oh the adventures

  
      Biggest happy news of the week is that walking all three dogs at the same time is going swimmingly well! Of course I walk the rowdies(Bugsy and Comet) for 40 minutes first, then swing back to the house leash up Captain and off we go for another 15-20 minutes all 4 of us! I think this is helping Bugsy and Captain bond, and it has me on cloud nine with all 3 of my boys prancing along happy as can be.  :)

Can you see the injured camouflage bird?

    Tuesday, Bugsy and I were in the backyard playing fetch when Bugsy found an injured bird on the ground beneath the bird feeder. He tenderly sniffed it and I called him to the house with me to get the camera,....only to realize I had locked us out of the house! It being Tuesday late morning I know the (super duper evil) UPS truck may be coming by. I also knew that climbing over my 6ft chain link fence I could get into the house threw the door that accesses the yard. The gates to the yard are both padlocked. Bugsy has a good stay, and many a time when the ball flew out of our yard during a game of fetch I will put him on a down stay and walk out of his line of sight to get it from a neighbors yard BUT a down stay with the 'threat' of a UPS truck driving by and me, busy climbing a fence unable to quickly call him to me,.....I didn't want to risk it. Sooooo, Bugsy and I both climbed the fence! I found a spot by the fence next to the porch where the drop would be the shortest and hoisted 45 lb Bugsy onto my shoulders. Then balancing him, grabbed his front paw and put it on the top of the fence "Paws up" I said, and onto the fence went his other paw. "Good boy". "Over!" I said and gave him a nudge, over the fence he jumped, with an easy landing he quickly turned to me, big open mouth smile on his face. He looked so proud of himself! I handed him the treats from my pocket through the chain link and then went to find a spot easier for me to climb over. I'm so proud of him. It reminds me how good of a team we can be. This silly conundrum could have easily had me all scratched up, but there is not a scratch on me. Bugsy used the commands I taught him to adapt to this situation.Good boy Bugsy! Good boy!

     Last night I met a friend at an outdoor ice cream parlor and Captain came along. I parked a block from the ice cream parlor (Can you believe this? Visiting an outdoor ice cream parlor in Iowa in March! This is crazy! If you are not familiar with March in Iowa, it is usually snowing ) so we could enjoy a little walk on the way. Captain eagerly sniffed every little thing along the way. Once we arrived at the parlor, Captain stole the show! One woman recognized him as a pekingese and immediately asked to pet him. While in line for ice cream a small child sneaked up behind me and pet Captain while his dad ran over "Hey! You can't go around petting strange dogs!"The dad said to his son. Captain just soaked up the love from the little boy. "Luckily, he is very friendly." I smiled and said to the dad. Then when we settled down to chat (my friend and I) Captain hopped onto a bench and made eyes at an older couple sitting a few feet away. Before you know it the couple was complimenting him, and "Excuse me, but could we please give your dog some ice cream? He's just so sweet. What a good dog."  I declined to let her give him any ice cream, but handed her a dog treat instead. Captain took it from her gently and I'm very sure if I hadn't been watching the woman would have sneaked him some ice cream. Oh Captain, you really have a way with the ladies!

     While we ate ice cream Captain did bark a few times at passing dogs. But was easily distracted by a showing him I had a treat and asking him to "sit" or "watch" then rewarding him.

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     I recently received a short video of an old foster dog, Frida (a gorgeous cattle dog who has been pictured in the blog before) rock climbing with her person. Yes, rock climbing. Sometimes, a dog is adopted into just the perfect home and can achieve true greatness and enjoyment in life. I wish I could share the video but I can't seem to get it. A rock climbing dog, amazing! Frida is a dog who I look back and think, oh geez I should of kept that one,......but then she would have never learned to rock climb.   

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A cause worth a pause

Red Rover rescues animals, educates children, trains volunteers and provides funding for animals in crisis. Who can come to the rescue when tens or hundreds of animals are seized or displaced? Red Rover can. Check out the website, watch the video......Maybe you could be a volunteer????

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A photo from last year. Comet and I meet a snake while hiking.

      The birds are chirping, the frogs are singing and this week, while walking, we saw our first(live) snake of the year! A good sized one two, almost 4 feet long. We were not able to get close, but I think it was a bull snake. Oh mother nature, I find you so interesting! Last night I fell asleep with Bugsy snuggled into the crook of my right arm, Comet leaning into my left side and Captain asleep on my belly. Oh the snuggling dog joy! Also last night, I was awakened by all three dogs jumping out of bed and barking, followed by the DISTINCT smell of skunk wafting into the open bedroom window. Oh the stinking dog joy! This happens every year, at least once. I think the skunks like to scavenge from the compost pile in the backyard.