Another Year Over

Last year I started doing a slideshow video of our year at the farm and trialing - if you haven't seen it, you can watch it HERE
I just finished our 2012 video:

Happy Home

If you are a new reader to my blog, (or you don't follow our facebook page) you probably haven't heard about Scott's old dog, Pleat before.
Pleat was the cornerstone of our kennel for many years.  Scott whelped him out, trained him and won many trials with him.

 When it came time to retire him there was some thought of placing him in a new home but he had been with Scott for so long that we couldn't see sending him somewhere else.
So he stayed.
As Pleat got older he didn't travel as well.  He started to get arthritis and got car sick and drooled alot. Getting in and out of our dog box was uncomfortable for him.
This Summer, as Pleat got closer to 14 years old, Pat came to Pleat's rescue.  She was the mother of a local friend who was crazy about dogs but was petless.
She offered to baby sit Pleat while we were on the road this fall.
At first we were worried about how he would react since he'd never been away from Scott but Pat kept him busy. 
On the first day, Pleat and Pat were in a parade,

and the next day they went for a walk,
and the next day Pleat tried shoplifting in Petsmart, and so on.
Every day they had a new adventure and Pleat was falling in love.
We got lots of updates and it was becoming clear that Pleat was happy and making himself at home.

So we had a thought...
Pleat was clearly not missing us.
He has never had so much fun (when he wasn't working sheep).
Would Pat like to keep him?
I would like to now give congratulations to Pat on her slightly used new dog, Pleat!
We will miss him but I think everyone couldn't be happier, and for the first time, since he was a puppy, Pleat got a new collar.

I hear he sleeps on the bed now.
He's earned it.

Big Bear Blast

Whenever I am in California, I always make time to visit with my friend Melissa and we take a vacation within a vacation with our dogs. 
This year, we decided to go up to Big Bear and it has turned out to be a great choice.
Melissa brought her Ger. Shorthaired Pointer, Rookie, and I have Lad, Skid and Ford.
This morning, when we got here, we went on a hike.
The dogs had to pose for the obligatory pictures, of course...

Then we went swimming - Skid showed off his new found interest in water.

Then we headed off to our rental cabin.
When we arrived, we found 4 towels, 4 bowls, and 4 cookies set out in front of the fire place for the dogs,

 and freshly made cinnamon rolls, just out of the still warm oven, for the humans.

We lazed around the cabin for the rest of the afternoon,

until it was time for bed.

www.bigbearcabinscalifornia.com

Skid's Swim Fun

I take the border collies swimming when ever I can.
Skid, however, usually likes to just play on the shore.
Today, at my parents pool, he decided he wasn't going to let the border collies have all the fun.
At first, he didn't quite understand how to do it.

So he thought about it for a while,

looked at it from a different angle,

and figured it out!

Go Skid!

Monsters

We are away in our camper this week to the sheepherding National finals.
Just in case you were wondering,
there is still a monster under the camper's couch.

There is no mouse or bug or any kind of rodent.
It's a monster,
but I can sleep well at night 'cause Skid
(who is the only one who can see it),
has got it covered.

A Walk With Mikey

Mikey is still recovering from his knee injury.
Because he had to have two surgeries, he's a couple of months behind on his therapy so he and I are working hard to catch him up. 
Consequently, he is the dog I spend most of my time out walking with.  I decided to take my camera today and pose Mikey. 
He does a good job and should apply to be a catalog model.  

How Poe Plans To Take Over The World

Step one:
Learn how to open doors...

Exhibit A-
A door

Exhibit B-
Cat paws on the windows, 5 feet off the ground

Exhibit C -
A Cat face in the window, 5 feet off the ground

Exhibit D
A door opened by a cat's back feet

Thumbs?!  We don't need no stinkin' thumbs!