Meet Crumbly Biscuits!

You might think I'm pretty much a cat person, but this is simply not true.

I love dogs. Big, cuddly, playful dogs. I don't really like small dogs. I like cats, which are small animals. Why would I need a small dog when I can have a cat that's a lot more quiet, clean and soft?

Crumbles has changed my life a little. He's a poodle, but he's not just any poodle. He belongs to my friends Elaine and Patrick. He has been with them since he was a puppy, and you can tell he's been raised by Westerners!

Almost every Korean dog lover will tell you that Maltese or Poodles are the best breeds for a pet. If you live in an apartment, as most Koreans do, you simply don't have room for a big Golden Retriever (although I've met one in Yeongtong- his owners must have a very big place). And Koreans generally hate cats- they are considered evil theives in Korean culture and folklore, so it's uncommon to find a cat in a Korean home.

When you go to the puppy shop (or the Animal Shelter in Cheonan- where everyone should go!) you don't see too many big dogs, either. It's just a Korean thing. So of course. when they went dog shopping, Crumbles was the obvious choice. I had to admit, the first time I saw him, he is very cute... much cuter than other poodles, which chocolate brown fur and a devil-may-care attitude.

Over the past few months, Crumbles has proven himself as an excellent dog. An awesome dog. Ok, I friggin love Crumbles. Everyone loves Crumbles. When we go to the park, he terroroizes the other dogs (generally forced into submission by their owners and therefore timid) and runs around in what his parents call his "happy circles". He's pretty great, and I thought I'd share him with the world. Go Crumbles!




My friend Sophie loves him too. We like to steal him from his parents every now and then.




Here he is with Elaine (mom) and Patrick (dad) on Canada Day.




Cute, cuddly and playful- what more can a dog lover want?

Introducing...

Bad Miss Kitteh.

Her mom looked after Somi and Ha Jin while Pat and I were travelling, and now we're returning the favour.

Miss Kitteh like tuna flavoured treats, hiding under the bed, and getting into fights with the other cats at approximately 5 AM, a mere hour before my normal wake up time. In her defense, the "other two" enjoy doing this just as much as she.

All in all, I like her. Once you have two cats a third just blends right into the woodwork. Plus, Miss Kitteh has a hilarious, high pitched meow.

I just realized that I've been posting a little too much about cats these days. This is the last one- promise.






Smoky Robinson bores Miss Kitteh to tears. The only time she perked up during the entire memorial (you know who's I'm talking about) was when Usher sang to the coffin.

Some are simply too pure for this world...

Last Sunday night, I heard a strange sound outside my apartment window.

I went outside to investigate, and found three Korean men in a driveway- one, holding a box. I wasn't sure where the sound was coming from as it seemed all around me. It was very loud.

"고 양 이? (Cat?)" I asked one of the men. He nodded and pointed to the box in the hands of his friend.

I peeked inside and saw the two smallest kittens I had ever seen. They were crying for their dead Mommy. I threw aside reason and took the box from the grateful men, who explained that nobody would care for them in their apartment building. I knew I couldn't take them to my apartment- my two, fully grown, very jealous cats were having a hard time adjusting to a new addition already (I am caring for a friend's cat while she is in America). They don't like new additions. They would probably kill the kittens if they had a chance.

As I was walking towards a friend's house, I ran into four of my girl friends. I showed them the precious little things and we all ooohed and ahhed for awhile. I explained my situation to them and my friend Sophie agreed to care for them for a few days, while I raced around to find someone more permanent.

Orphaned kittens, espcially brand new orphaned kittens, need very specific things when they are that young. They need specific replacement cat's milk, they need to be fed every two hours, they need to be weighed every day, they need to be kept warm... and the list goes on. Between the two of us, Sophie and I began nursing and nurturing the two little guys.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. I had taken them to the vet previously to find out their age and sex (boys, and 7-10 days old). I found a nice guy to take the kittens and keep them at a vet until they were strong enough to be adopted. The vet said they looked ok and to keep feeding them every two hours, letting them eat as much as they could. We dubbed them Oliver Twist and Harry Potter- our favourite male literary orphans.

Oliver loved feeding. He was an expert. Harry was not. When I found them, Harry was the stronger of the two. After a few days, we noticed he was very quiet. A little strange, since he could meow at the top of his lungs, and did it regularly. We thought it odd, but couldn't make sense of it. The next day, he passed away. We were so sad. Oliver was stressed out.

The next day with absolutely no warning sign, Oliver died, too. It was after he passed away that we found out about Fading Kitten Syndrome. If a kitten is lacking something (either from being orphaned or having a different blood type from his/her mother) they simply pass away. So sad.

RIP Harry and Ollie. We were getting so attached to you! You will enjoy cat heaven with your mom.








Oliver Twist June 30 (?)- July 8



Harry Potter June 30 (?)- July 8

My New Favourite Passtime

I like taking my kittehs to Yeongtong Park!

Actually, all of the foreigners around here love the park. On sunny days we gather, unannounced- we drink, eat and are merry. On Friday nights it becomes a makeshift bar with drinks from the Family Mart down the road. We love the park. And so do my kittehs (sometimes).

Fozzie Needs a Home... For Reals

Won't you love him?

The teachers of Maple Bear have been taking care of him for some time, but I think it's time Fozzie got a real life home. We love him, but as each owner goes back to Canada he gets moved from place to place and it isn't healthy for the little guy.

