Christmas

First my flight was canceled. Just about all flights out of pdx were canceled for three days! Then we had to take the hop, skip and a jump to Kansas. On Christmas eve, we went from Portland, to Oakland Ca (but we didn't have to change planes), then to Los Angeles (still on the same plane) and then to KC Mo. The flight was delayed and we got into MCI at 2AM on Christmas morning. I am sure we passed Santa in his sleigh!

Then, we changed our flight to come home by three days so our trip wasn't shortened in length. Then I got sick. Sigh. But, we still had a great time with my family! My mom's sisters were able to join us this year. I have not had the opportunity to hang out with my aunt's (and my Uncle Ed) for many, many years. Not since I have been considered an adult. We had the best time! Here is a picture of the entire family.

Tigger Too CD TD FCh SC - 01/31/94 to 12/13/08

Just about every kid has an imaginary friend at some point while growing up and I was no exception. However, mine was not your typical imaginary friend. Mine was a dog called Androcles. More specifically, he was a Doberman Pinscher, tall and elegant, black with tan points. He was the shadow at my side and was there for me through some really rough spots growing up. Eventually, I grew out of Androcles but I could never shake the feeling of having that slim shadow at my side.

Eventually, as I was struggling with some tough decisions during graduate school, I decided to get a dog. I brought home a bony, red brindle, 6 month-old greyhound puppy. He was bouncy and exuberant so I called him Tigger.

Looking back on it now, he was my Androcles brought to life. He was tall and slim and a constant shadow at my side. He was there for me through some really rough times and some really joyful times and was a constant that I could always count on.

Tigger was my first dog and my door to so many things. We discovered lure coursing together and the friendship and thrills that it entails. We stepped into the obedience ring and earned an obedience title. Though many folks tried to judge him based on his breed, he was steadfast and loyal and came through for me. We tried out agility and spent time tracking in the cold Kansas winters.

Truthfully, Tigger was a pivotal influence on my life. If not for him, I would not have been working at Fort Riley and would not have met Richard, my husband. I would not have had Winnie or Devo grace my life. The lessons I learned while training Tigger benefited those that came after him and will impact every dog that passes through my home in the years to come. I would not have had the opportunity to move overseas and would not have ended up in Oregon. Consequently, without Tigger, I would not have the friends that I do and would not be the person I am. Sounds a little crazy but looking back, I can draw you a map and show you where all the lines intersect. That point of intersection is the day I brought Tigger home.

For an unregistered pup out of cast off parents, he was a remarkable hound. I believe that every dog has a lesson to teach us. Tigger’s lesson was loyalty. He was a source of stability when the rest of the world was falling to pieces. He was a reason to get of bed in the morning and a reason to come home at night. When I brought other hounds into my life, I thought they would be there to help me when I lost Tigger. Instead, my loyal and steadfast Tigger stood by me when I had to let the others go ahead. These last few years his body grew old and was riddled with arthritis. He was bony and thin. He couldn’t chase his Frisbee anymore although he would carry it around the yard with a grin on his face. He never lost his joy and truly lived up to his name. Eventually, I realized that with his loyal nature he would not leave me. I had to make the decision for him when it was time to go. He went happily into the vet clinic and greeted those that he knew. He laid on his bed with his head on my lap and with my permission, trotted on ahead of me to the clearing around the bend. After 14 and a half years with this magnificent gentleman by my side, it felt odd to walk out to my truck with an empty leash and collar in my hands.

It still feels odd. However, as in my childhood, I can’t shake the feeling constant feeling that there is a slim, elegant dog walking at my side.

Thank you, Tigger, for the many, many years of companionship and support. Good bye my Heart.

Tracking

This morning I went tracking with a friend. I am handling one of her dogs, a harrier named Lola. This is me and Lola. She is a tracking fiend!














My friend brought along her beagle that she is tracking with. This is Nika's second time in harness. She's a natural!















And this is Shine. We did two left turns on her 30 minute old track. Shine really had to check them out. She indicated the turn right away but then broke off to circle and make sure. Each time she circled, she indicated the correct track. She just wanted to make very sure that it was correct! She did much better on the second turn. I don't mind having a dog that breaks off and circles at the corner. But I think she will do it less and less and she gains confidence.

Tracking test

This is the weekend of my club's tracking test. We had three dogs earn their TD this weekend! It was a beautiful day for it! The fog that made it difficult for us track layers to see our flags and landmarks also held the scent close to the track. Here are pictures of the passing teams with the track layers and judges.

