Wednesday, November 22, 2017

My Aspin Story





My Aspin

Gwangsy, always has a plastered smile on his face  
whenever I'd come home.  

Looking into his "smirky" face,  it's as if he's saying,  "I knew you'd come back  ha! ha! was right!"   It's almost as if he's too proud of his wit that he thinks he's wiser than me. Well, at least that's what his smile looked like.

6 months ago, one sunny morning,  Hubby told me almost
in a hush that  Manong Cesar, the village handyman has 
puppies inside a box.

Curious, I checked out the puppies myself and fell in love in
one of the two tiny brown blue-eyed puppies. 



Mang Cesar lives in a makeshift temporary home, his only means of living was fixing whatever is broken in households inside our small village. I asked Mang Cesar if I can have the male puppy in exchange for  Php 100.00. He said Yes!

When I took Gwangsy home the first thing I did was feed him
water. He finished the whole bowl in seconds. I didn't realize
that he was that thirsty. I thought the other puppy must been this thirsty too? I wondered if Mang Cesar will sense that she is?   Will she be fed and taken care of just like what I will do to the one I took? I was worried and felt a pang of guilt. 


A few days passed I learned that the other puppy got sick and died. I suspect that they did not feed her water and she got dehydrated and her organs just gave way. A horrible thought!  But I heard of that kind of stories too many times in the past, it's sad. 



Gwangsy's 1st day at home



My Aspin Story

Gwangsy is not my first Aspin, in fact, I grew up with Aspins all my life. My first recollection as a child was a dog's face. Venus our childhood dog was an Aspin.  He was brown with splashes of black on his back. Black nose and eyes. Small perky ears and waggy tail. 

Venus likes to play outside during the day and at dusk, he would bark and position himself right across the biggest window of our house and stay there until one of us notices him sitting perfectly still in the middle of the window frame looking almost like a painting.  Venus was treated very much like a part of the family, he even goes to church with us every Sunday. He would sleep by the pews while the mass was going on. I was about 3-4 years old then. To date, I think I may have had about 15-20 dogs in my entire lifetime.



Dog Breed: Aspin

What is Aspin? How do you identify them from the rest of the pure breed dogs?

Aspins are mongrel dogs in the Philippines. They are a mixture of different breeds. There are no specific features to identify them because each one is a mixture of a unique combination of different breeds, hence they possess different attitudes and characters as well as physical features. Some are tall, some are short, some posses long fur some have short.  Others have small perky ears others have long loopy ones. Their noses differ too, some have pink some have brown and black. Fur colors vary from black, white, brown and or a mixture of these 3 colors.

Is it's safe to say that there are two general classifications of dogs that exist today i.e. The Pure Breeds and the Aspins?

Aspin as Mudbloods


Dogs don't understand all human language spoken to them that's why when people throw insults aimed at my Aspins and call them "panget' (ugly), I take that personally, and that single comment is enough to fire me up and I get angry.

Many claim they are "dog lovers" BUT chose to love dogs with specific breeds only.  Just like how a lot of us would look up to rich friends and set aside the "not so rich"  friends,  It's the same treatment for dogs, a lot of Pinoys choose to love dogs with expensive breeds.  The expensive ones are the only ones entitled to cuddle in bed, sleep inside the house, eat dog food and get vaccinations, they even have Instagram and Facebook accts.  Meanwhile, our very own Aspins are chained outside the house all year round under rain or scorching heat that killed so many in the past due to dehydration and heat strokes. Just because, they're "mudbloods", mixed breed, Askals.  





Gwangsy at 4 months 


Love for Dogs Runs in the Family

Early today, my brother,  Tata sent me a link that led me to Reel Time's documentary about two different women that adopted dogs despite poverty. These women possess hearts of Gold and I cried with them while watching them on You Tube.  Please watch Reel Time's Ampon.  

And yes, that link was a nudge for me to finish this blog about Aspins. I've been putting this on hold for a month now. Thank you, bro Tata.  I know you love dogs as much as I do. Someday, we'll buy a big farm, adopt dogs and call it, "Aspin's Park". 

Someday. 



Gwangsy is the inspiration behind the FB Group Aspin & Puspin World.  See you there. 




Dog Leash by Lazada (and Harness too)









Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Water Kefir Grains (WKG)








How I got Started on WKG




I was browsing on my Facebook one day and I came across a group Acid Reflux/Gerd Support Group. I instantly recalled what my ENT doctor mentioned that I may have Acid Reflux. Luckily for me It wasn't long before a "sharer" agreed to a meet up and gave me 2 spoonful of WKG for free.

I started with a spoonful of WKG juice on the 1st day, 1/4 cup the 2nd day, half cup the next and 1 full cup on  the 4th day onward.  It's the 1st thing I take every morning,  a cupful of WKG 30 minutes before breakfast. 

Few months back my ENT doctor suspected I had Acid reflux after  I  complained of a sensation of a lump on my throat but can't feel any by touch. FYI I am 2 years post Total Thyroidectomy and all the mass on my thyroid including my thyroid has all been taken out. Unfortunately,  I wasn't able to follow up on my ENT doctor  because I had other more pressing medical issues at that time. To cut the story short I ended up on an FB page that deals about Acid Reflux and Gerd and it's on this page that I learned about how similar my symptoms were with most of the members of the group.




1.  Pain on the lower  right rib cage. 
2.  Sensation  of lump on the throat 
3.  Backward flow of acid into the mouth 
4.  Warm, burning sensation in the esophagus/throat
5.  Bloating 
6.  Gas
7.  Constipation
8.  Trouble breathing/asthma, and  
9.  Back pains


How my Body Reacts to Water Kefir










1st week:

1. Less Bloating  - Gassy tummy was almost totally gone. I remember one member asked how often do you pass gas in a day? "Me, 8 times..." he shyly admits. I was so tempted to reply. Because I too pass gas at least 8 times, IN AN HOUR. Yes, it was that bad! My only consolation was that it doesn't stink too much but still it wasn't normal and it's not good.


2. The pain on my knee started to go away - Not totally gone but I can now bend it.  Although this is not related to Acid Reflux it is a treat that I very much welcomed.



3. Acid backward flow rarely happens  

2nd week

Nothing significant happened.



3rd Week

1. Constipation gone.  I use to Poop every 3-4 days. It has been like that for almost a year now since I had problems with fluctuating  hormone levels due to thyroid disease.  On my 3rd week with WKG I started pooping on a daily basis. 

2. I lost some of my unwanted weight!   Since I defecate regularly on a daily basis my weight started to go down.

3. Acid backward flow almost gone.


4. The sensation of lump on my throat only bothers me when I have a cold, otherwise I don't feel it anymore.

5. The pain on my lower right rib has been gone for awhile but for 3 days now it has started to bother me again. I really don't know if this is something else other than acid.

6. No more warm and burning sensation on my throat  since I hardly have any  acid back flow.

7. Better Skin - I noticed my skin started looking healthier. It used to look pale and lots of blemishes.


I'm currently on my 4th week and everything feels normal. I've nothing to complain.


Negative Effects of WKG 

The only negative effect of drinking Kefir juice for me is that, I feel a little drunk for about 15-30 minutes. My muscles tend to relax and feel heavy. Other than that I'm okay.


In a Nutshell

WKG has been beneficial to my health. I feel better, my stomach feels lighter, I feel lighter, no more embarrassing gas, no more bloated tummy. So far, so good.


I will be updating this blog from time to time and share developments with you. If you live anywhere near Molino Cavite I'm willing to share some of my Kefir grains with you. Just leave a comment down below. Thanks :)




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