More photogenic whippets and their furry friends

I was going to call this post "Not My Dogs" because, when I sorted through the rest of the photos I took this weekend, I realized they were nearly all of my guests - Kinley, Logan, and Sam. There is only one of Sadie and none of Charley. Oops. Have I mentioned how hard it is to get a good photograph of long-nosed dogs with mostly black faces?

As promised, here are my second string photos of the photogenic whippets, with a handful of others thrown in:

Logan

Kinley under Logan

Logan (2)

Logan (3)

The staredown

Upside down Logan

Sam and Logan at play

Happy Sam

Shy Sam

Silly Sam

Sadie kisses Ellen

Kinley with flying squirrel

After sleeping for about 24 hours straight, my two and Sam have recovered from their much younger guests, and today were ready to resume our twice-daily walks. It was a beautiful evening on the beach - we watched the river otter at play, saw the sunset turn the fishing boats to silver and gold, and listened to the soft splash of the waves on the shore. A beautiful evening, a beautiful town.

The Photogenic Whippet (and his brother)

Logan

Having my friend Ellen visit this weekend with her two whippets, Kinley and Logan, was a treat. Both are lovely dogs, but Logan is particularly expressive and photogenic - a far cry from trying to photograph the fuzzy, furry, mostly-black faces of my crew!

Here are my very favourite shots of Logan (and sometimes his brother Kinley) from this weekend; tomorrow I'll post some of my 'second string' choices of the whippets and my crew.

Logan (2)

Logan (3)

Logan (4)

Logan (5)

Kinley

Kinley (2)

Kinley and Logan

Kinley and Logan (2)

Click to enlarge any photo - I haven't figured out how to make them larger on the blog - and they look so much more impressive at full size!

All photos are copyright and may not be used without permission.

(c) JFB 2011

Hey, Georgia Little Pea!!!!

Remember those sunny spots you lost? The ones you asked us to help you find? In this blog of yours?

Well, guess what? Our visitor, Kinley, found them!!!



He would like to know if he has to return them to you right away. We think they have grown weak after travelling all the way from Down Under. Perhaps they could stay here for a while to regain their strength, and we could send them back to you in a few months.

Please, pretty please with sunbeams on top, can we keep them for a while?

Dogs with Santa

The other day, my friend Ellen sent me an email greeting featuring her two whippets, Kinley and Logan, with Santa. I asked her permission to post it here, because - well, isn't this THE BEST 'dogs and santa' photo ever?

Logan and Kinley with Santa

The photo was taken at a recent rescue fundraiser in Maple Ridge, by a team of two wonderful, dog-rescuing photographers. One was Sheena, AKA Food Lady, AKA Three Woofs and a Woo, professionally known as Big Air Photography . Big Air Photograhy was formerly known as Red Dog Photography, who once did a photo shoot for me of Sadie, Charley, Belle, and the piggies).

The other photographer's name I cannot remember and unfortunately cannot locate the original posting about this fundraiser. (If someone can recall the name, please post it in the comments or email me so I can give credit where credit is due).

I've never taken my dogs to a photoshoot with Santa. I can't imagine that they would cooperate so well. They would all be looking in different directions, singing "lalalalalala canwegonow". In fact, I've been trying to get a Christmassy photo of Lucy with a stuffed Santa the past few days. Here's the best (ha ha ha) of the dozen or more I have taken so far:






Merry Christmas, Logan and Kinley.....I hope you got extra treats for posing so nicely!

Catching up and letting go - Part 2

First, an update on Belle. I just talked to the vet and she is holding her own. She had company throughout the night as he had several sick animals to look after. This morning she is a bit more alert, but has diarrhea and is still refusing food. He has agreed that I can likely bring her home tomorrow, either with an IV or with injectible antibiotics and SubQ fluids if necessary. I want her here at home regardless of the prognosis. If it will not endanger her life to be home, then this is where she belongs.

Ellen and the whippets left this morning, but not before giving me plenty of opportunity for a photoshoot. This was the first time I had met Logan, who was adopted in April, and what a sweetie he is. He and Kinley decided they really liked Charley's petmate bed, and snuggled up together in it on more than one occasion. I have dozens of photos to go through, but here are some of my favourites:

Hi! I'm Logan!

I like Auntie Jean's couch!

I love my brother Kinley - he makes a comfy pillow!

I'm watching you!

Ah! Nap time!

Paws, legs and tails entwined

The baby birds in the birdhouse on my shed are feeding ravenously, and yesterday I sat under my apple tree for a couple of hours photographing them. It was very therapeutic - watching baby birds begin their life's adventure as my Oliver, and possibly Belle, end theirs. Here's a few of my favourite photos of them:

Any sign of supper?

Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!

Me first!

More, please!

Yum! Regurgitated Grubs!

The cooler May weather has enabled the spring flowers to last longer, and I must share this beautiful, beautiful deep pink dogwood that Charley, Sadie and I passed by on our morning walk:

And this clematis has flowers the size of dinner plates - the photo does not do it justice:

In my own garden, these perennial beauties have appeared:











It is so quiet around here with only two dogs right now. Charley seems baffled - last night she kept wandering around looking for Belle, it seems, and turning her puzzled eyes to me. Charley knew Oliver had passed away - in fact, it was she who awoke me that awful night, when Oliver's body was still warm but the heart had stopped - but with Belle she only knows that I carried her out of the house and did not bring her back. It is another reason to take care of Belle at home.

