Happy Holidays, everyone--and warm wishes for a very Happy New Year!!!
We've been saddened by an extraordinary number of goodbyes this fall. Not just our Buko, but other friends and friends of friends. We thought we'd take a moment to share a sigh then a smile...
Hey, how awesome--SNOW!!! We hardly ever get the white stuff this early, but we got a nice surprise today. And this was Tuchuck's first snow (unless, of course, he came down from like Everest or the Arctic Circle--who knows where the kid's from or where he's been). Regardless, we love winter play. More please!
Don't say you thought this guy was Zion with his ears up... he ain't. In fact, he's got no name--and no home. You can check him out at the Delaware SPCA in Stanton, DE, illustrious former home of Buko and Tuchuck. Call the shelter at 302.998.2281. You can refer to this guy as tag #587.
Our reference to eugenics in the previous post was in no way meant to be glib. We abhor bigotry, especially the kind that masquerades as "objective" science. Bad enough that Buko had to endure prejudice against white shepherds, but we've now learned that the same bias exists against white border collies! Poor Tuchuck, we'll protect you, little bro.
Ladies, you can come out now. The little man had his man bits removed, so you're safe! In fact, look how stupid Tuchuck was: he left in the morning intact, and when he got back, he had traded in his manhood for this silly hat. What a deal, huh?! We're not into eugenics or anything, but that kind of smarts you shouldn't be breeding anyhow! :)
And the winner is...
Someone recently suggested to us that our picture of Tuchuck trotting (with hair flowing in the breeze) was reminiscent of an image from Tibetan Buddhism. Uh, what have you been smoking?! The boy has barely learned not to crap in the house, he's pretty far from any kind of spirituality.
"The boys": Jacks, Buko, Tsamba, and Buddy
Our house has been a sad place lately--and we just haven't known how to help our human feel better. We've been sad, too. Big brother Buko was always our guide and our heart, and, without him, we've all felt a bit lost. The human has tried to keep busy doing different things, but he frequently has those moments when, as our friend Pippa puts it, it's difficult to see.
So, here we are... with a new a little brother named Tuchuck. He's a 6-month old border collie, but we don't hold that against him (at least, not the breed part--we would be okay with his growing up fast, though)! He's named after a mountain in northwest Montana that overlooks Glacier National Park (Tuchuck's name at the shelter was Glacier). Tuchuck Mtn was a place we all enjoyed on our recent roadtrip, and the name reminds us of a happy time we all shared together. 
Hello. Human, here--aka "Boy"--hijacking the dogs' blog for a bit. I haven't been able to write about it until now, but one week ago tonight, almost to the very hour, I had to let Buko go. As you might've read on the dogs' blog, he suffered a number of health issues since Labor Day, although, clearly, they must have begun long before then. The final diagnosis was numbing: cancer. What had presented at various times as orthopedic and neurological problems had ultimately proven to be a type of soft tissue sarcoma, well beyond any treatable stage. In his final hours, Buko experienced GI distress that caused obvious, acute pain and sent us to the ER. As much as I had hoped for him to drift peacefully off in sleep, at home in bed, we had to say goodbye on a surgical gurney in the hospital. How anyone manages the pain of such a loss is completely beyond me. At times, going on seems impossible. I keep waiting for the happy moments--and they were more than I deserve--to push the pain aside.
"A belated 'Happy Birthday!' to me," says Narra. It's a week later, but Narra celebrated her birthday by running in an agility trial. She loves nothing better than the wind through her hair! Our human is overly focused on ribbons and such, but this girl knows what it means to have fun. That's her present to herself. Who needs ribbons and bows?! You go, girl! 
We would like to comment on our recently adopted use of the term "boy" to refer to our human. Rather than go into lengthy, culturally specific explorations of the word's usage, let us simply say we use it as a term of endearment. Since humans are so fond of infantilizing us canines, we thought we'd return the favor. (hee hee) We do understand, though, that this practice (in either direction) is not malicious. And we certainly do not intend to reference centuries of "benign" infantilization heaped upon certain humans by other humans... Let's just call it a joke between us and our boy. :)
And, of course, you've gotta love the scene in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey where Golden Retriever Shadow is re-united with Peter, telling him, "You're my boy, Peter, and I love you..." Sniff.
It's been a difficult week. Not only has our boy had to return to work (he says it pays the bills), but Buko has been pretty miserable. The emergency vet thought it was a cruciate ligament injury of some sort, and we were all really worried that Buko would have to have surgery. (BTW, the human joined an online group called Orthodogs that's been really helpful. Thanks, Orthodoggers!) As it turns out, our regular vet doesn't think it's an ACL/CCL issue. While the cruciate ligament may be injured, there seems to have been another type of injury causing unusual swelling. The short of it is that Buko has a new meds regimen that we hope will help. He still can't walk much and doesn't want to come out of his crate too often, but at least he seems to like eating again. Now, you know something's wrong if this guy won't eat! 
