OK, so living with 3 1/2 dogs is not usually dull. (I count Fiona as a half at this point, being 3 months old-although she does take up a lot of time. :-))

We had our 3rd annual BeardieMainiacs BBQ/Bounce at our house yesterday. Let me backtrack a couple of days…..

We had been slowly getting the yard and house ready for the big event, when on Friday afternoon, the Thunderstorm warning came on TV. No biggie, happens all the time. Maddie does not like thunder and as Mac has gotten older, it makes him a little nervous. In a bit we could hear some rumbling in the distance, and I sat on the couch , letting Maddie know she was ok with me next to her (sometimes that’s all she needs).

Just then, lightning lit up outside and a small streak went across my TV (no harm done). I turned to the dogs and said, “I think I’ll shut off the computer.” By the time I got back, the three older dogs had deserted ship, and were in the basement! So I sat on the couch by myself, with little Fee at my feet. All of a sudden it was white outside! The wind whipped up, and a mixture of hail and rain was coming in so fast and at such an angle, you couldn’t see anything. I remember thinking that it was more like a hurricane than a thunderstorm.

A short while later, I heard a loud crack, boom and my house shook a little. I looked at Fee and said.b.’That’s not going to be good”. I looked out the bedroom window, and sure enough, I could see branches all over the place and on the roof. The power had gone out, so I found my cell phone (which doesn’t work in the house) and tried to call hubby at work. It was still pouring torrentially, and I was holding my hand out the door trying to get a signal and not get soaked [LOL]. I couldn’t get through to him, but did get one of my sons who worked near by. He was on his way.

Great, now what to do? Well, it was a little dark in house with no power and all the rain, so I went into the living room to raise the curtains. There in our front yard is a crater with a bunch of roots showing! One of our pine trees had been completely uprooted and left a hole while taking part of our fence out!

I threw on a raincoat and went outside, as the rain had started to let up. Our 2 willows on the other side had lost major branches that now graced my neighbor’s yard. As I got to the street, I could see the pine tree was almost completely blocking it. It only got more interesting. After a couple of hours, my son helped track my hubby down who then raced home. He went up on the roof to find a hole in it from the branches. Gee, that’s funny, I didn’t notice any water…. wait, there is now water coming from the light in our bedroom ceiling and we have wet spots on it as well. I run for a bucket, but my quilt and feather mattress are already wet. (sigh)

During all of this, the dogs were great! Fiona didn’t like the big trucks and was happy to stay in the house, but the 2 boys loved it. They sat in the corner of the yard, watching all of the activity (typical boys, love those trucks) from the public works vehicles. They cut the tree to push it off the street temporarily and the trunk and roots settled most of the way into the crater. We managed to block off the area where the fence was down, so the dogs could go out (and little Fee did great waiting to go). Our lucky break is that our neighbor is a licensed arborist! He has been helping and has an invoice ready for the insurance people!

So Saturday arrives, and we have to do some pickup and get the yard ship-shape for the BBQ. It didn’t take long, and the dogs wanted to help with all those sticks! My youngest son is storing a car here, so my other son and my hubby decided to push it back for better parking. Brian got in to steer with my husband pushing. Well that was a mistake. The car has been sitting for a while and apparently squatters took over… of the stinging kind! There was a huge nest in the door and they started swarming my son. He jumped out and shut the door and was only stung once. The car is still there.

So yesterday we were so excited about our Bounce, and though it was cloudy the Weather Channel said “occasional” showers that might hit or might not. Well, they were occasional, but it was more like occasional dry spots in between showers! We persevered, and had fun anyway, the dogs didn’t seem to mind. There were puppies running and ganging up on each other, dogs racing and playing and others just hanging around and taking it all in. (not to mention my 2 oldest who barked most of time… Beardie anyone?)

The day is over, had a great time, we are all tuckered out. We manage to make it to about nine o’clock, when guess what… the TS Warning comes on tv again! Sure enough the lightening starts in followed by thunder and lots of rain. We last till 10:00, sitting up with the dogs and it seems to be a bit better so we can go to bed. Five minutes later, Maddie comes running from her spot on the couch (that she shares with us reluctantly) and settled herself on our pillows between our heads… where she stayed. Sometime during the night, we managed to push her part way down the bed, but there she stayed, all night. (she did that Beardie dead weight thing when we tried to move her.) So I had a tiny corner of the bed to cling to, and we all went back to sleep.

