Year in Review

I thought I'd start this entry with my favorite picture taken this year of myself with the dogs. That day was memorable as the snow was so hard I could walk on the surface. The thick crust of snow was also on top of our enormous hedges. Bridgit had walked up on top of the hedge and I didn't realize until we were out in the field that she was stuck. Pete heard the commotion and came out to have a look. This is what he saw:
Little Bridgit high in the air on a nearly six foot hedge! After Pete showed her how to get down, this was Bridgie catching up to us in the field! I have nicknamed Pete..."Paparazzi Pete" for having his camera handy and taking pictures of us. The great thing about having a website and now a blog, is that I can go back and see what happened during the year. It is like a journal; it helps me remember all the details! With Cocoa finishing her Canadian Championship over the weekend, I thought I'd look back and see what titles the Laureate bred/co-bred dogs achieved this year:

*Obedience Trial Championship for OTCh Laureate Delicate Crystal, Am CD, CGN (owned by Lynda Morrissey)
*NADAC Top Ten again for Laureate Dancin' Chimney Sweep (owned by Lin Battaglia)

*American Championship for Am Ch. PaRay's Make A Splash (owned by co-breeders Tray Pittman/Paul Flores)
*American Championship for Am/Can Ch. Laureate Givalia (Pittman/Flores)
*American Championship for BIS/BISS/BPIS/BPISS Am/Can Ch. Shelhaven Pop'n Up At Talisker (owned by Sharon Ayers)

*Canadian Championship for Am/Can Ch. Laureate Givalia (Pittman/Flores)
*Canadian Championship for Ch. Laureate LaPerla (Aston/Culumovic)
*Canadian Championship for Ch. Laureate Jivara (Aston/Culumovic)

*ROMC for BISS Am/Can Ch. Laureate Gabrielle, ROMC

A pretty good tally. Thank you to the owners and co-breeders for all your efforts.

With the Holiday Season well upon us, we wish all our friends the happiest of Holidays.

Kim and Pete and the Laureate Shelties

Dogs Breakfast

I have been making soup for the dogs for years. Mostly in winter; it makes me feel good. I buy whole chickens on sale; last week they were $5.00 each at our local grocery store. I will put one in a stock pot and add sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, cranberries, tomatoes, blueberries, a green vegetable (today it was spinach) and some whole wheat pasta. Once the chicken is cooked, I allow it to cool and de-bone it. I'll include the cartilage, as the dogs love it. The recipe varies, but it is always a hit at dinner time. This was their dinner today. (Tira picked out the cranberries.) Other days I might add a hard boiled egg to their meal, or yogurt. I've also found a product that is a balanced meal that is raw and in the freezer section of Global Foods. It is called Nature's Variety. I've bought the venison, and I'll add three medallions to their food on those days. The dogs we're showing are getting flax seed and salmon oil added to their meals as an experiment. I figure it won't hurt, and I want to see if it makes an improvement in coat quality.

Here is Bunny lounging after her meal...life is good.

Tira: a good day

We're taking it day by day with Tira. Today was a good day. She wanted cheese, and I gave her about six pieces and she also ate her dinner hungrily.

I took her out with me and the gang while I cleaned the snow off the gazebos. Afterwards, I let them all out for a run.

I like this picture as on the right are two of Tira's daughters. I had to check and re-check as Mais Oui looks so much like Tira in this photo. Paris is on the right, Mais Oui, Bunny and Taboo is in front.

Bridgit...too cute for words!

Stormy (Laureate PaRay Per Se). I'm not sure if you can tell, but she has the most amazing ear set. She also has the best blue colour of our blues.

A funny colour balance on this shot, as it was completely in the shade; but I love this picture. That is 13 year old Gabi trying her hardest to keep up, and miss Bunny Foo leading the pack.

Tira doesn't like snowballs between her toes.

Heading for home.

Some very sad news

When we have the dogs in the house, I have a large entourage. All of them will follow me except for Tira. Tira chooses Pete. She follows him and sleeps by his side of the bed. She adores him, and Pete just loves her to bits. Her nicknames are Tira-MA-soo, or Tip-toe Tira, which was shortened to Tippy.

Tippy has been not quite right for a little while. She was a bit pear shaped in her body...her stomach seemed droopy. When we returned from Toronto her stomach was huge, yet we could feel her spine. Mark, our Vet, was concerned when he saw her and weighed her in at 22 pounds. Not overweight, but her stomach was distended. On exam, he was guarded. It didn't feel good, he said. He felt a mass on one side, but wanted to confirm with X-rays and ultrasound. I left her there for an hour and returned to the news I didn't want to hear. Tira has about 7 tumors and has very little time left. They are inoperable as they involve the spleen, the small intestine and maybe the liver. I saw the X-ray and her body is full of very large tumors. She rode home on my lap and I drove with tears in my eyes. So for the rest of her days, she will be loved and spoiled...she'll have all the treats she wants, even ice cream, that's her favourite.

