My Co-Workers

First, I'd like to thank Paula for sending me this award. I appreciate it and I would like to send it on to my back-up Veterinarian, obedience coach and friend, Nicki . She is the one who insisted I start a blog and even thought up the name. Here you go Dr. Nicki, pass it on.



A couple of the DOT bloggers have talked about their dogs joining them in their sewing or work spaces and taking up most of the room. I have the same situation. If I go into the office, they all go with me. They do know that they have to behave in the office or they'll be banished, no barking or running around. Everyone has to find a spot and settle down until I'm done.


Fudge and Monty both like to lie under the work table that my computer is on. Whichever one gets there first usually stays there. If Monty gets the table, Fudge lies next to my chair on the right.



Sky lies next to my chair on the left. Here he is standing with his head in my lap. They each do that and I'm supposed to pet them while I type.



Samba and Morgan have this strange love/hate relationship. They're very competitive with each other and will growl at each other, then lie down and groom each other. Morgan usually gets in her basket or under my desk and Samba stretches out behind my chair so that I can't move without her knowing about it.



Monty, aka The Boss, likes to get under Rob's desk or across the doorway. He's always on guard. He also steals paper and guards it. We have to watch that no paper falls on the floor.



Tsar declined to have his picture taken tonight. He usually stretches out across the room from the rest of us, so he can sleep uninterrupted. If we have anything important to work on, we send the pups outside or into their crates because they get bored and start getting into things. Tsar is the only dog allowed to remain in the office by himself. He's the only one we trust not to touch anything.

They all seem to like working with us and except for having to step over them to move around, it's fun to have them all here. I'm going to take my co-workers upstairs now for a snack.

Dogs Everywhere

Walking through my house it would be hard to miss the fact that I love dogs. The 'WOOF' sign on the front porch and the dog chain attached to the railing would be your first hint. Of course, the chorus of eleven doggy voices in all ranges would greet you as soon as you stepped on the porch.

Inside are a lot of reminders, too. Several years ago Rob and I were at a street fair. Lots of vendors had set up stands selling all sorts of creations. We found one artist who did dog paintings using mixed media. She sculpted the little dogs and added them to the painting, so there is a lot of texture. Rob bought this one for me. It's called 'Dogwood Tree Of Life'.


We hung it in the entry hall and I spent a lot of time studying it. It gave me a tremendous urge to collect art. I knew I had to narrow my interest, so I decided on dog art. Big surprise. When I started looking around I was amazed at the amount of dog art available. I would have to narrow my choices even more. I decided on Portuguese Water Dog art. The breed is still fairly rare, so how much could there be?



A lot. I have a number of wonderful paintings, some not so wonderful paintings, some neat sculptures and a lot of novelty pieces. Today I bought a print of five puppies asleep on a patterned rug. It reminded me of when my pups were babies.



This piece is large and makes everyone smile. It's done by a very talented lady, Youlia Anderson. She owns
Furrytale Ceramic Studio and I have a number of her pieces.

I also receive dog themed gifts from family and friends. A couple weeks ago two friends, my backup vet Dr Nicki and one of our Vet Techs, Les went to a conference. They learned lots of handy stuff and Les brought back a present for me. PWD socks. Aren't they cute?



The top dog on the socks looks just like Samba. She also brought this beautiful key ring. It's much too pretty to get scratched up by keys, so I might use the charm on a necklace.



Another hint that a dog person lives here, besides the artwork, would be dog beds everywhere. There's one in the dining room, one in the kitchen, one in the laundry room. There is one in the living room, two in the office, one in the library and six in the bedroom. Depending on the time of day, you might find dog toys strewn around and occasionally cotton stuffing from the inside of the dog toys strewn around. Bentley used to put his toys in the box, I wonder if I can teach any of these dogs to pick their toys up.

I love all dogs of all sizes, shapes and colors. Purebreds and mixed breeds are all great animals with their own unique personalities. My art collection reflects that. I have paintings and sculptures of dogs other than PWDs. There's no way I could pass up this fellow. He's carved from wood and is quite heavy.



I truly believe there are no bad breeds, only bad owners.

Seasons

First, Noah and I want to thank everyone who sent good wishes his way. They paid off. Yesterday we got the report that his growth was benign. When he gets his stitches out next Friday, the second report giving the cause should be back. Keep those fingers crossed for one more week.