This morning we are still tired, and the dogs aren’t moving much. We did get to see the public works guys come back and take the tree and clean up branches bright and early — thanks for that!

So, never complain that things are dull and nothing happens. You may get everything in one weekend. I am now going to slowly put shoes on and walk outside with the dogs, where they will probably stand there and look at me like they did earlier. (can we go back to sleep now?!)

The walking Zombies….
Val
Mac , Maddie, Traveler and Fiona

I have always been of the mind that whatever happens, it was for a reason. We may not know what that reason is for a while, and at times we think that nothing good can come of a particular event, or occurrence. Sometimes the things that happen seem minor, or not really important. How is this Beardie related? Let me share a few things that I discovered recently….  

As you may know our first Beardie was Cher, a lovely slate girl that we received as a gift when she was 6 months old. Her breeders were good friends, and it was a lovely surprise. What I didn’t know was that Cher was originally supposed to go to the breeder of THEIR first Beardie. Her circumstances changed and she wasn’t able to have another dog at the time, so Cher came to live with us. A nice surprise but not life changing…or was it? 

It was through Cher and her illness that I started researching natural treatments and alternative health care for animals and myself. I am now a Reiki Master, Animal Communicator, Medical Intuitive… well you get the idea [g] . Cher frequently pops in when I do sessions, and likes to help when we are tracking lost animals, and especially is helpful when I help an animal cross over. Even though she has passed, she continues to be by my side and takes full credit for my work (she really does!) Would I be where I am now, had she not come into our lives? I don’t know.  

A few years ago I started thinking that perhaps it might be time for another show puppy. We had been out of the ring for a couple years, and missed the showing with friends, and of course all the grooming and entry fees . I contacted our friends, as they had a Beardie granddaughter of ours and asked about a possible future litter. They had a litter a few months before that. I liked the results from that one, and wanted to possibly place an order for the next one. (I had a year to think about it, I figured.) Well, they said, we happen to have a couple still here from the first litter. (They were great pups and  the breeders wanted the right homes.) After talking about the different temperaments in both households, what we felt would fit in best, etc, they said…WE HAVE A BOY FOR YOU! I said, but I wasn’t thinking of getting one now….how about in a year? Well all I had to hear was that he was like his Dad and I was sold! At the age of 7 months, Traveler came to live with us and we all know life has never been the same since [lol]. Our lives continue to change and grow, and he only adds to it.

Both of these dogs have had major impact on our lives…who knows if we would even have any Beardies if not for Cher? Everything we have comes from her, and it will continue to be so, as we await the next generation to grace our lives. We have gone far with Traveler, not only in miles , but also with a new Bearded Collie Club, seeing sheep, doing obedience and rally — things I never did before! Through them we have added some wonderful people into our lives, a few that pass through and others that are there for us, day to day, when we need them.
 
I guess it made me stop — that tiny moment that changed everything and led a loving soul into OUR lives and not someone else’s…… you never know.

Enjoy the moment.

Val

All this talk of puppies got me thinking about how little I knew when we first started breeding! Honestly how did we ever make it through?!

Our first litter of OES by our first Champion, Tessa, did not go exactly as planned. After pondering many pedigrees, checking out dogs, etc we finally decided on one to breed to. Tessa went to her breeders, and we waited to hear the good news. Well, they didn’t think the breeding took, and as it was January, they kept her there (we shared her — they loved having her). Well, about 2 weeks before she was going to be due, I got a panicked call saying that she WAS pregnant, her belly just exploded [LOL]. We rushed to meet them and bring her home.

The big day arrived, but after a few hours I just knew something was wrong. Off to the vet, and sure enough, she just couldn’t get that first one out. So that was our first (but not last) emergency C-Section. Of course she was put out for that, and then we found out that in most cases, they don’t know that the puppies are theirs right away, since they weren’t aware they had been born. We had to watch her at home as she started to become more aware, but she still managed to catch one with a tooth when she snapped as it crawled on her. Took the newborn to the vet, where they had to tend to the wound. We gave that pup a lot more attention, and it was on meds too, but alas, it didn’t make it. I took it so personally!

Tessa did get it after a short time and was a wonderful mother. Unfortunately, she never had big litters, and almost always needed help.

