Blast From the Past

I was in the basement looking for a box suitable for shipping when I came across a box of photos I hadn't seen in about twenty years. There were many that made me smile; this was one...my Mom and brother with Dusty, our first Sheltie.

Another shows my first Gordon Setter puppy "Tristan" with my brothers out fishing...so cute.

A Great Card!

My birthday card from my Mom!

Perfect.

Cocoa-Bean and Coconut Cupcakes

It is the third day of a three day show weekend and I’m exhausted. I’m out of practice going to shows and waiting around for the group judging. I drove home after a long day yesterday and then had a party to go to. Then this morning I’m preparing dinner for my Mom’s Birthday party tonight. So far I’ve made The Barefoot Contessa’s coconut cupcakes (which if you haven’t tried, are to die for) and I’ve prepared the roast. (So Mom if you’re reading this…surprise!!!) All Pete has to do is put it in the oven while I’m at the show. I went to bring in Cocoa after being out in the yard for half an hour and she was wet and muddy. So she’s been bathed and blown dry. Writing the blog is my way of relaxing a bit before I have to hit the road.

Little "Cocoa-Bean" has been terrific. This is her first time at a show, and she is a natural. She uses her ears non-stop and moves out beautifully. She is a lot of fun. She has won her class of 5-6 both days and taken reserve to a lovely mature tri girl. She also took best puppy both days. She reminds me most of our Gabrielle, who was this way as a baby…confident, happy and game for whatever you ask of her.

I brought Bunny along for the ride yesterday. I wanted her to get used to the noise of a dog show, and I also wanted some grooming advice from the Poodle handlers. She was fine with the noise and trotted beside me confidently and wanted to meet everyone. She was a hit with my Sheltie friends, who can relate to her beauty. I got some really great grooming tips and one of the handlers did a great trim on her…on one side! She said, now I have to make it match on the other side! The transformation is amazing…she looks like a show puppy. I had her in a nice rounded out “pet” look, and now she is angular and dramatic. Pictures of both Bunny and Cocoa will have to wait until the sun is out.

PART TWO

This is for Rui! Wish you were here...too much food for us to eat. My Mom took a "doggie bag" home with cupcakes and icing.

Had a successful day at the show today. Cocoa once again won her class and went on to win WB/BW and Best Puppy in Group. Great prizes today, we won $50 worth of gas cards and a Tim's card. What a fun little puppy, shows non stop, not worried about the noise or all the shenanigans that were going on behind her in the puppy class. We had a LOT of compliments from non-Sheltie people, which makes me think we're on the right track with soundness. Also compliments from Sheltie breeders, so that feels good as well. Cocoa enjoyed a cupcake when she got home!

"Dusty"

It is dark today. The clouds are low and there is a cold rain and the forecast is for 10 to 15 cm of snow tonight. There are many things to do before the snow comes, but I'm procrastinating. I'm thinking of how I got involved with dogs.

When I was eight years old my father was asked to look after a friend's dog for the weekend. This beautiful white "Husky" came to our home and I was in love. I forget her name, but she was shedding badly...that I remember. Big tufts of white fluff left in the grass in the backyard. I called her a Husky as she looked like the dogs I'd seen in books pulling sleds. My father corrected me and said she was a Samoyed. I didn't understand, so he showed me the picture of a Samoyed in the encyclopedia and there I saw all the dog breeds! The Sammy had to go back home, but I was hooked on all the breeds of dogs. From that moment, I kept the "D" encylopedia in my room and my sister, Jan, and I would rate the dogs plus or minus as to which ones we preferred.

In 1971, my Mom decided that we'd get a dog, (we had finally broken her...wore her down with our pleading!) She had seen Shelties in the neighborhood and thought that they were the perfect dog for our family. They were not too big, nor too small, they were intelligent and they were beautiful. She first went to a breeder who had a litter of blue merles. We begged to have one, but she didn't care for that colour (she's changed her mind since!). We found a breeder who was an obedience enthusiast and she had a litter out of her blue merle female and a tri-factored sable male. We chose the light golden female (a sable merle). We took her home and named her "Dusty", a name Jan and I had chosen for one of our imaginary dogs (a blonde saluki). Dusty was the greatest pet. She was smart, she was a good size and she was very pretty. Here she is with my brother Jim around 1979.

Poodle Hair

With the arrival of "Bunny" yesterday I thought I'd look for a picture of our first dog, a silver miniature poodle named "Duffy". Well I found this one, and he's not the only one with poodle hair! I'm not sure what my Mom did to me, but I think its a perm as my hair is absolutely straight. So here I am holding Duffy with my sister Jan.

Bunny has me charmed. She rode next to me on the way home from the airport and we shared an ice cream cone (my favorite way to bond with puppies!). We stopped at my Mom's and had a good game with the tennis ball. She discovered herself in the mirror and spent a good while chatting to the poodle puppy and trying to get it to play. Once home, she met all the dogs and didn't quite know what to think of her new home and all the Shelties until we went inside and once again she found that poodle puppy in the mirror! She kept bringing it toys to play with, but to no avail. She settled with me and a good game with her squeaky ball. I love her springy, bouncy way of getting around and how she uses her paws. I don't have a good picture, but here she is this morning finding her reflection in the window.