The other day....
Mummy and Flapper sat me down.
They wanted to have a serious talk with me.
I pretended I was listening....

"Oh lookie! That's Fluffy at the corner. I want to go slobber him!", I thought to myself.

Oh yes, I am having a oh-so-serious meeting with mummy and Flapper.

Frodo! you got to make yourself more useful and start writing your own stories!

I bolted off.
Needed to slobber Fluffy.

Wait.
What's the meaning of useful again?
Never heard of it.
Don't know it.
Don't wanna know it.

I stick toys in Flapper's mouth, I irritate him till he plays with me, I insist that the toy in his mouth is the one I want, I slobber Fluffy, I annoy both Fluffy and Frappe, I smack my tail at mummy's and daddy's face, I step all over Flapper... AND!  I make grandpa a very happy man.

That's useful.... no?

"What da ya mean write my own stories?  That is too much work." (Photo credit: Nicholas Lee of Furry Photos)

So mummy wrote in the last post about my genius brother's brain.
Yes, yes, he is the smarty pants of the family.
He catches all the balls.
He figures everything out.
He is the apple of mummy's eyes.

They think I know not.
Mummy, Daddy and Uncle Nic are always laughing at me.
They love knocking on my head just to hear the echoes.
They love laughing over my inability to catch toys.

But who cares?
Everybody [else] loves.... ME...

AND!

I make everyone laugh.

I win!

It does not matter that I could only catch the ball/toy once out of twenty tries.
The point is, everyone cheers and loves me when I do.
That's all that matters.

So here we go....

My video of me attempt to get that fiddly flighty dang toy.



DID YOU SEE THAT?

FLAPPER STOLE THE TOY RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH!

I need to go complain to grandpa.
Now.

Bye.


P.S. Frodo, grandpa is not in town.  Bye. Love, Flapper.

Hello everyone.

This is Flapper's mummy, familiarly known to be THE bias mummy who loves Flapper most. I won't deny it. Flapper will always hold that very special place in my heart.

You see, Dumbo is the king with the entire Choo family while Frodo just goofily barges his way into everyone else's heart - especially Grandpa (read Everybody Loves Frodo). Pebbles is the apple of daddy's eyes.

So Flapper, despite being Mr Popular, is not that well-loved in his personal life.  Flapper is just plain stoic which some consider boring.  Unlike his highly-animated and attention-seeking brother, Flapper is chilled.  Very chilled.  He is, in human terms, at peace with himself.

Give Flapper attention, great!
He will turn sideways and show the appreciation for belly rubs.

Give attention to Frodo.
That's fine too.
He will just go relax at one corner on his own.

Well... okay, until food is present.  He will be the first to report attendance with a nice sit and that million dollar smile.

Then there is my personal fascination with Flapper's brains.  I fondly call him the 'Rocket Scientist'.  Until today, I still get amazed by how he figures things out.  I talk about Flapper's brains pretty often but I was never able to document it for 'evidence'.  I get those dirty knowing looks like "yes, yes, we know how proud you are of Flapper" or even possibly, "stop exaggerating."

So the other day, Nic and I decided to try that underwater thing with the boys again - him with his GoPro and Flapper (I cannot use 'I', the camera does belong to Flapper) with his Action Cam.  We are not on any camera competition.  We just like having fun with our own cameras, try new stuff with the boys and see what we can capture.




This was my third attempt trying to get the boys underwater.

Three is a big number for Flapper.
It is the number times he needs to either figure or master something.

By this third attempt, Flapper had pretty much figured out that he needed to stick his head in the water to get the toy.  We started out easy with him at the shallow end of the pool.  But mind you, when it comes to swim and toy, Mr Rocket Scientist still has reflexes like a young dog.  He would watch us throw the toy with much focus and grabbed it before it hit the bottom of the pool.

So after a while, I realized that Flapper had figured something else out - How to use his paws to push the toy up (it's a slope) to the shallow end of the pool before retrieving it.

Okay smarty pants.
Time to up the game.

So Nic and I started throwing the toy just at the bottom of the slope for greater depth.  Flapper would give me that "I cannot get it" face.  That's a hoax I tell ya!  He ALWAYS does that in the face of humans but when they turn their back.... go figure.

After helping Flaps a few times, I told Nic, "We are going to ignore him and leave him be.  When he gets desperate enough, he will try something.  Let's just see what he will get up to."

So we ignored Flaps and focused on all-brawn-no-brains Frodo who hopelessly kept splashing the toy right to the middle of the pool.  We even made things VERY EASY by putting the toy at the shallowest end.  It was as good as just picking the toy up.  But nope, Frodo hilariously kept splashing the toy all the way to the middle of the pool with his brainless motor-charged paddling.

After some time of ignore, Flaps started to figure it out.  It was not easy initially due to the water depth but he persisted on and eventually got the toy up to the shallower end of the pool and retrieved it.

As usual, I tried a few times to verify if it was a fluke.  And of course, with each try, the duration taken to retrieve the toy became shorter and more effective.

Nic and I whipped out our camera to see what images we could capture underwater.

I got a surprise when I saw this footage we captured of Flapper and it really showed his thought process.  I slow-mo-ed the footage to get a good view of rocket scientist at work.