He's healthy, fixed, has all his shots. He's street smart and hardly even needs a leash. He loves people and likes to cuddle.


I love it when his coat is all fluffy and he looks like a little puffball. This is him and me at Christmas when he was in his most loving foster home, with Kim and Drew. They were planning on coming back to Korea so they didn't take him back to Canada. Then, Kim got pregnant- surprise! Which is amazing news, but not so much for Fozzie. We need to find him a home!

This is a picture of Fozzie taken the first day he arrived in my apartment. He was so malnourished and so happy to see people who weren't trying to kick him. Breaks your heart a little.

I'd keep him, but Christmas was a realization for me that Ha Jin, Somi, cat food, vomit, and Fozzie don't mix. Please email me if you're interested in this little guy. Thanks, readers!

Paldalmun...and Che Guevera? Sweet.

As a general rule, an expat in Korea should not enter any basement bars, shops, or any other kind of sub-level establishment without someone with sufficient knowlege as to what you're getting yourself into. I mean, it probably isn't dangerous (it is Korea, after all), but it might just be... shady... and uncomfortable... and you might just make a fool of yourself.

Apparently since Kerri's contract is up in a few weeks she has thrown all caution and any inhibitions to the wind. She and Sam went to Paldalmun Market one day (near the fortress) and they randomly decided to go down into this basement establishment because there was a picture of Che Guevera on the door (in such a situation I probably would have done the same thing, though; I shouldn't judge) and to their delight and surprise they found the coolest left wing coffee shop since... well, probably ever.

Sam took Bernard, Tracy and I there on the first day of Lunar Vacation and we had some excellent coffee (let's just say the barista is generous with the kahlua) and, most importantly, I think I have found the perfect place to hang out. Please check out the photos:


The walls were covered with random notes, different flags from different countries, antique paraphenalia as well as modern paraphenalia...

And of course, several wall plastered devotions to our favourite freedom fighter.

I think the barista was making everything from scratch- there was no automatic espresso machine, no drip coffee machine. Her hard work didn't go unnoticed (and the coffee cups were very cute).

It was a beautiful sunny day in Paldalmun but I also just about froze my bum off. That Siberian wind we apparently get here is killer. Oh, the saddest part of my day was the little puppies for sale outside in cages with nothing but a plastic covering. The were shivering and cuddling close to each other and wimpering. When I protested about their living conditions the woman selling them said to me, in Korean, "you better buy them - they're really cold!" (Bernard told me that's what she said).

Busan Pics tomorrow! I had such a blast!

Introducing...

Can I start this post by saying that I know I probably shouldn't have gotten these sweet little kittehs (in a practical sense)?

But if my parents have taught me anything, they have taught me to help those who need it, even if the ones who need help are little animals. Right, Chelsea?

Soooo I thought a lot about it and I adopted these loving little ladies. And all you other expats should adopt too, if you're animal lovers. There are so many cats and dogs out there who need your lovin'. Speaking of which, there are dozens of dogs right now in terrible danger of euthanization because their shelter in Daejon is being shut down. If you're interesting in helping, please check out lonelylifetime.com and see what you can do. Sorry to be preachy! I know it'll be a hassle for me when I want to go back to Canada with these kitties and I'll have to put them up somewhere if I want to travel around, but I've only had them for two days and already I'm absolutely in love... and my apartment is no longer empty!



This is Somi, my sweet little Japanese Bobtail- seriously, the tail is hilar.

And this is Ha Jin! She is so curious and loves to play with her toys...

I think the best thing about them is that they like to cuddle.

And don't worry Belle, you're still my number one kitteh, I just missed you too much so I had to get TWO cats to try and make up for not having you around (that, and these two can't be separated- they aren't sisters, but they've been together since they were kittens).

The Dog Formerly Known as Milhouse

So, it's been awhile since I mentioned the stray dog that we teachers took in and I thought I'd give an update. His name is now officially Fozzy; his official parents are now Kim Kulicki and her fiance Drew and they love him and spoil him to death (he's much better off with them than he would have been with me!). He is a lot cleaner and I don't mind cuddling him anymore because I know he won't be peeing on my floor- it makes me love him a lot more! I'm not a small-dog person, but Fozzie has a very likeable character; I mean, he's so chill alllll the time (especially now that Kim and Drew got him neutered). We found him malnourished, dirty, furry, and unloved and just look at him now! He is such a happy little dude.

Fozzy when he was Milhouse- I took the picture the day he followed Anna and Andy to my apartment, and he was sooooo dirty I couldn't wait to get him shampooed.

Fozzy now. They shaved him, and it's hilarious how different he looks! His skin is so soft and foldy you just want to pet him all day long. Sigh.

Like I said, Kim and Drew spoil him. He loves his little dental bones. Oh, I forgot to mention the amount of money that has been spent on this dog in the form of vet and grooming bills. The vet took us for quite a ride, saying he had ear infections, anemia, liver/kidney problems, bad teeth, the works. Turns out he didn't really need any medication (except maybe for his teeth and ears). He was just malnourished, duh. Once he was being fed regularly he became loads healthier. I won't say how much money me and Kim and Drew paid the vet for possibly useless ailments, it just makes me upset.

Fozzie and one of his rescuers, Andy. He loves chillin' on the roof!