Noah is feeling great and so far has been good about leaving the stitches alone.

I am feeling a little better each day. If only this cough would go away!!

Today is a dark, gloomy day and the rain started a short time ago. It really is looking and feeling like fall around here. A lot of people tell me fall is their favorite season. I love spring, when everything is fresh and new. I love that day in Central New York, usually sometime in May after an overnight rain, when suddenly everything is green. We used to refer to it as 'Green Day'. We don't have that here, the change is much more gradual. I have always had a problem with depression in fall. It's probably related to Seasonal Affected Disorder, but I feel like everything is dying. My depression builds and usually climaxes in January, which is an especially difficult month for me for a number of reasons that I won't bore you with.

Anyway, I thought it might be a good time to highlight the prettier parts of the yard.


This is my little Mandevilla that I was babying along earlier in the summer. I thought that first bud would never open, but it has been flowering all summer and is really a cheerful addition to the front porch.


We've grown Hens and Chicks for years and never knew they flowered. Apparently they do.


I attempted to plant colors other than pink and purple this year, but it's hopeless. I am so attracted to those colors that I can't resist. I must be genetically related to butterflies or hummingbirds. What a pleasant thought.



Of course, I must give credit to my gardening helpers. There's Rob who wields the shovel, and in this rocky ground that's a tough job. There are my eleven canine co-gardeners who excel in weed removal and picking flowers. There are also some others that deserve credit.

This was planted by my bird friends. We encourage the birds with feeders all over the place, water, bird houses and yarn and dog hair to line their nests, but I wish they would stop planting Morning Glories. Although they're pretty little flowers that greet us each morning, the vines grow very fast and wrap around anything they touch. They kill other plants and take over the entire yard. It's a constant struggle to keep them under control.



The birds also planted some sunflowers. I supplied the seed, they chose the location.

So here is an example of the handiwork of the birds and the bees.


One of our favorite summer visitors is our collection of garden spiders. They are big spiders with striped legs. They build big elaborate webs each evening, catch whatever they can, then reel in their webs in the morning. The next night they come back in exactly the same place. They hide away during the winter and return the next summer to the same spot. We have garden spiders in about eight or nine locations that have been coming back for years

Here is his (or her) web and here is the spider hanging in the center.




This Rose of Sharon is still in a pot waiting to get big enough to plant in the yard, but it decided to bloom anyway.


The Pyracantha is peeking over the fence in the back.


The ones in the front yard are going to have a great crop of berries this year. They're so pretty and the birds love the berries.


Part of the frog collection hangs on the front porch adding music to the air. They'll be coming inside soon.

For the last couple years I've been too busy with puppies to feel depressed. This year we're concentrating on obedience training. Maybe enrolling a couple pups in classes will keep my spirits up. It sure can't hurt.

Gustav

Last Monday was Labor Day. When I took the dogs out after their breakfast I noticed that Tsar seemed to be very interested in something in the grass near the holly. He loves to catch grasshoppers and cicadas, so I didn't pay much attention.When I called them all in, Tsar didn't come with the others. I went back to get him and found him rolling in the grass. If he caught a grasshopper, he would probably roll in his kill. Here he is covered with little bits of grass.



He came in and that was that, or so I thought. Later that afternoon I had the pups outside and Lola was checking out the same area that had interested Tsar. Then Tess ran over to look. Next they were both rolling. I thought I'd better check this out and started down the hill toward them. Suddenly Lola grabbed something off the ground and started to run with it. Tess, Bailey and Norma Jean were all in pursuit. Lola stopped, put down the unidentified object, they all looked at it, then she picked it up and pranced around the yard with her prize.

The next time she set it down I was close enough to get a glimpse. It looked like a dead cicada. I called the girls in and they all came with Lola carrying her prize. She planned to take the dead thing into the house, but in the garage I insisted she drop it. When she did, I couldn't tell what it was. I put the girls inside and called to Rob to come identify something. He just loves identifying dead things that the dogs find.

At first glance Rob thought it was a slug, but I didn't think a slug would hold up to a group of dogs rolling on it. He picked it up and it was a little lizard. We have a lot of these little blue tailed lizards that sun themselves on the deck or the rocks. The dogs love to chase them and Morgan has caught several. I usually get them away from her, but she swallowed one alive once. Apparently, Tsar caught this one and left it in the yard for the girls to find. Having been in the sun for several hours, it didn't smell very good to humans. The dogs thought it smelled great.



