Limitations of the internet

No pictures with this post. If only it were possible, we would post a smell. You see, you can't visually appreciate our latest adventure. Can you guess? Boone was the first to detect it, followed by Narra, then Tuchuck. Of all the critters that visit our yard, this was our first encounter with... wait for it... a SKUNK! Our poor, unsuspecting human didn't know what was going on until it was too late. By that time, the night was filled with an odoriferous presence. Through the din, the human detected a small, black-and-white creature run by with Tuchuck in pursuit. Narra and Boone had flushed it out and, in payment, frantically rubbed their faces in the grass trying to free themselves of its souvenir spray. Jackson, in all his dignity (and obliviousness), remained above the fray.

The human somehow managed to corral us all into the garage. Jacks actually got to go in the house since he remained perfume-free. The human disappeared with him into the kitchen. In a short while, he (the human, not Jacks!) returned with a mix of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid soap. It worked well enough--we're in the house now (whew!)--but we understand we're going to the groomer in the morning. What's a groomer?

Where you been?

The human abandoned us again. Just for a short time, and we got to stay home! Our friend Lise came to take care of us--and she even made it snow! Only a few inches, but it was fun to play in. Better than being in some Dull-Ass place in Texas, says the human. Hee hee.

We almost forgot: Boone's Petfinder page has gone live! He's doing great with us, and we like him a lot, but we know there's a home out there waiting for him. He'll make someone very happy. We just saw on the rescue forum a quote from a super smart foster home: the woman told her foster dog, "You're no longer mine, but I'll always be yours." We feel the same, buddy.
(Sorry for the the out-of-focus shot, but it just conveys his personality so well--er, not the blurry part. :) )

So happy together

Boone went on his first road trip! He joined us as Narra and her human returned to Savannah for the Savannah Dog Training Club agility trial. Unlike this year's return to Asheville, however, they did not make up for last year's poor performance. Oh well. The real excitement of the trip was Boone's getting out to see the world. He was a little anxious at first, but he's learned to trust us and follow what we do. He's a quick study and quickly realized that we try to have a good time as often as possible! :)

Poor Boone did develop a "bad stomach" (was it nerves?), but we managed. (Yeah, because we werent' the ones who had to clean up! Ha ha!) And we survived Narra's disastrous "non-runs" at the agility trial. Thankfully, the human managed to keep a lid on his temper--we hate bad language! We even survived a super scary driving mishap. Thank you, Buko, for watching over us!

Anyway, it's all good. We're happy to be home again. (BTW, in case you're wondering: no, we didn't pick up a new dog on our travels! That's our friend Caramel (above) whom we got to see again since she lives near Savannah. She and her human hung out with us all weekend. Way cool.)

Uh oh...

The human is not in a good mood. Not only is his work starting up again (which is guaranteed to make him grumpy), but he came home from a day-long meeting to find this mess. The picture shows just one of three rooms decorated by foster bro Boone! Boone literally broke out of his crate (we didn't know that skinny bones was so strong!) and attacked the trash. We told the human: 1) he shoulda taken the trash out sooner, and 2) he shoulda fixed that cabinet door so it actually closes.

[And, Pippa, we're sorry about the no-dogs pic. We woulda been in this one if we weren't hiding in our crates. Well, except Boone: he was in a time out! :)]

On a serious note, we're sad to report that Boone tested positive for heartworms. Our vet is optimistic that he will handle the treatment well--he just needs to gain weight and get a little healthier first. Even then, the treatment sounds really painful. Poor guy. Everybody, please send good vibes Boone's way.

BOONE Town!

It was bound to happen sooner or later: we have new brother! A foster brother, to be exact. His name is Boone ("...a big man ...as tough as a mighty oak tree"), and he comes from Kentucky. As our human's emotional decisions go, this one wasn't too irrational. At least he hasn't put us in a permanent situation. On the other hand, logging the last leg of our roadtrip to pick the guy up in Kentucky was not so rational. Um, were we, like, eight hours out of our way?!

Anyway, we're not quite sure what to make of Boone yet. He's pretty nervous--understandable. And he's so, so skinny. He was removed from his previous home due to the neglect he, his female friend (also a white shepherd), and a rottie friend suffered. (The rottie didn't make it, btw.) We're okay helping the guy out--for now. But if you know anyone who might be interested, Boone will be available for adoption through Echo Dogs White Shepherd Rescue. His girlfriend will, too. Rescue Boone, and rescue us! :)

Time Out!

Did we mention that this roadtrip was Tuchuck's first? Well, he had a swell time--though not always doing stuff he was supposed to do. For example, with one fell swoop, he effectively eliminated any travel for us in parts of northern Florida, Georgia, Idaho, and Illinois. How, you might ask? By eating our road atlas, that's how! The little maniac also ate Narra's blue ribbon from the agility trial (jealousy!), his NEW Sense-ation harness, as well as a bunch of other things. All the human's fault, you say? You're absolutely right, we say.

Well, the human is not beyond punishing us for his own shortcomings. Sigh. Little Tuchuck was in and out of the crate so often for time outs our heads were spinning! Poor kid, he missed a little hike around Clearwater Lake in the Ocala National Forest. Weather was beautiful, as was the water. And we FINALLY got to run around off leash. Except you-know-who. Hee hee.

Mojo Rising

After the beach, we headed inland to visit a senior shepherd available for adoption. For whatever reason, the human seems to think our number is 4. It used to be. It doesn't have to be. Whatever. He saw this dog Mojo posted on a rescue board, and, of course, we had to go meet him (super sarcastic tone, in case you couldn't tell).

Mojo seemed nice enough when we (Jacks and Narra) met him, but he also seemed pretty okay at the shelter. They love him there, and he's been there since October, so it's kinda like home. He's also there with his brother Seger, a collie mix. Both dogs are estimated to be between 8-10 year old. You can see them on the Seminole County Animal Services Petfinder site.

Life's a beach

We've fallen a little behind on blogging, so much has happened! We're going to try to catch up, post by post.

First, we neglected to mention in our last post that Narra rocked it at the agility trial! We're talking blue ribbon!!! She and the human have earned them before, but the human was especially pleased with this performance. He said something about great teamwork and speed, oh, yes, speed!

Our celebration was to find a warm beach! We visited our friend Caramel on our way to St. Augustine, Florida. We'd never been there before, and Dogfriendly.com gave it an honorable mention in its "Top 10 Dog-Friendly Resort Areas in the US." Imagine our surprise when we arrived at Anastasia State Park (where we camped) only to find signs saying "No Pets on the Beach"!!! After just walking around the park, we eventually left and found a public beach where we could play. You'll notice in the picture, however, that this was not an off-leash beach. Does "on leash" mean we can't walk each other?! :)