Did you manage to figure out what Flapper had figured out?

If I did not recall wrongly, this was the footage where Nic wanted to capture the boys swimming across the pool and then get underwater to retrieve the toy.  Thus at the start of the vid, Flaps was swimming towards where the toy was.

First thing he did, he dipped his head in to see where the toy was and tried to 'paw' the toy twice before realizing the positioning was wrong.  Then he quickly turned himself around before attempting to get the toy towards him.

What was interesting (for me at least) was watching how carefully calculated and visually-reliant Flapper's moves were.  He would dip his head into the water, determine the position of the toy and by that point, he had already figured out the amount of pressure required to skillfully maneuver the toy with his paw (trust me, that toy moves out of position very easily) to pull it closer towards him, towards the shallow end of the pool.

At the last bit, you can see that he, once again, paused to think whether the depth of the water was shallow enough for him to retrieve the toy.  Then he decided to maneuver the toy one last time before confidently plunging his head to swoop it up.

Yep.
That is Flapper the Rocket Scientist.

I don't think I will have 'Flapper the diving dog' any time soon but I am sure if there is a mensa for dogs, surely he would qualify for it.

Then of course, there is Frodo and I know his ardent fans will be all, "what about Frodo?"
Patience please.

Haven't you figured out by now that the Derp's videos and stories will make it up to his own 'Doh-AH!' wall of fame?

So while I have to get the Derp to prepare his own article, here is the video from the swim.
Enjoy!

I have to confess.

I suffered from withdrawal syndrome after completing Sony's "Prove Yourself" campaign.  It was an exhilarating three months of constant adrenaline rush from the planning, the anticipation, executing the activities and the eye-squinting video editing.

After posting up my final video and Action Cam review article, I twaddled my paws restlessly and gave mummy my signature sad eyes and tragic look.  I wanted more adventures.

So the other day, when I saw that mummy had not put back on her uniform by a certain time, I stuck my face right into hers and then I showed her the door.

"Take me out for another adventure... NOW!"

Mummy looked out the window and checked the haze reading.

"Okay Flapper, perhaps we could do something today."

Mummy dragged out the scoot and said, "Perhaps we could finally try this today.  We don't have much time left with the second Action Cam so let's see what we can do with this!".

Mummy borrowed the scoot from 'Auntie Lian' at the start of the campaign thinking we could probably do something with it.  But after realising it is quite a lean mean machine that is too heavy to carry around, she changed her mind.

But here's the other truth.
Don't trust mummy on anything that has less than four wheels.

Sssshhhh.
Don't tell her I bao-toh (snitched) on her.

Spending my last few moments with the second Action Cam before bidding farewell to it.  Did I tell you how much I truly love my Action Cam?

It was mummy's first time scooting.  I give her due credit for not crashing on her face.   After she got used to the feel and speed of the scoot, she got Frodo and me into a chasing frenzy.

"Ha!  I can finally 'outrun' Frodo!", mummy said gleefully.

I have a funny feeling that this scoot is going to be mummy's new source of entertainment with us....



So yeah, life goes on.
Just got to keep creating adventures.

And then, of course, there's Flap-a-zine.
There is always something to keep me busy.

---

End Notes (Tech-Blabs):

Footage was taken in 4K mode but final video was set at 1080p.

The second camera was clipped onto the scoot using my favourite accessory, the Clip Mount.

After running this activity, I discovered that i-movie has updated to support 4K format. How timely! I was excited to see how this video will turn out but faced a lot of problems with the edit.  Random footage persistently turned blank green.

Either 4K is proving to be too powerful for my now-considered-antique Macbook Pro or the new 4K function for i-movie is glitchy considering it is a new update.

Either way, think I should just stick to my personal setting for now and pray real hard for a new Mac to drop down from heaven's above. *guffaw*

I have started a new section called 'Doh-AH!' which is a compilation/feed of all of my silly brother's stories.  He is just too funny, irritating and silly not to have a section dedicated to his antics.

All I hear during this staycation is, "Frodo, down!", "Frodo, off!", "DOH AHHHHHH!"

Yes, there are many Doh-AH! moments everyday... without fail.

He will do something irritating and you can hear mummy exclaim, "DOH AHHHHH!".  Sometimes with an amused voice but most of the time with an irritated voice.  He has a daily 'irritating quota' which includes irritating Fluffy the cat, the human but mainly me, Flapper Choo.

So the other days while going through Uncle Nic's many many photos of Frodo and me, I decided that there are too many funny Frodo moments that he should have a page dedicated to him.

And the page shall be called "Doh-AH!"

---

 

Caught On My POV Camera

Yet Another Doh-AH! Moment

And that is my irritating brother, Frodo Choo.
Never a peaceful moment with him.
But can't help but love him anyway just because he is too funny.

Do you have any sibling (human or pet) story you would like to share?
Send me your stories (click here)!
I would love to hear from you.

If I could, I would like to be a Mer-Dog (Mermaid-Dog).

Look at these stuff, isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you I'm a girl... dog... a girl dog who has everything?

---

The Emergence of 'Mer-Dog'

It was not always that I was a mer-dog.

