Who's your caddie?

That would be this 1985 Cadillac El Dorado convertible.
I think she likes it! It's even more fun when its moving.

Meet Boomer

This is Boomer, Frank and Nancy's 2 year old Golden. Boomer is already a legend in his neighborhood. I've been wanting to snap a couple of pictures of this handsome boy for some time now, but kept forgetting my camera (I'm usually on my bicycle). He is a very good boy and pretty mellow for a 2 year old. Today I had my camera AND Boomer showed me how he contributed a lot of his dog hair for the mama humming bird below to build her nest (the palm tree is about 3 feet from his right shoulder in the picture above). There are two little bitty eggs in there. It's a miracle I could lift the palm branch and grab her image. Boomer assured her it would be OK. He watches over that hummingbird family like its his own. You gotta admit, he looks pretty serious in this picture!! I think its just his Clint Eastwood squinting in the sun look. "So, you think you're gonna disturb my hummingbird nest?....well, do ya PUNK"?

Desert shadows

Not venturing very far from the backyard today I still managed to snap a few pictures as the sun went down. It's been a very wet winter here in the Sonoran desert, so everything is blooming like crazy. Will take a hike on Sunday and snap a few more.

Sunny Friday

Lady and Rocky soak up some vertical rays. Rocky is my sister's dog, a Welsh Terrier. He and Lady get on quite nicely (unless there are bully sticks involved, then Lady gets a little possessive). Mr. Alpha is dog sitting and enjoying some time in Anthem. Should be a nice mellow, sunny weekend. Hope yours is too.

A Thursday Portrait

 Devo 6 yo and Cosmo 12 yo, (2003)

Yes, it's the same Cosmo from the 1993 picture in Wednesday's post

Cosmo's story with Devo

Wordless Wednesday

Cosmo and Sunny - 1993

You might be a redneck if.....

You get a birthday card for you brother like this -

I sent this card to my brother Chip on his last birthday! He is an incurable NASCAR redneck and I love to tease him about it. He grew up riding motorcycles, driving sprint cars and smelling like gasoline - so he can't help it! He lives in Salem, Oregon and met Lady a couple months after we adopted her. As you can see, it was love at first site....for both of them!

Chip's history with Goldens goes back to the original Sadie and continued with a Sunny puppy from the first Sunny-Solo litter. His name was Toby. Below is a picture of Toby, but his and Sadie's stories and additional pictures are at these links:

Toby's story

Sadie (the original) - her story

I took this picture of Toby when he was with his Dad Chip on the last special trip they would ever make (Tierra del Mar, OR). Toby just loved it here. This is our favorite picture of Toby in the winter of his life. Currently Chip doesn't have a dog. I know this weighs heavily on his heart, because he loves them so much. When the time is right, I expect there will be another Golden in the family. Until then, doses of Lady whenever we can get together usually does the trick.

Golden Images

These are several images I've collected over the years. Some I found out in cyberspace, others I scanned. Thought they might be enjoyable on this normally wordless Wednesday.

This one intrigues me the most. It is from a 1936 sketch by Lucy Dawson (mac). Looks like it was pencil or charcoal of some kind. It is quite beautiful. Other mac images can be seen here: http://www.encore-editions.com/dogs/dawson.htm

Speaking of gorgeous images of art, if you haven't seen Max's portrait, check it out here: http://kathleen-coy.blogspot.com/2010/03/max-in-south-africa.html

Danger - Cocoa shell garden mulch

This subject came to me via email yesterday. I researched it this morning and rather than writing out a long, alarming tirade, everything you'll need to know has been written up on Snopes.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

Thumbnail = smells good to dogs, dogs eat what smells good, it's like eating a chocolate candy bar, NOT good for our pups


Heck, I didn't even know there was such a thing as mulch made from Cocoa shells! I currently use mulch made from recycled tires in my planting areas in Seattle. Keeps the bugs down especially with Lady spending so much time lounging in these planting areas. That is why she has the nickname of "bug-bus". Yep, she transports all sorts of creepy, crawly buglys into the house (much to the horror of her favorite biped).

Lady in her favorite place, watching the world go by, picking up hitch-hikers.

Ball control - it's everything !

Throughout their life together, Cosmo and Devo always had the ball control thing clearly worked out in their minds. Cosmo had it, Devo wanted it. As you can see, it started early. Devo was ball obsessed. Cosmo acted like she didn't care, but always ended up with it. Cosmo could never out run Devo for the ball.....never. Didn't matter, because somehow she could trick him into relinquishing anything he was retrieving. When Cosmo got older and really slowed down, he would drop the ball short so she could pick it up and carry it the rest of the way. It's just the way they thought it was suppose to work. That was just fine with me.

Water retrieving was a whole 'nother story. We'll save that for another post!

Sharing is Good !

Cosmo and her PaPa Dog (Sunny) share a holiday gift - yumm

Sunshine - today it's 87 degrees - this one's for YOU

Better late than never....A kind blogger friend presented this sunshine award to this here blog of mine! This was a couple of weeks ago, I copied the image you see above, then spaced out my follow-up. I can't remember who gave it to me (which I sincerely apologize for). If I remember the spirit of this award correctly, it's to let my dog-blog friends know their postings bring a little sunshine into our life.
I would like to return the favor and let folks know how special their blogs & posts are. I follow quite a few of you out there and love the effort and dedication each and every one of you put into your postings. Here are a few "Sunshine-Shoutouts", beginning with my very first discovery and the kind blogger who brought my humble efforts to the attention of such wonderful, like minded people:

Sugar - such a simple, positive message every time that brings a smile to my face and gives me something to think about. Our Golden treasure.

