Git into the spirit

Easton asked me to make sure all his bloggy friends were spooled up for the Hollerdays.

Follow-up Lily and Maddison

The previous post on these pages told the story in pictures about "A dog's seeing eye dog". Little did I realize that these dogs were rescued, placed in a new home, then separated. Their current situation doesn't seem dire to me, but it is ashame that they had trouble adapting to a new home; the trouble part is that they ceased to get along. Here is an update from the UK rescue organization that is caring for them:

Lily and Maddison

Thanks to Phyll, Khyra's Mom for sending the link for the rest of their story.

A dog's seeing eye dog

Lily is a Great Dane that has been blind since a bizarre medical condition required that she have both eyes removed. For the last 5 years, Maddison, another Great Dane, has been her sight. The two are, of course, inseparable. I love this story. Anything and everything seems possible - with a smile on your face.

Fly Free Jake

Jake, who came to Golden Pines to spend the winter of his life, left for the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. We blogged about him just a few weeks ago Post dedicated to Jake hoping he could thrive and overcome years of "less than stellar care". Stop by and paw a message to Kim, who was kind enough to give him a caring home for his last 24 days. 

Goodbye Jake

Her post about him really hits home with all of us who rescue. It is very well said.

For Jake

Mr. Cedar Breath

Our neighbor took down 8 GIANT cedar trees recently. So everyone within earshot gets free cedar mulch, sticks and firewood. Easton is in heaven. There are hundreds of sticks to pick up and present for throwing. After one or two tosses, he decides he has to chew them. This happens every day we go out to pick up our mail. At least his breath smells better!

This looks like a good spot

Nom, nom, nom, nom

Nom, crunch, nom, peel

Bitey nom

Yep, it worked. Now give us a kiss!

All short hair breeds.....

can learn from this.

Every dog ....

To all my fellow Veterans

Happy Dance dedicated to Jake at Golden Pines

Video credits: Devo dancing, trotting & burping, Cosmo bouncing and Sunny taking it all in.

Jake is an old Golden just rescued by the wonderful people at Golden Pines.

Stop by and paw Jake a woof. He's had a hard life and deserves the best.

We are so happy he can spend the winter of his life at Golden Pines

Life at Golden Pines

Easton is off the DL - for now

Easton has been on the DL (disabled list) for almost 4 months now. After being blind sided by an illegal block to the back by a misguided mix-breed linebacker, much to his disappointment, Easton has not participated in any full contact running and fetching since the incident. Until yesterday! I'm happy to report he has returned to his "just adopted" retrieving condition with an extra dose of enthusiasm.

We headed to our secret off-leash area, 4 blocks from home, hoping no one was there so we could conduct a controlled work-out for the NFL scouts. Golf ball retrieving for about 15 minutes went very well. His enthusiasm was sky high and his running looked good. Eventually we had company sharing the field. Thank goodness it was a responsible owner and her sweet, balanced dog. Holly is a 5 year old Labradoodle who is a wonderful playing companion for Easton. Kathy, Holly's Mum, brought the chuck-it and a tennis ball. That's all it took to wear Easton out. He went full bore for about 20 minutes, but then I had to cut him off. We took a long, slow cool-off walk home. Easton was one tired, but satisfied boy. 

I know how much he misses playing. He has the play drive of Devo, but has not been in any shape to ask his body to do the things his enthusiasm demands. We'll continue to walk every day and are still going to swim therapy every couple of weeks. We brought the Costco dog bed up from the garage hoping he would use it after his workout. As you can see from the pictures, he took full advantage of the opportunity to crash in style. Both Cosmo and Devo would sleep together on this bed. It's the perfect size for one Big Red! He never showed much interest in it before, but I think he's coming around.

Leavenworth 2011 - Garden Haus

We had such a great time last year in Leavenworth, WA <see where it is> - It was worth an encore. This year we were right in the middle of October Fest! For an imitation Bavarian town, this is a big deal. Weekdays are much tamer than the weekends, but it's always lively this time of year. A Fall Northwest storm came through and kept the weather ugly until the afternoon of the third day. Caught up on our reading and enjoyed our time with Easton. This was his first long car trip and being away from home. He was a very good boy with only one surprise. Off leash on our first walk, he bolted down to the Wenatchee river and would not stop. I wasn't too worried because the current is not swift and we were in the park with many inlets used for swimming. When I caught up with him, he was just standing in two feet of water, still as a statue, looking at me. He was visiting a place in his mind that he has been before. It was like Easton was in a trance. He would not come when I call to him, nor did he even stir. Finally when I held the leash up, he snapped out of it and splish-splashed out of the water, wagging his tail, ready to continue his walk.

