Most of you know I've been a tad worried about Mick over the last 6 months. He used to be this little bullet, hard as a rock, and kind of square...but since before Regionals, he has 'slimmed down'. I did bloodwork (twice), urinalysis, and everything always comes back normal. No other real symptoms of anything, no diarehha, no votmited, no coughing...but I know my best boy Mick, and he's not at his best.

So this week we did 'extensive' blood work and xrays. What turned up is a VERY VERY low Vitamin B-12 level. Normal range is 284-836 and Mick's was UNDER 150...not even high enough to get on a bar graph.

This could be caused by a lower intestinal infection, bacteria, etc OR...guess what breed is suseptible to this? Beagles, Giant Schnauzers and BORDER COLLIES! Not to say Mick is BC, but we've always wondered if he's BC and aussie!

It's a rather simple fix...a shot of B-12 every couple of weeks for a few months, then re-test. He may have to be on it the rest of his life though...we'll see. Doc also put him on an antibiotic for 6 weeks...

I AM SOOOOOO RELIEVED it's the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!! And as you can see, Mick is definatley one of the office fav's...and tortured by them!

Heather, Front Desk




Vet Tech


Dr. Dan



Dr. Mandy


Vets making drugs...


Office staff Renee, Melissa & Heather


Richard, Vet Tech


And Mick's xrays for those of you who love this stuff, and for me so I always know where they are:




MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I am SO excited for Thanksgiving this year! What could be MORE fun than 12 people (or more) and more dogs than people! (Poooor Russ!)

Alison is coming tomorrow, on her way to CA...we're a little out of the way, but hopefully worth it :>) The weather is supposed to be 60 and partly cloudly, which means we will be able to get in a DUNES HIKE hopefully! It's a GREAT time to go to the dunes, because there are lots of 'dune lakes' from the recent rainfall. These are last year about this time...






Rob & Alysa will be here Wednesday with the whole gang. They came for Christmas last year and we had such fun with all the dogs and dune hikes!









HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!! I am very THANKSFUL that I have gotten to know everyone, and have really enjoyed our 'LJ' family!

Wow, what a line-up! And our OWN TORI ON TOP!

Wow, sandwished between Marcus and Nancy! Impressive!

Way to go Revvie Girl!!

Our #1 WINNER!

The leaves in Albany were just spectacular...and although they won't be as good or cute as the ones with Haku in them...my boys are still cute....and besides, mine were taken with...my iphone!

        

         



         

Fall is beautiful in Oregon!!

Went to the Prineville AKC show last weekend, finally getting around to doing an update...

BEAUTIFUL FAIRGROUNDS! It's SO nice to have warm weather and green grass and an agility trail all in one place! Prineville is special to my heart anyway, as that's where Mick was found wandering the streets in an ugly old leather collar. I feel like I need to pay homage to the city when I enter...thanking them for my wonderful Mick!

Friday started at 2 pm....which is odd anyway. I took the motorhome, but stayed over at Carole Mann's so we could hang together after the trials. Her house is so dog oriented, with LOTS of beautiful tile work (her sons and husband do) and the back yard is HUGE, with GREEN GRASS and LOTS of agility equipment, PLUS trees that are loaded with chippies (squirrels) for the dogs to scent and chase and bark at--it's kind of dog heaven.
I had all FIVE, count them FIVE dogs with me, and they all had a blast.

Friday was Excellent only, and we bombed. Maybe I don't like trails that start at 2 pm...but it was an ODD weekend...the dogs that are usually at the top of the class in Excellent didn't Q! It was almost a pattern...and got to be kind of funny! We 'should have' been able to Q--the courses weren't that hard (some totally lame), but none of us did! Flash, the Michelons, Pete and Mick--all no Q's! By the end of the weekend, people were SO happythey were Q'ing...and we weren't! Too funny.

I did manage ONE Standard Q and 1st place on Sunday...and little Mick was even a second faster than speedy Pete Mann who wond the 24" class. It was Mick & Pete's ONLY Q of the 3 day weekend!



Now I'm gonna complain a little bit...(in little type even). The judge seemed grumpy the whole weekend, and it set a 'grumpy' tone for the trial. It was Lisa Potts, and I doubt I'll ever show under her again. It was more than her courses, which were SO imbedded that they BARELY changed anything from Excellent to Novice, and some of the challenges were waaay too much for most baby dogs. But it was MORE than that...on Friday in Jumpers I got stuck behind a wing on a front cross, and ended up telling Mick to 'go on'...whcih he did...but because of me being behind, I need to take a cut thru the middle of the course, right by where the judge was standing. I shouted, 'EXCUSE ME!' 3 times, and she didn't budge, and so I had to go behind her, trying to avoid her, thus, sending Mick off course.

After the trial Friday, I went to chat with her about it, putting the blame on me, and she was NOT approachable at all, and said "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!", etc, etc. It was disappointing.

She did things like this all weekend, blowing angry whistles at people, and making comments about 'having to charge the club $1.00 per bar that SHE had to set". She did not ever give light in the briefing of 'enjoy yourself and your dog, and didn't mutter any rules to the novice handlers. Usually I hate the speech, but I now see that it 'sets the tone' for the trial, to be happy and enjoy this time with our dogs, no matter what.

