Storm becomes Bonnie

I love this picture! It captures her spirit and her incredible color.



With her kitty. Looks like the Cheshire Cat? And they didn't know about my obsession with Alice in Wonderland. Bonnie is definitely an Alice.


"Hello there. You're a big girl aren't ya? Y'know I'm not the least bit intimidated..."



Angela writes: "We made it home and "Bonnie Storm" did just great. She likes her new bedroom, and slept most of the way to the ferry. She was a big hit in the ferry line, and we got to hear her gruff bark! Chloe is exuberant to say the least. They are getting to know each other, with Chloe on her leash and when Bonnie is in her kennel Maddie and Chloe are very interested, and keep watch on her. I think they will do great together, Bonnie loves her kitty. She took to Greg right away and he thinks she's terrific. She is making her way around the house and slept all night in Fiona's room. We are thrilled and she has bonded very well. She's a love and has brought excitement into our home!"

"Opinions are like..."

So I got a little white trash in my family tree. Okay. A lot. At the beginning of the year I picked up this little magnet calendar with country expressions for all sorts of circumstances. Today's says:

"If you don't have an opinion during a debate with other friends, you might say...

I ain't got no dog in this race."

I have yet to find a dog person who doesn't have an opinion about just about anything, including myself. Another more familiar phrase is "Opinions are like (insert orifice here) ... everyone has one."



There is wisdom to be learned from dogs: In some circles we can learn a lot from each other. Sometimes, however, it's wise to keep things to oneself.



I'll be saving "I ain't got no dog..." for just such an occasion.

Have a great day!!

Storm and Logan, I mean Quinn, I mean Jasper.. that's it Storm and Jasper

Angela and Fionna fell in love immediately.
Storm was amazing. Took her bath, nail clipping and even her first Dremeling without a yip or a squirm. Love her temperament: confident and resilient.

Fionna is all excited about doing 4-H with her and I think they will have a blast.





And news from Logan's family. He's being called Jasper and that suits him well.

Teresa says: "Veronica has already clicker trained him to come when called even if the
person calling doesn't have the treat. Only works in the back yard though,
so we have to move our next training session INSIDE. He also has US well
trained to open the door whenever he rings the bell, and he's totally
working that. He is a very smart boy.

Bart is still really enjoying the puppy. I don't know how much longer they
can both squeeze into Bart's bed -- maybe I should buy them a bigger bed so
they can keep being cuddlebugs."

I'd second the idea of the bigger bed!! Too cute.






I love making happy families happier.

finding happy places

It was a good weekend.
Pan went RWB today. And my best friends, Kim and Mark of Samhain Cardigans, finished their boy Dash. They deserve all the best stuff in life. Dogs are their shared passion and I learn so much from them. On top of that they take care of their friends and I am honored they count me as one of them.
I hope they don't mind but I've decided to make my summer home in their backyard, in their garden. Isn't it gorgeous?

Logan's new family

So after a very crazy week and not sure I'd make it there, Logan was delivered to his new family today. Teresa is interested in showing and I think Logan and her will have fun in the ring.
Logan was quite impressed that he had 3 kids fawning all over them. Bart (Larchmont's Black Tie Affair) was thrilled to have a new buddy. I think they're gonna get along great.
Another great family for another great puppy.

Don't they look happy?

And Teresa, great cake!

windows

Someone recently reminded me of that saying that sometimes when a door is closed, a window is opened... That woman was Anne and she and her partner were the window for Clank.

Storm seems to have found her own window. My dream was for this little foxy baby to find a life of adventure and puzzles to solve. A lovely family on San Juan Island have opened a window for the breeze that is our lovely Storm to blow in. They have 6 acres there for her to explore. Their 11-year-old daughter is interested in training her and being her constant companion. They go sailing and I can just picture her on the bow with the wind on her tongue.