When I was adopted by mummy in May 2007 at eight months old, I did not know what swimming was much less understood the joy of being a mer-dog.  I had gangly legs that were oddly proportioned to my body, bow-legged and feeble, I walked (still do) with a girly sashay and was somewhat wobbly and clumsy.

At that point, mummy suspected I had crappy hips (aka hips dysplasia) and raised her concerns every time we visited the vet.  Physical examination did not indicate I had severe dysplasia and during that time, digital imaging was not as readily available as today so unless really necessary, vets would not call for X-Ray especially when I... did not show clear clinical signs.

To pacify mummy (or so she thinks), she was told, "He MAY have dysplasia but most probably just a mild one."

Mummy had a strong suspicion that my hips were worse than what it appeared so she decided to manage my physical condition in the mean time and well, be a dog.  A happy dog.

• Weight - Till today, mummy monitors my weight and physical condition very tightly.  I may look like #fatper (thanks to Uncle Nic) but what I pack is a 'manly' chest from all that swimming.  Mummy said (as my chest got bigger), "Good!  When your hinds go, at least I know your front can support you."

• Limited form of activities - No excessive jumping or pro-longed running on hard grounds;  Limited crazy agility stuff... basically she'll let me do a bit of everything but there will always be a time frame and limit.  For filming, my physical limitation will always be make known thus you will never see me do those "flying" moves.

• Careful of those oh-so-slippery floors.  One of the biggest cause to hips dysplasia.

• Swim, swim, swim and SWIM - One of the best form of exercise for dogs - cheap, gentle and effective way of strengthening the hinds.  Start from young... like lucky Frodo with those oh-so-enviable-hinds.  Don't start digging for "hydo-therapy" only when the problem starts.  Prevention is better.  There is no cure.  Either you live with leg problems or go for surgery.

• Do as dog do, be a normal dog... and live a happy active life.

So yes, swim swim swim and swim.

I was adopted in May.
I was introduced to my first swim in June.

Me: "No mummy!  That big wide sea looks scary!  I don't wanna go!"

Mummy: "Don't worry Flapper, you'll get the hang of it in no time and you'll love it!"

23-Jun-2007: "No mummy!  I don't wanna go in!  The big wide sea and wave looks scary!"

And sure enough, it did not take very long for the call of squeak toy and tennis ball became too strong to resist....

---

The Awful Truth

So there we go.... the awful truth about Flapper's hips.  I have put the normal hips rad image on the left.... let's see if you can see the difference between the nice normal hips and well... my hips! (Normal hips rad image taken from pointeastwest.com)

The truth of my hip condition came to light on 10-Jan-2009 when I was two years old.  Thank God for digital imaging, mummy finally stopped sounding like a crazy paranoid self-imagining owner who kept harping over my deceiving hips.

The X-ray was the awful truth.

Clinical signs do not always correlate with X-Rays and vice versa - Dr A

I loved Dr E's reaction when he saw my x-ray.

"Oh my God, his hips are deformed!"

Dr A, who recently saw the x-ray after mummy found it, said, "So horrigible!"

If you can't understand the x-ray, these two exclamations should sum it all up.

Mummy shouldn't laugh but she did.  The condition is what it is.  It was something I came with when mummy adopted me and so be it.

Hip reconstruction surgery was not something mummy would opt for especially since I am coping with my deformity well.  I have seen dogs who went for such surgeries and they still moved worse than me.

So it's back down to management and knowing the actual state of my hips allowed mummy to manage me better.

More swims for me!
Yay!

---

The Mer-Dog Adventures Continue....

I turned nine on September 25th 2015.

I just completed my exciting and meaningful run for the Sony Action Cam "Prove Yourself" campaign.

You see, it is not about letting my birth deformity limit me or defeat me or using that as an excuse not to let me lead a normal happy active life.  It just so happened that my life became quite extraordinary - by chance.

Mummy is grateful and thankful that at nine, I am still moving well and yes, I do get a bit of arthritic problem now and again but otherwise, I am still [very] mobile despite of my lousy hips.

We hope to keep it that way for a long time to come!

A short video by Uncle Nic of Frodo and my latest beach fun-time!




Life's a beach....  let my mer-dog adventures continue.  

I get it.

This is an 'Action Cam' so the point of this "Prove Yourself: Take Your Adventures to New Heights" campaign is to demonstrate the image quality and capability in capturing adrenaline pumping high impact activities.

However, after much thoughts and planning, I decided to do a range of activities that allowed me to test the camera's capability in different scenes/environments. What I, the ordinary home-user, am looking for in a POV camera is its capability to capture life moments with quality images.


There were other factors I was judging the Action Cam on i.e. durability, battery life, ease of use etc.

So for those who have been following my adventure stories for the past three months, you have probably read my raving reviews about the 4K Action Cam FDR-X1000VR so this is pretty much a recap of all that has been said.

Note:
My review is based on a POV-camera-idiot home-user and not as a professional. This is my first time owning a POV camera please do not expect big technical blah-blah reviews.

---

Action Cam Positives

#1 - Image Quality and Clarity
When I first started using the Action Cam, I was a tad bit disappointed with the image quality especially the dog's POV.

Do not be mistaken.

