goes into our food. We love
how our customer always tells us how our tarts look like what they get in the restaurant,”
says Gwen.
Moving on to future plans for
Superdog Kitchen, it was surprising to hear that they have not even turned one!
“Our anniversary is coming up so we do have some stuff in the works. For now,
we hope to educate and change the way dog owners feed their pets and getting
them to be more conscious about their dog’s health,” says Gwen.
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| Emma the Singapore Special and Marco the Golden Retriever enjoying a tart. Credit: Superdog Kitchen For more information, you can visit their website here or their Facebook page for more details. |
Labels: coconut oil, dogs, homemade, miniature schnauzer, mixed breed, pet cafe, pet treats, superdog kitchen, tarts, treat of the week
Pawlicious - Only Dogs Are Fed
“It all started with that one advertisement for moon cakes. Dog-friendly moon cakes to be exact” – Bryan Wong
Yup, it is true! And to this day, I am still amazed at their ingenuity.
But that time will come again later this year. For now, it is a visit to Pawlicious’s spankin’ new location at 100 Turf Club Road. Previously crammed beside a pet shop at Serangoon, this pet bakery now includes an alfresco seating area and a humungous wall painting. Also, I love how that Cory and Cole have an expansive dog run behind the bakery for them to run their hearts out!
Special mention goes to the work of art that greets you when you arrive. The wall painting took three days to complete, each session lasting four to five hours. “I did my first wall painting of Bully, my English Bull Terrier at our first locale. As such, I got ambitious s and decided on the current one (that now includes my other furkids Olly and Milly) when I spotted the new wall here in Bukit Timah,” says owner Jaster Ngui. She tells me that Pawlicious has been searching for a bigger place and when Animal World’s landlord approached them, they decided to take the plunge.
Along with her boyfriend, Pawlicious was started in March 2013. Before that, Jaster had been crafting meals for her furkids for about nine years. For someone who did not start off with any culinary skills, this was quite a feat. “I never knew I could cook and bake until I decided to make some cookies and home-made meals for my first English Bull Terrier, Bully when she turned two,” says Jaster. With her experiments going well, this budding chef for furkids stopped feeding her kibbles and took her canine’s meals into her own hands. “We also decided to stop feeding kibbles and commercial products after reading some horrid stories that came from those stuff,” she adds.
Before you think that Pawlicious is just your run-of-the-mill pet bakery that plays on your precious feelings for your furkid to own a quick buck, think again. Extremely particular about every ingredient used, Jaster says that her business is pretty much a health-conscious bakery with the exclusion of many ingredients, “We definitely do not use salt, sugar, butter, artificial flavours and colourings.” Even the flour is different – unlike the conventional version which have bleached agents, Pawlicious uses natural alternatives such as whole wheat unbleached flour and organic brown rice flour among others. “Our organic flour is from Origins and comes in 1kg packs. These also means that we CONSTANTLY HAVE FRESH FLOUR FOR OUR BAKES,” she says.
With such assurance at hand, it is no wonder that I tend to overbuy whenever this pet-friendly bakery sets up their booth at the many doggie events they attend. But can you blame me?
Here are my top 5 buys whenever I fork out the cash
1. PurpleBerry Bones and Blueberry & Strawberry Cookies ($6.00 per 100g)
With such bright colours, I am sold immediately!
Purple wheat is used to give the purplish colour and is known to be high in anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C and E and are similar to those found in blueberries and bilberries. In addition, cranberris are added and this tiny, yet powerful fella is packed with vitamins and anti-oxidants that are known to prevent urinary tract and bladder infections.
2. Charcoal Bones ($6.00 per 100g)
You heard me right – CHARCOAL!
However, Jaster tells me that using activated charcoal is nothing extraordinary, “I have seen charcoal bread for humans at bakeries and a quick search on the Internet showed that it is good for our furkids too!” These can help the intestinal tract stay healthy by absorbing bacteria in the stomach that causes flatulence. Also, who knew that this could help with bad breath too?
3. Porky Bones, Salmon Bones or Beef Bones ($6.50 per 100g)
Delicious without the guilt if you ask me.
Pork and beef liver is used for Porky Bones and Beef Bones as it is a nutrient-rich organ that provides, protein, fat and vitamin A. Green peas are added for a boost of Vitamin B, Phosphorous and Potassium and to finish off, a healthy dose of parsley which not only does wonders for doggie breath but helps soothe kidneys and is a rich surce of anti-oxidant nutrients, beta-carotene and Vitamin C. Salmon Bones on the other hand provide a good source of healthy fats that support the immune system and has been known to keep skin and coat in peak condition.
4. Pawsicle ($3.50 per piece for Classic and $4.50 for Premium)
Can a dog’s life get any better??
There are so many combinations! And to be honest, do our dogs really mind when they lose their minds while chomping on these beauties? Also, can you bear to buy JUST ONE?
5. Baked Pasta (prices start from $8.90)
More than just treats, these full-on meals will keep those bellies full for quite a while.
Choice meats such as salmon, tuna and beef are available. To add a dash of colour, I noticed pumpkin, French beans, carrot and cheese were thrown into the mix.
But all these pale in comparison to Pawlicious’s one-of-a-kind cakes! Described as “bold, creative and crazy” by Jaster herself, we have to agree! It is no wonder that these are extremely popular, with 40-50 sold every month! Now, any ideas which towering cake I should get for Cory’s 3rd birthday?
For the latest updates, do visit Pawlicious Facebook page.
For more information, head over to their website here.
Labels: dogs, party, pet cafe, pets, review
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