Tribute to Itty

Five years wasn't nearly long enough to spend with such a magnificent companion ....

Acey's Loot

Three Companion Dog titles, AKC, ASCA and UKC, two AKC Rally titles, Novice and Advanced, four legs, two each, on CDX titles in AKC and ASCA respectively. Placements in every single show, including two High in Trial awards ... that's what Acey has earned in the last six months, and since we began our adventure of taking obedience lessons with Chris Elliott. Including today's last UKC CD leg, Fourth place placement and score of 196. Two more legs and she'll have her ASCA and AKC CDX titles, and THEN (gulp) we need to take about a year off and learn the Utility exercises. I have to fight my tendency to want to turn to my junior dogs, Emo and ZuZu and go to work on THEIR CD and CDX titles, since that's what I know how to do, letting Acey retire. However, while I am working with Emo and Zu, I am NOT going to abandon Acey's career, but am going to press on to the next level and earn her and my very first UD title.

There. I've made the committment in writing! So now, when you see me vacillating and hesitating and saying, "well, I don't know" ... give me a good kick in the pants and tell me to just go ahead and DO IT! I have such a fear of ruining a good dog, but the truth is, you have to make some mistakes in order to learn, and should not fear them.

So. There. Now.

Utility, here we come!

Good luck Acey!

So say ZuZu (the Border Collie) and John (the youngest son) to Acey (the blue merle) who hopes to obtain a new title today at the UKC show in Durham!

Worth a Thousand Words

Today's Babies

I love baby lambs! These two are the newest arrivals, born after church today. These photos show them at about an hour old. Their mama is a first timer, and I'm happy to say, seems to be an excellent mother. Can you tell she wants me to go away and leave her alone?

Who Wouldn't Love This Baby?

Meet one of the new babies of St. Croix #4. This precious baby, half St. Croix, half Katahdin, was born yesterday, and his mama, #4, rejected him. I'm not sure why ... but it was the second time this has happened with this ewe. She rejected a lamb last summer, as well. (The little lamb pictured elsewhere on this blog, with Acey.)

This little brown and white cutie was outside of the electric fence when I found him yesterday. It could be he tumbled out by accident, and then couldn't get back in, and perhaps stood outside while his mama continued to bond with her other baby. By the time I'd found him, she was having nothing to do with him. I had to tie her to a post and hold up one of her legs just to let him nurse!

After he'd had his fill, I ran home and put a post on Craig's List. Ran back to see if I could help him nurse some more and by then my phone was ringing, and it wasn't an hour before a gentleman and his two children came to get the little guy. They have a petting zoo of sorts, and like to get babies young and bottle raise them with their children so they'll be tame for visitors.

I simply didn't have time to bottle feed him or force his mom to nurse him every few hours.

As for #4, she's on borrowed time. Three strikes and you're out. If it were not for the fact that she's successfully raised twins twice before, I'd only give her two strikes! She's a good mama to the ones she mothers, and its possible the separation played a big part in her rejecting this one.

One thing is for certain, next time she's close to lambing, she goes into the smaller pen she goes, where she cannot help but bond with her baby.

I mean honestly, who could not love this face?

The Neighbor of Apropos

Meet Sakari. Her name means "sweet" in one of the Native American languages, and that is just what she is. She lives next door. Last August, her owner made a cross country trip, and Sakari stayed with us for those ten days and became great friends with all of us. Now, whenever she gets the opportunity, she makes straight for our back door, where she cannot wait to come in and visit. We had quite the wind storm a couple of nights ago, and the wind not only blew her pen over, but practically tangled it into a wad of twisted metal, a little mini tornado. So Sakari came to visit, and we're in no hurry to give her back.

She doesn't look quite like all the rest, but I promise, she's even sweeter!