Delvis walk

I'm heading to Montana on Saturday to visit my sister and her family, leaving Clay in charge of dogs and the homestead. I've been very busy with work and now with getting ready to leave so I haven't walked this week, until today. The last couple of days have been wet anyway but today was bright, sunny, and cool under a clear blue sky - perfect walking weather.

We just did the two mile road walk at the park, not wanting to deal with muddy trails, and the dogs were just happy to get out and go. I hadn't taken Della and Elvis in a while, and Bailey was outdoors in Daneland with Norman all day. I'll try to get her out for a quick one tomorrow, I hope. 

This pair likes to sniff, but I managed to keep them moving most of the time.

We did have to make a few sniff stops, of course.

Della has the most beautiful eyes.

New friends?

Arlo went back to his home this morning, and I needed to work, so that left Bailey without an entertaining playmate. She actually slipped out the door on me this afternoon after Clay got home, and she hopped over the fence to explore the neighbor's pasture. She was back just as fast, fortunately, and I decided it was a good time to introduce her to Norman in Daneland. 

Norman is a lot of dog, but Bailey is no shrinking violet. She's been playing with Arlo and she can certainly hold her own with a larger dog. Norman is probably three times her weight though, if they crash together she's going to be the one that bounces off. But she's agile and she's fast, and she is a female.

Norman is part Malinois himself, so they have similar play styles. He was very happy to have a playmate and I'm sure I'll have them together again tomorrow.

Accidental mileage

Bailey had us up before 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. After breakfast, ours and the dogs', I went back to bed and actually tried to nap. Della came to bed and snuggled with me. It was nice, but I don't think I got any real sleep. It was a beautiful day, sunny but cooler than recent days. I needed to hike but didn't feel up to a lot of dog wrangling, so I just took Bailey. 

I didn't have any real plans for the walk, not that I ever do. I just figured we'd go three or four miles if I could find trails that weren't overly muddy after yesterday's rain. After three miles I was feeling good so I just kept adding another mile. After four miles I was planning to stop at five, but that didn't bring me back to my starting point. I finally worked out a route that would put me back at the trailhead behind the library at six miles so I made that my goal and felt good about it.

I was nearing the library at about 5.8 miles and thought that I had judged the route just about perfectly to end at six miles. Then it dawned on me that I didn't start today's hike at the library as I had been doing lately. I had driven past there without really thinking and drove on up to the park and started the hike at the pole barn. I was over a mile from the pole barn so I knew this wasn't going to be a six mile hike. I briefly considered calling Clay to request an extraction, but then decided this was the universe telling me to just keep walking. 

Bailey was up for it, although even she was slowing down a bit, pulling less, and was looking for a drink of water. We made it back to the van at exactly eight miles. When we got home, Bailey had a long drink and was definitely ready to rest for a while, but the rest of the dogs needed to get out. I had left Paisley and Norman together in the dog yard with access to the pasture, so they had had plenty of outdoor time. I put Norman back in Daneland and brought out Maya, Della, Candace, Elvis, and Arlo for some pasture time. I left them on their own out there for a while because I was ready to sit and rest a bit inside with Bailey. 

I have asked Bailey to jump up and pose on so many benches and picnic tables that now she does it automatically whenever she sees one. 

Bird watching

I'm calling this Rin Tin Tin rock. It's a great boulder for a dog to climb up on and look out over the forest. It reminds me of what I think was the opening sequence of that old television show that is probably responsible for my love of shepherds. 

The accidentally eight mile route.

Candace out in the pasture after we got back home.

No Arlo, Maya doesn't want to play with you.

Arlo is supposed to be going home Monday morning.

Candace didn't want to play with him either.

Nor did Della.

 I would feel bad for him but I knew that Bailey had been playing with him in the morning.

We passed Rin Tin Tin rock twice today due to fact that I had forgotten where I had parked the van.

Posts, messages, and phone calls

I had a phone message this week from someone who had adopted a shepherd from me several years ago. That dog was still doing well, but their older dog had passed away and they were looking for a young companion for my former foster. Having former adopters come back for another is always gratifying.

I had another phone call this week from someone who has adopted I believe three dogs from me now. He just called to say that my former foster, a Dane, was the only member of his family to greet him when he came home that night and she did so everyday with a welcoming howl. 

I see a Facebook post from another former foster almost every week. That was a poorly socialized shepherd who came from deplorable conditions and was adopted just as the world was shutting down for Covid a few years back. That dog is now a stunningly beautiful white shepherd who goes everywhere with her people that a dog is allowed and I don't think they go many places that she can't go along. 

I frequently see messages and posts from the various litters of puppies who were born here, including the Danes born to Della and Allison, and the beautiful mutts we had from Holly, as well as the fine wine and donut pup litters just to name a few. 

The adopter of a shepherd mix pup that I had nursed through parvo many years ago stayed in touch with me throughout his life, and his people sent other adopters my way over the years. This dog and many others whose adopters have stayed in touch more or less continuously has felt like a part of my life up and including their final days and I feel privileged to have been included in the bad times as well as the good. 

And of course there are some that I don't hear much from after adoption. And that's okay, adopting me is not part of the adoption contract. People may moan about the rigors of the adoption process, but I'm content to let a dog go knowing that I may never hear from them again, because I trust that the dog has gone to a good home with good people. 

The rarest of circumstances perhaps is when I don't hear from a dog for many years until at or near the time of that dog's passing. These come out of the blue because we haven't kept in touch and over the past almost 24 years, many dogs have passed through our home. I'll confess that I can't always recall dog and/or adopter, but thankfully this blog and email searches go a long way to refreshing my memory. The adopter I heard from yesterday I remembered instantly although it had been several (many?) years since I had heard her name. I remembered the adopter because it was someone I knew through rescue work but it took me a little longer to recall the dog. 

The dog was an extremely shy little female shepherd mix. I have a soft spot in my heart and head for dogs like that and this poor little girl was among the most fearful that I ever had. A person who will take on a dog like that is very special. She wrote me the nicest note and told me how much she had loved having the dog in her life. The dog is a senior one now and has cancer that has metastasized but I know she will get the best possible end of life just as she has had the best possible life since she was adopted. I'm sad for the adopter who will be losing her companion of course, but I'm so happy for the dog who has had such a good life, and I'm grateful that she reached out to let me share in the sorrow as well as the joy.

Hug them, pet them, kiss them, whatever they prefer. If your dog came from here, give them one from me as well.

The point of all this is this: if you got your dog from a rescue, drop them a note and send a pic. If you adopted from a shelter, they probably need to hear from you even more. 

The pictures are from dogs in the pasture on this wet Friday afternoon. When the dogs are tired we all sleep well. 

Norman, enjoying some pasture time.

Norman is one of very few dogs since Trooper who has ventured to the top of Playstation K9.

Clay saw him jump directly down to the ground from the top today.

There's several intermediate levels so he doesn't need to do that, and shouldn't.

Norman is the color of the winter pasture grass.

Arlo is with us until Monday.

Arlo and Bailey play together and here Bailey was trying to teach him about hunting.

This picture tells you everything about Bailey.

Arlo enjoys the pasture time but he wasn't interested in hunting field mice with Bailey.

Arlo and Elvis

Bailey is even better camouflaged in the winter grass than is Norman.

The pounce. All four feet off the ground.

Della and Arlo. They had a brief play run.

She still isn't quite sure if she wants to play with him.