It was not because the Action Cam is lousy. It was because I had not figured out the settings and the dog harness positioning (read my Tips and Tricks article). Once I did, I was very happy with the image quality and clarity which improved progressively throughout the campaign as I became more savvy with the Action Cam.

One key criteria I was judging the Action Cam on was whether I had to do any image/stability/colour adjustment on the footages. I would not be a very happy dog if I had to do any form of adjustments to the images.

The editing is tough enough, do I really need to do video enhancements too?

I am delighted to say/announce that all my videos were - "what you see is what you get". The image quality and clarity speak for itself in the videos.

The image quality turned out really good and clear for both indoors and outdoors.

The Advance Steady Shot function is really quite impressive.

HD mode is good enough for regular daily use. I only tested using 4K mode once but otherwise never used it. The image quality was good enough without going 4K.

To watch all my Action Cam videos, you can watch it on my YouTube channel.

Noteworthy:
Be realistic about 'on-the-move' images i.e. when the camera is handheld/stick-mounted while you (the human) are jogging/running and recording at the same time; or when the camera is mounted on the dog and it is running or jumping. You WILL end up with several nauseating footages and/or very blur images - otherwise known as NG (no-good) images.

Tip:
It is tricky getting good on-the-move images so plan the camera position and shots before recording

Overall, the Action Cam produces good quality images and does not need much tweaking for  home users. Very satisfactory and definitely  highly-recommendable.

#2 - Durability
Between mummy's butter fingers and my intense back-rubbing ways, I am proud to announce that my camera is still in one piece! So it's been mentioned in two separate articles that I missed scratching the lens by 1 mm, so yes, durability gets A-star from me. Pleasantly surprised that it survived our (mummy and me) use and abuse, not forgetting how often we ended up at the beach. I think most techies would know that sea water and technology/electronics are enemies.

PLUS!

Mummy's butter fingers + sea water = R.I.P.

The Action Cam survived our death fingers... or should I say death paws?

Me in action doing my violent back rubs

So mummy learnt the hard way.... Always put the waterproof case when the camera goes on me!

If the Action Cam survives after two years, we will surely change the rating to 5-paws.

#3 - Ease of Use/User-Friendliness
As a first time POV camera user, I did have my initial struggles figuring out how to use the camera - other than the very obvious red button = record.

Overall, it was not too difficult figuring the camera out.

In addition, after figuring out my 'sweet-spot' setting (read my Action Cam tips and tricks), it became a breeze after that.

That sweet-spot setting pretty much works for all activities, allowing me to crop the images and speed-up/slow-mo without losing much image quality.

In addition, the Live View Remote (see #4) and ability to connect to all mobile devices make it all the more user-friendly.

Need to spend time understanding the functions and referring to the online manual. But once figured out, it is an easy camera to use ESPECIALLY with the Live View Remote and/or mobile device(s).

#4 - THE Live View Remote
My absolute favourite thing in the whole wide world.

I was all oooh and ahhh when I was presented the Live View Remote for the very first time with the Action Cam.

Love love love it.

Biggest plus-point of owning the Sony Action Cam. Makes ease-of-use that much easier.

It allows me to frame the image before recording, able to control up to five cameras simultaneously, able to playback (only with single camera connection)... what is there not to love?

Can't live without it but my Live View Remote is right at the bottom of the sea... already.

Sadness.

Need I say more how much I truly love the LVR?

#5 - Battery Life
Another fabulous feature of the Action Cam - the battery life.

On average, it allows up to approximately two hours of continuous usage.

Tip:
A must-have and good accessory investment:

The Travel Charger.  A must-have.

Frodo and Action Cam recharging during our Jeep Road Trip

The respectable two hour battery life is a big plus point for buying the Action Cam.

#6 - Underwater Feature
The one thing that got me very very excited about the Action Cam was being able to take it underwater AND the fact that it comes with a default underwater/waterproof casing.

The image quality/clarity was decent underwater though I discovered after my first underwater test that I should invest in the flat dive door lens.

The flat dive door lens did improve the image quality quite significantly but at this point, hopefully Sony comes out with a version 2.0 for that flat dive door lens (read my tips and tricks article)

Uber happy for its underwater feature but not happy about investing an additional  lens that needs a V2.0.

---

Action Cam Neutral

Design
I am not too fussed up about the aesthetics as long as the camera is not bulky and not pink in colour.

• Love that it is palm-sized, making portable and easy to hold;
• Love that it is neutral coloured like white;
• Did not fancy the toy-plastic-feel of the camera initially but after some time, it became an acquired taste and came to like it as is.
• The micro-sized 'video-camera-adapted' design is quite nice except it does not allow one to place it at the front of the dog (at the dog's neck) especially since the screw-mount is located at the base of the camera.
• Splash-proof, dust-proof and shock-proof design make it convenient and alleviates stress from careless and rough-users (*cough* mummy) - read #2 positive above on 'durability'.
• The buttons on the Action Cam can sometimes be unresponsive.

Overall design is acceptable and size is a big plus for portability and easy everyday usage

---

Action Cam Negatives

#1 - The Accessories
I shall not dwell too much into the accessories.

Needs version 2.0 pronto.