And then there was the NOVICE FAST course on Sunday. The SEND BONUS was 2 double jumps AT THE START LINE! Yup, go jump #1, then jump #2, and you got the BONUS...what??? WHERE'S THE CHALLENGE IN that? The pink 'send' tape was just nexxt tot he 2 jumps, so you didn't even ened to do a leadout to get the BONUS--just run with your dog! Duh.....

Sunday's Open Std was more of an Excellent course, with angry entries to a spread jump and a nasty weave-tire-jump sequence...if you didn't have super distance on your weaves, you were sunk (and I sunk)...but as I was walking it, I said outoloud to a perfect stranger, "THIS COURSE STINKS", and ya know what she replied? "Yeah, it's a reflection of the judge, she stinks too!" Now this is a person I don't even know, have never talked to, and she had the same feelings I did...hmmmmmm.

Anyway, Tru got his Novice Jumpers title, and a few Q's...I also ran the Time to beat with Jammer & Tru...and Jammer loved it, earned 8 pts...and Tru had a well...baby monent.

It was a fun trial, because WE MADE IT BE FUN. There were people there I hadn't seen in a long time, and different faces, which was fun.

Here's Friday Std...where Mick pulls off the chute for some silly reason... (okay, it's below the other one) I still have to upload the Tru videos.

Guess who slept curled up next to me all night...with her head and Tru's head right next to each other.....

     yeah, little Biz is worming her way into our house PRETTY well Took her to the Prineville AKC show with us and hshe had a blast, and everyone fell in love with her.  She has a super recall, played off lead with all my dogs, Carole's dogs and some others, and well, you couldn't ask for a better little girl. Not that she's short on the looks side either, she is a doll, her coloring is just beautiful.

If I change my mind, there will be a nice waiting list of adopters to choose from.  But for now...uh, she needs her stitches out, and some more socializing :>0, (ha ha ha), and I MUST get the flea problem under control (they are gone), and I MUST let her hair grow back on her legs (it's pretty good now), and I MUST show her the world...(she loves meeting it!)

I mean, WHO can resist THOSE EYES?????

Oh, and she plays with all my dogs so well, even Mick likes her...yikes.

While working on gathering donations for the Regionals Raffle, I began chatting with the woman from 'Agility Vision' about our dogs...and she posted this pictur eof Mick on her blog! (Mick was IN Clean Run, not on the cover BTW)
http://www.agilityfusion.com/

 


 

Too tired too post too much, 'cept these pics of my rescue boy Tru. Judge today asked 'where' he was from...I was pleased to anser..."the Albany, Oregon SHELTER"!

Here's just a couple I got yesterday in the field at the school by the trial... 

                                                             


                                                            



                                                                 


And smilie Mick...




And...yesterday we had another FIRST PLACE Q in Std and a 2nd place in JWW...04 seconds behind Sandy and Trick! Yeehaw!

Today was a bomb...more later...
 

  

A VERY NICE LOOKING BC was FOUND IN PORTLAND, and posted on Craigs List. Any help locating the owner is appreciated! BC rescue is on it to take him and foster him...but thought I'd pass the word.

Here is the listing and link if you need it:
A medium sized black and white dog; possibly an Australian Shepard or Border Collie wandered onto our front porch tonight for this second time in two weeks. He is black with white on his stomach, around his neck, the tip of his tail, legs and paws. He has on a brown leather collar with a rabies tag from Colorado but no other identifying tags. He is very friendly and definitely well trained, he is not the type of dog you would want to lose.

We already have 2 dogs and as much as we would love another, we can not afford it right now. We will hold to him for a day or so to see if anyone claims him. If not, we will have to bring him to a shelter.

Please email or call (503)477-6061 with any information. Thanks.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pet/872231754.html

This is off The Bark.com site...it is estimated this guy sold over 3,000 dogs annually to Pet Stores acrss the nation. Is it any wonder shelter are at capacity with crazed dogs? Wow, there sure needs to be some kind of legislation...

Commercial Breeder Closes Doors, Gives Key to Shelter

Commercial breeder Wallace Havens, who owns Puppy Haven Kennel, one of the nation's largest dog-breeding kennels, and the Wisconsin Humane Society have agreed to, surprisingly ... agree. Now retired, Havens has closed his breeding business and allowed the WHS to assume his business assets. Most dog lovers wouldn't consider dogs to be "business assets," but the deal includes his handing over more than 1,100 dogs to the WHS for spay/neuter and adoption.

That's right, more than 1,100 dogs. All of them have lived at the kennel their entire lives and have never been socialized or lived with people. The WHS has an extraordinary task before them. More importantly, this single-handedly is an impressive feat in the fight against puppy mills. Havens said he sold about 3,000 dogs a year. He was in business for 40 years. Do the math and the number of dogs he created (don't forget the intact dogs he sold that were purposely or accidentally bred) is astronomical.

According to the WHS press release, Margaret Stratton, president of the board of the Wisconsin Humane Society said, “Assuming the assets of this facility will allow us to provide wonderful homes for more than a thousand dogs. These dogs will soon enjoy the love and companionship of people who will treat them as members of their families. To our knowledge, this groundbreaking action is unique in the humane movement. This is consistent with the Wisconsin Humane Society’s mission to build a community where people value animals and treat them with respect and kindness. We are always working to educate people interested in obtaining a dog that they must consider the physical, social and emotional needs of the dog and find out as much as they can about the dog’s background.”