Hitchhiker

From the old files:

Every litter seems to have that one little soul like the last puppy in '101 Dalmations' - the "Eeyore" of the litter.  The Pokeys had Adelaide (Addy) who just loved snuggling with Miss Grace.  The Calories had Ruby, the Minions had Pixie, and the Guppies had Maeve.

When the trainers move the puppies from one spot on the farm to another, they use a can of food as the enticement.  But it seems the snack isn't enticing enough for some who just about hold their little paws up and demand, "CARRY ME!!!!"  They are so funny how they work the humans - you can almost see the little ones plotting.  This is a shot of Ruby working her wiles on some poor human who doesn't know she's been had!!!

Peter Pan

From the old files:

I don't have a CLUE which puppy this is OR from which litter - I am suspecting the Minions - but I really don't know - I ran out of storage space in my brain for names about halfway through the Calories..... and those Minions and Guppies - so many mantles!!! are tough!!


But I just LOVED this shot - happy expression on the baby's face, little arms spread out, tongue flying in the breeze.... Instantly, the lyrics from the Peter Pan musical where Peter teachers the Darling children to fly were racing through my head.  Love this shot!!!  And my favorite line about "not even trying" just seemed so appropriate!

Pokey Puppies

13 November. 2015

Love my little Pokey-Puppies!!!!  Maybe because they're the only ones (of the four litters) whose names I have mastered!!  This shot (Rob) shows the three of them very intently staring down the hall toward the feed room.  That's Spinner, Addie, and Wrinkle from l-r:

This was a great shot of Washer, wide awake, while the other Pokeys were sacked out on a Kuranda on Puppy Hill.  It just screamed "coffee buzz" at me!

The Pokeys were out playing on Puppy Hill, exploring the various big toys that are out there for stimulation.  The gang on top of the doghouse a la Snoopy, made me laugh.  That's Tumbler (I think), and Wrinkle (I know!) investigating the roof:

From the old files:

Finally!!!!!   Miss Opal finally has had her own litter of puppies!  And what charmers they have been!!  And what a fabulous mama SHE has been!!!  They've moved from the nursery to the kitchen, then to the back feed room, then to the condo, out to the Nutt and the Used Car Lot to play, and finally down to the barn in #10.  As they get bigger, they're being split up into two groups of four (eight just won't fit anymore!).  Soon, they'll be paired off, two by two, and then finally, to each their own.  Well..... maybe not.  I don't know if there is the kennel space for that!!

In the meantime, lots of pics were taken and captioned:

Learning how to navigate through the strips-of-plastic door in the feed room to get out to the deck - it's kind of a big deal as this is part of their use the kennel to sleep and the yard to poo training.  But it IS a huge step and scary!  Dryer's and Washer's little faces said it all for me:

They did come back into the kitchen at night for a while after they spent their days playing in the Nutt House.  And they were wound up and WILD!!!  I'm not sure what they had done right before this pic was taken, but their little faces showed they were paying attention:

And finally down to #10.  

The puppies eventually discover that camera lens in the corner - I guess it's when it is zoomed in or out by the operators that it makes some sort of noise or movement.  

They were caught perfectly gazing at it with rapt attention:

From the old files:

I just love watching Nanny Pam interact with the dogs:

Pups hanging over the fence - I never get tired of it.

Or them digging.  I didn't know Danes loved to dig this much.  They have the dirtiest noses sometimes - but that means they were having FUN, so it's all good.

This was the Pokey's first night down in #10.  

(I actually took this shot.  (For once, I got a decent pic!!! YAY!!)

Grace had a special spot for Addie - I think it was that little white face - remind you of anyone????

And then there was the little sneak who used a sibling as a booster to get up to Mommie.  Anyone who had had or works with kids totally understands the "watch me!" bent to this.

One of my favorites!!!

The pups were getting VERY mouthy - lots of hard bites - especially on each others' ears and tails.  Grace is always so gentle with them, but when she has a serious conversation with them, my jaw drops.  They LISTEN!!!

This isn't the greatest photo, but I loved the dialogue.  I could just hear Dryer trying to worm his way out of responsibility and Grace correcting him!  

