Another beautiful day at the lake

Yep, this is where we hang. The water was clear enough today that we could all be sure there were no gators.


Scorch was a little worried about the gators, though.


The wookie was worried that his face wouldn't show up in the photos.


He was correct.

Scorch was worried about big floofy shepherds and sleek greyhounds.


Loki was worried that Scorch is the only one with balls.


Despite what this picture may lead you to think, Scorch is still the only one with balls (not for long!).


Wolfie was worried that he wasn't covered with enough sand.


Scorch was worried that I would decide to keep taking pictures instead of throwing the ball.


For a while, he was correct, and he yelled at me.


Throw. The. Ball. NOW.


Scorch was worried about the wookie who couldn't retrieve his own damn ball (notice the ball on the right).


Loki was obviously not very worried about his ball. Loki was clueless.


Wolfie was worried that he wouldn't get enough face-time in this blog entry.


Don't worry Wolfie! You're certainly easier to photograph than Scorch.


The border collies were worried that the wookie might be here permanently. (GET OUT OF THE SHOT, LOKI!)


Don't worry boys! Loki goes home to Dr. B tomorrow, and you two can be the stars again.

Two border collies and a Wookie

Why, what is this shaggy thing?


The strange bear-looking guy is Loki, a dog belonging to one of the vets I work with. She's out of town, so I'm puppy-sitting and he's joining us at the park.

Dr. B warned me that Loki didn't really know how to fetch. Yet, somehow, he picked it up from watching Scorch and proceeded to steal the ball every chance he got.


Scorch usually got it back though.


We had The Squeaky Ball, as well as a Jolly Ball that had been abandoned on the trails, so I thought I'd have enough to keep both boys occupied. Of course, a crazy lab-mix named Bear who ONLY WANTED OTHER DOG'S BALLS kept coming and ruining our fun. Scorch has turned into a barking fiend when he has the ball, which is what kept attracting Bear in the first place.



Wolfie pouting, on time-out for biting other dog's butts.


Now vogue.






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We did finally meet the owner of Scorch's doppleganger. The dog is a female named Leta, and came from Southeast Border Collie Rescue. So strangely enough, we got our dogs through the same lady, although Scorch came more indirectly and was not a rescue. Leta is a lovely girl though, and I hope to see more of her at the park.

Countdown until moving to Sarsota: 18 days

At the park today

Oh, hihihi!


Are you going to throw the ball for me?


I can swim out to get it now.


I'm not a very graceful at swimming yet.


But I'm getting there!



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THIEVERY!










Wolfie usually tires of keep-away, and Scorch emerges victorious.




This dog was really neat looking. She reminded me of a tiny Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever... maybe crossed with a delicate little bird.


We ran into some old friends of Wolfie's, and there was a fantastic chase.






Which ended with Franklin making "sand angels".


We met some other Border Collies there, and for THE FIRST TIME, a stranger accurately identified Scorch's breed. This little red fetch machine is ELEVEN years old and still lively as ever.


This BC actually looked and acted remarkably like Scorch, but I couldn't figure out who his owner was. He had the same overbite, expression, and posture, although he was obviously not a puppy. He LOVED Scorch, and Scorchie just wanted me to throw the damn ball.




Overcast or not, it was a fantastic day.

Growing up

New pictures are forthcoming. I haven't really been in the mood to update.

Mugsy passed away on February 25th. My first dog, my companion and teacher for 12 years. We got 2 great months that we didn't think we'd have, and I was able to come to terms with her passing (as much as I ever could anyway). My sweet terrier girl... I can't even really speak about it yet. I will try to give her a tribute befitting such an amazing dog.

Since then, I've been going through the motions. Scorch and Wolfie keep me sane, of course, and the show must go on. I'm finally starting to feel normal again, although there are a million things to stress me out, what with my upcoming move and all that.

We started visiting the dog park this week. It's the first time back since losing Jack, and Scorch's first visit. He's done extraordinarily well, and we've made sure to go at fairly unpopulated times to avoid any problems. Wolfie is a bit of a butthead (since he learned some bad habits from Jack) but we're working on toning down his overbearing ways. On the very first trip, Wolfie plunged into the lake with great enthusiasm like he always does, and his little shadow happily ran in after him. But once Scorch got up to his chest, he looked down, shocked and confused at being wet. He ran out of the lake and shook himself off, but was back in within minutes. He's decided he likes wading, if not actually swimming.

Scorch and I have begun our formal obedience work. His foundation behaviors are strong, so we've begun to chain it all together. I am so proud of his focus, and his heelwork has gone so well. Stays are tough, more difficult for him than they were for Jack and Wolfie, but we've managed to add a fair amount of distance and time. He's also picking up on directional instructions, learning how to focus on what I'm pointing at and stare at an appropriate target. The toughest part is reining in his enthusiasm, but that's a problem I wanted to have. He LOVES to work, and I love to work with him. I've never had a dog understand behaviors so quickly, and he performs them with an enthusiasm that astounds me.

I have found my heart dog.