He's found

But it's not good news. He was hit by a car.  The worst has happened but at least now I know...

Sitting here through uncontrollable tears, the last memory I have of him is the other night with me, Sage and Ivy in the cabin.  Just the three of us, hanging out and I was on the floor with them.  Sage came over and stuck his face right in mine, like he always did, remaining so still while he soaked in the attention he loved so much.  We just had a really sweet moment where it was just the two of us sharing this intense affection. And then in an instant he was gone.

I HATE this feeling of feeling like your heart has been ripped out and knowing that I will never ever get to see him, touch him, hug him, throw the ball for him, run him in the team again, laugh at him as he barks like a maniac and vibrates as I harness him, watch him watch tv... just makes me so.... unbelievably sad.

This is the day I picked them up in Fairbanks.  They were the happiest dogs and these two were totally attached to each other.

This is their first run with me. Ivy was figuring things out as she stands on Sage, but he was ok with that.  He let her get away with a lot.

She's gonna be as bummed as me without her playmate around.  Loki loved Sage too. In an instant the whole yard has changed. I'm so bummed I can't even explain it.

RIP Sage my sweet boy.

Missing my tv watcher... :(

Sad news around here - my big friendly cowdog, Sage has gone missing... just wanted to put this out there, 'cause you never know -the blog community is an amazing thing sometimes.  He has been gone for 2 nights now...

If anyone sees him or a dog like him in the area, or hears of a dog who looks like this somwhere, please let me know! My neighbour's also had 2 of their dogs disappear Sat. night and one is still missing. Unfortunately, one was found by the road, hit and killed by a car.  The one remaining dog is b/w like Sage but with floppy ears and longer hair. Maybe they hooked up and are roaming around together, who knows! But we're all pretty worried about them.

I jokingly say that because the satellite is out of commission this week, Sage went to find somewhere where he can get his tv fix! This was taken just a few days ago, when he was watching "People Obsessed with their Pets" - there were some true gems on THAT show, as you can see by the dog in a DRESS below... eek!

But tv just isn't the same without him poking his head in the way.

I'll keep everyone posted and send your positive/dog returning home vibes our way!

Oh HI! China??

It's me again, Pooh Bear! Esther wants to talk too, which is rare because she is normally pretty shy... anyways, meee first! So today I ran around in circles, slammed myself against the fence numerous times (I'm really working some big holes in it! Stacie isn't happy my head fits through those holes now!), and then spun around in circles more. I even started digging in our pen, which I really LOVE lately especially when it's muddy out and I turn brown! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So anyhoo, then I slept for awhile, and then chased my tail, because no one else would play with me. Esther is super serious until she gets out to play fetch. BORING.  It's raining like crazy lately and I DON'T EVEN CARE, but Stacie is annoyed by it and said something today about wishing it would "just snow already" - yay! Me too!!!!!  We didn't maim her as much as we would have liked to last year while skijoring so we are going to try much harder this winter. Okay bye China, talk to you tomorrow! Here's Esther, I have a butt to lick. Not mine in case you were wondering.

Happy Birthday to meeeee....

I HAD to post on my birthday, and since it's been my BIRTHDAY for 11 minutes... here we are!  I've had a few photos and videos lying in wait so I thought I'd share. 'Cause I'm just caring like that.

Kathleen commented on Pooh Bear!'s craziness awhile back, and yes, the exclamation point behind her name is definitely warranted, check it out:

She is a bit of a ball enthusiast.  And does not know how to control her crazy energy. Ball time helps. A bit. For five minutes.

Loki has a red-ball fetish as you can see here:

Red ball, red ball, I love my red ball...


Happiness=Loki alone in the meadow with the big red ball 

He is wiggling all over the red ball here and gets quite annoyed if anyone else comes near it.  As evidenced by the little hole he accidentally put in PB when she came too close!

And then there was the first of many birthday parties to come this past weekend:

Steph's lovely appetizer.

My clean living room. Having visitors gives me incentive to clean up the dog hair and dirty dishes.

Yeah Fire!!!! The campfire ban was lifted the day before, woohhoooo!  And miraculously Pooh Bear didn't even run through the fire!!

