Drawing expressions, I start making the faces my characters need. I’m in a happy place with Poppita – she’s smiling – I’m smiling. Of course, it goes the other way, but right now, she and I are playing games with the puppies.
It doesn’t get better than this: dogs and art, and my own dogs lying in the sun patch next to me. This is my bliss.
Been walking the neighborhood lately, the only exercise I can do after surgery a month ago. Since it might tear stitches if I’m yanked or pulled, I’m taking one poodle at a time on my walks. None of us are crazy in love with walking on a leash… two more weeks and I can go back to the gym.
I live in a safe place. Safe is boring so I look at my poodles a lot.
This time from a lovely canine counselor who teaches with her human, Roxanne, at an elementary school in Portland, Oregon.
Maggie, the blonde on the right, and one of her wonderful students
That’s who we figured out our poodles would be in real life. LaRoo would be our wild child. Was she really raised by wolves or is that just pretend? She snuggles in close to her pack, then lets loose with wild abandon. She might be small and white and look like a petite Cirque de Caniche, but to know her is to know… a Wild Thing.
GoGo Fonteyn
Wild Child LaRoo. Aka, Smidge, Minky, Shortstack
Goody four paws, Andy, Graphic Androcles
Andy is like Billy Budd, scout’s honor, he is. Nicknamed Saint Andy, he is all good. Except when he’s jumping on his favorite aunties to lick their faces, or warning over eager adolescent dogs not to come any closer. He is not a puppy lover. But hey, even saints have their achilles heels.
GoGo our GoGo, La Conchita. Determined. Divine. At 14, her voice quavers, her eyes are clouded and her hearing dim, she still retains her indomitable spirit. Once soaring through the air for frisbees like the Michael Jordan of dogs, she now prefers quieter games, like burying her tiny stuffed toys in blankets, rugs, shoes & clothes on the floor – or your purse – then digging like crazy to find then hide, then find again.
GoGo Flies
Posted with permission from my friend, Brent. We met when they had Toby (aka, The Frisbee King), who died from a brain tumor at six years old.
I am always struck by a dog’s life cut short. I believe older dogs, having had a full life, understand it is time to go – they have given their all to their pack, and it is time for the pack to move forward. But there is something tragic about a dog leaving in the prime of his life.
… Kipling: “…I bid you beware of giving your heart to a dog to tear.” This is something that has always been a mystery to me, even as is the difficulty I face trying to put into words the foreign emotions that take hold. I believe dogs add another dimension to the human experience; that dimension would not exist were there not dogs. We love our parents, we love our siblings, we love our life partner – but why does the love of our dog stand out?
I had always enjoyed dogs growing up, but never actually ‘got’ them. They just sort of followed us around, chased sticks and barked a lot. However, things changed one day long ago when, while hiking, I ran across a woman with 2 Standards. We talked about her dogs for a bit, then I knelt down to greet one of them, and for the first time the ‘connection’ occurred. This lanky Standard Poodle took time out from playing to come quickly and deliberately in front me, stared for the longest moment into my eyes, through my eyes, into my soul, and with a lick of my chin was off and running again. I was awe struck at what just happened to me. It was a life changing event to experience such a connection.
Daily, I take the time to talk to our Rusty in a soft voice, assuring him of his place in the pack, and bidding him to seize to the day, because he doesn’t know how short his days might be. Sometimes he will look off to the side, listening intently, then he’ll return his gaze into my eyes, through my eyes, into my soul, and with a lick of my chin, he’ll settle back into his nap with a deep sigh. We never know how much our dog understands of our love, but I believe he understands enough to know how much we value him. What does he give back? It’s still a mystery to me, but I think he provides an insight into an innocence and trust that humans no longer possess. I believe our dogs help us find it once again within the core of ourselves. And losing a dog tears us to that core.
A quote I remember from when our Toby passed away: “If dogs don’t go to heaven, then I want to go where dogs go.” I still want that more than ever.
– Brent
I’m in a doggy raw food co-op. The woman who runs this volunteer group is Debbie Mason, a big hearted, patient level-headed dog worshipper who has become a friend. We’ve only met once or twice but we email, mostly about dogs and meat but often just to say what’s up.
I rarely read people’s email signatures unless I need to. “Skinny dog in training” caught my eye. Then, “Flapdoodle” and on it went til I read them all. I asked Debbie if I could post her wonderful alphabet soup signature:
Debbie
Saving the World, One Dog At A Time. Please Adopt a Rescued Dog!
Wazzu, NATCH-14, Versatility NATCH-2, Triple Triple Superior Versatility, 12,500 lifetime point award, NADAC #2 ranked mixed breed in North America – 2006, S-HP-O, AD, RN, HIC, CGC, DPP, 3rd place Double Digit 2008 NADAC Championships, Service Dog, Rescue Dog
Sparkie (Huckleberry Flying Flapdoodle), NATCH-18, Versatility NATCH-15,Platinum Speed Star-3, Platinum Versatility Speed Star-2, Elite All Around, Triple Triple Superior Versatility, 15,000 NADAC lifetime point award, three time NADAC Championship Finalist, #1 Mixed Breed in North America 2005-2009, NADAC Top Ten 2005-2009, Rescue Dog
Slugger, TG-E, O-TN-E, HP-N, Novice Superior Versatility, 1,500 NADAC points, CGC, #1 Pit in NADAC Tunnelers 2007, Rescue Dog
Boogie (CH Sunkist Shake Rattle And Roll), OA, OAJ, OAF, S-EAC, S-EJC, S-TN-E, S-HP-E, O-TG-E, O-WV-E, Elite Versatility, ME, RA, CGC, TDI, VX, CHIC, Stud Dog
2iggie (Huckleberry Flapdoodle 2), Skinny dog in training, WV-N, Rescue Dog
I’ve recently started LaRoo in Agility, so this all means a bit more to me.
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