He found a tennis ball and officially adopted it. I think its name is Wilson.
BTW, keeping our paws crossed for my pal Bubba at Golden Pines.

We rented this cool one bedroom house right in town.
Very nice - highly recommended + this particular property is pet friendly.

Front yard - the sun finally came out the third day.

The hot tub got a lot of use, especially on those cool, rainy days.

The back side of Garden Hause - lots of off-street parking.
Quite valuable during Octoberfest in Leavenworth.

Last year when we took this trip, Lady was with us. We took a picture of her in the town gazebo. Here is Lady from 2010 and Easton from 2011. I've said it many times: they would have been a great pair. "SIGH"

Lady September 2010

Easton October 2011

There are always "hits and misses" when ever you visit a place known for attracting tourists. Leavenworth is no exception. THE HITS: ~ we discovered one new (to us) place worth mentioning: King Ludwig, a traditional German restaurant and beer hall! Surprisingly good food and the staff was excellent. ~ Spent many lunches and snack times at the Munchen Haus - outdoor dining, dog friendly and wonderful sausages, German potato salad and kraut. ~ Our friend Klaus <Klaus and Lady> we met last year may be losing his lease. What a shame. He is such a nice man and knows how to make a quality espresso. ~ Our favorite breakfast place, Renaissance Cafe was still good. We had breakfast there every morning. ~ The Accidental Bavarian website was were we found our Garden Hause. It's still the best website for learning what's up in Leavenworth. ~ Thumbs up for Rudloof's Pizza. Excellent salad, friendly staff and decent pizza (OK, I'm a pizza snob, but for a small town joint, a fine effort).

The MISSES: Just one this trip, Tumwater Inn. The food was not good. Quaint bar, nice staff, but local entertainers were there playing guitars in the evening. Since they were locals, a group of their friends were sitting at the front tables and it was obvious anyone else in attendance was intruding. Kind of weird.

So, this is two years in a row for Leavenworth. It is really a wonderful place. I think next year we may pick somewhere different. I'm voting for Portland. We spent some time there last Christmas and loved it, despite the horrible weather. Many friends and my brother live down there, so we always have places to go and people to visit.

Sorry I have been so sparse with my blog postings the last 6 months. I'm hoping to be more prolific very soon. Best to all.

Can I play through?

Easton is getting around pretty well these days. We are slowly reintroducing his toys as his leg gets stronger and more reliable every week. The retrieving dummy is pretty low key compared to a tennis ball, so he gets to carry that around whenever he wants. However, when I come home in the evening, he makes sure that any golf balls that are hit into the net are properly retrieved, slobbered on and mayhem ensues as he insists on collecting them all. Good thing I have a whole bucket full of practice balls. I laugh and laugh at his antics. He is so serious about performing what he thinks is his job. He sure has a good time!

As you can see, his coat is starting to grow out and fill in. He is turning into one very handsome boy. Strong, loyal and as it turns out, very obedient! I've let him off leash a couple of times in the last two weeks with great results.He runs around and when he wanders a little too far, I get the head snap, back to my call and he come a runnin'. I haven't worked with him that much because he has been on "light duty", so his progress is amazing. He is such a good boy.

Honoring those who have fallen and the first responders

Never in the history of the United States had dogs been called upon to serve humans like they were during the devastation of the 9/11 attacks.

Ten Years.......

Sure, come on in ....

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out..

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 He's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?' 

Cleared for Takeoff

Wet Dog = Happy Dog

A few pictures of Easton's latest SplashDog session. I can see a difference in his dry land strength and stamina. Thanks to Michael for these nice images. Lighting wasn't the greatest, but they turned out fine.

Ready, set, SPLASH

It's hard to tell, but Easton is working very
hard here swimming against a strong current.
He's determined to take the ball from my hand. 

This hard work leaves a very happy, but tired boy.
He has a good hard nap afterwards!

Anticipation - splash time again

After several weeks of taking it easy, Easton gets to swim tomorrow at Splash Dog, here in Edmonds, WA. He continues to make good progress resting and healing his injured right leg. I can see some frustration lately as he grows stronger and more restless. I've encouraged a few rough-house sessions where he is on the floor, but he wants to escalate it to a full-blown zoomie or fetch game. Hold on Big Red, we'll get to that soon.

Here Dad, throw THIS for me!

From his last Splash Dog session

Rudi

Our friends at Golden Pines have lost a long time resident and pack leader.

Read about Rudi's story HERE.

Happy Birthday Sugar

Special Barkday wishes for the Queen of Golden Woofs - Sugar.
Easton sends his very best. Hope you have many, many more.

It's Sugar Free!! We want you eating cake, not IN the cake!

Happy Birthday Sugar - how can you resist - BOL

Stop by and say HI to our friend Sugar