My friends, who are also Trav’s breeders, lost one of their OES a couple of years ago….she had a litter of pups, then 2 weeks later, she died. It happens, and I can’t remember the term for it. It was devastating and they had to care for the pups round the clock after that.

I am always grateful when things go smoothly, but always mindful of what can go wrong. Then we have the worry that she will sit on one by accident and kill it (it happens) or that the pups will catch something that someone brought into the house without knowing… gee, why do we do this?

I think I like the Daddy end of things [G]. I can play with them and watch them grow but not have the worry !

Oh well, enough of Days Gone By for today…

Enjoy the weather and have fun cleaning the yard!

Val

Wow, time goes so fast. I just heard that a dear friend passed away on Monday.

He lived on the West Coast with his family, so the last 20 years we didn’t see each other much. 

When I was a teenager, I belonged to a local church, and met my best friends ever there. We formed a folk group (it was the early 70’s) and sang everywhere together. We would sing at our church and then other churches and groups asked us to perform. We loved being together and would hold “practices” all the time. It was such a good time, and we would head out to Two Lights to be near the ocean, and talk and hang out…. such a different age then.

Mike was a couple years older than myself, and so cute! He had a white Mustang and long brown hair with rimless glasses and this ridiculous laugh that we all loved. I had a crush on him till I found out my best friend like him, then I stopped [G]. What you do for friends! 

One of our friends and her family had a camp on Sebago Lake and we would go up there and take a boat out on the lake , then play board games or just sing. We also had birthday parties all the time (and I still remember everyone’s birth date!) and any reason to get together was ok with us.We also did charity work together, and since Mike and one of the other guys was in college, we had some interesting discussions about life. 

A few years ago, Mike made a trip east. Most of us gathered at a friend’s house and pulled out guitars and spent the afternoon together, just like the old days. We taped it, thank God. 

I guess we didn’t know what a great time we were living in. Our folks never really worried about where we were, and it was safe to just get in the car and ride around, or hang out somewhere talking and laughing.  

Mike’s wife had a stroke having their last child (they had 5) This carefree “hippie” guy stayed by her side and helped her till she was recovered. He took care of the kids, and her and the house… he surprised us, but we knew the character was there all the time. 

He had 10 grandchildren when he died, wow! 

Good by Buddy, I hope you have your Mustang back. 

Val   

Sometimes I hate being right. I just heard from a recent client, a nice lady with a Golden who is very sweet. She was referred to me because her Golden wasn’t eating , seemed to have problems getting up and down, and just plain didn’t seem well. After $1300.00 in tests , her vet couldn’t find anything wrong.

While we were on the phone I felt some energy blockage in the kidney/liver area. She said they had checked everything. We discussed what to do and made the appointment. I had a lovely chat with the Golden and spent about an hour with her, doing a couple different types if energy work. I felt that she was very sluggish, achy, tired, and was having problems processing anything with toxins, chemicals, etc. During our session the words “Bone Cancer” appeared. Now this could mean anything, and I just report what I get. (for instance it could mean she was close to someone with this)

Anyway, I just heard from the Golden’s Mom, and she does indeed have cancer. She ended up taking her to Boston to a specialist, and there they found a large mass on her kidney pushing on her spine(bone) . Right now she is on meds, and we will do whatever we can to help her.

My first thought was — sometimes I hate being right. But then I had to pause. This is who I am, what I do, regardless of outcome(and I will be there with her till she crosses, which is a beautiful thing) or whether people doubt me, or I get strange looks [g], or whatever. All of it is beautiful . All of it is Life. We Love, we Learn, we move on, hopefully wiser, and with the knowledge that we are all here for a reason. Our animals are here for a reason. It is no coincidence that our lives mingle and mesh and in doing so we share what we have learned, consciously or unconsciously.

I made sure to tell the Golden’s Mom to thank her, to let her know she appreciated all she was going through. It helps, to know you are appreciated for your giving. The next time things go wrong, take a moment and thank the person responsible. This person has helped you grow and learn in a way that you might not have been able to. Now I know that it isn’t easy, and you may not do it right away, but when you have time to step back from the situation, look at things from a different angle. Take the “you” out of things and approach it as just 2 people(or 3 or whatever) and see if things look different to you.