Tuesday morning Rob left on a business trip. He'd be gone all week. The remnants of Gustav arrived Tuesday evening. I felt my throat getting scratchy just about the time the rain started.When I went to bed I was shivering even though I was surrounded by four dogs. Wednesday morning my head pounded, my throat was so sore I could hardly swallow and I had fever and chills. Gustav was really bringing the rain down by that time and when I put on my rain jacket to take the dogs out, it soaked through.


I spent the day on the couch with unhappy damp dogs all around me. I only got up to do feedings and outings. I wore a winter jacket with a hood and boots to take my pals out. I'd like someone to explain why dogs that have been bred for centuries to jump off boats into cold water, who go crazy at the sight of a hose or sprinkler, who can't keep their feet out of their water bowl and sneak into the shower with us when they can, why do these same dogs refuse to go out in the rain. I dragged eleven dogs out the door into the marsh we call a yard. The rain was coming down very hard for many hours.


Thursday, along with all the other symptoms, I had no voice. Rob cut his trip short and came home to relieve me of doggy chores. He took over feedings and outings. Of course, the rain stopped a couple hours before he got here. I got to spend the whole day in bed with Samba on my feet. Rob made me tea and brought me flu meds. Today I can actually get around and eat a little. I still have a nasty cough that hurts my ribs, but I think I'll survive.

Our hearts go out to all who are being pounded by this string of hurricanes. We only received some heavy rain for a couple days, but we're happy to see Gustav leave.

Sailor's Delight

My grandmother had lots of little rhymes she taught me. One was 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning'. When my puppies were expected, I spent a lot of time thinking up names. Being Portuguese Water Dogs, I wanted something to do with the sea or Portugal. Sky's name is Legacy's Red Sky At Night.

We had planned to take Morgan and Tess (Legacy's Let Me Count The Ways, from the Sonnets of The Portuguese) to the lake this morning. Tess loves the water and this would be her first chance to really swim. Plans are subject to change. When we awoke there was a thunder storm going on. We called J and she said it was cloudy, but not storming at the lake. We decided to go for a visit, but thought we probably wouldn't be able to go out on the water. Instead of Tess who is very excitable and might not settle down nicely in a strange house, we took Sky who is laid back and comfortable where ever we are.

When we arrived the sky didn't look friendly, but it cleared up, became sunny and hot and we hit the water. Grace really hit the water. She has taken up dock diving. She waits, quivering, while J throws a toy into the water, races to the end of the dock and launches herself into the air.


My poor slow camera couldn't keep up with her so all it recorded was the splash. I should have taken the video camera, but then I couldn't share these pictures with you.


Splash had to join Gracie in the water. You can't keep a good water dog dry.


Morgan is a seasoned sailor now. She can even jump into the boat by herself.


Sky got aboard without any sign of fear. He's a great rider in the car and the boat was fine with him. He and Grace haven't seen each other in almost a year, but they seemed to recognize each other. He and Splash got along well, too.




I really like this picture of Grace


Sky relaxed and seemed to enjoy the ride.


Grace kept her eyes on the destination.


Sky has never been as fond of water as his sisters and parents, but he went in with no coaxing. He was fascinated by Splash and Grace diving off the boat and swimming way out, but he was afraid to get too far out.


He was happy as long as his feet were touching the bottom. He really wanted to be in the water and for a first time he did fine. I think if he had more opportunities to be in the water, he'd swim.


Splash makes it look easy.


Morgan chose to stay on the boat with Rob today.


Sky had to tell Rob about his big adventure.




Grace started to stretch out in the sun, but then she realized Rob had snacks.



We couldn't stay as long as we would have liked because I had to get home to check on Noah and give him his meds.
He's taking pain pills and sedatives to keep him quiet.

Grace would have liked to stay all afternoon. She's tireless in the water. As long as someone will throw something, she'll go after it.



Sky and I shared a seat on the way home.


He seemed to want to drink in the air and store up the memories.



Both Sky and Morgan slept all the way home in the car. He played with the other dogs for awhile and now he's asleep at my feet. I hope we get the chance to get him near water again. I think he will swim eventually. Next time Tess gets her chance.