Simon Says...

"That's where I wanted to sit"

Poor Simon, with those pleading eyes, is always looking at me to tell of some horrible injustice being done to him. It usually involves Lizzie stealing something that the wanted, or reclaiming something he took from her.. they are a hoot.

First Dog Show

This title is deceiving. You're probably thinking I'm going to tell some uplifting story about how my dogs have overcome all their neuroses and are ready to compete - not quite yet for that I'm afraid. This first dog show moment goes to Dewayne.

My lovely husband who truly had no idea what he was getting into agreed to go with me to the Texas Kennel Club show Saturday, July 4. That's right, our nation's holiday when most people are grilling in the backyard and flying flags, he went with me to watch obedience competitions and scope out good Aussies for my future show dog. And I insisted that we get there early because I wanted to watch the Novice competitions to see how much they've changed since I got my sweet Vinnie's CD a hundred, million years ago. Not at all it turns out.

We walked around for a bit to check out all the vendors while we waited for the Aussies and the Westies to come on. I got a fabulous shirt from Dog and Frog, which is darling and not at all as hideous as this my favorite westie shirt. I also realized it is difficult to find red merle Aussie trinkets as the majority are black tris and blue merles. Sad for those of us red fanciers.

The ring the Aussies were in was running behind but we got good seats right the front before the onslaught of other Aussie lovers showed up. We watched the Cane Corsos - including a girl about 10 or 11 showing a huge dog. It was quite amusing to watch her try and stack the dog when she couldn't quite reach around to get that opposite front paw. But what a testament to reponsible dog owners with breeds often deemed dangerous - an unneutered Cane Corso being happily let around a ring, pulled on and pushed around by a 10 year old girl in a pleated skirt. Too cute.

After that the German Shepherds came on, at which point I had to risk losing me seat to get a snack. Thankfully I had my Aussie shirt to hold it. Now, when the Aussies finally came on it was as if a light shined down from the heavens for us because it was only a short time later that the westies went on in the ring right next to us. Now what are the chances! In the front row to see my two favorite breeds.

What was truly hysterical what how into the whole thing Dewayne really got. We were commenting on breed standard and the different classes - which dogs were working towards points, etc. We were making notes about which dogs looked amazing and which kennels we might just avoid. Now keep in mind, the future show dog I mentioned won't happen for quite some time. I've got to get these two crazies of my own in line and get a bigger yard - but it's always fun to dream right? We got right into the talk about who didn't like the judge (lots of people registered opted to not actually show). I've never actually showed in confirmation and honestly don't really know that much about the classes and points and whatnot, but it was fun to get caught up in the excitement of winning.

Plus I came home and looked up some of the dogs that we saw. All in all, it was really fun. Dewayne even agreed that it was really interesting to see all the sights and get to peer into a whole other world that he never really knew about. I think he might just be getting a secret passion for the dog show world.

Do you see it?

Look a little bit closer...

Ah, yes, Simon's favorite hiding spot.

For bones that is.

What Simon loves to do is take the bone that he gets, hide it, and then steal Lizzie's bone when she leaves it unattended for a minute. Then Lizzie gets all dejected looking and I have to go hunt Simon's down and make him give hers back. It's ridiculous, typical siblings.

The Great Bluejay Caper

All through the spring we watched a lovely bluejay couple take care of a nest of birds in a large oak tree that shades our patio. We watched as the little birds got bigger, and bigger, and hoped they would soon start to fly.
Upon arriving home from a weekend at the river recently we opened the door to the backyard as usual to let the dogs do their business. Quite a ruckus ensued and I looked out to see Lizzie with our precious bluejay baby in her mouth. I screamed louder that I thought possible, scaring the dogs, and Lizzie dropped the bird. We shooed the dogs back inside and tried to figure out whether or not Lizzie had in fact killed the baby we'd been watching all those months. The good news was, she didn't kill it, but the bad news was that it was in the yard still because it couldn't fly yet, but was trying. So several hours of bird obsessing ensue. Call me crazy, but I just couldn't let this little guy get hurt. I have quite a penchant for the bird feeder in my yard and encourage birds to come by - it makes me feel less like I'm right in the middle of a major metropolitan area and more like there's still some wildlife left.

So, what happened next is almost too embarrassing to write. After much discussion and some internet research, Dewayne tried to grab the bird from it's little hiding spot so we could replace it on the tree branch where it's home was. This made the bird jump into our neighbor's yard - who also has a dog, but wasn't aware that backyards were then deemed "baby bluejay safe nests." So we ended up chasing the baby bluejay through their yard, only after we waved to them in their back window and explained what was happening. We then chased the baby bluejay into our neighbor's neighbor's yard (who we'd never met) and dug around her backyard (after the brief introduction) to get him.

At long last, we were able to capture him in some old shoe boxes (loaned from the neighbor who by this point had to be questioning our sanity) and take him back home. We tried to get him back in the tree, but to no avail. So Dewayne cut some branches off of one of the large shrubs to create a spot for the bird to hide (our shrubs are still in the baby stages.) It was quite a spectacle, and for a boy from East Texas, quite ridiculous. But I have to hand it to him, he was so nice about the whole thing and went along with my crazy idea.

In the morning, the bird was gone. I keep hoping that I'll see the three of them around, that something didn't get him in the night. Dewayne keeps pointing them out convienently when I can't see them, but I really do hope that the great bluejay caper wasn't futile for our little baby bird.

When Papa speaks...

dogs listen.
And no, Papa's not wielding that knife in order to chop up the dogs, but in fact to chop up the ribs he just pulled off the grill. Hence the peanut gallery.

The Intruder

The stink bug. All the while we were laughing as the dogs were playing with this interloping stink bug, I couldn't help but be afraid that the stink part of the stink bug might become an problem.
But the intensity of gaze was just too much fun to pass up.

A boy and his dog

I've told this story before, but it's so true that it's worth repeating. When my sister gave her speech at our wedding, she said that anyone that loves me has to love dogs. She was right, although Dewayne didn't really know what he was in for.

He had never lived with dogs inside the house, or with dogs as family members. Lizzie was a gift from my mom, and despite Dewayne's reservations about having a "white, fluffy dog" (he seriously had no idea about westies) he's embraced her and she holds a special place in his heart.

But Simon is the dog he got to choose. He told me he wanted a dog that would come when he was called, follow him on walks, and catch a frisbee. We didn't want a dog that was too much bigger than Lizzie so they could play (plus our yard just isn't that big to support big dogs) so we settled on the mini-aussie. As Simon has matured, he has become that perfect dog that Dewayne always wanted. Simon was such a shy, fearful guy that we weren't sure he would ever come out of his shell, but with careful socialization and agility, he is really becoming brave. I watch Dewayne smile with a hint of pride when I tell him about our agility classes, and watch him carefully hone Simon's frisbee skills. It's really cute to watch.

The other day he looked at me and said, "you've done a really good job with these dogs," which to me is the ultimate compliment. So even though they always need more work, I thought just for fun I'd salute a boy and his dog (really dogs) today.

A wet Lizzie - just because she's so cute (and not at all fluffy!)