It’s a good thing “our” beach is almost always empty when we go visit, because upon arrival, this is what happens. It’s total chaos. And it’s like a 15 minute walk to the beach from where we park, so you’d think they have become at least somewhat blase by the time we get there! It’s no wonder we’re social pariahs.
Usually the water looks like this – one long swimmable length of water.
But the other day there was, like, no water. I don’t know what happened to it. It’s not actually a beach on the ocean, it’s really just a sandy stretch along a slough. It’s nowhere near an ocean. So I don’t think it’s affected by tides … so where did the water go?
It’s possible that 125lbs of Alfie gallumping along its shores terrified the water into a hasty retreat. He sounds like a herd of buffalo when he gets it into his head to cavort with his sister Betty. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s pretty hilarious when it does!
Betty has taken to flirting wildly with Dexter lately, which is mystifying to me, as she was never much interested in interacting with him when she basically lived with me last year. If it’s a mystery to me, it’s 12 times as mysterious to Dexter who, like an immature 12 year old boy, really doesn’t understand female flirtations. Mostly what he does is stare at me whilst she wiggles under his chin, leaps up to smooch his eyeballs and then does somersaults under his legs trying to get his attention. He is completely affable but unaware while she gyrates at him.
But all her clowny shenanigans does have the affect of getting Alfie excited, and he usually comes thundering over to play … and if Dexter remains oblivious to the 25lbs of butterball roiling around underfoot, he is NOT oblivious to the extra 100lbs running in his direction and he usually takes some offense. This annoys and confuses Alfie and in the resulting melee, Betty slips away. And I think she’s laughing. She is one sly, wicked little shit-disturber!
Perhaps the pre-receded water had caught wind that these two devils were coming to terrorize its shores.
I miss the terrier-teeth-play of these two, it doesn’t happen often enough, maybe because they’re both getting older. Or maybe because when they try to play like this, someone (*coughMAISIEcough*) gets involved and despite the multitude of sharp and pointies between them available to drive off intruders, they don’t really like other dogs to get in the middle of their fun and they’re kinda emo about it.
Although occasionally they do gang up on her to teach her the meaning of the word “fear.”
Very once in a while, they will temporarily allow TWooie to cavort with them. It never lasts very long, but that’s 100% okay with him, because he’s old and he doesn’t really have the stamina for that sort of foolishness for long anyway. It is, however, 100% adorable. After all these years, it still tickles me pink to see TWooie happy to play with another dog(s).
His brother rarely plays at all, with anyone, these days. Sometimes I can get him to play a bit of fetch, or a short game of “I’m Gonna Get The Wootie Stick!” but it never lasts long either. He doesn’t seem overly tired, or depressed, he just is more interested in snuffling around for possible dropped foodstuffs, or things to pee on. I guess simple pleasures get more pleasurable as one ages. However, I did buy him a new “Fifa”(tm) on the way home from the beach to see if I can’t rekindle some of our old joys together :) … provided Maisie doesn’t get involved, as she’s a “PLAY WITH ALL THE THINGS” kinda dog.
(Clearly he’s thrilled at the prospect)
(his tail still looks a little (okay a lot) sad, but notice it does have some wispy growth on it. It’s gonna be a marathon growing session to the finish, I think)
Crazy Miss Maisie remains resolutely entrenched in my home and won’t go away because everyone who wants her so far hasn’t really been ideal. I don’t think getting one’s sport dog from rescue is the cool thing to do anymore, so she remains unwanted :(
I decided after some thought that she is probably a Springer Spaniel mix. I got a lot of sideways looks for that when I started saying it … you know, the “Food Lady’s making up whacky theories again” look. You’re probably even doing that right now as you read this!
Then I asked a friend of mine to come over and evaluate her for some kind of sniffer dog job, because I personally think she’d be pretty awesome at it. I placed quite a few of those kinds of dogs from the shelter (the sniffing-for-a-living kind, not the Springer Spaniel mix kind) and got a pretty good sense of what the handlers/trainers were looking for, and Maisie ticks off all their boxes. So I asked my friend Teresa to come over and tell me what she thought. First thing she said whens he met her was “Is she a Springer mix?”
Now, I think Teresa would know, since she owns and trained Angus the famous “C. Difficile” Springer Spaniel who makes his living sniffing out that nastiness in hospitals!
Anyway, Maisie ticked off all her boxes too, and apparently she thinks she’d make an awesome sniffer dog. I find nosework stuff with dogs super fascinating *in theory* – I think it’s amazing what they can do with odour and how much they enjoy it. In practice, I find it mind numbingly boring to watch – it was somewhat more interesting when it was “my” dog figuring it out, but not interesting enough for me to to want to do it myself with any of my dogs. I think I’ve just been generally spoiled by sports like agility which have a lot of more instant and high octane gratification for my squirrel-like attention span. Anyway, there’s been some interest in her for the sniffing thing, so maybe she’ll be famous one day too!
And speaking of agility, I have really super good intentions of going back to the sport, usually while I am laying in bed thinking about playing. In practice, I can’t seem to muster up the energy to actually go train, despite living right next door to a big ass facility dedicated to the sport. I do have a handful of dogs I could be playing with – Spring’s getting up there, but hey, Tweed won Regionals when he was 12, so it’s not like she’s OLD. Fae is delightful to play with. In my head, Addy would be great (in reality, Addy is a trainwreck. Ha.) And I suppose there’s Peetie. Pesty, stares-at-my-cookie-hands-all-the-time Peetie.
I still want to try dock diving with Peetie. I think she could be pretty good at it. Cuz of all the leaping.
And I really do wish I had that sort of tenacious-trainer spirit to train Addy. She is actually awesome at all the equipment, as she fears nothing and she’ll do it all (except weaves, we haven’t gone there yet at all) but her attention span is even shorter than mine. We might simultaneously implode trying!
But she remains the cutest little thing that ever cuted or thinged.
In my facebook “memories” thing not too long ago, a memory of Dexter’s first trial came up in my feed, when he did a 15 obstacle Jumpers course in 15 seconds. Oh how I miss *that* Dexter; before he started going deaf, he was such an awesome dog to play agilities with. But I love the Dexter I have now too. Often he rides along in the front seat when my van is full (seat-belted in, of course, airbag turned off) and I have inadvertently trained him stare deeply into my eyes and place a somber paw gravely on my arm, for which he is rewarded with cookies. Now I can’t drive anywhere without his paw resting on my arm while he tries to mind-meld me. I can only imagine what people think at stop lights.
Anyhoo.
I know I don’t take as many photos of my own dogs / blog as much as I used to, but the more I photograph for other people and/or events, the less time I have for photographing and editing photos of my own four legged furries. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m going to try harder! I do run outside to try and get sunset photos whenever the conditions are favourable.
Also, for those of you not on Facebook, I’m going to be putting out a 2019 calendar soon for sale. This is the cover:
As soon as my print lab has the 2019 template ready, I’ll make one and video it for everyone, and then take orders. It was a fun project, looking through so many old photos of my fuzzy family, those still here and the ones that aren’t. I miss my old dogs. I am so glad I have all these photos to look back on :)