Another serious conversation at begin redirected.  Wrinkle was the 'scamp' of this group - Pam spent a LOT of time on redirection.

First day on the deck.  Boy Howdy!!! Did they have FUN!!!

Poor Lint!!

I love it when the captions just "pop" - his dejected stance just screamed at me.

Another one where the pose did the writing!

And another!

And another!!!

So hard to be a baby learning the work rules!

The shot of Opal having the kissy-face with her baby was sweet, but with the other pups in the frame, the conversation piece was so simple.  This one needed a 'bah-dum-chssss' for the punchline.

I'd been seeing a lot of ads for the upcoming movie so Hunger Games was on my mind - one team against another.  And the outfits let me cycle back to one of my favorite jokes with these guys - the yellow vest.

27 November. 2015

The Pokeys had some serious Yuppy-Puppy lessons yesterday.  How much do they remember?

Neal!

From the old files:

RIP, sweet baby boy!  Your time with us was so short, but how you were loved!!!!!  Doggie-feet on floorboards will always make me think of you.  My last memory of you was you being so happy to see me and loving all the ear fwubbles and scritches.  Play with Mae and Lumen and be a good boy until we meet again.



Ah, Neal!!!!  Lover of everyone!  And everyone loves him.  Even Bailey!!  I think he is the only puppy she has allowed up on her couch to nap with her. He is SUCH a sweetheart!  For a good little boy from Austria, he has totally mesmerized thousands over here in the States:

those big feet - "thunderpaws"
to his goofy personality
to his kisses (slobbers) and hugs (nudges)
from being a gentleman when taking a cookie
to his cute butt-wiggle when someone is coming through the kennels to see him
to that lop-sided coloring on his face
and his huge head (thank you to his daddy for that!)
and that unreal long tail

Neal is SPECIAL!!!!!!

We are all sad when Neal moved out of the house and down to the kennels.  (And we all love it when he comes back up top for a visit!)

The little ones just adore him.  

But he IS a scamp!!!

No dogs - just critters

From the old files:

These have absolutely NOTHING to do with dogs - just me playing around and being a goof.

One of the younger teachers I worked with nicknamed me "Dinosaur" years ago - not because I was old or inflexible or refused to use new teaching methods - because I had this stupid toy dinosaur "guarding" the phone (right next to the fake dynamite - try keeping THAT in schools these days...) and the humans skull (which I always told kids was "Yorick", a former student. They didn't get that joke until they studied 'Hamlet' in high school!)  So 'tall me' and 'petite her' became "Dinosaur" and "Baby D' and that's how we'll remain, as long as...

I never got to meet Mary, the famous donkey of SDP.  My first visits were at the house and the kennels up top.  By the time I had made it to the barn, Mary had passed on.  But I learned about her from reading Janine's book and listening to all the stories - quite the character.

I was thrilled to meet the Orange Sisters - Clementine and Tangerine (just loved little Clementine!!) and big ol' Buddy - was sad to see them go - although they went on to bigger and better things.  So when the five newbies showed up on the farm in the summer of 2015, I was excited that, perhaps, there'd be another "Mary".

with a side order of munchkin - Little Buddy, Jr.

And then, there's the explore.org page and all the people who post there, as well.  Some of those great shots have managed to make their way to the Dog pages - now and then one catches my eye - like this of a mama owl and her baby.  

My ONLY experience with owls (hoot owls - not cute ones like these two) was driving home at 3 in the morning on the Kancamagus Highway in northern NH when my two little kitties were babies.  I was working a convention and HAD to get home to feed them - so I took on the three-hour trip home (only to have to return the next day and do it again) as I didn't have a sitter.  Plus, they were only twelve weeks old and I REALLY didn't want to leave them with anyone...)  

Anyroad, an owl almost flew into my windshield on that dark-back-in-the-middle-of-nowhere mountain road.  Scared the life out of me - wingspan was wider than my CAR!!!  I'll take thses sweeties over that guy ANY day!!

The Dutchies

From the old files

It was interesting to se the process of obtaining pups from Europe.  First Miss Kiara made her way over to us.  Then "the Dutchies" tribe of Leroy, Lainie, Leslie, and Lumin.  And finally, everyone's favorite little gangster, Neal from Austria - the heir apparent.