Cher, our first Beardie had cancer. They gave her a few weeks. Eight months later, we had to let her go. She stayed that long for me. It wasn’t until the past few years that I could look at what happened, see where it has lead me, and realize that she set in motion the whole chain of events that brings me to where I am now. So yes I do thank her, every chance I get. She went through a lot, I went through a lot, as did the rest of my family, but she did it FOR us, not to us.

So maybe I don’t hate being right…….I feel sad for some that they must go through these things, but I am empathetic anyway [g] . When I look at it differently (for it isn’t my journey but theirs) I thank all of them, human or animal. We touch and are touched on our own journeys; what we do affects others. Go out on your journeys my friends, thank those that touch your lives , and leave Love wherever you go…. Forgive my rambling on this glorious day. Val

We need a new reality show….(we don’t have enough, right?!) You have heard of “Are you Smarter than 5th Grader?”…how about “Are you Smarter than Your Beardie?”

I play this on a daily basis. Every day the dogs go out to do their thing, wander the yard, check on the neighbors, etc. The boys are usually pretty good about coming back in (mostly because they are big Mama’s boys and want to make sure the other one doesn’t get too much attention) but Maddie likes to be convinced. Depending on what I am doing and how much I want her back in the house, the game varies.

“Maddie, where’s my pretty girl ?”(in a sing-song version of course)

A couple minutes later….”Maddie, Mommy has work to do, come, come , coooome” (still singing-keep that happy voice).

…and a few minutes later… ”MADDIE! Here we go! ” (I am done singing) ……

Now, the next part of this varies. I can either bribe her, or go outside and get her to come in. 

“Vanna, what did she choose?”

“Let’s take Bribery for 10.00.” (yes, I know I am mixing up my game shows)

“Maddie, come get a carrot (or birthday cake or cookie, although carrot is the stand-by — she will do anything for those).” In a few seconds I hear the pitty-pat of little Beardie feet as she makes her way to the door. I guess I lost that round, although I did get her in the house (but she did get a treat).

Let’s say I go outside to bring her in. She is usually waiting on the far side of the yard, sitting there, waiting to see what my next move will be. As I move closer to her she gets up and starts moving farther away from me. I put my head down and keep walking, moving in a circle around her, and by doing so, slowly work her toward the door. (see, I know how to herd!) Then, when she gets close enough to the door, my arms go out and I say “OK, that’s enough, let’s go in.” She will run for the stairs and when we get to the door, I tell her she is a good girl and we go in. I think I won that one, but she did get me to come out and “play”, so I’m not so sure…..

OK, here’s another one. I have to go into the way-back machine for this one. (some of you may know this story, but it is still funny)

Gracie was from my first litter of Beardies about 12 years ago. I kept her; she was just so “Beardie” to me and we just connected right from the first day. Anyway, she was about 10 weeks old or so, and I had her gated in the kitchen. I would go out and do my dishes, etc, and get my cleaning supplies.

At the time (notice I said ”at the time”) I had this big red feather duster. I could see Gracie eyeing it as I moved around the kitchen. I had to go into the other room, and thought, well she isn’t going to get this. I carefully put it in the middle of my long pine table in the kitchen (the kind with benches) and left the room for 5 minutes. Gracie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen.

When I came back she was still in the exact same spot. There was one slight difference……RED FEATHERS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are on the table, the floor, the counters, all over HER, woven into her fur, and some are gently wafting their way to the ground. I do wish I had gotten a picture of that. Her expression was simply…”What? I don’t notice anything?”

Then there is Mac…..and Traveler…and …hmmmm. Maybe I don’t want to play. Why would I want to play a game that I LOSE all the time. Oh wait, I do it everyday…right.

Well maybe it has its up sides.

Laughter, fun, friends, Love,………I guess I do win after all.

Val

Hi there. This is Traveler. I don’t rite much, as I am usually busy making sure my bruther Mac doesn’t get into trubble. (he likes to steal things in the sink,and I have to yell REAL LOUD so my Mom can tell him to get down) I also have to make sure that all of the bones and good toys are kept on my rug in the hallway. It is hard, as my sister Maddie steals them back and puts them on the couch (she thinks she’s special…just because she turned SEVEN!)