Buko says, "That Jackson always wants to copy me!"
Narra says, "What about my birthday?! I didn't even get a party or presents or anything!"
Another Saturday, another day to be left behind. Although this one wasn't so bad because, well, we just weren't that interested in hanging out with a bunch of northern breeds... Our human, his parental units, and some family friends went to Hike N Howl, an event to support northern breeds rescue: Delaware Valley Siberian Husky Rescue, MaPaw Siberian Husky Rescue and Referral, and Harnessed to Hope Northern Breed Rescue. Our human didn't "hike" to raise money, but he did want to buy a "Hike N Howl" t-shirt to support the cause, but there weren't any in sight (they can be bought online, though)! That's okay, we're just glad he didn't come home with a puppy--or an adult, for that matter.
We gotta ask: why would you go to a husky event and only take pictures of Great Danes???
Well, the human left us behind again... It wasn't Woodstock, but we woulda liked to go, too! He ventured up to the Catskills to Denniston Hill, an artist-writer-owned, 200-acre spread dedicated to the self-sustaining--in all its implications--powers of creative practice.
although was unable to help film a Tagalog action flick from the back of a pickup. All the while, the river beckoned. Sounds like the human did alright--though no one does tie-dye like the canine set. And, yes, there were dogs, too! What the... ? Couldn't have been that good without us.
So, yes, we've been home for a little while now. The responsibilities of homeownership smacked the human in the face as soon as we got back, but he's recovering. The big excitement, though, has been his parental units' decision to get a canine companion of their own (because our boy won't let Jacks go live with them!). The decision came down to an interesting choice: calm, adult dog from rescue or mold-able puppy from a breeder?
Our last agility trial before heading home was the Pikes Peak Obedience Club trial in Elbert, CO, just outside Colorado Springs. We entered both days but only did the one so we could get home before our van registration expired. :) We had a lot of fun--as usual--but no Qs again. Human was in a good mood, though, because of no stupid mistakes.
Our last stop on our summer roadtrip was the Denver area. We made a new friend: Glorie, a husky-aussie mix, who let us stay at her house. She's only 10-months old and had even more energy than Narra! We didn't mind so much because she shared her tennis balls and rawhides. Even better, we had the honor of being there when Glorie got a new brother. Her humans adopted Mookie, a four-year old Saint Bernard, from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley during our visit. We hear Glorie and Mookie are enjoying siblinghood--though the house cats aren't so sure! Hee hee.:)
Although we enjoy the national forests far more than the national parks, they're not perfect. Case in point: Sheffield Creek campground in the Teton Division of the Bridger-Teton NF. This campground is beautiful and super convenient, just outside the south entrance of Yellowstone and on the way to Grand Teton. The little forest road to it is rocky so maybe dissuades many potential campers. But not us! When we got there, there was only one site taken (a nice, older, European couple in a funky Toyota camper like we've never seen before), and a car showed up later.
We've already established that national parks suck, but how much more so the granddaddy of them all, Yellowstone (and Grand Teton), in the middle of July? Yeah, that bites. We've actually avoided these parks because of the crowds and "no pets" policy, but the human felt obligated for some reason. (Also, his maternal unit really enjoyed Grand Teton, so we went on her recommendation.) They were okay. Not much snow left this record-hot summer, but the crowds were out regardless.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of our visit to the Sawtooths was Jackson's first visit to a (kind of) dog park! We really appreciate that the forest service recognizes the role dogs' play in their humans' enjoyment of the outdoors (not to mention our own)--as evidenced by two, off-leash dog beaches in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Jacks was able to enjoy Alturas Lake's newly designated dog beach, at its most northwest shore. (And this beach is clearly marked at the parking area!) Given Jacks's lack of canine social skills, he normally can't join in on these activities, but Narra and her human ran reconnaissance to see if this place might be an exception. And it was! The beach was comprised of a series of little alcoves, each somewhat private. Only one other dog-and-human combo was out, so it seemed a safe bet for Jackson. He did stay on an extended lead, however, just in case... Good thing, too, because the very pretty, white Akita at the neighboring alcove decided to come over for a visit. Narra and Buko sniffed and welcomed her, but Jacks was restrained by his human. To his (Jacks's) credit, he remained relatively calm while the Akita's human came to retrieve the wayward one. All in all, a successful and satisfying outing for all of us. (Although we now find Jacks sometimes looking off wistfully into space--perhaps thinking about what could have been?)
