Welcome to Cookie & Creme's homepage! Join us as we discover the joys and bumps of living with two strays whom we adopted as pets. Cookie the cross-breed dog arrived in our humble condominium in December 2008, whilst Creme the calico kitten joined the family in July 2010. Visit Cookie & Creme's page in Facebook! |
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Basil, Cookie and Tinkle at West Coast dog run
22 June 2014 It's been a long time since we last visited the West Coast dog run. This time, it's triple the fun with Basil and Tinkle joining us. This is Basil's and Tinkle's first time going into a dog run. It's also the first time Cookie meets the grown-up Basil. We were cautious but excited to see their reaction once off leash. Cookie and Tinkle panting after a good run Basil was more territorial, guarding us and running in the area surrounding us only.   I took some videos of them but all turned out to be slow-motion videos! Not sure what I pressed in my camera but I find it quite cute to look at their slow-mo running videos! When it's time to go home, they were not the best friends yet. But they could walk together in harmony not bothering one another, despite the differences in their fur colours ;-)  Basil, Tinkle and Cookie  |
Brunches with Cookie
15 Sep 2013 (2014 updated info below) We love bringing
Cookie out for brunches on weekends. It's a treat to ourselves for working
hard during the weekdays, and an equally important reason is to let Cookie enjoy new
smells (friends), and surroundings. Of course, we enjoy Cookie's
company. Her passion for food never fails to make us laugh!1. Canopy Garden Dining www.canopydining.com.sg Although this is quite a long drive away from our home, we like the lush green alfresco setting, good and not-too-pricey food, refreshing smoothies. The only setback is that it can get very crowded and you may need to wave constantly to get the attention of the waiters. Dog menu: None Walking path: Yes, it's in Bishan Park II, and there is a dog run nearby within walking distance. Again, this is not near our place but come rain or shine, it's a cosy and welcoming place to chill and unwind while your pooch roams around unleash. There are only 2 breakfast items (American breakfast and eggs Benedict) but we love the homemade bread/biscuit. And there are other mains e.g. pasta, chops, fish & chips. They serve quite good coffees too. The best thing is, there is no GST! When it's very hot/sunny or when it rains, this place would be our first choice! Dog menu: Yes, quite limited though (boiled meat/salmon). Walking path: No, however, can walk the dog by the road along the landed properties. Cookie gets to order her food from the doggie menu.    3. 5 Drunken Rabbits www.5drunkenrabbits.com Nestled within the vast Pasir Ris Park, this has become our favourite since it set up business about a year ago. It's walkable from the MRT station (a good 20-min walk). We love the view of greenery and the sea, and the semi-alfresco setting in the nature (it's covered so it's shielded from sun and rain). It has a laid-back mood. The menu is not really catered for brunches (no breakfast items) but there are affordable sandwiches. Although there's no doggie menu, they will gladly serve a water bowl. Dog menu: No Walking path: Plenty! 4. The Place, Delihut @ 61 Pasir Ris Green www.beergarden.sg (Sadly, this establishment has ceased operation) A small and rustic eatery in Pasir Ris Park (nearer to the MRT than 5 Drunken Rabbits) where we often frequent due to the proximity to our home. It's located beside the Gallop Stable www.gallopstable.com where kids can enjoy a pony ride or take riding lessons. The food is run-of-the-mill, simple and affordable. It's more for filling the stomach while enjoying the great outdoor. There are no specific breakfast/brunch items but best of all, there is no service charge and GST. This place can get quite hot on a sunny day if you are going for brunch. Dog menu: No Walking path: Plenty! And the horses are an attraction!    Others: We have also been to the following pet-friendly eateries but we don't frequent them as often as the above places due to the reasons detailed below. The food is very yummy and value for money (no service charge and GST) but because this is located in town (quite far away from our home), plus there is limited place to walk Cookie, we only visit when there's an adoption drive we need to help out. Note: They are closed on Sat . Doggiestyle Cafe doggiestylecafe.blogspot.com (They have moved to Kembangan - Changi Road, next to PLC) We've only been there once. It's a cooling respite on a hot day, as the cozy place is nicely air-conditioned with free roaming pooches. It's more for small dog breeds as the space is not as big as Sun Ray Cafe. There's a good range of doggie and human menu. However, we have not been back since because the parking at Nex Shopping Mall is horrendous at weekends. The Coastal Settlement www.thecoastalsettlement.com Finding a parking space on a Sunday noon time is quite difficult. Having said that, it's a nice quirky place - a home with a concrete garden with swings and potted plants. The price is on the high side and it's one of the reasons we do not return that often. Cafe Melba cafemelba.com.sg The location is slightly off at Goodman Arts Centre. It's pretty busy during weekend brunches, and may need to wait for your table. The food is not that spectacular for the price that you have to pay. There is a small green compound in front of the cafe where you can walk the dog. *If you have any good suggestions for brunch places with doggies, please PM us at www.facebook.com/CookieCreme. |
