Happy Mothers' Day

To all the adopters, the fosters, the transporters; to those of you that have raised the puppies and raised the alarms; for those that have written the papers, written their congressmen and written the checks: This day is for you.

Without you, I might be spending today in a shelter, in a cage, on the end of a chain- or worse.

But instead, I will be free. And when I run through the sun, feel the breeze in my hair, sniff the green grass and lay at my human’s feet, I do it in your honor. For without you, I would not know these joys.

Today is for you, whether you are man or woman, you have mothered me and I will always be grateful.

Happy Mothers’ Day

The rescued dogs.

Elvis

I have to begin by saying that I really do not like the idea of putting clothes on dogs. For the most part, dogs are perfectly designed just the way they are, and there is nothing that needs to be "added." Though I admit, I will make an exception for coats in bitter cold or cool coats for working dogs in the heat. But frilly dresses, t-shirts, and whatever else they sell for dogs is a no-go for me.
So how can you explain my fascination with accessories? Sunglasses especially... at some point in time I will put every pair I've ever owned on a dog and take his picture. So how could I resist when Sarah's friend Ryan shows up with a pair of Elvis glasses. Of course I just had to give them a go, and who better for this than my man Jake...

Our Double Q

Here it is, captured on video! Thanks to our friends Carol and Addie, and Sue and Gretchen for filming us. And for being the very best training team!

they miss the girl...

It is funny to see how the dogs behave when Sarah comes home from school. After the first rambunctious greeting, they all have to sniff her from head to toe and then sniff her belongings. But in between sniffing sessions, they jump up and lick her face or pull on her clothes... it is like they so excited to see her they just can't help themselves. Any time she sits down, they will all crowd around her-even if she doesn't have a snack in her hand. Jake and Mopsy will both be in bed with her at night, though I don't know how she sleeps through it because they grumble at each other, jockeying for whatever spot puts them closest to her. And while Maggie sleeps on her doggie bed, she does make regular rounds through the night, checking to see if she is okay.
Yep, the puppies sure miss the girl when she is gone... and so do I. Hang on kids, she'll be home soon.

C'mon in, the water's f-f-f-f-fine!

Saturday I promised Maggie that she could go swimming when we got home. Though I fully realize that she could not understand what I was saying, I felt compelled to make good on my promise, even though the pool water is still a little green. Maggie doesn't care, though, she'd jump in if it were brown. She doesn't even care that it is still around 62 degrees.... in fact, I think she enjoys sharing it by running to within 3 feet of a person before she shakes. And if you saw the look on her face, you'd believe she is doing it on purpose- I think she enjoys hearing us squeal and laugh. As the summer wears on, I'm sure I will have more dog swimming photos, feel free to yell when you've had enough...

A different kind of day

What a difference there was from Friday to Saturday. Not only did the cold rains give way to sunny skies, our success on the agility field was completely different as well. We got there at "the butt crack" of dawn and you could tell it was going to be a pretty day. The sunrise was peeking though pink clouds and the water on the grass sparkled in the light. It started a little cool, but the sun had warmed it up in no time. In fact, we were wishing we'd brought along shorts instead of the winter weight gear we'd packed. Our first run of the day was FAST which I bobbled when I stepped over the line in the send bonus. But I didn't feel too bad, because NO ONE qualified in FAST. There were probably 100 competitors and not one qualification. That tells you something about the judge's course. Anyway, we set up for the standard course and we played it VERY safe and slow because I was tired of no Q's. We qualified at 17 seconds under course time, in 5th place (no placement ribbon, but I was happy to get that green one). The jumpers course came next and it was a difficult course... lots of switches and then a loooooong race for the finish. Those are usually the worst for us because I can't keep up and Maggie will stop and wait for me. But this time we managed to pull it off and not only Q'd but took 2nd place. It was our first Double Q in our race for a Championship (Master Agility Champion, MACH, requires 10 Dbl Q's as well as 750 speed points). Our tally to date is: 1 Dbl Q, 132 points. Go Maggie go!

Rainy Days and Fridays....

We had a trail at Purina today. The day started out okay... everything was damp, but the temperature was warm enough that we considered changing into shorts. But as the day went by, it got wetter and colder, and the grass got slicker. Poor Maggie (and the other fast dogs) struggled to stay on their feet. To make matters worse, these course had some pretty hard turns in them... usually after a couple of jumps in a row, so the dogs had built up some speed, only to slide around when they tried the hard turn. Add that to the fact that I got lost on the jumpers course and that equals no ribbons for today. I sure hope we do better tomorrow... I'm beginning to feel a little bummed. : (