I was looking through my files for pictures of her on our walks, but couldn't find many. That is because she's usually by my side or a little behind. So this was taken a half hour ago in the kitchen with her grandmother Gabrielle...looking for some cheese.

Damn this is hard.

Farewell field sculpture!

Winter 2007-2008 - buried in the snow.

Fall 2008

All-season tires couldn't get the car out; had to call a neighbor to come with his tractor.

A final push and it is on the trailer. After two years, our nephew's project car found a new home - yay!

Eli and Bunny

"Eli" is bathed and ready to go to his new home.

Weighing in at ten pounds at 8 weeks of age, Eli is no pushover.

He can hold his own with "Bunny" now.

And even on occasion get the upper hand! I'm going to miss the little "bulldozer", but today was his lucky day. Good luck to Lise and family with "Eli".

Bunny is sure going to miss him.

Week in review

Well there isn't too much dog related in this blog, except that Pete and I took a trip down to Toronto on Tuesday to drop Cocoa off to her handler. (We learned today that she won a Best Puppy in Group, so that is a good start.) We stayed downtown at the Royal York and Tuesday afternoon I had a pedicure and a soak in the deepest tub I've ever been in! That night we had the tasting menu at Canoe Restaurant high above the city in the TD tower. It was a great day!

Wednesday I made my way underground to do some shopping. Costco aside, I'm not much of a shopper. If you've never been to Toronto, there are miles of tunnels with shops and restaurants under all the banking buildings...you could live underground all winter if you wanted! So I began at the Royal York, went to the TD tower, turned right and into BCE place and back to the Royal York. Hmmm... that wasn't what I wanted to do! So I start out again. This time at the TD tower instead of taking a right I went straight...good, new territory. Into First Canadian Place...past the fountains into a food court and ...????? LOST...again. Hmm I find a map, but I can't find the YOU ARE HERE on the map. So I look up, looking for a sign, back to the map. I am pretty lost. A woman comes along and asks me where I want to go. "The Bay" I said. She said I had to go to the Eaton Centre to look at the tree. I hadn't planned to, but since she thought it was worthwhile, I figured, what the heck. She led me to the corridor and pointed me in the right direction. Ten minutes of walking and four Starbucks later, I found it! They had a Christmas tree decorated with Swarovski crystals. The tree had no lights that I could see, but it just twinkled and sparkled...it was beautiful, and worth the trip. I went into one store, Abercrombie and Fitch. I have never shopped there, but it was full of young people, and their logo was a moose so I thought it would be a great place to buy gifts for our Aussie relatives. (They won't know it is an American moose and not Canadian) I found some things and made my way back.

Heading back to the Hotel, I noticed a crowd and some TV cameras. It was Don Cherry giving an interview. Some people were taking pictures with their cell phones and one guy asked me what he was doing. (I thought...how would I know???) So I said to him...I think he's selling suits! ha ha. If you don't know who Don Cherry is, he's a hockey commentator who is flamboyant and makes his own suits. This one was a yellow plaid number.

Thursday I woke up to breakfast in bed. I then ventured back underground looking for some nail polish (OPI Vodka & Caviar) to touch up one of my nails that had chipped during my marathon shop. I came upon another happening. This time it was the "Canadian Tenors" practicing...sort of the Canadian version of Il Divo. They sounded pretty good. We made our way back Thursday afternoon.

Friday I spent baking my grandma Hilda's traditional Christmas cookies and squares with my cousins and father. It was a super day. I saved some crumcake for my Mom if she gets here fast enough...
Pictured left to right: me, Gisela, Judy, Chris, Dad. Taking the photo is our hostess, Karen.

The little oil painting above I painted in 1987...it is me in our claw foot tub at our first home. My nails are about the same colour!

More Cocoa

The lighting yesterday morning was nice and soft, so we invited Rachel Pratt (Bancroft Shelteis) over for a photo shoot. By the time we were ready for pictures, the light had gone flat. We took some snaps of her Am/Can Ch. boy "Wrigley" and she helped with "Cocoa". The better ones of Cocoa are on the hopefuls page. A good portion of the early photos on our website were done with Rachel's help. It usually takes a "team" to get a good shot...a talented photographer, a skilled groomer and handler and a good runner. I was the runner yesterday, but it was more of a shuffle in the snow!