Pink Nose and me
6 Aug 2013 . Negombo We met at the beach. He was curling up in a corner near a sign that says 'No feeding of dogs and crows'. He saw us. He stood up and walked away with his tail down. He was scared.  As we strolled over to the beach, Pink Nose fixed his gaze on us. Not long after, he decided to follow us. He took a different route, cutting across from the vegetation, but keeping a distance from us.  I went down to the wave front, taking pictures and enjoying the wave splashing on my feet. Pink Nose waited on the beach.  As I was heading back to the hotel, something amazing happened. Pink Nose came to me and put his paw on my foot. I continued walking. Then he jumped, licked my hand and put his paw on my foot again, as if wanting to stop me from going further. I guess he's lonely and just wanted to play. I kneeled down to pet him. The next thing I knew, Pink Nose turned and showed his belly to me. Aww....he was yearning for affection. It must be so lonely for him to stay alone in this huge but beautiful beach. I wonder if other tourists ever show him any affection. I wonder if anyone feed him. He looked thin but healthy. I like to think that the hotel staff feed him. I can't imagine anyone not offering food to a sweet dog like him.   Reluctantly, I went back to hotel for breakfast as we have a schedule to follow that day. Against the 'no feeding' sign, I took some food from the breakfast spread, walked Pink Nose to a shaded spot and fed him. I'm still thinking of Pink Nose after the trip. I hope he is doing well and I wish him a good life on the beach. |
Sunset walk
27 Apr 2013 It was a wet afternoon and we thought that the rain won't stop in time for Cookie to go out and walk in the park before sunset. But it did!  A group of school kids broke into a song as we walked past the gazebo. Luckily they sounded great and reminded me of my carefree schooling days. Coming to the park is my favourite way of unwinding and connecting to Mother nature. Nothing beats the organic scent of the grass, the sound of stepping onto fallen leaves and the lapping waves from the sea. Maybe I'm becoming like a dog? I like the fresh scent of nature.   I can see that Cookie enjoyed taking in the scene and sound too. We're lucky that we stay near the park and can just walk here whenever we need a breath of fresh air.   This was the last shot before the sun really set. And after that, dusk fell upon us very quickly. Soon it was getting dark.  And Cookie quickened her steps to go home when it was dark. She knew that it's dinner time! :-D |
Stray cats in Istanbul
Mar 2013 Around the famous Sultanahmet Park where Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophie stand is where many of the local stray cats call home. The locals don't seem to mind their presence. They just go about doing their own thing, reading newspaper, eating lunch, resting, and often with the cats sitting beside them, beneath their bench. Some even feed the cats scraps.  Most of the cats look quite chubby and well fed. Although they look like the stray cats back in Singapore, they have much thicker coat of fur to withstand the chilly winter. We couldn't help but to keep our left over fish head to feed them. Here's one lucky stray cat.    He was soon joined by his friend (black cat) who finished off the fish. The cats and the locals in Istanbul seem to live in harmony, respecting each other's space. Here at the tram station, the locals let the stray cat snoozes off on the bench without disturbing it. They'd rather stand than sit on the bench where the cat sleeps.  In the evening, we stocked up some ham from the nearby convenience store to feed the stray cats. As I was feeding, a local stray feeder arrived with stacks of food (watch the video to see what he fed them)! I'm so impressed with the locals. We left feeling very happy that the strays cats are well taken care of.  |
Basil's trial homestay
