Happy has a new Home!

Happy's new family picked him up today!

Happy will be living with a wonderful family & a gorgeous black and white Aussie named Tanner. They were the perfect fit. Happy and Tanner clicked instantly. Oddly enough they are a matched set. One with a tail, the other without.

We are going to miss him...Bye bye Mr. Happy Bear.

Springtime Teaser

Today the chill was replaced with warm temperatures, clear blue sky and a spring in our steps. After a morning of lazing about on the patio absorbing the rays of sun it was time for a romp at the river!

Typical Ranger fashion, he ran straight for the water!



Happy cheerfully followed him and promptly laid down. Bonnie said it figured...sloppy boys.



The girls, Beth and Bonnie, were smarter than the the stupid boys and opted out of taking a dip in the icy water.



Time for some ball throwing Ma - we have been, like, waiting, like. FOREVER!



Look at that - Happy is RUNNING!



Come on, old lady, throw it AGAIN!



Uh oh...the Freckled Monster strikes again.



And again...



Ranger said Bonnie is scary



Finally Scary Bonnie was playing nicely...(that is only because off camera Beth kicked her butt and told her to knock it off).



It was time for a little Boy/Girl competition. They were judged on time, technical merit & artistic impression.

First Up: Beth and Bonnie. They nailed it! Technically it was spot-on perfect! Blinding fast fetch, followed by a rapid pick up and blazing fast return. Clean and accurate. However lacking a smidgen in artistic impression.



Ranger and Happy made up for their lack of technical skills and speed by their obvious love of the game. Ranger landed this amazing skid to catch the ball on an unpredictable bounce - saving it from the river. Happy lent a wonderful assist.



It was time for the Boy/Girl RUN OFF! Who was going to win?

OH MY DOG! It is an UPSET! Happy snuck right in there with slick sleeper move and snatched the ball right after it bounced off Beth's head!



WOW - Happy really can move! That is some serious air for a rotund border collie eh?

Happy whipped some serious moves out of his toolbox today. Lots of collie creeping...



Lots of eye....



Today was a good day. Happy was pooped, but .... Ahhh so ...happy.

Weekend at Fido's Farm

Yesterday (Saturday) since John had to work overtime Chris worked Beth & I had another session with Chris's Kelpie Rosie working on driving.

Today (Sunday) we went back to Fido's for some more practice. Since John is going to be working mandatory overtime over the next several months. I am going to be working Beth most of the time.

Chris took Beth out into the BIG field with lambs and set her up on some very long out runs with more snarky sheep. Beth is responding nicely to pressure, stopping and dropping to correct cutting in on a flank, and reliably looking back. She said Beth is doing everything perfectly, she just needs to build on her confidence - which will increase the speed.

Beth has already come so far in confidence it is amazing. That was our objective in beginning herding with her. To bring her from this....




To this...


Today when I worked Beth she challenged me a bit. I really hate to admit this (because I have been working on it for so long) but I still have a heck of a time remembering which way is "away to me" and "go-by". I kept trying to practice on the mole hills in the field - first facing it "away" and "go-by" then turning my back "away" and "go-by".

Good intentions however...still can't remember it. 'doh. Truthfully I have a hard time remembering right from left without pretending to hold a pencil in my hand.

I screwed Beth up a few times today. I need to remember the commands are based on the dog's relationship to the sheep - not mine. One time I told her to 'look back' and sent her on 'away' realized that it was actually 'go-by' and Beth turned around - looked at me in confusion and promptly laid down in the middle of the field (I think she was swearing at me in her head). She told me by stopping in her tracks that I was WRONG! It gave me a chance to correct it.

Another time I hosed a command she turned on a dime and ran in the other direction around the sheep and drove the sheep right into the fence *UGH* - she was doing what I asked - even though I was wrong AGAIN. It really drives home how dangerous this can be for the dog and the livestock - and the awesome responsibility you have on your shoulders to keep them all safe. One wrong command can seriously hurt an animal.

All the work I have been doing with Rosie (Chris's Kelpie) has paid off in technical knowledge(sorta). Now I just need to spend time in practice so it can become second nature. I shouldn't have to wonder....is that 'away' or 'go-by'?

