Changes and News

One thing I can say with certainty regarding my dogging life, is that things are always happening. When you have more than one dog, they can sometimes conspire to give you moments of victory, moments that are bittersweet, and moments of fear, too. This past week I have experienced all three.

The good news is that Acey earned her ASCA CD Saturday at the obedience trial at the CASC show in Mebane. I was pleased with her performance. I do not really consider her to be as polished as I would like for her to be before trialing, but ASCA shows in this neck of the woods are few and far between and I'm grateful to have gotten that beginning title out of the way. She is completely recovered from her spay and EAGER to work. As a matter of fact, she's patiently waiting out in the crate in the car for me to come and train her right now; she ws too eager to sit still since the time of day tells her it is time to go and WORK!

The bittersweet news is that Molly has gone to live with a new family, in Hillsborough, NC. She is with a family very similar in lifestyle to our own, where the mom homeschools the children and there are people home all day long most days. She is the only dog in a very dog experienced household, and they are delighted with her and she with them. I am certain of this because their reports of Molly's wiggling and grinning and snorting and cavorting could not be faked. Molly for all intents and purposes was "retired", and numbering five out of six on our dog hierarchy in terms of how much attention she got. Now she is one of one, and it is well deserved. We miss her, but are happy for her, too, and greatly appreciate the nearly daily reports we've been getting on her from her new family!

The fearful news is somewhat ongoing ... after noticing Monday night that Itty had a very swollen testicle, and that he had been off his food and not quite "right" for two or three days, I took him to the vet that took such good care of Acey on Monday. Today he had that testcle removed. Dr. Settle said she did not think it was cancerous, but she was going to send it off to be sure. She said in her opinion, he'd probably suffered a puncture or a bite, and had an infection. This is highly possible, as he runs on the farm, through the fields and woods and lies down to cool off in the pond on nearly a daily basis. He never did have a fever, so hopefully the remaining testicle is still good, and will produce viable sperm. We'll be checking that in a couple of months just to make sure. In the meantime, Itty is recovering quietly in a large crate, with an E-collar on, so he'll stay quiet and not lick the incision. So if you think about it, say a little prayer that he'll recover without incident and will retain his fertility in the bargain!

Photos are of Molly and Bahnsen on the morning of the day I took her to Hillsborough, and Itty upon is arrival home from the vet's this afternoon.

Heaven

A friend sent me this in an email and I actually thought it good enough to put here ... enjoy!

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them...

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course sir, come right in and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a humble farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. "Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl for the dog and took a long drink himself. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree. "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the streets of fool's gold and imitation pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Monte (the puppy formerly known as Strobe)

The Family

We have a visitor this week! Nelly has come to spend the week with us while her family is on vacation. It has been so nice to have her. She is a lovely little girl in both looks and temperament. I do believe she's had quite a nice week herself. Bahnsen didn't seem to remember her at first, and he was both possessive of me and quite interested in her. Now she's just one of the crowd. This evening I took Molly, Itty, Bahnsen and Nelly out on the farm and took these photos. Enjoy!

July in NC ... cooling it!

Itty having fun at the pond.