The accessories has to be able to stand the 'adrenaline impact' as solidly as the camera.
Needs to be 'sand-proof'.
My accessories are finding the grave - soon.

However, apart from the travel battery pack/charger, there is one other must-have accessory: The Clip Mount. It is versatile, stable, good quality and importantly, can act as a one-for-all accessory except as a dog-mount.

The must-have accessory - The Clip Mount. Versatile, stable, good quality and can act as a one-for-all accessory except as a dog mount.

Version 2.0 for accessories, please!

#2: Charging the camera
Can sometimes be unreliable. Doesn't happen very often but does happen.

• Sometimes - had difficulty getting the camera to charge.
• Had to try on multiple plug points before the camera finally decided to start charging.
• Thought camera caput.
• Occasionally - camera does not charge.
• Charging indicator went on and left it to charge. A while later, the camera appeared to have finished charging (indicator light off). Then alas! Discovered the camera did not get charged during an activity.

---

4K Action Cam FDR-X1000VR

Overall Rating:

Personally, I love love love the Action Cam and it is a camera I would highly recommend to anyone considering a POV camera.

The image quality, durability, battery life and ease of use are impressive and exceeded expectations. And of course, how can I forget my all-time favourite Live View Remote? A must-have for heightened user-experience with their POV camera.

Priced at SGD749.00, the FDR-X1000VR comes bundled with the underwater case (up to 10 meters deep) and the to-die-for Live View Remote, it is value-for-money for its impressive specifications and well, it delivers.

As for the accessories, mine (other than the clip mount and travel battery pack) are visiting the grave... soon. Perhaps another visit or two to the beach and it will officially R.I.P..

The camera, however, on its own is a nifty and impressive little gadget. I truly do think I have been so blessed to be an owner of the Action Cam which now enables me to capture my life moments - no matter how big or small, indoors or outdoors.

Me wearing my Action Cam, capturing life moments.... and capturing the sunrise on my very special 9th Birthday

My very fit and agile brother, Frodo, wearing the Action Cam

How can we miss out my silly sister, Pebbles?  The dog hardness is oversized for her but she still looks good wearing it. Note: For long-necked breed dogs like Pebbles, the extension mount MUST BE used.

---

And Uncle Nic Says....

Uncle Nic, my photographer and sleep buddy, who has dedicated his professional time to help me with this Action Cam campaign.

I decided to get a review from Uncle Nic of Furry Photo Pet Photography who faithfully walked this Sony 'Prove Yourself: Take Your Adventures to New Heights' Action Cam campaign journey with me. He is, after all, the professional and owns that renown POV-camera-that-shall-not-be-named.

And in Uncle Nic's usual cool style, short and sweet does it.

• Ergonomics/Design
• Rectangular design can make placing in tight corners odd.
• Easy to handhold. 
• Integrated tripod mount and splash proof makes it convenient to grab and go.

• Accessories could be better built IMO (in my opinion).
• Velcro loses grip over time with dogs.
• Mounts become jammed with sand.
• Love the clamp/clip mount though.

• Features/Usability
• Menu system hard to navigate without phone or live remote
• One-touch NFC pairing is awesome (only available with Android phones).
• Battery life excellent compared to most competing products for both the camera and live view remote.
• Minimal to no lag for live feed video.
• Short delay to trigger start/stop of recording.
• 100mbps video gives great quality footage.
• Photo modes leave much to be desired with long write times and high shot-shot delay.

Great video performance and very decent battery life. Live View Remote is a big plus.  Shot to shot delay for photos, unusual sideways design when mounted and  accessories with disappointing build quality mar an otherwise great product.

---

Just FYI....

For more information about the Action Cam:

• Action Cam Microsite

• Sony Singapore Website

I have a brother from a different mother/father/continent.
His name is Frodo.
Frodo Choo.

And everybody loves Frodo.

Frodo has a derp face.
Everyone says so.
Derp face is as goofy as his face.
So everybody loves Frodo.

Everybody loves Derp-face Frodo (photo credit: Uncle Nic of Furry Photos)

Everything is about Frodo.
He is to your face with his ridiculous butt shake and big derp smile;
"Me! Me! Me!  It's got to be about me!", Frodo insists.
Then everybody loves Frodo.

Frodo is annoying.
His life mission is to irritate.
But somehow some humans find it... cute.
And so everybody loves Frodo.

Frodo loves the toy in my mouth.
The bone in my mouth tastes better too.
He will stuff things in my mouth...
And everybody loves Frodo.

Frodo has no concept of space or size.
He thinks he is a Chihuahua.
He gets in the way and flashes that derp smile.
And everybody loves Frodo.

Yes... He ain't heavy, he's my derp-faced brother.

Frodo has a big head but he is not the brightest.
Mummy says, "Frodo, your head is 99% play, 1% food."
Mummy taps his head, and we can hear echo.
But everybody loves Frodo.

Frodo is goofy and he's loopy.
Me thinks he has eyesight problem.
But when Frodo can actually do a trick,
Everybody loves Frodo.

"If anyone asks, we are not related." Images and Captions by Uncle Nic

Derp Face at his best

Frodo will fart in the human's face.
If Frodo has hair, the human will pull it back while he vomits and still think him cute.
Frodo will fall off the bed while sleeping...
Well there's just something... that everybody loves Frodo.

