Wednesday, November 13, 2013

And Then There Was One :(

Baby Jack
I love dogs, all dogs.  I have been obsessed with them since I was teeny tiny. I have worked with dogs all my life, starting at 18 right out of high school, I got what was supposed to be a summer job bathing dogs for a local grooming shop in Thunder Bay.  I stayed for 15 years !  I then went on to run my own grooming business for another 15 years.
Brad & I moved to Lethbridge in October of 2007, I started working at Paws On The Run in March of 2008, again, with dogs, not grooming but still with them.

Baby Kerry
 I have alot of dogs I like at the Daycare, but my heart immediately fell totally in love with a pair of brothers, littermates named Jack and Kerry.  They were hard to tell apart at first.  In the beginning , before we got safety collars for the dogs to wear, they wore their own collars.  Kerry had turtles on his & Jack had flowers, so to remember who was who, I would call them Kerry Turtle & Jack Flower :)
The Boys
The Boys, as they were also known, have been failing in health, this year in particular.  I believe they were about 14 or 15 but they still came to daycare twice a week.  They puttered around, Jack particularly loved to sniff around outside, he would stop by to see me , give me a few kisses and carry on his way.  Kerry is more attached to me, he stands beside me most of the time for pats, if I go into the other dog area he stands & stares at me :)

Wendy phoned me this morning to tell me Jack passed away this morning, I am so sad. I can't imagine how terrible his owners feel, I wonder how Kerry is doing without his sidekick.  The brothers were very close, they would even play with the other dogs at the same time.
As they aged I started to give each of the boys a kiss before they left, I saw Jack last Wed.  I'm glad I got my kiss in .
I can't imagine daycare without my Jack Flower, I will miss him so much ♥

The puppy pictures in this post are of the boys, his mom sent them to me a couple of years ago as she knew how much I loved their dogs, I'm so glad I have them .

Kerry Sept 2011 at Daycare

Kerry Sept 2013 at Daycare
Jack and Kerry, Dec 2011
Rest in Peace Jack

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Random Stuff



I was just reading Amanda's blog from Manymuddypaws ,she inspired to me to write random stuff that I have been doing but never bothered to write about lol!

I attended a Nosework seminar with Kort , weeks ago, I loved it , Kort loved it, but we only practiced once :(  Like Amanda said, I think it is the social aspect that keeps me training, if I have to do stuff on my own I lack motivation.  I think that is why I STILL haven't gotten out to track with Kort.  When I lived  in Thunder Bay I went out 3 times a week, I had friends that I tracked with, we had big fields to go to, & my friends kept me motivated .
Amanda is thinking of getting a class type setting going for Nosework, that way there is a weekly class I can go to & get my lazy butt in gear.  Amanda is also starting a focus & attention class that she has invited me to, I think I will do it even though Kort is no longer doing Obedience, he still enjoys learning & it will keep his mind busy, he gets bored very easily, he likes to be busy, unlike his mom, I do not like to be busy, I have to force myself to get moving some days.  What would I do without Amanda ? lol!

I have been thinking of doing some NADAC Agility with Kort, this organization has alot of games, no jumping involved.  They have thing like tunnelers & hoops & barrels, but I still need to make sure Kort can do this stuff as there is alot of twisting in it.  I haven't been back to his Chiropractor as I can't afford it, that is a whole other story , being poor sucks so bad :(

Tate is doing awesome since his mysterious attack of pain in October.  I feel blessed for everyday I have with him, I love him so much ♥

I myself have been having some problems, like sleeping, I don't.  I can be super tired, eyes closing, but as soon as the lights go out I am wide awake.  It takes a minimum of 2 hrs to fall asleep, & then I am up about every 2-3 hrs until morning.  I find I fall asleep in the early hrs, about 5am but then I am awake again by 8:30 on the days I don't have to work until noon.  It is very frustrating & makes my depression even harder to deal with.  My Dr. is finally sending me to a sleep clinic, hopefully I will get some answers. 

My sister Joanne has seem an orthopedic surgeon about her "broken" pelvis.  He does not think it is broken, ugh, stupid Drs!  He does think it is effects from her radiation however.  The lump in her chest has grown again, her CT scan is coming up & her oncologist has prepared her for it being cancer , so she will be getting radiation again, I am beyond sad :(  stupid Cancer

Our local dog show is this coming weekend.  I love dog shows! I have to work until noon on Friday but then I will be ring stewarding for Obedience at 1.  I am also ring stewarding Saturday & Sunday.  I love watching all my friends in the ring!! I think I will even be able to watch Collies one day & Flatcoats one day between ring stewarding , so yippee!
On Friday night I have entered Kort for his CGN test!  I am excited, I tried to get it when he was about a year & a half old, he failed.  I could not get him to walk calmly by the strange dog portion, he was way too reactive then, not aggressively, but wanting to go & visit, I think he is under better control now, at least I hope!  It will be fun anyway to be doing something with him again :)
Then on Saturday night we have Scenthurdle, there are only 4 teams racing so we will probably only get 1 or 2 races but that is ok! Kort loves doing Scenthurdle!!

I am going out to Blazingstar in about a half hour.  There are still 2 puppies there, 1 boy left from Kona's litter & Cava's singleton.  I am looking forward to seeing them !

So there you have it, random stuff that has been going on in my life, thanks for the idea Amanda!


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Superstar :)



The Collie Club of Canada compiles statistics each year in Performance Events as well as Conformation.  The 2012 statistics are just in and Kort did amazing!!


In AAC Agility Kort finished in 6th place overall in Collies, both varieties!
He also finished 3rd place over both varieties in the Started Class, as well as 5th place over both varieties in the Specials height division!!  How cool is that!

So proud of my Kort ♥





Thursday, October 31, 2013

Goodbye Puppies!!

It is time for the puppies of Blazingstar to join their forever homes.  They will be leaving this weekend.  I will always feel close to them as I have been in their lives, watching them grow & learn since they were 2 weeks old ♥

Here are the puppies 9 week portraits taken by Blazingstar, and their new names .....

Introducing
Puppy 1, Blazingstar Galwey

 
Puppy 3
Blazingstar Kishinena


Puppy 4
Blazingstar Blakiston


Puppy 5
Blazingstar Going-To-The-Sun, Higgs


Puppy 1 will be hanging around for a couple more weeks before going to his new home so I can go & visit him , happy dance!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Time Flys !!

My sister Debra and I have always been close, on Thursday I posted a picture for "throwback Thursday" on my Facebook page.  I was just looking at it now and it made me think of the picture that Liz took of us in September at her house. 

Here are Debra and I  , the pictures are 38 years apart OMG !!

Debra, Jolene & Ben, 1975

2013