Anyway, one of my latest purchases is a Flotation Jacket for Shantee. She was so excited trying it on, knowing fully well that “dressing up” means “going out.” But not this time!

Because this time the Flotation Jacket will be reserved for out-of-town trips, specifically swimming! My husband and I are currently training Shantee for air travel (hopefully, she’ll be ready to ride a plane so we can visit tropical islands in the Philippines not easily reached by car with our fur-baby).

The flotation jacket comes in with a detachable flap from the dog’s neck (not in photo), which is very handy in keeping the dog’s head pointed upwards. Pretty important in Shantee’s case, she’s of a flat-nosed breed (she’s a Shih Tzu). She needs to keep her head afloat because water can easily get into her short snout.

We purchased the flotation jacket for Shantee from the same Australian distributor of Doggles, Modpet Australia, where we got Shantee’s sun glasses. The jacket costs AUS$39.95, but I insisted on paying an additional of AUS$19.95 for registered mail. We ordered Shantee’s flotation jacket during the Holiday season, which was a high time for corrupted customs officials at the Manila airport. The extra amount ensured that we didn’t pay ridiculously high tariff rates (with “Christmas bonus”) for the officials “interpreting” tariff laws on their own. I was able to purchase Shantee’s jacket easily through Modpet Australia’s online store via Paypal.

Marc and I are planning to go on a trip to the beach soon so Shantee can try out her flotation jacket. We’re considering taking her to a beach resort in Batangas since going there doesn’t require air travel. Shantee’s already mastered car travel, so we won’t have any more problems except for looking for a pet-friendly resort who will accommodate our entire family—which includes Shantee

Shantee still wears her dog necklaces (the customized shell dog necklace I bought her from Boracay is her favorite), but since she’s becoming such a big (little) girl already (she’s five months old now!), it’s time she got her own dog collar. I dunno, I guess I just feel it’s an insult to her “dog-ness” to not ever get her a collar.

The thing that attracted me the most about this collar is the fact that it matches Shantee’s plaid dog harness almost exactly. It even has a bell that jingles every time she took a step. I saw this collar on display at the Snik Paws shop in the Pet Village of Tiendesitas, and bought it for Php100 (that’s around $2 I think).

Would you look at that? Baby girl is now a big girl! Definitely deserves a collar

Marc calls this collar, “the 100-Peso annoyance.” Shantee doesn’t only chew on his toes now, but also gives off a bell sound every time she jumps on Marc

Snik Paws
Stall 27-28A Pet Village, Tiendesitas
Ortigas Avenue corner C5
Pasig City, Philippines
Phone: 4963251
Email: snikpaws06@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0927 6946294, 0917 8812142

This is probably the easiest dog stuff I ever made for Shantee

The pillow itself is made of scrap cloth enclosed in a “cloth bag.” The gold textile I used for the pillow case is basically the same as the one my mom gave me for the gold trimmings of Shantee’s Christmas dog dress.

Shantee loves sleeping on her golden bed. I rather think she feels like a real princess on it! Hehe

We chose a brown plaid style harness for Shantee—the brown just looks great on her white and mahogany coat—which cost around Php245 (approximately US$5.83) from Tin’s Pet Place in White Plains, Quezon City. The nylon leash cost about Php75 (approximately US$1.79) from the same shop. I don’t have their exact address, but I do know the store’s right beside the White Plains Gate 2 along Katipunan Avenue. Their sign’s pretty big, so it’s kind of hard to miss

I originally wanted to get the fuchsia harness and leash set with little faux diamond studs, but Marc vehemently refused to buy it. He said he’d also be walking Shantee with the leash, the pink and diamonds would make him look gay. Which was true. Hehe. So we settled on the brown plaid one instead.

But the thing is, Shantee didn’t seem like being on a leash.

Ah, no. She didn’t just not like it, she hated it

Well, she made that pretty obvious. “Stubborn” isn’t enough to describe it. Sorry Shantee darling, but you gotta learn to follow Mom and Dad She’s still young, so there’s still hope!

Tiendesitas is located at Ortigas Avenue, corner E-Rodriguez Avenue (C5). It’s a great place to go to with the entire family—you can shop, dine, and simply relax. It’s actually famous for its Pinoy arts and crafts, but for us dog-lovers, it’s a haven for pet stuff.

There were actually some rumors going around about a year ago that The Pet Village had a dog virus going around. Unless it never was true, the management seemed to have done something about it already since we didn’t see any sick dogs around. The pets for sale seem to be healthy, they could be healthier (as in, Shantee-healthy! Hehe) but they seem ok.

As I said, The Pet Village in Tiendesitas is a haven for pet-lovers. There are a lot of shops with cute dog clothes and things, and some even offer grooming and boarding! Pretty cool eh?

I bought Shantee a dog shirt, which you ought to watch out for in my next post! It’s just so cute