So I told daddy, "I am going to write a post about 'Everybody Loves Frodo'".
"For what?", daddy says, "Isn't everything about Frodo already?"
True that.
But I love him anyway.

Frodo is, afterall, my goofy annoying brother,

Frodo may be goofy and derp face, but I love him anyway... so does the camera.

Flapper is now officially 9 years young.

With this, it marks the end of his three months campaign for Sony Action Cam.  It has been a memorable and meaningful journey.  I am so glad that we have been given this opportunity to create and experience new adventures and most of all, end it off with style - Flapper's Birthday Celebration.

The last time Flapper had a big birthday celebration was way back when he was 4.  That was a grand party with 30 of his furry pals.  They came pretty/handsome and went home... absolutely muddy.  Such fun memories!

Since then, unforeseen circumstances led to futile birthday plans every year.  Like the Chinese saying goes, 不同狗，不同命。

Different dog, different life.
Luck is a given for Frodo.
Luck is hard-earned for Flapper.

So this year, I was determined to make something happen.
It HAS to happen.
It WILL happen.

Flapper really deserves a good birthday celebration this year... more than what anyone would ever know or realise.

So when we were first approached to run this campaign, the first thing I knew and said was, "The timing is perfect.  We will end it off with Flapper's birthday bash."

Then as I sat down to think about what adventures to bring him on, it dawned upon me... MAYBE I should do a 'bucket list' for Flapper leading to his 9th birthday.  Then from 'bucket list' (just because it sounds morbid), it became wishlist.

Then from wishlist, it evolved to  'Nine promises to Flapper'.

Nine things I have always wanted to do with Flapper but never had the chance or resources to do it.

Why nine things?

Because Flapper was turning nine.

Why a 'bucket list'?

I think it is fun and exciting to create new adventures and seize every moment I have with Flapper. I do not want to live regretting not fulfilling my "to-do" list with Flapper.  It is very easy to take for granted that there's always a tomorrow.  I work with animals so closely that I know how fragile their lives can be.

Recently, quite a few of Flapper's mates have crossed that rainbow bridge so that motivated me further to create and fulfil this 'Nine Promises' list.

In a way, I guess I hope his adventures can help inspire and encourage other pet owners to really treasure their time with their furry ones.
In addition, after a few disappointing years of not being able to throw a birthday party for Flapper, it was all that more significant to complete this 'Nine Promises' list.  Perhaps it was too ease the guilt too.

Nevertheless, I was excited and terrified at the same time to embark on this 'Nine Promises' journey.  I loved the idea of running different adventures with Flapper but I also knew to execute this ambition, I was putting myself out there for rejections.  Many rejections.  Just because Flapper is a dog.  A big blonde dog.

Most organisations or people don't really care that Flapper is some 'celebrity dog' or is a 'well-trained dog'.

A dog is a dog is a dog.
The word 'dog' is like a taboo.

Dog?
No.

Big dog?
Don't even think about it.

Oh what the heck!  I decided to put on my thick-skinned suit and just do it.  I was really not sure how far I would get to fulfilling those nine promises.  I'll just embrace whatever that comes along the way.  No what ifs.  No regrets.

Were there moments when I felt like giving up?
Absolutely!  The rejections, feeling uninspired, tired, all that editing....

But I kept my focus on Flapper.  These were/are my promises to him.   He deserves every bit of it.  The happiness on his face when we are out and about, and all the precious moments and expressions captured on video.  Those were my constant reminder that it was all well worth it.

---

#9  Go on a Trishaw Ride

Imagine Flapper in one of these and wearing a pair of 'doggles'! (image from www.scooter99.com)

This is something I have always wanted to do with Flapper.  I have always fancied the idea of him going on one of those scooters with sidecar and Flapper wearing a pair of doggles.  That would be absolutely hilarious!

But okay, truth be told, this would still be more a Frodo thing than Frodo thing.

The other thing I have always wanted to do was go on a trishaw ride with Flapper.  The many times we have watched a trishaw go pass and I would be secretly wishing, "If only I could do this with you...."

Go on a Trishaw Ride.
CHECK!

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#8 Be a 'Godfather'

Flapper with his 'Godson'.

This was one of my favourite moments - when Flapper got to meet his 'Godson' for the first time.  We, his Godson's parents and I, had a discussion whether Flapper should be a 'Godbrother' or 'Godfather' but with his wise age of 9, we concurred that Godfather was more suitable.

Flapper has always been great and gentle with kids so I thought it would be fun for him to be a 'Godfather' to one since, well, I don't think he will be a big brother to one anytime soon.

This little one is a celebrity in his own rights.  He has such a busy social calendar, it is not easy trying to meet up with him!  *laugh*




Be a 'Godfather'.
CHECK!

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#7  Go on a 'Boat Ride' - Real & 'Fake'

Flapper & Frodo on the 'Fake' Boat The Intex 'Explorer 300'.

'Fake Boat'
Don't ask me why but I have always been fascinated by one of these inflatable boats and for years, I have wanted to do it with Flapper.  I did not think he would fancy one of these boats very much as the 'wobbliness' when it is floating may not tickle his fancy very much.

However, since we are given a small budget to run new adventures and the Intex 'Explorer' series appeared sturdy plus it's affordable, I had to DO IT.

Surprisingly, Flapper LOVES the boat.

Yes, he's punctured a hole (or 2) on the boat but he did have oodles of fun riding on it.

Happy mummy, I am!



Real Boat
What could be better than going on a real boat?

We finally got a chance to do it on his birthday getaway when we took the ferry to St John's Island.

Go on a Boat Ride.
DOUBLE CHECK!

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#6 Learn to go Underwater

Flapper's first attempt at going underwater.

You know, those underwater shots of dogs went viral.  So how could I resist not trying this out with Flapper especially since swimming is his favourite hobby!

And now that we have the Action Cam... why not?

Trying this out with Flapper was really fun.  Reviewing the footages allowed me to see how he would try to get a view of the toy's position before plunging his head in... and there after using his paw to try to feel for it.

Smarty pants, he is.



This is something we will definitely continue post-campaign.

Learn to go underwater.
CHECK!

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#5  Have one last run with SCDF Search and Rescue

Flapper used to be a volunteer with SCDF Search and Rescue.  He loved his weekly trainings and did a pretty good job too.  So it was sad when SCDF decided to cease the volunteer training.

Thus, I decided it would be really fun and meaningful for Flapper to have just one more run/training with the unit - just for fun.  We emailed his old friend from the unit to ask for this favour and received a positive response.  Yay!

Unfortunately, we have not completed this yet and we are not allowed to video Flapper doing Search and Rescue (understandably).  With the looming haze, I have no idea when we are going to do this activity... but but better late than never.

We are just happy we got the 'yes'.

---

#4  Do a School or Home Visit

The little children at 'My First Skool' loving Flapper... A LOT!

Flapper used to be a therapy dog and he loves to serve humans - for real.  From a young age, Flapper displayed natural 'serve human' instinct i.e. he loves helping me carry my bag, he MUST carry something for the human when one returns home etc.

This was a very important promise to Flapper for his birthday.  He WILL visit a school or home to serve.  He loves this work a lot.

It is not just the big 'adrenaline junkie' adventures but these meaningful projects are very important too.




With many thanks to Principal Gillian from My First Skool AMK 6 for inviting us to interact with those adorable kids.

We love the children as much as they loved Flapper.

Perfect timing.
Perfect activity.

Do a school visit.
CHECK!

---

#3  Have a food named after Flapper

Sous Chef Flapper

This is a frivilous wish so don't even ask me how it made it to #3.  Believe it or not, it was one of the first few ideas that popped to my head and I had to fulfil this promise!

I guess I just love the idea of having a food made out of his favourite ingredients named after Flapper.

And the thought of Flapper as Sous Chef, that cracked me up even more.

"Have you heard of 'Liver Chips FLAPS-jack'?"
I like the sound of that.

Very cool.

Of course, Mister Flapper ain't complaining about that.  He got to wolf down the food AND milk!




Many thanks to The Barkery Singapore for creating 'Liver Chips FLAPS-jack' and naming it after Flapper.

Have a food named after Flapper.
CHECK!

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#2  Go on a Road Trip

Flapper the Driver.

Days before the dogs, I used to travel quite a bit.  The many days I have spent dreaming of taking the boys on cross-country drives on one of those some open-backed vehicle or 4x4.

Reality check.  We are not living in a 'cross-country' type of country here.
We have Pasir Ris to Jurong and that's about it.



No rule books ever said I couldn't stretch my imagination a little.  So I decided to create this little 'road trip' adventure and pretend... just for one day... we are actually on a cross-country drive.

This road trip almost did not happen (read the post here) but with many many thanks to Chrysler Jeep of Singapore, this dream adventure became a reality.



Totally memorable experience.
Much love.

Go on a road trip.
CHECK!

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#1  Go on a Vacation / Staycation / Beach Getaway 

The dream beach getaway finally happened.

Now this one.... has been on my dream wishlist for like.... forever.


Not just a getaway, I dream of living at a beach house.  I wake up every morning to an empty house because Flapper has opened the gates to let Frodo out to swim with him.  I ring that big chunky bell that hangs at the patio and the boys come running home, grinning from their fabulous morning swim and ready for breakfast.

Ok, keep dreaming.

Back to reality....

This was the first thing I worked on once we got onboard the Sony campaign.  Flapper's birthday was meant to be the 'big end' to the campaign.

I knew that a beach getaway would be most ideal for water baby, Flapper.  He loves the sea and swimming too much.

So Flapper (yes, Flapper) emailed Island Cruise to see if the dogs could go on the ferry then to Sentosa to ask if the dogs could stay at the one and only bungalow.

It was nerve wrecking waiting for the replies.  I was half-expecting for this idea to fly out of the window but for the first time in a long long time, we received affirmative from both parties.   I nearly broke out in tears as that was totally unexpected.

Then came the tricky part.  I had to find my way to Vivocity on 1st July to book that one and only bungalow.  I HATE Vivocity.  I always get lost in that mall.  But for the love of Flapper... it shall be done!