9 Dec 2012 Following the adoption drive, many experienced rehomers/individuals stepped in to help rehome Basil and Andra, which we were very grateful for. Andra went for a home visit with this lady who came during the last few minutes of the adoption drive. It turned out that Andra couldn't get along with the lady's resident dog Foxy (also adopted) because Andra is alpha. Sue Ann, the rehomer, suggested that she give Basil a chance. The first viewing went well; Basil could get along with Foxy. That gave Basil another chance to have a short homestay. We went along to learn from Sue Ann how to conduct home visits and questions to ask or things to advice the potential adopter. Basil has grown...longer! He now has a gorgeous coat of orangy brown fur; very handsome indeed. Every time we meet, Basil never fails to approach me and give me a wet kiss on the chin. He's so affectionate.     The potential adopter is a very nice and athletic lady. She runs marathon and goes out running everyday. Foxy the resident dog was so excited to see Basil, she kept jumping up and down. Basil immediately made himself at home, by claiming Foxy's bed and milk bone!   We observed the two dogs for a while. During that time, Basil managed to pee at the right spot and we were all very impressed. Sue Ann gave some tips to the potential adopter on how to avoid two dogs snatching the toys, i.e. by giving them more than two toys to choose from. Basil stayed with her for 4 nights, and according to Sue Ann, the homestay went well. However, because the husband was out of town, the lady needed the final nod from her husband. We are currently waiting for the family to return from year-end vacation and for the husband to meet Basil before confirming his adoption. Fingers crossed. |
Basil and Andra at the Torte adoption drive
11 Nov 2012 I was delighted that Basil and Andra will be going for the adoption drive at Torte, albeit being notified just a day prior. Andra's fosterer Claris and hubby were taking charge of bringing the pups to the venue. And we went there with Andra's rescuer to help out. When Basil saw me, he came forward, climbed to my lap and licked my chin. Oh...he remembered me. He has grown into such an adorable and sweet pup. I normally do not fall for dark-haired dogs but a piece of my heart was stolen that day.   It was so heart-warming to see the bro and sis pair back together again. But I was told, Andra sometimes like to play bite Basil and Basil didn't really appreciate the way Andra played with him.    Basil napped a lot that day. About 6 times! Here're some of his napping pictures.   While we were there, nobody came to enquire about Basil or Andra. I discussed with Vincent, if nobody shows interest by end of the year, we will try to adopt Basil although it'll be challenging since there's nobody at home when we are working fulltime, and Creme is scared of him. Strangely, I didn't feel panicky that no one come for Basil. I was just having a good time in his company, and that's all matters to me at that point. I had the pleasure of dining with Basil at Torte :-) He can sit and lie on my lap while I eat; he's a very good boy. But of course when the nice Barkery people handed me a complimentary packet of treats, Basil started to climb up wanting to eat.  We left the adoption drive 15mins before it closed. The following week, the regular feeder informed me that a lady asked about Andra during the last few minutes of the adoption drive. We were very happy for Andra and wished that it was the right home for her. |
Basil and Andra at the hospital
4 Nov 2012 Over the next 2 weeks following Basil's rescue, we visited him and his sis Andra three times at the hospital. We went back to the vet 2 days after Basil was admitted but we couldn't see him. "He just had surgery and is resting," Janet said. Instead, we met Andra. She looked similar to Basil but has a pair of very sweet eyes. She was trembling.  We returned during the weekend and were delighted to find that both pups were doing well. They were having their dinner in the cubicle.   Basil still liked to seek attention by making noises. Andra was the quiet one. She just gently licked Vincent's hand. They were almost ready to be discharged but needed experienced fosterers to give medications and bring them back for stitches removal. At that point, no one stepped forward and thus we have to leave the pups warded till we found a fosterer. A week later, two fosterers have volunteered to take care of the pups separately. We visited them before the fosterers came to fetch them home. We initially wanted to send Basil to the fosterer but the timing wasn't right. Andra's rescuer managed to send Andra to the fosterer. At that stage, both Basil and Andra were very active, especially Andra who just had her stitches removed. There's no one moment where she sat still and motionless. But they were so cute, and I felt sad that they were going to be separated. I took a lot of videos and pictures of them together for keepsake.       As much as we would like to visit them in their foster homes, the locations were at the other end of the island. So I actually spent over 1 hour with them in the treatment room before we bid goodbye. |
The night we rescued Basil
