336. The Boxer ran wild at Singapore Airport

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"When the cargo door was opened, the Boxer was standing on top of the coffin. He bite the airline staff and jumped off. He ran all over the Singapore airport," the dog owner told me.

"Really?" I asked. He had said that IATA (the aircraft controlling body) had ruled that no dog should be kept in the same cargo area as dead people. But somebody did not know the rules.

"Was it reported in the Straits Times?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I was present and I saw the whole incident."

"What happened to the dog?"

"The fire department tranquilised him. The airline was sued."

Why did IATA make such a ruling? He said it was for a reason. Maybe, the dog's acute sense of smell of the dead had made his escape from his cage and the ruling was to ensure that this did not happen.

I don't know whether to believe him or not.

335. The Irishman's Miniature Pinscher was "Timed Out" if he pooped outside the papers

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Nothing to write about in Singapore," the Irish writer from New York had lived in Singapore for around 7 years commented when I asked if he could write the great Singapore Novel. "Singapore is a quiet safe city."

"Depends on what you want to write about," I said as I tried to open the mouth of his black and tan male 6-month-old Miniature Schnauzer. "Gruesome murders, sensational tabloid stories, hijacking of a plane, kidnapping, collapse of a big bank by a financial trader ... I remembered the story about him and his friends dropping their trousers somewhere along Singapore River... All cities would have many stories." He did not think so.

"Your dog would have permanent teeth by now," I placed my right hand on the dog's muzzle as his owner complained that he had seen some lost teeth. The quiet dog wrinkled his lips, coned his mouth and growled a warning.

That was the end of the examination. I put a muzzle on the dog before vaccination just in case he bit the owner by mistake, during vaccination. I could avoid his bite, being a veteran but the owner may suffer.

"How long it takes to paper-train him?" I asked the Irishman with a reddish sideburn. It is rare to meet a published writer. He had written an Irish history of his clan.

"About 1 month."

The dog was crated in a crate with pee pan below for the first week and at night for the first 4 weeks. He put newspapers outside the crate. The dog is fed outside the crate. He said "paper" when the dog wanted to pee. Treats were given on success.

The paper was shifted closer to the bathroom. The dog is fed twice a day outside the crate. He poops in the morning and evening. Whenever he poops on the living area, he gets scolded and put into the crate immediately. This is called TIME OUT, a method used by Caucasians in training of naughty children).

If the dog poops on the newspapers, he gets a treat. So, by the 4th week, he was paper-trained. The dog sleeps from 11 pm to 6 am. No problems of accidents.

It was good to exchange ideas on writing. Lulu.com was a site recommended by him for print on demand.

"You should write a story about your dog Scruffy in Singapore," I said. "Dog stories sell very well in the US. There is a top selling book called 'My Dog Marty'", I said referring him to Kinokinuya in Bugis Shopping Mall and from my reading of the Publisher Weekly. He was more interested in thrillers and suspenses.

"You can have the dog stories,' he said. I hope he would write that big novel based on Singapore and be very successful.

334. The Chicken and Egg Situation for unknown writers

Friday Jun 23, 2006

Lunch at Han's, Atrium of National Library, Singapore.

I had lunch with KO,her husband and CKO. KO and CKO worked for the National Library at Victoria Street.

"Who to contact to discuss more about putting my writings in the e-book of the National Library (NLB)?" I asked KO. Some time ago, I noted that the NLB has an e-book section, including a miniscule section on Pets.

CKO said, "NLB does not accept any author, especially unknown ones. Give NLB a copy of your printed book for consideration."

I said, "I do not have any book printed. In any case, if the author is a known celebrity, why would he or she need the NLB?"

KO said, "Why don't you give pet related talks at the NLB? Publicise yourself and (become known). NLB is open to your offer of talks to the community."

I said, "What if the writer does not want to give talks but just want to share his "how to" take care of pets for Singaporeans? Isn't NLB interested in having more local content which are more relevant to the locals?"

CKO said, "It's a chicken and egg situation. If you don't get your book publish, how can NLB consider scanning it into a e-book?"

I said, "Must NLB see a printed book before it will consider scanning it into an e-book? Is it not possible to consider a writer who submits the writing in electronic format like PDF files or Word?"

CKO said, "It is hard to consider unpublished authors. It is a chicken and egg situation. Why don't you publish your book first?"

KO advised, "Have you meet Mr Rama of the Book Development Council? The Council helps local writers to publish books. I am sure he will be interested in meeting you."

I said, "From what I read, Mr Rama is interested in fiction. I am thinking of an e-book for Singaporean puppy owners on how to look after their puppies. I doubt Mr Rama is interested in non-fiction. He is probably looking for the great Singapore Novelist."

"How do you if you have not speaken to Mr Rama?" KO asked.

"That's true," I said. "But you still have not got the answer to my query."

"Give your question to the Librarians. Now they are keen on such queries. Sorry that there will be no more prizes for the best question as the contest is over."

I said. "A non-fiction book like taking care of Singapore-based puppies is of interest only to new puppy owners. It is a community education service. I am just asking what terms and conditions would NLB want to get this information into an e-book?

The NLB has a wider subscriber base than if I sell it at pet shops. I estimate that it can sell only 3,000 copies a year if sold at pet shops and certain outlets. At the NLB, the younger generation loves to click and get instant info. So, an e-book will be much easily accessible."

CKO said, "There are issues of intellectual copyrights...Authors and publishers are not in favour of e-books. Even NLB's subscription to Nexus online restricts reading by NLB subscribers to Singapore only. You can't read in London for example."

"What if I don't want royalty and just want the public to have free access to the e-book at the NLB?"

We are going around in circles. Is it really a chicken and egg situation? Is it not possible to talk to the correct authority and discuss further this community service? Is the NLB really interested in increasing the local content of specialised technical knowledge?

"Get your book printed out and give it to the NLB," CKO said.

"It will be thrown into the rubbish bin," I said. Or would it?