I think my cub does an excellent job at our tracking tests! Great judges, great conditions, great camaraderie and excellent food! I took an apple cake and an apple crisp and it all disappeared!

Introducing Ember

This is my cat Ember.

I adopted her from the local humane society about 5 years ago. When I was visiting the shelter to pick out a cat, I specifically looked for a cat that had a lot of confidence. In the end, I narrowed it down to two: Ember, who was called Duchess at the time, and a younger male named Bearclaw. I decided to take Ember because she was already 5 years old and I figured less adoptable than the younger cat.

When I brought her home, I had to integrate her into a household with three sight hounds. Fortunately, the canine crew had all lived among cats at one time in their lives. However, it had been 4 years since they had any sort of civil interactions with cats and they had, in fact, been chasing cats for the last 4 years.


I kept Ember in a cat cage behind an X-pen for the first couple weeks. I gave her the run of the place when I wasn't home and left the dogs locked up. When I was home, I had one dog at a time out with her while she was behind her safety barriers. Any barking, lunging, staring or pacing earned the dog a prize (a free trip outside alone for a few minutes, a horrible fate for any hound). I moved to letting Ember choose to come out of her cage while one dog was in the room. The same rules for the dogs applied. Eventually, I realized that I had gotten very lucky with Ember. She was very good at interpreting the situation and responded accordingly. I was quickly able to move up to having two dogs out with her and then all three.

To be honest, Tigger was never a problem. Once he was reminded that this was "our" kitty he treated it as such. He has always had impeccable manners around smaller critters in the house.

The other two took a tad longer but eventually complied. It helped that Ember was willing to punish investigating noses with a well placed paw and occasionally, a claw.


Ember has shown herself to be a good judge of the character of visiting dogs too. She also discovered the dog door and how to use it. I used to really worry about it but noticed that she rarely left my back yard and then only to prowl in the neighbors back yard.

She is a very friendly cat with a lot of character. I clicker train her along side the dogs and often put her in the sit stay line up for kicks. Recently I discovered that she thinks Salami is the primo cat treat!

She is also very photogenic and is always dressed in fall colors!

Fall Dog Photos

I took this picture of our canine crew during the fall of my first year in Oregon. This is Winnie, Devo and Tigger. Tigger is the oldest one in this picture and he is the only one from this cohort that is still with me.
I was very please with how well this picture turned out and I tried to take some similar fall pictures of the critters this afternoon. The light was beautiful and the leaves were thick. I got some nice pictures of the cat and I will post them separately. Here a few I took of Tigger and Shine. I didn't pose them together since Tigger is either up and moving or laying down.








Here is Shine. Perhaps I shouldn't have played ball with her first? But it was such a beautiful day! Big tongue=happy dog!














And here is Tigger. It is hard to get a good picture of him but I like the way this one turned out!

I went down to California the weekend before last for the Northern California Greyhound Club's fall specialty. I had a blast! The best part is always hanging out with my friends but I also really enjoy checking in with my puppy. What puppy? Well, this requires a back story so bear with me here.

This is my Winnie. I lost her in May of 2007 and I still miss her every day. Her breeder, Helen, is someone that I did not know before I got her. I am grateful that Helen was willing to send a puppy to me in Kansas from California having never met me before. Fortunately, since then, Helen has become one of my best friends.

Winnie was a show dog. We did conformation, agility, tracking, obedience and lure coursing. We had a lot of fun together. Although, it wasn't the original plan, Winnie did produce this little muffin before we lost her.




Helen sent some of these old photos to me today and they are so cute, I had to share! It is hard to believe how fast she grew. I remember when this little girl was the size of my hand, she was a little bean bag. Now she is big and she is rambunctious and she has Winnie's personality times ten!

When she was this little, we called her Panda. It took some time for Helen to decide on a proper name. Eventually she settled on Whisper.

I'll share a few more super cute photos and then show you what Whisper is like today.















This is Winnie and her brother and sister taken in 2006. Her brother, Apollo (in the middle), still lives with Helen but we lost her sister, Spirit, earlier last year.


Let me show you what Whisper is like now.



Not quite as small now, is she?

But the best view of what she is like can be seen on this video on YouTube. Click here to go to that page.

Whisper has a lot of drive and a lot of desire to work. She and Helen have worked hard and have developed into a good team. It's a pleasure to watch them work in the agility and obedience rings. Although, I must admit, I just enjoy hanging out with the Whisp and enjoying her zest for life!