Ah Bee stepped into our lives on 7 Nov 2009 when we walked into a pet shop to have a look at the cute little puppies. He is a handsome mini schnauzer with a beautiful coat of salt-and-pepper fur. Croaky fell in love with his quiet personality and his obedience. We were not prepared to take him home on the very day of the purchase and asked the shop owner to take him for another two weeks while we prepare our house for his home-coming. But as usual, Croaky was impatient and paranoid. He read about all the poor little puppies who were infected by parvo-virus in the puppy mills and shops. So he kept nagging at me to take him home early. We took him home on 13 Nov 2009.

Ah Bee resting on his play-pen, looking tired. He has such nice looking brows; reminds me of Dumbledore!

And dangling a small piece of treat in front of him. Couldn’t get him to sit still for a second for my camera to capture a clearer shot – he’s perpetually jumping up and down.

And me holding Ah Bee.

Ah Bee is supposed to be a beagle, a breed which Croaky would dream to own. Beagles are the breed which the cartoon character “Snoopy” is based on, and also the same dogs which you see prowling the airports in Australia. Cute little champs, but hard to train. Schnauzers, on the other hand, are intelligent, tame and obedient. However, the one which I have now, is a bit of a bipolar – he has bouts of hyperactiveness and periods when he is very quiet.

Keeping a dog is really hard work. I have come to appreciate this fact only after I have gotten Ah Bee home. He needs to be fed twice a day – expensive stuff! One bottle of his multi-vitamins costs 42.80 and he has 2 bottles. His dog food is >100 bucks. He needs to be brushed on a daily basis. His ears have to be cleaned with a special formula liquid. You need to pluck his ear hairs with a metal tweezer. You need to wash his eyes as well, which get plenty of dried mucous and debris collected underneath. You also need to brush his teeth with a special brush and toothpaste. You need to shampoo him weekly, spray deodorant to get rid of odour and ticks, trim and keep his nails short. And send him for professional grooming every now and then. Then you need to bring him to see the vet for vaccinations, general health check up and if he falls sick, he needs to get medicine as well.

We are training him to use his toilet properly. Hopefully he remains in good health. *Cross fingers*