Category Archives: border collies

A Walk In the Park

04 Sunday Jul 2010

Posted by in border collies, Dog walking, dogs, loving dogs, nature, rescue dogs, Uncategorized

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Bailey told me she had something to say so since this really her journal, she said she wanted to write something, so I gave her the keyboard…
I LOVE going to Buehl Park! I love when Sherri & I go there. It’s so beautiful and big. She took me TWICE this week. It takes us about 20 minutes to drive there, but it is really worth it. There is so much to see and we always meet lots of people and dogs. I love seeing dogs- well at least the nice ones, like me.

I always make Sherri proud because for some reason people always stop and pet me and tell me how beautiful I am, which I have to say at age 9, I am liking a lot. No one thinks I look my age and they tell mommy that too. We both like the fact that people always think we are younger than we are- not that we are old but it’s nice to think that we are still looking good! That is important to us both, but I digress!
We had two gorgeous days in the 70’s and neither of us like the really hot weather, so it was perfect for walking in the park. We saw so many lovely flowers and we discovered an area with a fountain and little lake. What I LOVE about the park is that each time we go there we walk a different way. The park is so enormous that you can take so many different paths. Each time we seem to find new things to look at. I am anticipating how beautiful it will be this Fall.

When we walk, I sometimes think Sherri is thinking exactly like me. We usually walk for an hour but the other day we went nuts and walked for an hour and a half! I know she thinks I am the greatest – except when I beg and beg and whine for table food – but I am not stopping that! I think she is greatest too… Not many people are willing to adopt dogs in their senior years, but she had no qualms about it. I like to think I am in investment in her and Russell’s happiness. They do love the heck out of me and Safari. Russell calls me his beautiful girl and Safari his Big Sweet Boy. He loves my big, brown eyes and say Sherri and I look like each other. Some other people have said the same thing. Sherri has pretty eyes – everyone tells her that – so if mine look like hers, than that is big plus for me!

She likes to say that we both won the lotto by finding each other. I know she wonders about where I was before the shelter. I am so glad those people who adopted me before she did ( for ONLY 3 weeks) took me back. They were idiots. I don’t even remember where I was before the year in the shelter. I think I have blocked it out because wise people live one day at a time and I like to think my best life started the day they sprung me loose! This is the life I was supposed to have and them as well. I always hear them talking and Russell always tells Sherri that she was the best thing that ever happened to him and I know she feels the exact same way. They too feel like life for them began 21 years ago. They are so in love that sometimes I have to get out of the room!

Life with them is really a “walk in the park.” Today America was born. And my adoption day, July 20th, is my personal independence day and I could not be happier. I think Safari & I make them pretty darn happy too and that is just nice to know.

An Upcoming Birthday…

22 Saturday May 2010

Posted by in border collies, Dog walking, dogs, Florida, loving dogs, nature, rescue dogs, Uncategorized, vacation, Vacation by car

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This is a picture of Bailey at our private dog park that was taken after her hair started to grow in. When we she came into our lives in July, 2008, she was shaved except for her tail and around her face. May 24 is her birthday. Well, that is the day it is celebrated because that is the day she was returned to Angels for Animals in Canfield, Ohio for the second time. As I bathed her yesterday I was thinking about the paperwork I looked over when I went to see her at the shelter after getting an email from www.petfinder.com.

The papers stated that she was adopted for about 3 weeks but the young couple returned her because “she did not get along with their other pet and because she was not housebroken.”

Such lies. Bailey gets along with EVERYBODY! She loves other animals and would never hurt a fly, literally! She was incontinent, if they would have done some research or taken her to the vet as you are supposed to do when you adopt a new friend, they would have learned that she was spayed too early and most female dogs who are spayed  early will become incontinent at an earlier age. She will be turning 9 years old on the 24th and Safari will also be tunring 9. Oddly, his actual birthday is May 23th and we took that as a sign when we adopted her!

How anyone could have returned her is so beyond me. Everyone Loves Bailey! People stop us in the street to tell us how gorgeous she is and what a sweetheart of a personality she is. It’s so exciting to see her so happy and loved. She was at Angels for a year before she had the trauma of being adopted for only 3 weeks. It is no wonder she follows me everywhere and loves to be with us. She is needy in that way, but it is understandable. She thought after a year she was going to have a new home and then she gets sent right back to the shelter. Even the people at Angels loved Bailey and in July there will be the Angels for Animals Doggie Day Reunion and we will be there! Bailey loves a celebration!

We will celebrate both Safari’s and Bailey’s birthdays next week and I think how lucky we were that those stupid people did return her. They missed out on knowing and loving the most wonderful little lady on the planet. She gives us so much joy and love and makes us laugh daily with her “spin tail” and big smiles…Happy Birthday Bailey & Safari!

Single? Get a dog!

29 Friday Jan 2010

Posted by in border collies, dogs, loving dogs, Uncategorized

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Recently I went to Starbucks to get a coffee. Bailey loves to go for coffee, because she knows she is going to get a little lick of whipped cream. And a man came up to me as I was leaving with my coffee to ask me what kind of dog Bailey was. He proceeded to tell me how beautiful and soft she was and he quickly whipped out his wallet and showed me a picture of his dogs a Corgie and a German Sherpard. “My mom told, me you have a picture of your dogs in your wallet but not me,” he said. Right then, I knew he was single. And after that moment, I knew he was a guy that was looking for a woman who might love him and his dogs.

