The pups are growing like summer weeds and have learned to use the dog door most of the time. They can start to leave home in a couple of weeks so I am starting to search for the right homes for them.

I have both foster boys at the moment...Yako and Juan. They are a irresistible pair of clowns. Deuce has moved to his forever home with Barb and Kerry in Billings. Deuce and Courtney, their greyhound pup (now 2 years) were fast friends and play a lot.

Included is a picture of Gable in his hero cape. Gable is a blood donor and has given life to several dogs now. One of the gals at the vet clinic made him this cape. He wears it well!! Henderson's have every right to be super proud of their boy!

I have been busy getting pictures of the pups posted on my facebook page and even a video on YouTube thanks to Mr. Muir....be sure to check it out at

www.youtube.com/user/darrinmuir#p/u

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The pups are starting to eat real food now. They don't have teeth yet so they just get a porridge of good holistic canned dog food and water. As you will see on the video they love it!! I have moved them into a inside kennel with a outside run for mom, but tomorrow we will work on getting all the mowers and other stuff out of the shed and turn that into a nursery. They already need more elbow room. The mower shed is covered and protected so should work nicely during the day. I can put down some shavings to soak up the "stuff" and the whole kennel will smell better with the pups outside part time.

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The greyhound picnic was a success and I am happy to report that I kept the commitment I made to myself to enjoy it. I spent way to much at the auction scoring some great things and then I caved to temptation and bought a couple of new collars from Collar Crazy....all with minimum guilt. When everyone left my niece Aubree and I hopped in the huge stock tank to cool off. Pretty soon we were introducing the dogs to the joys of stock tank dipping. We had a great time playing...yes I was doing what I love and loving what I was doing...promise kept.

Anyone who knows me at all knows I am going to tip that raft over...except Aubree. Ah the hazard of innocence!

I did take puppy pictures but have not taken the time to upload them yet. The pups are changing fast now. All of their eyes are open and they are learning to stand and walk. Last night in speaking to a friend she asked "Are you enjoying the puppies?" Because Judy is the kind of friend who sees through fibs, I told her the truth. "Actually" I began "I am not". Confused she said "What? Why?" Well the truth is I have been so busy there has not been time to enjoy anything. It is one of the stupidest things adults do. We get so task oriented we forget to do the things that add quality to our lives. I admit I have had some sadness and worries lately that have weighed me down. But life doesn't stop because we are down trodden or busy. If we miss it we have no one to blame but ourselves. The ironic thing is that this very circumstance is somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. Rushing about spending your time replacing important things with really unimportant things. I preach "You only travel this road once...enjoy it." But I fail in practicing what I preach. I promised myself I would slow down a little.

Today I was hurrying trying to get a bunch of stuff done in order to prepare for the greyhound picnic tomorrow. My niece Aubree and my friend "Saint" Lynn were here helping me muck through piles of stuff and clean clean clean. Aubree came up missing. I was annoyed because the mirrors were her job and they still had dog nose prints all over them. When I found her she and my foster project, Springer Spaniel Gabe, were walking in the creek. She looked up at me with eyes glowing to tell me "We found a tennis ball with no skin and are following it down the creek!" She exclaimed "Its fun!" Damn it!!! In less than 24 hours I forgot to smell the roses again.

Goal for tomorrow...HAVE FUN!

The biggest of the puppy boys, a honey colored guy is the first to start to open his eyes. The pups in general have at least doubled in size. So far mom is keeping up with them. She has free choice of the best food we could find. I can't believe the pups are already almost two weeks old. Today's agenda includes getting some pictures of them.

The pups are a week old now and all seem to be thriving. I am excited for them to start opening their eyes in the next week or so. I can hardly wait for them to start moving around more and getting to see who they are. Right now they are just puppy potatoes. This week end we will get some more pictures of them.

The dog show in Missoula was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I had my girl Pixie entered in obedience. My duties were divided between showing Pixie and doing time as co-obedience chairperson. "Doing time" an accurate term. It is fun but it is a lot of running around and babysitting. I entered Pixie with some reservations as she is not as ready as I would like for her to be. But I kept telling myself you can't swim if you aren't in the water!! Sunday Darrin came to the show to wish us well. Pixie was distracted during warm up but then got progressively better as we worked in the ring. We ended up with a decent score of 193 (out of 200) and a second place. Monday she kept cutting in front of me and doing a lovely free stack unfortunately that wasn't what was required. We still managed to pull of a second place and a OK score. The last day she did better and we got that last leg to finish up our CD title. The days at the show were really long and I am behind in every way here at home. With company coming for the Fourth of July it will be a busy weekend. I think I will suggest we all go to a movie so I can sleep through it.