The only day John is going to be able to work Beth will be on Sundays which is also the day that Fido's has Corinne Berg teaching agility. I watched part of the agility class today and really liked what I saw. Agility at Fido's with Corinne Berg Next Sunday when John is working Beth I think I am going to take a class with Ranger.

Ranger and I are already in agility at Dogs World Training in Sumner, WA. I hope they won't have heartburn about me taking classes at Fido's too.

Mr. Happy Update: Happy saw the vet this morning too - they said he is in perfect health other than being a chunky monkey. The vet said that his missing teeth and jaw seem to be nicely healed. The vet absolutely LOVED him. She said she might know of the perfect family for him. She said she was going to call me this week. *Keep your fingers crossed for Happy*

Border Collie 'Cold' Beach Party!

Directly after picking Happy up in Grays Harbor County on Thursday we drove out to see Vivian at the beach. Vivian has several Border Collies. Four permanent dogs (three BC's and one hound of mixed parentage), two fosters and one "pseudo-foster" (she can't decide if she wants to keep him or not).

We went to the beach for a Border Collie Party!

When we got to the beach everyone was so excited! Border Collies everywhere!

Whoops, Happy fell down!




Happy likes to get about 50 feet away and wait for you to throw the ball, then he will watch and dart over to grab it. Not much gets him to move - here Gwen the anti-BC is saying hello. Happy couldn't care less - he is watching Vivian with the ball.



Ranger says - "Look what I can do! Where are my paws? Where is the ball?"



Ranger buried the ball. The other dogs think Ranger is an idiot. So Ranger dug it back up then tried to dig a bigger hole. He told me he was trying to bury Happy. He said 'no one is that happy all the time'

NOTE: see Happy in the background - still not moving.



Ranger said "Did you see me do that cool thing with the ball? The girls all think I am so hot!"



Beth ignored him. Bonnie said he was an fugly-ugly moron. Then she ran after her new buddy Abe who has speckles like her.





After making googly eyes at Abe, Bonnie wandered over and drank a bunch of salt water (which she puked up in the back seat on the way home. Ranger secretly thought it was hysterical).





As you can see Happy still hasn't moved much. First Bonnie circled him, then Beth.









Bonnie says "Seagull poop up here, everyone come smell!"



Ranger falls for it every time...



WOW! Happy MOVED! He cleared that log with the best of them!


He can also pose like a statue





Oh look, Stepford Collies. (I only say that because for some reason these pictures kinda give me the creeps! They look to perfect...)






The sun is going down, the shadows are getting long - time to go home..

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Meet our new foster dog - Mr. Happy Bear!

Happy is ...well I guess you can say he is very Happy. (The photos labeled Red Dog Photography were taken by Vivian. Vivian facilitated Happy's placement into BC Rescue)



Happy is a direct owner surrender. His family had been active in rescue for much of their lives, they rescued horses, chickens, water fowl, fostered injured wild animals prior to release back into the wild. Happy was their last rescue. Happy's mom is experiencing significant health challenges thus unable to give him the exercise and stimulation he needs - which prompted his placement into foster care. This was a very difficult decision for them, but their love for Happy out weighed their desire to keep him.

Happy's dad told me how he came by his name. One day when he came home Happy came running to him, wagging his whole body. He said "You are such a happy guy!" Happy it was.

His former family found Happy in the woods behind their home. He had been severely beaten his jaw appears to have been fractured many of Happy's teeth are missing on the bottom (We will be seeing if he will need any type of dental work done on his mouth). His dad said that he had seen that type of injury before - it usually came from the heel of a boot.

As you can see in this picture - where Happy's tongue hangs from his mouth he is missing the lower teeth. His jaw is also misshapen and makes it difficult for him to close his mouth all the way. The result is quite endearing - he always seems to have his tongue hanging out just a smidgen.

The condition of his mouth doesn't seem to have interfered with his ability to eat! Happy is a chunky bear. He has a good 10 - 15 lbs to lose.

I know I say this with every foster. But I am seriously thinking about keeping Happy. His personality reminds me of Katie.

One drawback - Happy couldn't care less about sheep. When we exposed him to sheep today he was not even interested in them. All he wanted to do was scoot his butt across the pen, sit at my feet and wiggle against me, looking up with the most adorable loving smile saying "pet me, come on, pet me, you know you want to pet me".

What a sweetheart. I think I am in love...