Zayed enjoys walking his dog basil each afternoon

BANGKOK: Luther lies patiently and quietly, head resting on the lap of his young owner. The 4-year-old black labrador retriever is wearing his guide dog harness - even though he is idle, he remains on duty. Deep down though, and despite his years of specialised training, Luther is still a dog. All around him fellow canines are enjoying a walk in the park. His head turns with interest, his ears prick and he sniffs at the breeze with curiosity. “He’s going like, ‘I’m a guide dog, I’m a guide dog, I’m a guide dog, I’m not supposed to do that’. He’s still certainly a dog,” laughs Kirin Techawongtham, who commonly goes by the name Sai. Luther and Sai are an intrinsically connected duo. Sai is blind and for the past two years, she and Luther have undertaken a rare and special journey together, as dependents, travellers and friends. A Facebook page starring the pair, set up in June, has made the adventure a viral one. In less than two months, the page has attracted more … [Read more...] about Meet Luther, Thailand’s only guide dog, and his brave owner fighting for understanding

I have dogs. I have four dogs. I have four dogs in New York City. In my defense, it happened by accident. See, I had two and my husband had two, so we Brady Bunch-ed them when we got married. I love them equally but this piece will focus on the eldest, Gixer, who’s 10-and-a-half. (I may refer to him here by one of his many nicknames: Jiggy, JigPig, Gixy, Jiggy Pie, Jiggus McPiggus, Jiggus M. Piggus Attorney at Dog, Bird, Turd, Bubba. He might have a couple more by the time I finish writing.) A few weeks ago, I was in the park with Gixer when a man and his young daughter walked by. “That dog looks so old,” the man said as he passed. I felt a pang in my chest. Despite my best efforts to freeze time, my boy is ageing and it shows: His beard and eyebrows have gone white, he moves with arthritic stiffness, he’s got a bum knee that causes him to limp sometimes. His eyes are a bit cloudy, though his vision is still good, and he has a few fatty lumps just below the skin – benign lipomas that … [Read more...] about Older dogs and cats require extra TLC – here’s how to take care of an ageing pet

Ontario’s chief coroner on Friday released the names of all 10 people killed in Monday’s van rampage in Willowdale. They are Renuka Amarasingha, Andrea Bradden, Geraldine Brady, Sohe Chung, Anne Marie D’Amico, Chul Min “Eddie” Kang, Ji Hun Kim, Betty Forsyth, Munir Najjar and Dorothy Sewell. Eight women and two men, ranging in age from 22 to 94 — all killed when the driver of a white rental van rammed pedestrians along a stretch of Yonge St. between Finch and Sheppard Aves. Fourteen others were injured. Here’s what we know about the victims. We will add to their stories in the days to come. Geraldine Brady, 83, of Toronto Feanny Xu told the Star she learned of her friend Gerry Brady’s death on Tuesday. “She was the most caring and honest person I’ve ever met. Just amazing,” said Xu of her friend. “It’s very upsetting.” Xu said she met Brady 14 years ago through the direct-marketing company Avon. “She was still driving and actively delivering Avon orders,” … [Read more...] about 10 people dead, 16 injured: Officials have identified the victims killed in the Yonge St. van rampage

Growing up, I think I was constantly in motion. This drove my parents nuts, of course. What mother enjoys having a hyperactive child running around her or the small apartment they live in all the time? So, more often than not, she’d let me out of the house the way you’d let a cat out or a dog loose in your backyard. The thing is, we didn’t live in a suburb with a backyard. We lived in New York City, one of the craziest and most crowded cities in the world. Parenting in the 1970s and parenting today are very different. Back then, my mother’s basic rule was pretty much, “Don’t get killed.” She let me loose on the streets of Manhattan at the same age my son is now. Which is pretty amazing, when you think about it. Today, we over-protect our kids. Singapore is a million times safer than Manhattan was in what the New York Times actually called “some of the darkest, bleakest years in New York’s history”. From the same article, the late 1970s in New York was an “era when the city was edgy … [Read more...] about On the timetable for the day: Scheduled physical activity time for the kids

Right now is a good time to be a gamer considering that lately, a lot of people have found themselves with extra time on their hands. Nintendo has been killing it with Switch games , and with the slew of awesome PlayStation 4 and Xbox One titles that have come our way during the past year, things just keep getting better. We’re still enjoying releases like Death Stranding , Gears of War 5 , The Outer Worlds , and Luigi’s Mansion 3 , but there’s also a ton of top-rated games from previous years that you can score on the cheap today. The immediate future is looking pretty exciting as well, with Sony releasing the PS5 and Microsoft’s next machine, the Xbox Series X, also just coming out. Nintendo latest addition, the Switch Lite , is a handheld-only version of its popular hybrid touchscreen console and sells just as well as the full-sized console. New product launches and seasonal sales always herald deep price cuts on the older stuff, so keep an eye out here for … [Read more...] about Best cheap video game deals for March 2021: games, consoles, and gaming accessories