20 Oct 2012 It took us less than 30 seconds to decide that we should rescue Basil when we saw him during our usual feeding round. He was with 3 adult dogs (one of them was his mum), bouncing happily and sniffing one of the dogs' butt. From a distance we already noticed that Basil had a swollen back (balu-ku). He was still bouncing around with other adult dogs, sniffing their back side. He was quite friendly. He ran towards Vincent when he tempted him with food. As Basil ran nearer to us, we were shocked to see two gasping puncture wounds on his back. We knew that he wouldn't survive if we don't intervene. So we did. Vincent grabbed his green army towel and I emptied on of the boxes we used to carry the stray feeding food packs. At that point, Basil had already ran for cover inside a gate. Vincent put some food near the gate and this hungry pup fell for it. Without any hesitation, Vincent grabbed Basil with his army towel. Basil squeaked loudly while the other 3 adult dogs became scared and ran away. Once we put Basil in the box, he became quiet, very quiet. Not a single noise made. That was great because we still had to finish our feeding route; we were just starting then. This was our first time rescuing a pup. I alerted the regular feeder via sms but it was in the wee hours, she must have fast asleep. We didn't know what best to do than to bring Basil home with us.  I used wet wipes to clean him while Creme watched from her 'watch tower' with her big eyes and shocked expression. The smell of the maggot infested wound was really quite disturbing. Then we let him out of the box and gave him some canned food and water. He was very scared. He went inside the toilet and hid behind the toilet bowl. There was a tiny gap between the toilet bowl and the wall, and he managed to squeeze himself through it, with his head on one end, and tail on the other end.   After about 15mins, we went to check on him again. He has finished his food, and started to come out of the toilet bowl. But he immediately ran back to hide when he saw us. We laughed. We could already feel his cheeky and cute personality. Seeing that he was ok, we went to sleep, only to find Basil whining. We went to check with Cookie, Basil was at the transparent door in the wet area which we closed to prevent him from exploring our place. He stopped making noise at the sight of us. And we went back to sleep. Then, Basil resumed his whining. After a couple of times, we couldn't be bothered and let Cookie did the checking - Cookie has the kay-poh personality. He would stop when he saw Cookie. And the same thing repeated again when Cookie went back to the bedroom. In the end, Cookie also gave up checking on him. The three of us (incl Cookie) tried to sleep in the background noise of Basil whinning. Creme was absolutely terrified with Basil's whining. She hid underneath the sofa all the time. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. In the morning, suddenly our place was filled with silence and peace, we found Basil sleeping in a corner.  Basil woke up real quick when he sensed that we were approaching. He came out of his shell with a vast change in attitude! He walked towards us with wagging tail and licked Vincent's hand. His open wounds didn't seem to bother him much. He was friendly, affectionate and in high spirit. By that time, the regular feeder has made contact with the hospital and instructed us to just bring Basil to Dr Gino or Janet at the Animal Infirmary, and they'll know what to do. We put Basil back in the box. Under the daylight, we could see little maggots climbing out from his wounds. This poor pup must be in a lot of discomfort.  Here's Basil in the car on his way to the vet. The kind Dr Gino examined him and said that he has a 'full programme' for him because he has multiple maggot infected wounds hiding beneath the fur, ticks and also worms in his bloated stomach. He was warded for a week.  On our way back from the vet, the regular feeder asked us to name the pup. She told us that his sister was rescued 2 days before him and she was named Andra, meaning strong and courageous. I wanted to call him 'Buddy' because he's very friendly. The regular feeder commented that everybody calls their dog 'Buddy' and she suggested 'Dustin' (meaning brave and tough) or 'Everest'. But I didn't feel that the name suited the pup. So, when we reached home, like new pawrents, we searched online for baby boy's names. We wanted something more in line with Andra, either a name starting with A or B. In the end, we decided to call this puppy Basil (pronounced as bear-zel - English pronunciation), meaning 'brave' in Arabic and 'kingly/royal' in Greek. Also, he's as sweet as the sweet basil herb. This was how the story of Basil began. |
Paw prints by the beach
28 Oct 2012 We brought Pam Pam to the beach this time round because she's going to move to another kennel in the heartlands with no access to the sea. So we thought we'd give her a treat by driving her a bit further away to Pasir Ris Park. Pam Pam is still not used to car ride. She vomited as soon as she got out of the car. But as we headed towards the beach, Pam Pam's tail stood up. She's happy! She went straight to the sea while a reluctant Cookie followed suit.  Pam Pam looking cautious here.  Cookie suddenly pounced on the sand inviting Pam Pam to play with her. Pam Pam didn't have any reaction (i.e. she ignored Cookie).    Pam Pam went very near the sea; she almost wanted to walk into the water. We were surprised to see that she is fond of the sea, for a dog who detests bathing.   |
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