Learning My Lessons (or conscious dog ownership)

As some of you know I'm studying yoga. I will get my teaching certificate pretty soon. And I just did some special training around yoga therapy. Along with the physical postures there's a lot of discussion about philosophy. I'm too skeptical to be into a lot of woowoo but I do think it's important to live consciously, with awareness and full ownership of what I do. In yoga classes we talk about ownership of our thoughts. Our feelings. And of course our actions. It struck me tonight that while we talk of the dogs we own how many of us really consider what ownership means in terms of responsible choices as far as their welfare is concerned? Without blame and other excuses?

My daughters and I took the remaining four to a puppy class tonight. Its focus is on pure socialization. A conformation handling class offers some of this but this is really in their face interaction with lots of different shapes and sizes of dogs and people, as well as ramps and things with wheels and all sorts of textures and other stimuli. They also help get us started on some clicker training and simple commands such as "sit" and "down."

I got a discount having more than one dog but not for all of them since only two will be staying long enough. In the end it will cost $200 for 4 weeks of classes for two of them and 2 weeks for the other two. But it's so important at this age between 8-16 weeks that they get exposure to as many different people and experiences as I can possibly provide.

While there something was emphasized I really thought important to pass on to those of us with more than one dog and particularly those of us with littermates where the bond is established from birth. It was said that for every hour dogs have together they need 5 hours of time with their humans. It was said that ideally this should be each dog in alone time with us. You do the math. More than 2 dogs and you run out of daylight pretty quick. Hold a job that takes us away from them for the better part of the day and it's just an impossible standard to uphold.

So what happens is things like this are said, not to be a hard and fast rule, but rather a way to make a point. And I have to ask myself how many dogs do I have real time for? How fair is it to ask my daughters and husband to help when this hobby is my idea? When I have a few other aspirations and goals set for myself too?

My family is pretty willing luckily. In fact the one least fond of beasty things with lickery tongues announced she had a great time tonight. And as I lay them all down to sleep I found all my young, both canine and human, went to bed tonight without complaint and quickly fell asleep.

But here I am awake and wondering if I can keep my life and everything and everyone I care about in it balanced, flexible and strong...

I'm told it starts with caring for myself and that quite likely starts with a healthy amount of sleep. So now I turn off the light. Good night.

Clank's new family

Clank (formerly known as Remy) went home with new moms today.

Ratchet is ignoring the new kid.

Mom tells him she still loves him. Clank says, "This is different."
But I think he's very happy. And I know the moms are!

Stacking the Storm

Her coat is unusual in color and right now it still has that puppy quality.
Her topline is actually fine. I think she's a very well balanced girl.




"Yes. I am adorable."

"I can't believe you woke me up for this."

"I am so outta here."

gathering storm

Storm, you may have read, is looking for a home, preferably one that likes games. Busy games and puzzle games, she's gonna meet that bar no matter how high you raise it.
I'll be collecting bits of images and stories about her so you can better see what makes this girl so special.

Storm has an alpha personality without being aggressive. It's amazing to watch. This morning her sister Rogue had a bone and she just walked over and nudged in front of her and took it away. No real confrontation. She's the littlest of the crew still but she makes up for it in presence and intelligence. She's obviously earned the respect of her siblings.

Totally gentle with kids. And willing to play even if she's been woken up from her nap.




The camera was low on juice so I'll post more pictures later. Stacked shots. We're also going to puppy class later. So I'll try to get shots of her playing with the other babies there.

puppy translator

yip-yip bark yip-bark-bark-bark-bark-yip yip-yip-yip, yip-yip-yip-yip-yip, yip-bark bark-bark

Translation.

good news, good news, good news, more good news,... and other news

First the good news: Mr. Remy LeBeau has a home!!! Anne and Sharon have decided they can't live without the little Cajun. They will bring their Cardigan boy Ratchet over on Wednesday so the two can meet on Remy's turf and then Remy will be going home with them. I couldn't be more pleased with this family for this special boy.