Thor - My dog!! It's Brazil - what more can I say? Always love seeing the pictures of Thor, his peeps and all their adventures.

Sam - The best imagination ever and a Dad that is a wizard with Photoshop. What a handsome boy too (Sam that is). BOL

Max Dog - This one cuts directly to my heart. I've been there, done that and know what Max Mom is going through. Probably the best written blog I've ever seen. Love learning about South Africa too.

Kim and the gang at Golden Pines - She had me with the video of feeding time. So many sweet, white faced, senior Goldens shuffling around getting ready for their chow-chow . Makes my heart soar every time I see them.

Khyra and Merdie - It took me awhile to get use to Khyra speak, but now I look forward to it every day! Kyhra's Mom has a wine and women blog that is cracker jack too. Where is that phloophy tail today?

Remington - What a big handsome boy that his Mom loves to dress up. So Minnesota nice too. Always makes me laugh.

Tucker the big dog - The funniest dog in cyberspace. Great Danes are just the best. I miss our dear friend Duke the big dog. Every Tucker post reminds me of those wonderful days.

Jack and his Dad - Our Tucson treasure, busy, busy Jack and his funny Dad who just tries to keep up. Tongue in cheek stories with funny pictures. Always love seeing their posts come up.

Bumpass Hounds - Just started following them recently. Watched the cookie time video with all the Goldies waiting (mostly) for their turns. White faces and young faces dancing and drooling. Now I'm hooked. I am astonished at Radar the blind Golden and how he has thrived. It's a great story. WOW

chit-chat-room - Behind the scenes at a vet clinic/school. Very eye opening for me. We like the personal touch about the workouts and family too.

Sweet Olive - What a lover girl. Makes everyday life simple and fun. Ain't that what our dogs are all about?

AND FOR EVERYBODY ELSE WHO PUTS THEIR HEARTS AND SOULS INTO THEIR POSTING. THIS IS A GREAT COMMUNITY, WE LOVE YOU ALL. SORRY IF I MISSED YOU THIS TIME. THERE WILL BE MANY MORE

I'll leave you with a picture of Sunny. He switched my Golden light on 24 years ago. There has been sunshine in my life ever since. Sunny always lived the Golden life; gregarious, balls to the walls, completely fearless and he loved everybody. He was one of a kind....the KING

A Seattle Surprise!

While digging in the garage in Seattle (flew up for a few days last week), I found a holiday gift that SOMEONE forgot to tell us about (Santa can really keep a secret)! It is so beautiful, only a picture can do it justice.

The artist is an acquaintance who lives in Everett, WA. This is quality work my friends. Not a sharp edge or blemish anywhere (ours is Limesicle color). Everything is made under one roof in the USA. Here are links to their website and catalog.

http://www.thesecreatures.com

http://www.thesecreatures.com/These_Creatures_Catalog_2010.pdf

Stephanie and Andrew are dedicated animal rescue advocates. They always have a house full of foster dogs and fur-ever friends. Always giving back to those in need.

Can't wait to get back and custom fit this feeder for Lady (Lady and I are still in Phoenix in case you haven't guessed).

A rescue story

I'm winding down after a whirlwind travel schedule, so its time for a proper (interesting) post. This is the story of a weekend trip by dedicated rescuers for two English Bulldogs in need. The ladies live in Phoenix, the dogs were in Southern California. The Troupe: Terri and her daughter Jenna, plus two of their dogs, Ollie the Bulldog and Kujo the MinPin. Their Mission: pick up Dou Dou and Buba, bring them back to Phoenix and foster the little ones until they can find their fur-ever home.

Terri with Ollie, Jenna with Dou Dou

Dou Dou (pronounced Do-Do, apparently it means something special in Chinese) came from Taiwan. She is a very sweet girl. Second hand dogs rarely get adopted in Taiwan. Euthanasia rates are 90%+. A generous group sponsored Dou Dou's trip to the U.S.

Buba has been handed around a few times since his elderly family had to give him up.

Both dogs are listed on the Phoenix area Love a Bull site:
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/AZ283.html

> Dou Dou's name will be changed. Lily is the leading candidate.

Terri's son Jay is a Marine, currently stationed at Camp Pendleton. He joined them for a well deserved break at the Del Mar dog beach. Below are a couple of pictures from there beach trip.

Terri and her husband Keith own and operate Kimbur pet wash in Surprise, AZ. Their link has been listed on my blog's side panel from the beginning. Jenna fosters dogs too and in her spare time cracks the whip at a local pest control company!

The whole gang: Terri & Jenna - from L to R: Ollie, Buba & Dou Dou

Jay and Ollie get their ya-yas out

Wordless Wednesday

Staying on the subject of dog toys

Today I received an email from a reliable dog person about giving your dog a child's stuffed animal, the dog eating the stuffing out of it and getting sick or dying because of certain chemicals used on said stuffing. I researched it and found a posting on Snopes.com. Here is the link, you can make up your own mind.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/stuffedtoys.asp

Note: I have allowed one of my Goldens (Sunny) to pick out his own stuffed child's toy from a giant pile at a garage sale. This was 14 years ago and I had never heard of this before. However, Sunny never ate the stuffing. He just carried it around.

Sometime, its hard to find your way !!

The many faces of Lady

Just a quick post while I'm traveling......

Playing hard to get.

Now the ball - is hard to get!

Mr. Armadillo, her carry-around toy in Seattle.