I arrived at the Sentosa - whatever you call that - early.  I felt so proud of me coz I thought I was smart for being early.   I may have gotten the timing wrong but the office already open and I was sixth in line.  Dang!  That was when I started breaking out in cold sweat and thought, "What if I can't get the bungalow?"

Luck was on my side.

There was only one slot left for the bungalow booking and it was the exact dates I wanted - 22nd to 24th September.

I knew then it was meant to be.
Flapper will get his birthday getaway and celebration this year.

THEN!

*drumroll*

Shortly after I had booked the bungalow, his daddy (my husband) broke the news that he had a business trip and could not join us.  I was totally bummed.

"Never mind", I thought.

'Uncle Nic' and his wife were joining us so at least I still had two extra pair of hands to help .

THEN!

*drumroll again*

A few days before the getaway, 'Uncle Nic' messaged to say that he took on a last minute job and could not make it either.

Double dang!

I had to decide to cancel the trip just because logistically, it was humanly-impossible for me one person to handle the dogs and transporting food supply.  You see, St John's Island has NO shops or eateries.  So apart from our personal belongings, I had to make sure I had sufficient food supply especially for Flapper's human guests.

Fortunately, the job got cancelled and 'Uncle Nic' was available again.

THEN!

*drumroll for the last time*

I fell sick.

I was bedridden for two days and I was like "How in the world am I going to pull this off?"

I wavered.  I could not decide if I should just cancel the trip.  The haze was getting worse too which made me feel sicker than I should be.

Surely not!
Was Flapper going to miss having another birthday celebration again?

Fortunately, I miraculously recovered on that Tuesday morning itself and made a mad dash to the supermarket to shop.  I woke up that morning feeling determined that nothing was going to stop me from realising this promise.   I made whatever last minute arrangements I had to and while packing the massive loads of stuff, I wondered WHY I decided to do this.

"I'm mad!  Going St John's with 2 huge blonde dogs?  What was I thinking?"

I was cursing at myself.

"Taking adventures to new heights?  Surely this is new heights!", I thought to myself as I stared at the trolley.

I was exhausted even before we began!  I gritted my teeth, single-handedly loaded all the stuff into my toot van and before I knew it, we were on our way to St John's Island!

At Marina South Pier, finally on our way to St John's Island!

The minute we made it into this rustic bungalow, I knew that all that effort was well worth it.

With all that said, here we go....




P.S. And of course, the #1 of all #1 on the list is for Flapper to stay healthy... always.

---

With this, we officially come to the end of Flapper's campaign for Sony Action Cam - "Prove Yourself: Take Your Adventures to New Heights".

It has been such an adventure and needless to say, challenging to execute all the different adventures.   And I know I've said it many many times but it has indeed been an honour for Flapper to have been given this opportunity to run all these adventures.

And most of all, we were finally able to document all his adventures - not just in the human's POV but we got to document Flapper's and Frodo's POV as well which was uber fun!

This is one experience that will be remembered for a long long time to come.  Even if I do try to forget, there are too many videos sitting in my hard drive that will not make it easy to forget.  :P

I can only thank God for the blessings of having this incredible opportunity to own one of these POV cameras - to be more specific, the Sony Action Cam.

A dog's owner dream.

I'm saying that not because Flapper is an influencer (yes, we are suppose to help promote the product) but for real it is like prayer answered that we now have the Action Cam.  I have longed for one of these POV cameras for years.

Maybe my 'Nine Promises' list should become some Twenty Promises...  ha!

Of course, I've had so many days of "if only I had this when I first adopted Flapper" but then again, there's a time for everything and I am so glad the time is now.

I am so grateful Flapper and I experienced this journey together... now.

And I am even more grateful that senior Flapper is still healthy and fit to run these adventures... now.

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With this, I will end off this post with thanks.

Heartfelt thanks to:

• Nicholas Lee aka Uncle Nic of Furry Photos Pet Photography - For always being there for Flapper and me, and walking through this entire journey with us.  Thank you for being Flapper's awesome photographer and generously allowing us to use the images for this campaign (even though you were left uncredited).

• Sony Singapore & WE Communications - For choosing Flapper to be an influencer for the Action Cam, the awesome Action Cam itself and sponsoring the birthday getaway..  Because he was chosen, thus he can say, "been there, done that".

• The Barkery Singapore - For always being there for the big events and sponsoring the birthday cakes, treats and Probiotics... for creating that incredibly genius Liver Chips FLAPS-jack thus allowing us to fulfil one of the 'Nine Promises'.

• Chrysler Jeep of Singapore - For helping us fulfil promise #2 by so kindly sponsoring us the Jeep Wrangler Sahara for a day.  

• Trishaw Uncle - For agreeing to take Flapper on the Trishaw ride!

• Principal Gillian Neo, the teachers and management of My First Skool - For having Flapper at the school to interact with the children and allowing us to feature the video.

• The management of Sentosa/St John's Island and Island Cruise - For allowing the dogs to stay at the bungalow and go on the ferry (respectively).

• The cool mummy and daddy of Flapper's Godson - For letting Flapper be the Godfather to Lil G.

• Flapper's fans and followers on Instagram and Facebook - For your loyal and faithful support to Flapper through these years.

• THE Family - For your background support and help throughout this campaign.

• God.