Jean' new dad reports:
"Life is fabulous!
We are so happy and so is she. She had her first class at puparazzi today. Both ears are up regularly. She's only had 2 accidents (both our fault), and has slept through the night once.
Now we're working on getting her used to my in-laws and their pembroke.
She went to the vet on Friday and they fell in love with her, too.
Deliriously happy,
Michael"

I received another note from Charlie:
"Things have been going great. A couple of days ago we went in the car to the post office, with me in my crate and I was a real good boy. I get to go every day in the Mule, up to the garden. I really like that. Mom says we will probably go to the Post Office today too. Look at what else happened when I woke up this morning, my black ear was standing up straight and tall. Mom thinks the other one will follow tomorrow. I also slept almost all the way through the night.
Tyner and Katie (grown up Cardigans who live with Gail's daughter Esther) come up to play every morning. That's all for now.

Love Charlie"



Isn't he cute?!!

And the mom of the family who is taking Logan has decided she'd like to give conformation showing a whirl. Logan, who might possibly be renamed Quinn, will have a blast showing off his gorgeous self. I can hardly wait to see how that boy moves as he gets older.

Ok, so now the other news: Storm needs a home. Just bad timing for the prospective person who wanted her. Ideally, I'd like to find an obedience/agility mommy or daddy for Storm. I've always thought of her as my tomboy. She is whipass smart and super biddable. She really wants to know what you're up to and if she can have a part.

Someone's a happy boy

Note from August 3rd:

Things are going great here. I attached a picture of my new digs. This is where I am supposed to sleep at night. I really did pretty good last night. A little rough at first, but found out it wasn't so bad. I got to meet my new friends today, Tyner and Katie, who seem rather nice. I really like the big guy(Tyner)the best. Katie is a little shy, she will get better as we see more of each other, I think. It is a little smokey with the fire just north of us. The planes have been flying over us to help get the fire put out. That's about all for today, hope to write more tomorrow.

Love Charlie



Today: Things are going great.

I got a chance to go on my first Mule ride yesterday. It was a lot of fun, maybe a little scary at first. We took a ride up to the veggie garden so mother could do the watering. We did that today too. I am having fun chasing bugs and butterflies, I may make collecting butterflies a hobby. They are so pretty. Mom has been warning me about the bees though and how they can sting. How are the other kids doing? Nap time and I do love my naps.

Charlie

My note back:
Hello Charlie!
The other kids are doing great. We have tape on everyone's ears except for Storm and Jean. Jean has one ear up and I'm hoping the other will go up on its own too. Jean is going to her new home tomorrow. I wonder what adventures are in store for her.
We have learned that Logan will be having some show experience just like Rio and Rogue. I think he's going to love it. You know what a show off he is with his pretty self. Remy is going to stay on for a bit. Sometimes things just don't work out. We're going with the flow. You know what a sweetheart he is. I'm sure someone will come along and will make him a loving home.

Glad hear you're doing so well. Your bed looks so comfy. Fit for the prince you are. It makes me feel great to know how much you are loved.

Auntie Le'o

Remy needs a family

I found out today the gal that was supposed to take Remy decided she wasn't ready for a puppy and backed out. Above is an old picture of him at six weeks of age. I have his ears taped now. I'll take pictures on Wednesday when I have a less crazy schedule.

Remy's a gentle, easygoing boy. Real smart. Agility and obedience prospect? Or just a good buddy. He deserves a good home with someone who can follow through on the commitment.

A note from Charlie

"Hi Mom!
I want to thank you so much for sending me to camp. The stay last night went very well. They had a place in the bathroom for me to go potty and you would be proud of me, I didn't have one accident. We left this morning for camp, which was a long trip and they said I was a really good boy. When we got here there were so many things to see and that I will get to play with. I have two new friends that I will get to meet tomorrow, after I rest up a bit. Oh, and did I tell you they have some big things, called fish and a creek I can play in when I want. Now I am going in to take a nap. See you soon, Charlie."


I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry.....

Seriously, Gail, you're his mommy now. I can be his grandma. :-)
Very sweet letter to his old home though. Thank you so much. You're gonna do right by him I know.