Wednesday just after we lost Sage I saw an URGENT plea for help from my friend Shauna in Idaho. She knew of an Aussie girl in a high kill shelter about to whelp. She posted her story and picture on Facebook. The sad look in the soon to be momma's eyes broke my already broken heart. Sage's importance in my was life laid open and raw...I met Sage's mom when she had been at the shelter heavy with pups...I could not turn my back on this girl in the same predicament. I responded I would take her if I could get help getting her here. I called Darrin at work and causally asked "Hey you don't mind if I bring home a pregnant Aussie bitch do you?" He responded "No no no no no no!!!" Without missing a beat I said "Oh you are breaking up but it sounds like you are OK with it." As he resigned to this new development he said "You are not bringing them into the house!" We will cross that bridge when we come to it, I have been blessed with a nice big kennel...finding a place for her really presented little problem. Christy (rescue volunteer) started figuring out how to move that momma dog to Montana! There were a couple of bobbles in getting her here or so it seemed at first. A ride was available but not for over two weeks and she could not be released until Saturday at closing. We decided that she couldn't wait for the ride and began to formulate a plan to meet half way on Sunday. When I came in Thursday morning (June 17) from chores there was a call from Christy to call her right away. The first words out of her mouth were "You were serious that you would take her immediately, right?" I assured her I was willing and she said "Oh good she left an hour ago!! She will be in Missoula this evening." Barb from Libby happened to be traveling home from Boise area that day. The animal control officer gave momma dog an "emergency pardon" since they wanted her out of there and she had a ride. I made it home with her about midnight that night. My friend Pam insisted I stop by even at that late hour so she could see her.
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The next day was busy getting her cleaned up and assessed by a vet. Pam and I named her Bliss on the way to the vet. An x-ray showed at least 9 pups. It was clear all of her energy was going into those pups her body weight was not ideal. We were worried that she may not have the energy for a long labor. Her new auntie Pam bought her the best food we could find. Pat bought her the calcium tablets the vet wanted her to have. She had a large worm load so I checked on what I could give her. I object to feeding worms. During that first day she was here I made a quick call to friend CJ who has been looking for the right dog for herself. She has been a dedicated Malamute person but has decided to try something a little smaller. I told her "I have someone I want you to meet". It was love at first sight I am happy to say she has a home with CJ, when she is done with motherhood...pending current Malamute's approval. Bliss responded immediately and positively to having found a secure place to have her family. Her eyes started to beam and she happily greeted all of her new friends.

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Thursday (June-24) I got up early and checked her. Other than not wanting to go out she seemed fine. 3 hours later I checked her again and SURPRISE she had 9 wiggling pups. Those pups must have come fast and furious. Bliss was covered in gunk and the pups were wet and gunky too. I helped her clean her babies and then cleaned her up a little too. Once she was nestled in a fresh bed I called Pat. Pat raised several litters years ago she could offer me guidance as to what and when to feed Bliss to help her recover. Other than a little diarrhea Bliss is doing great. She is a young mother but seems to be tending all of her pups. With the help of some friends Bliss's journey has taken a turn for the better.

I lost my Aussie Sage Monday June, 13. Since she was diagnosed with bone cancer two weeks prior I watched her like a hawk for any changes. Saturday I saw her dip but then she rallied. Sunday she was trotting and wagging her bob tail. Even though she was acting better my heart sunk with the knowledge that the sun was setting on my friend. As Monday wore on her face told me she was tired of the fight. She wouldn't eat even the best foods, her trot and tail wag were gone but she felt good enough to wade in her pool. Over all she enjoyed her time that day in the paddock sleeping on a big bed in the shade with frequent visits from me and some of her favorite pack-mates. Darrin came home early from work and we took her to the vet together. From the moment I carried her into the vet until the moment I carried her out was less than 5 minutes. She was gone from us so quickly. Often I think dogs leave this world in the way they lived in it. Sage always was quick to do everything.
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Sage came into my life before she was born. Her mother was at the shelter ready to whelp. I knew if those pups had any chance at all they needed to be born somewhere else. I brought her home and soon Lucy Blue had 5 little ones. I called them "The Greens" the girls were Sage, Olive and Kelly, the boys Hunter And Forrest. I used to hold Sage on my chest when she was just a little handful of a pup. I could feel her heart beating against mine and I knew she was my girl. From a very young age Sage had that look of intelligence. She is pictured here at a little over 3 weeks and already seemed to know who she was. The name Sage fit her perfectly as she had that old soul wisdom. Life with Sage was wonderful and easy. Sage liked everyone and she was smart, willing and easy to train. Sage always wanted to be the best girl. She liked to hug, her crate was on the second level and when I opened the door she would wait until I came up to the crate then she would softly put her paws on my shoulders and press herself into me. I would snuggle my nose into her soft ears and breathe in her essence. This may be what I miss the most. Although Sage learned everything easily she hated going to shows. She earned some titles but she never climbed the ladder to the upper levels. This was fine by me, Sage had other important duties here at home. I could always count on Sage to help me teach obedience classes. She not only was the perfect demo dog but she would work for other people. Being a lesson dog was invaluable. Many of my students over the years have spent time learning some finer points of handling with Sage. Although not typical Aussie, I was in love with Sage's angular face and hard body. I loved running my hands over her well muscled form. If you saw her run, her gait smooth, low, ground covering and easy, you knew you were seeing perfect form. Sage's lo0k was a balance of wild exotic and complete no frills utility. Sage's heart was a balance of intense loyalty and sweetness.

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As many times as I have lost dogs each experience is as different as the dogs I have let go. When Sage died the vet started to tell me he was "sorry" I said "Don't be sorry...she had a great life. She knew every moment she was wanted and loved. She never was afraid or hungry." I am so thankful for the lessons I learned with Sage. In Sage's passing there was a strange peace...peace in knowing I had given Sage happiness and she had given the same...peace in knowing I let her go when she asked...peace in knowing she will be waiting for me and once again will offer me that soul fulfilling hug. Until that day, rest well sweet Sage you are deeply missed.

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I love you little Sagey