Steph unintentionally poses.

Note my pallet table? Pallet building is the new thing y'know!

Table full o' food. So was my NEW FRIDGE!

Um, yes that is a bottle of Zinfandel between my legs, why do you ask?  :)

Back in the saddle... er, harness!

The weather cooled off enough tonight to get the yahoos out for a run. We are starting off at a new starting point, not in the big dog pen. I always had to run and undo that gate which was a total pain, especially in the mounds of snow we had last year. So this is our new stakeout point:

The old semi-permanent yard exhibit - a trailer with a flat tire! I think they like it and took to it right away. What? Sit on the GROUND and get our pretty feet dirty? I think not!

L-R: Ripper, Loki and Ivy. Loki, in typical Loki style, needed a bit of adjusting to get used to this. Anything new or different in his life takes some adjusting. So, I let him run around until he felt comfortable with this and saw everyone else hooked up to the trailer with harnesses on. He "got it" pretty quickly and eventually came and sat right on the trailer. Finally! After 5 years I've figured him out!!! Patience is key my little grasshopper....

Sage

Off we go, it's pretty bushy out there!

Nothing like running through fields of foxtails!

Scenery break.

Rupert gets lost in the weeds!! Ahahahhaaa it was funny.

Pooh Bear! and Esther. A rare moment of PB not causing trouble!

Rupert ran loose, we only went a couple km's. He was either running behind or getting in our way. But he's old and can get away with being a pain in the butt.

Here's a video of him chasing us. I'm a multi-tasker here as I record the team running and Rupert chasing all while navigating evil ant hills.


What do you mean you can't find the trail!!????

You can't really see it, but Esther and PB are laying down in a wee creek.

It was a bit of a gong-show... we only started using this "trail" last year after the snow fell, so it was easy to find. Now, in summer, crap it was hard to find that trail!! I loved when the Ripper and Loki would try to find it, then look to me for answers. Haha. All I could say was "Hell if I know where the trail is!"

Oops - damned tree in the way. Not really, they could have both chosen to go on the SAME SIDE... but nooooo....

Ripper is looking at me as if to say "At least ONE of us should know where we're going! Humans are useless..."

I love how he doesn't look concerned at all. Yup, I'm wrapped around a tree, so what?

Here's where we attempted a shortcut I vaguely remember using last winter, but then we lost it and had to turn around. Oh well! Better to practice this now than when we're on a sled with minimal snow cover and control.

Rupert is trying to help, but he was pretty useless.

But! We made it home and the dogs, although Ripper was frustrated - he HATES not having a total obvious trail, everyone was pretty perky and happy. And next time we may get through it the maze quicker!

Ah, a well deserved drink!

My weekend excitement! Pt.1

This is what was so exciting this weekend:

A new fridge!  A regular electric one that does not suck up a pound of propane EVERY DAY. This thing is gigantic. Are all fridges this big!?!? Are they all on wheels??!  I'm told it's average, but being 3x the size of the old one, it's shockingly big in this place!  And it beeps when you have it open for more than a minute. I thought I was hearing a 4-wheeler outside the first time I heard the mysterious beeping, ha.

The fridge part, and yes that is Pizza Hut in there! In case the South Beach Police are watching... I must confess.  Although doesn't this diet allow for Pizza Hut on the first of every month? Oh and 12 beers? Ok, maybe not. 

I could easily fit 16 BEERS in the lower fridge door shelf.  And as you can see, I tested this theory just to be sure.  And look at that variety!  But I left some room for iced tea and good ol' 1% milk!

Freezer - on bottom! The bonus of this which I didn't realize till my food licker (Harris - who has been known to stick his head into the opened fridge when I turn my back and lick everything within reach) - came by to do his old trick and was met with a closed fridge freezer door! HA!!! Take that food licker. This is brilliance I stumbled upon. I'm sure these fridges were made for just that purpose!

So in conclusion: I love my new fridge.  And if anyone wants to buy a propane fridge, let me know! It would make a lovely addition to your cabin, it's good with people/kids/dogs, friendly, works very well, only requires cleaning once every few months, makes NO noise, and comes with it's very own carbon monoxide detector!