So I was taking Mom to obedience classes, and she was doing pretty good. It is hard for her to catch on sometimes, but we keep working, and I know she will get it soon. We have been working on this new thing- every night after Mom and Dad have supper, Mom is supposed to go out to the kitchen and give us something yummy. Sometimes we have a bit of chicken, or steak, sometimes it is a piece of a roll (although I like the chicken better, I reward her for that too) but the portant thing is that she does it every night. Training is hard, you have to be consistent, right?! Well I thought she was doing well and had finally learned the after supper trick.
Last night, they had supper and then she went and sat down! All that hard work I have been doing! So I waited , and when she didn’t pay attention, I had to gently nudge her. Well silly Mom, she still didn’t get it. So I jumped on her and raced out to the kitchen. I mean do I have to draw her a map?! She finally caught on, got up and came out to the kitchen. I was very glad since my favorite chicken tenders were on the menu.

Boy this training is never done is it? I know we have to keep doing things, and make sure that they get rewarded for all the good stuff, but sometimes I am not sure they will catch on. I won’t give up tho, she is nice and she likes it when I train her.

Ok, I have to go and watch Mac, and check for bones on the couch. My work is NEVER done…

Traveler

I had my radio interview a few minutes ago. The guy was very nice and said he wanted to make sure he didn’t come off as making light of the whole thing. He asked some good questions, I hope I gave good answers.

We did the whole thing on tape. He will now take the sound-bites and make 3 news stories out of them. I got the club’s name and web site in too. He was interested in coming to the workshop himself, but couldn’t this time. I will let him know if we do it again! He has a rough collie, I said we won’t hold that against him.

Val

Some of you were asking about the article they did on me for our
local weekly paper…. go to www.scarboroughleader.com and it is the interview of the week.

Remember they took some liberties with the facts

As a side note to this, I got an email this morning from a local
radio personality who wants to do a phone interview with me, then use
sound-bites to create 3 news stories for the weekend!

Val

Ok, maybe not an Olympic event, but I may have stumbled on a new exercise routine.

Grooming is not the most fun thing to do, but face it, it has to be done. The challenge that we have is getting Traveler onto the grooming table, avoiding Mac as he tries to jump and grab Traveler out of our arms and off the table( because it has to be HIS turn) and then Maddie joins the fun (I use that term loosely) by barking and running around the grooming table. OK, first part done- Traveler is on the table. Now Breathe. Assemble the tools you will need( I have a few basics on hand- ok maybe more than a few ) and get the spray bottle with water ready. Now a quick lift and turn and Trav is
on his side. (good for the upper arms, strengthen those back muscles)

I start brushing in slow smooth strokes, using nice even arm movements. I use the spray bottle, letting a fine mist drop onto his coat. Now let’s increase the aerobic part of this…Maddie is now barking and has gone to find a bone that she drops under the table. In one clean leg movement, I kick the bone and it slides into the other room. (this way you use the large muscle groups) She’s off! She chases down the bone, brings it back and we do it all over again- as many times as she feels I need. Mac , meanwhile, has started scouting the floor for any stray hair that falls (I do not know why he likes to eat the hair, but we have to watch him very carefully! I do NOT like to find it later in the middle of my bed ) As a fluff of hair gently wafts it’s way to the floor, I bend and scoop and swing my body back to grooming position. Now I take a minute to do a few short cleansing breaths ( ok, I am really yelling at the other two to please go and lie down, but that doesn’t sound as nice) OOPS, Trav has taken this opportunity to spring up off of the table in hopes that while I am yell…er ..breathing, he can escape.

Not so!! I grab and turn and lay him down, and we start all over again. I have to figure out where I left off, since, as he made his move to leave, it messed his hair up and I lost my place. No biggie, there is plenty to work on.

By this time, I have worked up a nice sweat, and can really feel those muscles working. Let’s start to slow down, and get that heart rate down to a nice easy level…….it is finally quiet. Maddie is chewing her bone, Mac is sitting there , staring at me(or waiting for hair to fall) and I am almost done. A quick topknot for Traveler, bend and hold Mac back so Traveler can get off the grooming table(this is a nice stretch for those back muscles) and we are done! After a few deep breaths, we all go outside so Mac and Maddie can pick on Traveler and put him in his place.

Now don’t forget to stretch before you do any exercise routine and maybe check with a doctor to see if you need your head examined…your call.

Val
Table anyone?