And I know the dogs pick up on my emotions too, and so I am working hard at managing them and bringing the laughter back into my life. But the anger I feel at the person who was hired specifically to keep my little orange boy safe is hard to dispel.

My heart cannot heal, I need some revenge!
I need her to hurt as I do.
I need her to feel what Oliver felt as he
Struggled in water so blue.
I want to cause pain though I know it is wrong,
I want her to wail and keen,
I want to just take her and hold her head under
The water , although that is mean.
To dissolve my anger is my only intent,
Not really “a limb for a limb”.
The dog whom I loved would never have hurt
A soul, even those who hurt him.

And so last night, Ellen and I made a gingerbread woman, wrote the petsitter’s name on it, and then DROWNED HER IN A BOWL OF SALTY WATER! <<<<<< insert evil grin and manic laughter here >>>>>>>. The waves splashed, hands grabbed, and gingerbread woman thrashed and fell apart. Of course, we ended up laughing ourselves silly until the dogs were ready to phone the men with the little white jackets. Sometimes a warped sense of humour and a symbolic ritual is the only way to handle the events which cause us pain but which we cannot change. Thank goodness for a good friend who understood my need for this.

Well, that's the end of HER!

And so we move on, still grieving my Oliver, awaiting his ashes for the final step of returning his earthly body to the ground, but knowing that life must continue and only time will help to heal this broken heart.

We are born, we live, we die. From baby birds and springtime blooms, to aging dogs and ashes, the cycle of life reveals itself over and over again. Despite the grief and hurt and harm, it is still a beautiful world.

Kinley has a brother!!!

Logan

Logan (front), with Kinley (in back)

Regular readers will be familiar with stories of my friend Ellen's whippets, Kinley and Cisco, and may recall that Cisco sadly passed away from cancer about four months ago.

Today, Ellen and Kinley welcome Logan to their home. Logan is 16 months old and flew in from the prairies this morning. Then he and Kinley (oh, and Ellen too) went to a Racing for Fun day, after which Logan decided to hop into Kinley's crate with him.

Logan's grandmother is a famous whippet, famous in a sad sort of way - she escaped at JFK airport and was never found. You can read her story here.

Ellen and I had a good laugh when she was trying to choose his new name for his new life (he was formerly another Charlie). She liked the name Logan, and looking up the meaning certainly sealed the deal: Logan means "Finnian's servant". Take off the final "N", because Ellen's cat's name is Finnia, and we all know which species has the upper paw in most dog and cat homes!

Welcome, Logan. You have landed in a great home and may you have a long and happy life. Kinley and Finnia, you be nice to your new brother/servant!

Dogs, Cats, Pigs and Boats

It was a pleasant enough day - sunny with cloudy patches, mild temperature, and easy travelling. I had made ferry reservations as I had an appointment in Duncan in the morning and an appointment to see Emma in Abbotsford in the afternoon. I needn't have bothered - with the reservation, that is. There were approximately fifty cars on the whole ship. In fact, I had the very front position, on the main deck centre prow.



I arrived in good time and spent my half hour with Emma, my yellow lab that lives with my ex.



I spent the time refreshing her training, rewarding her with bits of her dinner kibble and a new squeeky toy. She's a happy girl, though I think a very lonely one in her big back yard all by herself. From the large boards nailed to the top of the fence and gates, I'm guessing she has been escaping, looking for company or adventure. Her boredom has also led her to dig many holes in the yard - a new behaviour since my last visit. She was always a social butterfly and I so wish she had a canine companion. At five, she still has the energy of a puppy. But then, that's a lab for you - they outgrow puppyhood somewhere around eight or nine!

I spent the next day thrift-store-crawling with my friend Ann, and the following day checking out more thrift stores with Janice from Hearts on Noses. I finally found the stereo cabinet I have been looking for, and a few other treasures, and still have lots of time to visit with the piggies.

I think they were happy to see me:










I spent some time taking photos of the pigs while Janice was busy feeding:















And of Janice's dog Buddy, too:




We sat in the Great Room where we were entertained by a very vocal Mouse, who is now a House Pig after receiving post-surgical nursing care indoors and being smart enough to realize when she was onto a good thing! But she is very well behaved, housebroken, and asks only for a pile of blankets for her "nest" and as many treats as she can manipulate from soft-hearted guests.



On Friday, I visited my friend Ellen, where Kinley and Finnia kept us entertained:





I like these two shots in black and white:






Most entertaining of all was watching Finnia use Kinley's tail as a toy - Kinley didn't seem to mind in the least, even when Finnia taste-tested it:




The weather turned drizzly on Saturday, when I took mom for lunch and then for a drive around White Rock and Crescent Beach. We stopped at Blackie's Spit for a while, where the gulls joined us watching a barge pull its load of machinary across the bay.








The ferry home was as light as the one there - I counted 47 cars and 5 big trucks. Once again, I was front and centre at the prow. I can't help but wonder how much longer the Duke Point-Nanaimo run will be continued, with routes operating at such a loss.

Home to my dogs and cat, who greeted me with great enthusiasm as usual. And another month has flown by.

It's good to be home. It's always good to be home.