Losing Lumin to Parvo (along with Mae) was heartbreaking.  It seems like we barely got a chance to know her.  I wonder if she had been a little healthier after their long flight over, if she would have been able to battle off the effects better?  We'll never know - but it was such a loss.  I guess we'll see how the rest of the Dutchies work out as working service dogs!  

Chaos was wonderful playing with the new kids on the hill.

Starlets and my little darling Mae

From the old files

Although I had done a little work at SDP in 2014 - before I fell and broke my back and blew out a couple of disks - I really wasn't "attached" to any of the dogs, in particular.  I had been watching on line since 2012, beginning with the Chuppies. The dogs were all sweet and adorable, but I didn't feel that I was really responsible for any of them.

And then there were the Starlets.  First off, I adore Scarlet - she is just one of the sweetest dogs on the planet.  And the babies were named for old movie stars - how could I NOT adore them, too??

I hadn't learned to do any photo work when these were taken, but I just love these pics so I'm going them a page:

First off - the newborns, all lined up and having a meeting at The Milk Bar:

Remember how GREEN little Vivien was???  This where I learned to count puppies -

3 merles:  Ava, Gronk, Merle

3 whites: Audrey, Sophia, Bing

1 harl: Clark

1 green: Vivian

1 mantle: Mae

I quickly fell in love with little Mae West - she'd had a rough go getting going at birth, so I think I was a bit drawn to the little 'underdog'.  But she was my cuddle monster and always running to meet me when I came to the nursery.  Mae spent more time on my lap and leaning against me than any of the others.  She was my "fantasy" puppy - if I could have had a dog to keep, Mae was the choice.

One babysitting gig, when she was being really a major fussbudget and waking the others up, I remembered how a trainer in Australia used to calm down tiger kittens by swinging them.  So I fashioned a washcloth into a little swing and gave Mae her own little cradle.  One of the CPs caught the moment on cam and told me I turned her into a "taco".  Loved that!

Mae was a champion sleeper!!  I spent a number of hours just holding her while she slept.

And she was FEISTY!!!  For such a little thing, she didn't take guff off of anyone, especially those boys - Bing, Gronk, and Clarkie.  Gronk was busy being pudgy and adorable, but Bing and Clarkie were little rascals.  And Mae would tell them off!!  She had quite the little shriek in her baby bark!!

The CPs were always catching pics of her being adorable - I think we were all a little extra attached because her coloring made her so striking compared to the rest.  

The one thing I am never going to forget is the look on that sweet baby's face when she was so sick.  Her little tummy was hurting so bad, so I didn't pick her up, but just let my hand barely rest on her skinny little ribs or her head, so she would know I was there.  And the look she gave me let me know that she KNEW I was trying to help and to make her feel better.  She knew.  

It's strange - she wasn't my dog.  But I can't help but grieve over her loss.  I don't think I'll ever quite get over it - she still reduces me to tears.  Mae was my first and my best connection to the puppies at SDP.

I love you, Baby Mae.  You're always going to be my girl.

From the old files

Springtime and watching the Starlets learn their way around the farm.  Taking a page from Julie Hansen - the wizard of photoshopping at WCC, I decided to start applying some of the application to a cute snap of Carlene walking with some of the kids:

You can tell I've done way too many field trips with elementary students, can't you?

A CP made a joke about car hops and the reference led to this:

Another CP-inspired caption.  Someone asked if the older puppies knew there were new ones coing or not.

Summer Sunday Stews - the Starlets had so much fun.

And so did the people playing with them!!

Always fun to watch Earlene and Chaos.

Add a passel of puppies to the mix and it's REALLY fun!

Protector George

12.12.15

Receiving the Service Dog of the Year Award

National Dog Show

Orlando, FL

From the old files

We'be been delighted over the last week to watch the story about Bella and George spread like wildfire all over the GLOBE.  In the hope that more attention is paid to Bella's disease AND to SDP, we have all loved seeing the various pictures of Team "B and G" plastered across the internet!  Here is one of my earliest captioning pieces - I just loved the composition of her head resting against him and the tender expression on George's face: