Happy New Year!!

May the New Year bring you much happiness and peace!
As you can see - "Rocky" has started early to celebrate.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

To all those far far away, a Very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year to you from Happy, Oz, Betsy and the TomCat (who didn't go to the dog event this was taken at)!.

12/8/10 - 12/9/10

Wednesday again back to work, "Rocky" getting bigger and "Chloe" still not really wanting to eat. Her temp is fine and after hot packing and milking her the first part of the week her teats are no longer engorged. I actually hand fed her kibble by kibble. Will I have to do this until he is weaned?? Barley and Livvi arrived for a weeks stay.
Thursday morning - another hand feeding. Karen came to clean - YEA and THANK YOU! I had forgotten that "Widget" was coming to get groomed. The dogs were all out back and going totally crazy looking to the front of the house. I ran to the front of the house thinking I had left Chloe out - no didn't do that. Looked outside and there was someone lying on the parking strip. OMG it was Janet and "Widget." Long story short. Off to the hospital in an ambulance, "Widget" groomed, Karen followed me to the house to take Janet's car back home. Janet is in a sling with a fractured humerous.

Things are looking up!! My house is clean - found out that I can spoon feed "Chloe" instead of 'hand' feeding - and "Rocky" has a new 'littermate'
Keep healing thoughts out to Jan and her shoulder.

Tribute to Awbs aka Ch KinLoch's Awbrey Glen of Joywood ROM 7/11/94 - 12/7/10

The last couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot of Awbs. It has been 5 years since I have been up to visit with her and Anne and Gordon Stiff. I so love it up there. Awbrey was placed when she was around 6 years old and went to live with Anne and Gordon who overlook a golf course. How perfect could that be. Awbrey became the unofficial goose chaser on the course as the hired hand (Border Collie) was fired as some thought it was cruel to the geese. She would also run up and down the cairn cliffs chasing birds as Anne would swim in the sea. She got Gordon to start walking again as prescribed by the doctor. She had the most best life a little wee dog could have and so very loved by all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I made it through a day of work with very little sleep. I came home to a phone message with Gordon asking me to call. I knew the time had come. She had gone peacefully in Anne's arms. My heart hurts so much for them. I'm sure she is taking care of the two little girls that passed just before her.

A little about Awbrey for those of you that didn't know her. She was from my very first litter. She was named after a golf course - Awbrey Glen-http://www.awbreyglen.com
which started the golf course theme for my kennel. She didn't like to show so I had Dee Hanna finish her as Awbrey so loved her!! She produced three Champions - Ch KinLoch's Augusta ROM and her brother BIS MBISS AmCan Ch KinLoch's Royal Troon RN ME CGC ROME and Ch KinLoch's Laurel Hill ROM. She had numerous grand and great grandchildren including newborn "Rocky."
She will always be in my heart and a little of her in all the dogs at KinLoch. You will be so missed by all of the lives you have touched.

12/2/10 to 12/6/10 Chloe and babies

It's been a very long week. "Chloe" gave birth to two puppies last Thursday and settled in by eating, going potty and then cuddling her new charges - 1 boy and 1 girl.
I had Jill over to help with the whelping and she took off for coffee and breakfast. She got back and we were talking about the last 12 hours and "Chloe" screams. We had heard that noise before and low and behold another baby girl. Things were going well and all nursing.
"Chloe's" mom came over and while she was watching over everyone I groomed for 7 hours. Yes, blisters did arise. But still had more to do the next day - another 5 hours.
Babies seemed to do well but the girls were small so I started supplementing them on day 2. Cindi was over so I could get the next group of dogs groomed. The girls started to decline and every two hour feedings started. Big boy "Rocky" would nurse and then do a couple of laps in the whelping box checking on his sisters. Sounds weird I know but he no longer does it. Puppy Pilates will commence next week.
Sunday the second born little girl passed away and the first girl seemed to be do good and then not. Necropsy showed no abnormal findings. I guess good news and bad news.
Monday seemed to go better for the little girl and I thought she was going to make it until 1630 when she started seizing. She was rushed to the vet where she died. More tests to be done as nothing showed on the preliminary report.
Good news - "Rocky" is thriving and I went back to work.
See the next posts for the rest of the week.

CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my friends and family!

Candlelighters Candy Cane Lane 2010

Here's the shopping area. Most of it is complete, just need a few signs and we're ready for tomorrow!

Therapy Dogs International - WE DID IT!!

When Happy was so terribly ill last April/May I wrote a post "You can't leave me yet buddy, we're not done". Thank the good Lord and many wonderful people he survived and is now back to the "little Black Booger" we all know and love.


One of my goals, if he survived the mystery malady, was to share him with people struggling with health/age related issues as a therapy dog. Yesterday, in Vancouver, WA at a great little dog training/day care business Happy passed the Therapy Dog International (TDI) evaluation with flying colors, he even got some points for cute. Something he's tried for a long time to get in the Obedience and Rally rings. The business is very new and in a very small section of a strip mall. Perfect location and size to build a business the right way. We were in the main room (pretty much the only room) which was very small. there were 14 dogs of all sizes, shapes, ages and temperaments and their handlers. The first hour was quite chaotic as we were pretty much packed together. The dogs that were able to tolerate the closeness, stood next to one another at close range. Proudly I say Hap was one of those. Others that were too nervous or active were separated slightly from the crowd by a few extra feet and a desk. At first I thought it was a horrible place to do the evaluation but after a bit I saw it was perfect to see reactions of both dogs and handlers in a very stressful and close environment.


The evaluator did the CGC test first. A volunteer would hold a dog while the handler walked around a wall for the 3 minute test. While that was going on the evaluator would do the walking on loose lead, sit, down brush, etc. During our wait I put Happy through his tricks to keep him occupied. I had taken some string cheese and would discretely slip him one every once in a while just to keep his attention. By the time it was his turn to do the walk, down, sit etc he was pretty ramped up on getting fed so it was easy. First task "sit", no problem,.. now "down" :



Betsy: "happy, Down"

Happy: "oh, did you say DEAD dog?" (flop on side as if dead)

Crowd: hahahaha

Betsy: "Happy, down"

Happy: "oh, did you say Bang?" (flop as if being shot again, remain on side)

Crowd: HAHAHAHA

Betsy: "Hap, stand. Good dog, SPLAT!! "

Crowd: ROFLMAO HAHAHA, SPLAT!! HAHAHA

Happy: "OMG, they LOVE ME!!" (drop into a down as fast as possible, glance at Mom long enough to know she sees the splat then do a "flip-roll-over)

Crowd: Applause

Betsy thinking (oh well, at least we'll pass now)

Evaluator: (laughing out loud) "he's got a great personality for a Therapy dog" Sit your dog for petting"

Betsy: "Happy,sit, pet pet " (pet pet is a command so he's prepared to be approached)

Happy: "Oh, he loves me" (sit pretty while wiggling every inch of body, lift paw to say "hi" when evaluator raises his hand to pet me)


You get the picture. He performed the rest of the night regardless whether he was "on stage" or not. He passed with flying colors, along with everyone else. But no one else did it with such "Booger Flair" :).


Once more I am humbled by His grace in allowing me to keep such a wonderful animal.

Always I thank Him for bringing friends like you into my life. Those that urge me onto success, have my back and Kick my ass when needed.


I love you all.

Candlelighters Candy Cane Lane 2010

Last year our company hosted a wonderful event just before Christmas. Dedicated to helping children fighting cancer and their families with their battle, the Candlelighters hold a "shopping" event for the parents while their children are kept busy by volunteers. Gifts of all kinds are donated and brought to our warehouse where they are "priced" and displayed. The parents, with the assistance of volunteers, pick out what they need and volunteers wrap them while they go back to the kids to enjoy the festivities.

It's a wonderful event and well worth the time and effort. I've put a link to my story from last year, I hope it worked.

Happy, Santa (aka brother Bob), Santa's hand maiden (aka sister in law Gretchen) and I will play again this year. We are looking forward to this uplifting holiday event. If you are down and out this season, find something like this to volunteer for, it will do so much for your attitude, it helped me last year so much.

Agility pictures

Here is the link for Montgomery agility pictures.
Kona and Mary are on Tuesday and Wednesday Novice.
http://www.pbase.com/barryrosen/ter

Kimberton Day 2

Day two dawned with clear skies! Yipeeeeeeeee!!
Our site was still quite muddy, but we put down plastic bags covered with mats from the dollar store and it made the getting out of the space much easier. Good idea by Vicki, I must say!
The really wonderful part of the day was that we only had 6 dogs to take care of since Barb McNamee had arrived on Tuesday night. We made the very long trip from Kimberton to Bensalem to drop them off to her.
Kona qualified for JWW in the morning. Mary didn't qualify :-(
Kona qualified in Standard in the afternoon and placed first with a PERFECT run!!! Mary had a great time but didn't qualify again (another sad face).
We had to break down our little agility camp, much sadness....wishing we were doing it the full four days. We moved into the hotel where we will be spending the remainder or our time here. Happy face here! Got all organized and ready to show in conformation at Morris and Essex a show held every five years.
Check back for the next installment.

Kimberton! October 5

First of all, Happy Birthday Dena!!!

Very wet, VERY MUDDY, very FUN inspite of it all (miss you Betsy, Ryan and Heidi)
Entries: $?
Getting here: $ who knows
New rain gear: $ won't say
Experience so far: $$$$ PRICELESS

Kona Q'd and placed 2nd in Nov Jumpers with weaves in spite of the rain and mud.
Mary Q'd and placed 1st in Nov Standard with similar conditions.

Vicki groomed 5 dogs while Val worked ring crew most of the day between runs.

Dropped off three dogs to Barb tonight...tomorrow will be much easier.

Wishing we had more days to do agility!

Day 2

I have been writing tHese on my iPad as we travel down the highway. Then, I email them to myself when we get to our days end.
Here is day 2:
Day 2 Brigham City to Cheyenne, Wyoming

The WIND was REALLY blowing all morning!!! It was to be a short day and we were both pretty excited about that.

We named the GPS. On a previous trip we had borrowed one and she ended up being called "Sybil" because it was totally unpredictable. That is not the name it started with, or the only name on the progression to the final moniker, it is however the only one I remember that is fit to print. This one is "Brenda" and so far has totally lived up to her name. A really stedfast hardworking little machine. A few quirks...she pops off the dashboard when she gets tired...or mad because we turn her off when we get off the freeway, but so far no crazy routes to odd places or evil voices yelling at us the she is "recalculating" our route.

As we drove up to the KOA, we passed an awesome looking feed and tack store...maybe we could do some shopping? It is Wyoming, maybe Vicki could find a Cairn Loving Cowboy! Of course that would mean she would move to Wyoming and that would be kind of sad for those of us left in the Northwest. No worries, once we had the dogs out, we didn't budge..we even ate the second half of our Subway flatbread sandwich rather than going to find dinner someplace. We spiced it up with some of the food left from the agility trial in Ridgefield....scary!

We arrived at the Cheyenne KOA and rented a Kabin (with a K) put up the xpens and settled in for a nice afternoon. All the dogs got nice long walks. The puppies all played like crazy in the pens. We set up the weave poles, Mary and Kona got to practice those a bit. There were bunnies there, so they got to practice NOT hunting while we were doing agility also. Sully kept trying to dive into the tall grass after them (the bunnies). He could do that though cuz he isn't doing agility yet!

Pennsylvania 2010

I was going to surprise everyone with blog updates and Betsy had to go and ruin it by nagging! Well, here is the first installment...Day 1 Portland to Brigham City, Utah

We go off at the time we wanted. Vicki, Val and nine dogs. Mary, Kona, Sully, Willow, Kit, Dotty, Tera, Bree and ZeZe (the last three belonging to Brab McNamee). The goal is five nights on the road this time, since there are only two drivers. KOA Kampgrounds...that is camping with a K!

We plan to do two days of agility with Mary and Kona then four days of conformation with various combinations of our other four. Barb will be taking her three when she flies in on Tuesday night. Nine is a lot of dogs! Once upon a time I thought I would enjoy being a professional handler....NOT! The culmination will be earth dog with Kona ( now an EE2) and Mary (hoping to double Q for her EE2) As well as Willow hoping to snag her Junior title.

Love, love, love the wonderful care package of muffins, sweet bread and candy Dena brought for our trip.

Loving Subway flatbread sandwiches which we cut with scissors thrown in at the last minute. Vicki and i are committed to more healthy eating this trip.

Loving and missing our travel buds Betsy and Dena.

Loving the van Barb and Larry allowed us to drive back. We both needed to get used to the handling. It has some play in the steering AND the wind was really blowing in The Gorge!

Missing the CD's we thought were in the van. Country music is the music of choice, but constant "seeking" as we travel through coverage areas gets old fast.

Brigham City Utah on Thursday night. We slept in the car. Not a plan we want to repeat if we have an option. Vicki is too long for the seat!

Watch this blog for more fun updates!

Paws Gone Missing!!

It's been 4 days and not a blog one! Where are Val and Vicki? They left Thursday for Pennsylvania, big time dog events being held there; Agility (Mary and Kona will kick butt), rally, obedience, conformation, and Earthdog... wow, what a time the will have. Instead I think we have a "Where's Waldo" scenario. Alas, they do not have their blogger with them (me), I suppose we'll have to guess what kind of antics they are up to. I did talk to them yesterday, ever so briefly, when I found a squirrel dog costume I thought would be perfect for JimJim.

Are they in Missouri, did they poison each other with Vapor bath? Have they stopped at Cabellas and are lost on the second floor in the camo gear? Did they finally let Jaz drive? Stay tuned, I'm sure we'll hear from them soon!

Val, Vicki? Where aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee yyyyyyyyyoooooooooooou?

Lopez and his family

On Friday, Donna came and picked up the third puppy to leave. Lopez has his forever home in the Olympia area on a mini farm with a house cat, chickens, Michael and Sarah (oh don't forget mom and dad, Donna and Joe).
Dad and the kids were out of town, arriving back home late last night.

You can only imagine the excitement on the flight home! Here is Michael, with his greeting from Lopez!

First of the Boyz of The San Juans goes home

Tico went home with his new family on Sunday.
He is now 12 weeks old, living with Hannah, Chris and Ron and their two cats. He has made himself right at home and doesn't seem to miss his brothers at all.

oops, link to pictures

http://casualpetimages.com/Domain/Event_Photos/Event_Photos.html

Hazeldale Off leash dog park fundraiser 2010

For seven years (although the first I wasn't much help) I've been working with a friend of mine, Lauree) on an fund raising event for our dog park in Aloha, Oregon. This year, being the 8th year of the event, was breathtaking. We had Disc Dogs, Fly ball, Agility, CGC testing, Canine Freestyle dancing, more vendors than we ever dreamed of and about 250 - 300 visitors.

It started off a bit rocky, DJ didn't show, food vendor didn't show, some set ups were too close together ... etc etc. but.. by the end of the day we had a PA system (thanks to Harvey Thomas) and a Food truck (thanks to volunteer Cathie Scott who went down the road and tracked one down :)) The weather was perfectly overcast all day and it didn't get over about 83ish degrees when the sun did peek out.

We didn't make our $2,400 goal to pay our lease but we had a BLAST!!! The link is to Casual Pet Images. There are 3 albums: Skyhoundz, Hazeldale 1 and Hazeldale 2. Fun pictures. I've always said that if we can get a vendor to come to our event they will be hooked and when the Photographer, Steve, and his wife left they were sold and want to come again next year.

Thank you for the Paws help: Vicki and Cindi, Jaz, and Dottie (I think it was Dottie) for coming. Thank you Val (and Vicki) for transporting the generator from Kirkland.

It's such a very small world

I just got a call from the "Chloe's" - Ch KinLoch's Homer in the Gloamin' JE - mom Linda. She was setting up a time to bring her by on Wednesday to groom for the Specialty.
She told me the craziest story - she just met the owner's of "Ginny," an "Oliver" daughter that lives two blocks from where "Chloe's" dad works, Providence Hospital. Linda had left her wallet, keys and phone on the back of her vehicle at home - in SW Portland up on Council Crest. Chuck took her car to work and she got a call from Becky and her daughter Maddie who had found Linda's wallet on the street. As they were looking to see who it belonged to they noticed that her last name was Cairns. So when they called they made mention that they had a Cairn. Linda said that she did too. They asked where Linda got their Cairn and Linda said Vicki. Becky said that they had an "Oliver" daughter. Linda met with Maddie and Becky and brought "Chloe" to meet them.
Linda eventually found her cell phone and keys still on the bumper of the car in the parking lot!!

MAY PING!

aka Kinlochs Crofters Dream at Daybreak, aka Padme'

THIS MORNING SHE IS MAY PING!

Hattie's 2010 litter. The boyz of Lopez...

Born on May 15. I can't believe I haven't posted any pictures! We bred Hattie to Goren (Sully's dad). It is all boys and full of energy!

Single Double Stack

Oh my gosh. Check this out. Bill Wolfe built a crate dolly for a single crate or stacked double crates. Put a table and arm on top and you are set!



Thanks Bill! It is so cool. I am excited to use it in California.

Mae goes Home

Kinloch's A League of Their Own All The Way Mae went home today!

National Weather Svc issues flood warning for Coeur d'Alene

Vicki and I arrived yesterday afternoon. We had a nice trip, stopped a few times for us to potty, once for the dogs to potty. We stopped at a Chocolate factory outside Tri-Cities... what an evil, evil place. Delicious but evil. When we arrived it was nice. We got our ex pens set up by Val, Dena and Casey's set up. Got the shared grooming (outside) set up and had dinner with Val and Dena. Then over to Dawn's motorhome, our overnight accommodations. Dawn is a wonderful hostess and has a great motorhome. We slept well, had a nice breakfast and espresso then off to the grooming area and ring.

Up this morning to rain... big time rain. It actually started about 3am. Ring time was 11:05 after 10 Norwich Terriers, oh, wait... was there 11? After all was said in done, I l got dumped but... ya win some, you loose some. More rain, and more rain... it has seldom let up all day and when it did we would grab dogs and try to get them to potty. Life at a dog show... in the rain.

Here we sit, 8:15pm at the fairgrounds, in the pouring rain. We've had a wonderful dinner, thanks to Val, and walked dogs in between downpours... And we mean downpours!! Puddles have formed in the grass, short legged dogs beware! Do you know what 6 women stuck in motorhomes do when it's raining out, do ya?

Nolan Ryan goes Home

The first of Sammy's March 2 puppies went to his Forever Home today.
We will let you know his Forever Name when we do!

CRCTC 2010 Raffle items by Heidi J

Heidi is so creative, we are blessed to have her as our friend! Attached are pictures of some of the special items she made & donated to our 2010 raffle in July. They are;CRCTC hat, crate pad and Terrier tugs. I'm tellin' ya, they are all wonderful and the dogs love the Tugs!!

The San Juan Boys...

Welcoming the boys of the San Juan Litter!
First picture is Shaw, then Lopez, Haro, Cisco, Blakely these are at 5 days.
Hattie did a great job and is taking excellent care of them all.

CORRECTION...

CH. Kinloch’s Capscot Isobel JE.
Bella asked that I make this minor correction.

Starting 2010 with a bang!

New JE for Bella and Otis in Woodland,California today!!!

CH.KINLOCH CAPSCOT ISABELLA JE
Congratulations to "one of the family"!

Needin' an earth dog fix...

...so I am stealing one from California. Here is a post from our dear friend, Lorin about earth dog today at Woodland. Lorin and the girls look blissfully happy...wish I could pull up a chair!

HAPPY'S ANGELS

I am amazed at the outpouring of support for Betsy and Happy. I know the dog community is extra caring. I know that our small group of friends are there for each other, we email and talk on the phone and stay up too late when we travel and work too hard setting up and tearing down and all of the other crazy things that are under the umbrella of "dog shows and performance events". I am simply astounded at how huge that circle of friends truly is.

I will never be able to show enough gratitude for all of the people who stepped up, donating to help with Happy's vet bills. I know that Betsy is over whelmed with the out pouring as well.

Today, as Betsy and I were discussing Happy's status and as it appears that he is on his way back, she said: "Now I can write all the thank you notes to everyone, I just couldn't do it when I didn't think he was going to make it."

God bless all of Happy's Angels! Thank you, thank you. You have lightened the load Betsy has to carry.

Decisions

Many times in our lives we find that we must make decisions that will rip our heart from our chest and smash it on the freeway blacktop only to have it run over time and time again by others not aware of the pain it is causing. The process that we go through to make any emotionally charged decision, no matter how long we have to make it, is as gut wrenching as anything we have to endure in our lives. It is never easy, it never gets easier with each occurrence. As I get older I understand the kindness it represents. I have, in the past, assisted dear, beloved pets pass into the next world peacefully. The thoughts of those past decisions still bring tears to my eyes and forces my heart up into my throat. Still, I feel I made the correct decision. I would hope I would be allowed to pass peacefully and with dignity if I were in a condition that would render me totally and completely helpless. To face the remainder of my time on earth as a burden to those who love me is a horrible fear I have.

Pride of the patient comes into play. Most certainly a human trait and emotion but I see it in Happy when he tries to sit up to visit but is so weak he cannot hold his head up for longer than 60 seconds. That's pride. As I held him close while he shook uncontrollably from some unknown malady is heart wrenching. His eyes are sad and dull. I cannot ask him what to do nor can he tell me what is wrong. No one can tell me if he will survive, I have to trust God. I Pray, I ask others to pray for us. Asking, begging Him for mercy or peace, what ever is his plan, we pray. I know he will tell me when it is time, I fear the worst but hope for the best for Happy.

I love you Hap, if you need to go you can.. Oz and I will be fine. We will miss you horribly but we will be fine. Rest Buddy. I'll see you tomorrow no matter where you are.

Some of my Favorite things

Splashing with brother, Being a mean Earthdog,

My kitty, sleeping on my back, agility,

Happy and Betsy on the Lewiston trip

Just to tug on your heart strings...

Lewiston shows 2010

Here is the group, lovingly called "Casey's Tour". She worked hard to get us all rolling along and lined up wineries to stop at and a lunch stop as well. It was a wonderful trip with lots of dog showing, 3 breeds represented and several new champions, several majors and lots of new friends.

You can't leave me yet Buddy, we're not done!

This last Sunday Happy came down with something while we were in Lewiston. He was sluggish, vomiting, squirty poop and just not Happy. I felt it would pass but this morning it was very evident that he needed to go to the doctor.

Liz H. is a wonderful vet, Cairn owner and caring person. She looked over Hap and we agreed he needed to stay and get blood work and fluids. The fluids helped a bit but the blood work showed nothing except indications of dehydration so they took x-rays. The x-rays show some "free gas" which may be an indicator of an intestinal perforation. A very scary thing for such a tiny little guy. He's now in surgery, I'm a basket case and need to write.

Over his life Happy has so lived up to his name. I beg God not to take him from me yet, we have rats to hunt, jumps to take and Happy laps to run, Obedience judges to make giggle & Rally judges to piss off! How can one Little 15 pound dog have such and impact on someone? I'll tell you, it's trust, unconditional love, respect, independence and peace.

TRUST: I trust him to tell me when to feed him, let him out and tell me to settle down when we're competing. I trust him to be him, no one else, just himself... cute, fuzzy and funny. He trusts me enough to sleep on his back, fully exposed.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: No matter how mad I get at him for misbehaving, he loves me. No matter how loud I yell at him because he tripped me, he loves me. No matter how many times I let some little diva drag him on the stage, he loves me. Cute, fuzzy and funny.

RESPECT: We respect each others space. I sleep in the bed, he sleeps in the rocker. I sit on the couch, he is next to me. He respects my rules: no pooping or peeing in the house, no one upstairs unless it's bed time, no eating off the counters. I respect his rules; Walkies twice a day, treats when he does his jobs well, good food and clean water, play time on the bed, a romp on the grass when he feels the need, even in the rally ring.

INDEPENDENCE: He understands I have to go to work, I understand he needs to be alone in the front hall closet. I understand his need to walk at his own pace. He gives me space when I get home until he knows I'm ready for interaction.

PEACE: Quiet evenings at home on the couch. Walking in the new fallen snow on a cold, clear winter night. Sleeping on his back, jewels fully exposed, making me smile.

Oz is so sad and lonely, he's laying by my feet as I write and cry. He crawled into my lap and let me hug him, never trying to free himself. He misses his brother. We're waiting for a call, praying God will let me keep him here with me.

You've come a long way baby!

Crofters Dream Zinfandel O'Cairngorm:
a
Last weekend in Lewiston, Lou won two 4 point majors! Monday he also won Best Of Breed. We had gone in the hopes of getting one or two majors for Alex..she did get one of those, now just one to go before she is a champion. Lou is more that half way to being a champion as well...wow, what a weekend! To top it off, I got to spend it with my dear friends Dena and Betsy and 9 of my favorite Cairns!

Terrier in the Grass

Val, Dena, me, Happy, Oz, Alex, Lou, Merl, Sully, Tiger and Kula are in Lewiston Idaho at the Dog Show. Nice Fair grounds. We left The Dalles, Oregon Thursday morning with a few friends and caravanned here, taking it long and slow, stopping at a couple wineries for wine tasting and a cute little Brew Pub in Walla Walla. Good stuff.



Yesterday was fun, although tiring, We all got dumped for other Cairns in the conformation ring as the story goes sometimes. I've got some kind of cold so yesterday after all the festivities in the show ring I layed down and napped. See "Waiting to go to bed' for more thoughts on that activity. Last night we pooled our resources for dinner with our "caravan buddies (Border Terrier/Parson Russel Terrier folks). It was Casey and Paul's 22nd anniversary so the faire was golden. We donated hummus, crackers and our Creamed Tuna on Toast points with fresh Jalapeno slices for an extra kick, which was actually quite fabulous thanks to Val's brilliant cooking skills. Others offered more fancier stuff like pork loin, Cornish game hen, wonderful salsa, wonderful salad and I'm not sure what else but it was all very tasty. Our Border/Parson friends are: Paul/Casey, Steve/Carol, Wally/Carla, Gordon/Charlotte, what wonderful/fun people they are. Carol and Steve brought some Parsons pups for socialization, it was fun passing them around for loves, very cute little guys and very good for little ones. Wally and Carla broke out some Champagne they had stashed for a celebration. We were all tired so we called it an early evening and off to lala land we went.


9:00 ring time today, Saturday. We were up early getting dressed, Val did coffee and I am soo grateful to her for that! Happy had a 10:15 Rally Excellent ring time so I wasn't worried about any conflict, we'd have plenty of time. Oz took second in his Open class, not my wish but that's the gamble you take. THE GOOD NEWS IS... (drum roll please)..... Alex with Dena at the end of the lead took Best of Breed & Best of Winners!! Lou (Val's grand pup) took Best Opposite Sex. We were elated! Now Alex only needs one more major for her long deserved championship and we have 2 more days of shows.. ;)


When Oz and I were done with conformation I put Oz in his crate at ringside and went to get changed and set up at the rally ring. When I got there to set up a crate for Happy no judge but it was early. Walk through was 10:15 and it was only 9:45. I went back to get Happy from ringside, Val & Dena had stayed to help the Border people out a bit. I bid Oz and everyone bye, they bid us good luck and back to the Rally ring Hap and I went.


Past experience tells me that I need to put Hap in his crate until just before we go into the ring so that is what I did. He only snarked at a dog once while he waited in the corner so I was pleased. I let hm roll in the grass a few times in the hopes that would get it out of of his system, he so loves to do that.... I was first in but the only other Excellent A dog had a conflict so we traded with him and were second. I was pumped, he was listening and minding although he did remember there were treats in the crate he did respond to me well.


I entered the ring very confident in our pending success. Hap sat quietly while I removed his lead and the first few steps were very successful. Our first task was "down, walk around your dog", here's how it went:


ME: "Happy, Down." HAPPY "What?" ME: Happy... DOWn" HAPPY: "OH, you mean like this? DIVE into the grass, itch my face and roooooolllllllll around" Pop up long enough to catch a breath and do it again. JUDGE: "get him under control"... VOICE IN MY HEAD"yeah, right" ME: "Happy, here HERE !" HAPPY: "Oh, all right" JUDGE: "Try to start again" ME: "Happy, Heel, let's go buddy" HAPPY: "Oh YAY, we're doing again!" Repeat from the first 'ME' up to "Pop up long enough to catch a breath".


I looked up at the judge long enough to say "we should not do this on the grass, may we be excu...." Then it happened... The famous Happy Laps began. Up off the ground he leaped and headed for the jump, over the jump and around the first turn:

ME; Happy, Here!" JUDGE: "SIT" ME: 'HAPPY HERE!" JUDGE "SIT" ME:HAPPY HERE!! JUDGE; SIT, SIT MAKE HIM SIT" The judges last words were: "make him sit" really got to me.. I started to giggle as Happy cleared the jump for the second time and headed for the serpentine, he so fondly calls "weave poles" in agility. He completed the weaves and over the jump one more time for good measure and looked at me as he would in agility. He knows that if he looks at me he has to do what I say, he was done being a goon. I told him 'DOWN" and he downed looking squarely at me. I walked over to him, got his collar and left the ring.... giggling "MAKE HIM SIT" she said :) OMG, she doesn't have Terreirs, does she Hap...

That is the end of Happy's Rally on Grass career. We will only enter indoor events from now on.

We had a surprise visitor today. Becky Williams from Clearwater Lewiston (paper mill), her husband and grand daughter came to their first dog show and visited us in our camp.. Becky and I have worked over the phone together for years, she's one of my favorite customers. It was fun meeting her face to face for a change and getting to know her little family.

Alex and Dena's run in the Group ring was uneventful, didn't even make the first cut. I have thoughts on this one but... can't publish them. Alex looked FABULOUS and so did Dena, there wasn't any reason for them not to be BEST IN SHOW!! Anyway, they are BIS to me!

Best Buds or BFF

When I brought Oz home as a puppy almost two years ago I really had a small hesitation that Happy would truly welcome him graciously. Even though they would seek each other out and play non-stop in Vicki's back yard I still had doubts. Now, I have been assured that they love each other, that Happy, Mr serious, very much loves (if that is a dog word) Oz. He proved it tonight to me.

We were late for agility practice. Quick dinner, load into the car and zoom off. We have our routine and both are good with that. We worked hard on different types of crosses, not a hard run but very thought provoking as to which to use when and why. When it was time to leave I loaded Oz and his crate into the back end of the car then came back in for Happy. I got Hap out of the crate and put him in a down-stay while I chatted with Lisa and helped clean up so she could leave also. When we were done I took Hap and his crate out to the car and put him in the back seat floor. About 1/2 hour had passed since he had seen Oz.

When we get home from agility practice our routine normally is that I take both dogs out of the car and they run into the house to get their "walkie" leashes. Tonight, for some reason, I took Happy out first and headed into the house with a small load of stuff for the kitchen. Happy stood outside the door for a moment then reluctantly followed me into the kitchen while I dropped everything on the counter. As I turned to him he started barking, very anxiously, and bounced around toward the front door. I walked toward the front and he zoomed past me, barking the whole way, and stopped dead at the threshold (he knows he isn't supposed to go out without permission). I was a bit taken back by this, it's very out of character for him so I had stopped in the hallway. When he saw that I had stopped he got really anxious and bouncy and kind of "herded" me toward the door. I left the front door open, told him to stay and walked out the door toward the car, which seemed to calm him. I opened the back end up and got Oz out. Oz jumped out of the car and ran toward Happy and the front door like he hadn't seen him for days!! Happy jumped around and squealed like a puppy and off they romped into the house, wrestling like a couple pups.

That's the story.. Happy loves Oz. Oz loves Happy.

Waiting to go to bed

The pose of a relaxed, trusting, happy Terrier is a sight to behold.

I sometimes ponder on how much it means to me to have friends I can trust. When I'm with my friends and feel a little tired I know I can lay down my head, where ever we may be, and take a little snooze. I know that when I'm off to LaLa land they have my back (or front as the case may be). I trust them with my safety, my sanity, my life. I trust them so much that sleeping with "everything" exposed is just a no-brainer to me.

Sleep well Mister Happy-man, I got your .... back!

Sammy's Team...4 weeks and 1 day old

Rainbows, jeeps and diamonds...Sammy's Team, "Kinloch's League of Their Own" is always into something!

Games I and yellow chutes

Sunday Happy, Oz, Padme, Vicki and I went to Salem for the second TDAA trial at My Dogs Gym. I must tell you, the people that compete in this venue are wonderful. Friendly, helpful, patient while still being competitive. Padme and Vicki were coming with me for moral support, I so appreciate that cuz I know she was tired from the busy work week. We had to be there before 8:15 (I thought) in order to enter Happy & Oz. Vicki was up and showered and dressed by the time I saw her. I glanced at her clock on the microwave while I finished our potluck dish to take., we had plenty of time, no problem. We gathered up the dogs and loaded my car, Packy. On the road we stopped at Plaid pantry (or 7-11, I can't remember) for some cold and hot caffeine and a breakfast snack. On the road we chatted and laughed and solved many of the dog world issues. I looked at the clock in the car when we were pretty close and it was 7:40!! What the *&%# Happened, we have maybe 1/2 hour traveling time???? We had plenty of time, we left WAY early and should have about an hour yet and only have 20 minutes IF 8:15 is when we need to be there we're running out of time!! Vicki and I were convinced that we were in a time warp and aliens sucked time from our life! It is the strangest feeling to be short an hour in your day. As it turns out, Vicki hadn't changed her clock on the micowave last Sunday, DUH! We got there with plenty of time, got both entered and Oz enrolled. The hurry up was done and the waiting just begun.

It was small to tall day so it wasn't so bad except it was also superior to beginner so.. although we were first, we were also last. No fault are allowed in beginner to qualify, you can place with faults but no Q. Oz's game was first, Chutes and Ladders is a game with contact obstacles and tunnels. In hindsight I should have done something else, this had teeter and he just hasn't had enough experience on it. He did well for the first time he'd run. I could have done better guiding him but NQ was ok with us. We tried again as FEO and he did ok but still had issues with the teeter.

Then the standard beginners course. Not a hard course but still it had a teeter. Oz was first, he is fast and kind of forgot to watch me. He spent way too much time sniffing the table, didn't take the tire and we had to move on after a couple attempts on the teeter. No worries. Happy and I run more at the same pace. He also was tweekie on the table and cost us the run by jumping off and although he did the teeter we lost time. Oh well, we had fun!! I took Oz again as FEO just for practice.

Then Happy's game, "Octagon". A series of 8 jumps in a circle (thus "octagon") with a set of 6 weave poles in the middle. Beginners Serpentine or Weave the jumps. There is a start and a stopping jump but other than that it's handlers choice as to how to guide the athlete. If an error is made you must go into the center, do the weaves correctly, then back out the where the mess up happened and continue. It is a timed event, no faults just the weaves. I came up to the starting jump and took off Happy's lead, turned to toss it toward the gate and when I turned back he had started!! I heard someone say "start the time" so I just followed him. He did awesome! We had just done something similar at class on Friday so he got the concept. I was tough to keep him out and/or in as the case required but he finished AND GOT A Q!! Not only did he qualify he got 4th place. Fourth place against ALOT of dogs!! :)

Throughout the day Vicki and I volunteered for various jobs. You got raffle tickets if you worked and we're all about winning :). There was one other volunteer that was particularly .... hard to work with. It was almost like you were working for her instead of with her. She had a breed of dog that some Cairn enthusiasts do not care for because of some "events" that have happened at earthdog. In TDAA your dog can wear "clothing". Most don't but they do wear collars, harnesses and other dog items.This person had her little dog in a vest type thing that allowed her to carry him like a suitcase. It was quite comical watching her bring her dog up to the start line as if she were carrying a purse.

One run seemed quite difficult for this volunteers little boy dog. He wasn't listening and was sniffing quite a bit. He finally broke away from her and ran towards the chute, which happened to be yellow and the same color as his pee pee pads at home. He got to the lovely yellow chute and he started to pee... and pee he did!! The Handler panicked, ran and picked him up WeeWee pointing out and straight at the crowd maybe 10 feet away. Not realizing he was still peeing she swung him away from the crowd, fanning pee the whole way around then headed toward the door while Wee Willie Wee Wee was squirting a steady stream all across the mat. The crowd started yelling 'STOP' at her which seemed to frighten her even more so she moved faster yelling "I am so sorry!". She finally realized what they were yelling and turned to see the path leading right up to her. Wee Willie had finished his job, handler was mortified, poor thing. The judge (thankfully) told her to go and everyone jumped to clean the mess. The chute had to be replaced, the mop and bucket was broken out and all was back to normal in about 10 minutes!!

Moral of this story? If you dog takes off without you he's either going to do something really really bad or something really really good.

Update on Sammy's Pups

Vicki, Ryan and Nanny C have spent the last 2 weeks plus discussing names for these adorable babies...decision via committee...we began with Dr. Seussical names for their March 2nd Birthday and then moved on to Baseball in honor of Sammy's heritage through her Daddy, Homer. Nanny brought up "A League of Their Own" as a source of female names and Aunty Val supplied us with..."Dottie" (Pink Blanket), "Mae" (Close Up) and "Kit" (Lavender Ribbon). In honor of Ryan and baseball. Nanny's husband suggested "Nolan Ryan" (Blue Blanket) for the male. So here are photos taken March 18, of our Little Leaguers.

Sammy's Birthing Post March 2. 2010 Continued

One puppy, two puppy, three puppy, four -- Please don't tell me there are any more! I had one boy and three girls in under an hour -- thanks to my awesome pushing power! I'm such a good mom, keeping them clean and fed. With Vicki sick, she can now go back to bed. Signed - Sam Sam I am.

Sammy's Birthing Post March 2. 2010

I will not have them in the box, I would like to have them in the rocks. I will not have them in the grass, I'm still a very pregnant lass. Oh but wait - no xray for me, I think they're coming - just wait and see. Happy Birthday to my babies and Dr. Suess! Signed - Sam Sam I Am.

KOA on the way. Highwaters and Poise Pads

Val drove to Vicki's Thursday morning so we could all get an early start Thursday afternoon when Vicki and I got off work. We got out of town around 5:30 ish... Final destination; San Jose California and the Cairn Terrier Club of Northern California's Specialty on Saturday. We were going to drive as far as Medford, OR and stay in one of the cute cabins at the KOA. We frequently use them on our Doggie Adventures as they are clean, warm, comfortable and cute.


Conversation was, as usual, wonderful. Dogs, relationships of the past, present and future. Bitches, likes, dislikes, an occasional "WATCH OUT!" from a passenger. Alice T. Garmin, our navigators Val got for Christmas from her sweet hubby (cuz he was tired of her excuse "I got lost on the way home") politely perched on the dashboard gently telling us to "drive". Pretty uneventful drive. We arrived in Medford about 10:30. The cabin had the heater going for us. We walked the doggies, put them back into the van and started readying ourselves for bed. We planned on a simple night: Sleep in our clothes, quick tooth brush, potty and good night Irene. We all had to go to the bathroom together; the women's bathroom was under construction so we were sharing the men's. Someone needed to stand guard to alert approaching men of the danger lurking within. It was pretty cold out.. Not frightfully cold, but cold. There was a foggy-foggy dew on the grass. Vicki was concerned that her pant legs would get wet and she'd sleep in wet pants. ... Well, that set us both off, we hiked up our britches and danced across the grass giggling like 3 silly school girls.. It's great to laugh like that, so cleansing... in so many ways :)

Sorry all.. during my blogging last night we had to go back to our 2007 trip to Montgomery and share with Heidi all that laughter... so this blog will suffer.. I'll try to catch up later.. probably when i get home.

Hello from The Home Front...February 2010

Several of The NW PAWS left yesterday for the NORCAL Shows in San Jose, leaving Marty, Mary and expectant Mother, Sammy with Sharon and Nanny C...and Sammy will be spending part of the time with Ryan. Everyone on the Home Front is sending good thoughts to OZ, Chloe, Jasmine and Sully who are each entered, and to the cheerleaders, Happy and Padme, and of course, to Betsy, Vicki and Val!

Townhome living & training

Oz and I are having issues with movement. Like the sweet dog he is, he had adjusted his normally lovely gait to my short stumpy leg movement so we are working on his reach in the hallway. :) Just thought I'd share.