I am not single. I have been happily married for many years, but after I thought about the brief chat about dogs, I recalled my girlfriends who are single and how they should get a dog! This was not the first time this has happened to me either, but for some reason, I never thought about it. Guys come up to me all the time when I am walking Bailey! When I was single I had cats- I still have a a cat and always will have cats in my life, but dogs are true men magnets and I never thought to get a dog when I was single, in hopes of engaging a nice guy who also loved animals as much as me. So why did I not think about that? Have you?

There is a wonderful a ticle by John Homans right now on the cover of New York Magazine http://nymag.com/news/features/63232/ about dogs and people. For dog lovers, or anyone who shares their life with animal companions, it is a must read article.  The love I feel for Bailey is just like having a child, so the thought of two single people meeting who both like dogs could be a great study in interpersonal communication because immediately you share a ground more common than who looks good. I mean one’s look can change over time for the good or better, but the unconditional love that is shared between an animal and their person and then yet another person is simply special.

I met my husband in a very romantic way and it could have not been more ideal and it did not involve cats or dogs, but I wish my girfriends who long to meet the right guy would just make the commitment to rescue a dog. First, I believe in the good karma it brings and second, they would be putting themselves out there in a manner that they have not yet before. Of course having a dog is unlike having a cat. It’s the total opposite. But, if you ever wondered about what it would be like to have a child in your singleness – just get a dog because the wondering will end. They are the real deal. They demand constant time and attention, money, playtime and all the love you can muster. They will take it all and give it back twofold. So if you can meet someone else who is willing to have this kind of commitment to a dog, just imagine what a wonderful relationship you might build together. With your dogs and cats, of course!

Riding Through Hurricane Ida….All the Way to Florida

28 Saturday Nov 2009

Posted by in border collies, Dog walking, dogs, Florida, loving dogs, nature, rescue dogs, Uncategorized, vacation, Vacation by car

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Are we in Florida Yet?

Hurricane Ida’s tears were punishing. From the time we rode into West Virginia, through Virginia and both North & South Carolina, the wind increased and the rain fell harder. A trucker told to to avoid the 15 mile backup on I-77 by taking Hwy 20, which we did not know wound through and around The Jefferson National Forest and was worse than if we had steered the course on 77.

But Bailey was perfect. Her second trip by car down to Southwest Flordia since her adoption in July 2008. I just think  she is so grateful for experiences in her senior years. It’s as though she just retired and is spending her pension doing new things. I am her fund through which she withdraws her adventures, the sights she gets to see. We are here two weeks today. Tomorrow is her favorite activity, The Saturday Farmer’s market, where other dogs come to strut their stuff amongst cucumbers and heads of lettuce and freshly made baked-goods. She always looks for crumbs from the popcorn maker, the bagel guy and the key lime pie creator. She knows where to look and she stops at many a booth where people tell her how soft she is, how beautiful she is and how sweet a personaliy she exhibits. There is is nary a dog who loves praise as much as she.
 
She loved the ride down here and the stops at the two hotels. Now that Bailey is a member of our furry family, we stay at suite-hotels so we have more space. Safari always keeps us up at night. The first night was bad but he behaved the second one. I dislike having to stop twice. We probably won’t do that on the way back to PA in in the Spring. At least I hope not.
 
But Bailey is a great traveller. I wonder if all dogs are? I appreciate the quality in her that makes her ready to go on any adventure. Almost daily we go to our little independent coffee/wine shop, CGrape, here in Bonita to see Mai & Drew, the owners. They have two dogs. Bailey gets to walk right in. I get my coffee and she gets a little, 1/2 mini dixie cup of whipped cream. She LOVES that she gets to go inside a “people” place. For some reason, dogs are allowed inside all kids of  places. Yesterday there was a Boston Terrier riding in the cart at Home Depot!
 
Thanksgiving just passed and I am so thankful for Bailey and Safari, of course.  There are certain women out there who think you are nothing if you don’t have a child. They are usually over-the-top people who I don’t care for anyway, but it is amazing that they think they are superior to us women whose “children” have paws and fur. I prefer it that way. My “kids” appreciate all that I do for them. They love unconditionally. We communicate without words and that takes a special ability and I am proud to have that in my soul. My greatest passion aside from loving my husband as much as I do, is my love for animals and it always will be. The ride down here is simply part of the journey of the many furry kids that have touched me.  I don’t need a special time of year to be greatful because it’s part of who I am.

A Blade of Grass, A Pile of Leaves, Many Scents…

08 Sunday Nov 2009

Posted by in border collies, Dog walking, dogs, loving dogs, nature, rescue dogs

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I am always amazed by Bailey’s sense of smell. While her vet thinks she is all Border Collie, I feel she is mixed with a bit of Beagle. Maybe she got most of the Border Collie genes, but there has to be Beagle in her. Beagles have the most acute sense of smell of all dogs and Bailey’s nose is like that of a winemaker. She knows what is good and what isn’t. When she walks she might sniff at a blade of grass for minutes at a time before we move on. Now that it is Fall, a certain leaf may captivate her attention as she soaks up its aroma through her adorable black, wet nose.

I love her acute curiousity about the world and people she sees on the street. “What do they smell like?” And, she must think, why do they smell that way? A person can smell bad, or good, or of perfume. Perhaps they smell old or dirty. If she is lucky they smell like another dog and usually she can sniff those people out in a crowd within a minute. Since adopting Bailey, I see the world a bit differently. Before I had Bailey, I once read that you should let a dog lead you where they want to go and I agree with that. I do let her lead, although dog “experts” might not agree with me. They tend to think “the person” should do the leading. If I did it that way, I may never get a chance to view the world through Bailey’s dark brown eyes on our walks and then I think I would truly be missing a great deal. We are together so much because I work at home and I love that I can be there for her. I want to take in her world as she does mine. We have formed a special bond that I suppose, makes for one world all of our own.