Dog Stories #3

I forgot to write about what happened a couple weeks ago. We are training a new medical alert dog and contacted the local university/medical training hospital to get some information. The doctor that returned our call began with "I am here because of a dog". We weren't sure if he meant Colorado, the university, became a M.D., or was alive because of a dog. It was an amazing story; the kind you can't believe you are hearing. And so I thought I'd share the shortened version of his story here...

His mother was from Germany. Evidently, when his mother and her two sisters were young, they were arrested and taken to a concentration camp called Auschwitz. There these three sisters were forced to work through the winter digging tank traps so that the allied forces would drive their tanks over these traps, fall in them, and be easy to overcome. One day, seven of the ladies working decided to try and escape. They ran to a barn, hid behind the giant hay bales and the three sisters were able to wedge themselves between some of the boards of the barn and hide. The Nazis had trained German Shepherd guard dogs and were able to track the ladies to the barn. Four of them were located, brought in front of the work crew and executed. At one point one of the dogs came face to face with his mother, sniffed her and for some reason walked away. The soldiers spent three hours searching for the sisters and then decided to call it a night. The sisters were able to get to safety and eventually his mother moved to America where he was born, raised and became a doctor. As a result of this dog "looking the other way" he is alive today and he talks very passionately about working dogs of all kinds. We talked extensively of his area of expertise but what I remember most about the conversation was him relating the details of this incredible story. It isn't every day you hear something so amazing!

Lovely, lovely pictures

So, our 14th anniversary is tomorrow. Wow! It's hard to believe we've been married that long, or that we've known each other for 16 years. We saved our pennies all year and decided to buy a new digital SLR for our anniversary. We've had a digital Olympus for years and have loved it. So we decided to stay with what we knew and got an Olympus SLR. Can I just tell you how much we have LOVED this new camera? It is love at first sight! The pictures it takes on the most basic, automatic settings are incredible and as I learn more how to manually use it, it is becoming a new hobby and could easily absorb all my extra time if I'm not careful. Unfortunately, this week promises to be one of the busiest all year and it is only Monday. The kids started homeschooling today with a whole new curriculum so they are using today to orient themselves. We've got Boy Scouts tonight, our anniversary is tomorrow followed by Awana Tuesday night, Thursday at the public school, we have a deck to finish building and our litter of puppies are due sometime Wednesday or Thursday. Wow! With all that in mind, we've taken a few days to rest up and get ready. There was a local street bike race yesterday with a 33 mile, 66 mile and 100 mile option with a 13,000 ft elevation climb and over 1000 bikers that were "touring" the mountain roads and came right by our house. In attempts to avoid the traffic, we planned to go to early church and spend the rest of the day at Pirate's Cove Aquatic Center. I spent no less than 4 hours on a raft going around and around on a tube in the lazy river. Goal: Relaxing! I didn't take the camera because, well, I didn't want it ruined and I didn't want to leave it in the broiling car. But, I did take some pictures around the ranch earlier that I wanted to share. I played with the lighting and some of the basic settings to see what I came up with. Still learning lots!

This is the 3 month old filly, Skittles.

And little sister doing what little sisters do best...

And all is well that ends well (especially when noone is angry or hurt).

Dog Stories #2

MacGyver just called. He's at the fire department on shift today. They were called to a MVA (motor vehicle accident) where a guy wrapped his car around a tree. Evidently he had several outstanding warrants and was trying to outrun the police. He was out of the car and in custody when they arrived but was, in technical terms, messed up. Unfortunately, his dog was trapped inside the car and had to be extricated. Another innocent life saved! This was not his first time his expertise was called on to save a member of the canine species.

Last month they were just getting back from a call when someone started knocking on the bay doors. Mac opened the door to find a hysterical woman. Her dog was in respiratory distress and was in the back of her car. She threw him in the back of the car and drove to the nearest station. He called to the other guys and they went out to the car to find an old shepherd mix struggling to breathe. They put a canine mask on him and gave him oxygen. They keep them on their rigs for use in fires, mainly, but definitely came in handy today. The dog's normal vet was closed so they took him to Alameda East which is the same Alameda East from Animal Planet's Emergency Vets. They were able to take him in and get him all fixed up. Evidently he had something like a paralyzed trachea. This was not his first time saving a dog or hysterical pet owner. I'll have to blog about the first time another day. I have a feeling this won't be his last save.

Dog Stories #1

On the way home from church today we saw Australian Shepherd puppies for sale. They were so cute. I love their two colors of eyes and all the variations of colors. It reminded me of something I just had to blog about. A couple of years ago we were looking for our second Search and Rescue dog. We looked high and low for almost 6 months. SAR dogs are special and you are looking for a dog with a specific personality and drive. They have to be friendly but not overly so. They have to be courageous but not stupid. They have to be easily trained but be able to think and work on their own. They need to be playful but serious, too. And they seriously need to have an on/off switch so they will work hard when it is time to work and lay at your feet when they are not working. There are several breeds that seem to dominate Search and Rescue. We mostly see German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labs, and Border Collies. Neither breed is better than the other, but each of them have their own strengths and differences, but they all have an incredible work ethic. These dogs are unstoppable and they love to Search! My Bernese Mountain Dog, Maggie, is not a picture of a SAR dog. In fact, she is always hot, hates change (you should have seen the way she acted the other day when I rearranged my bedroom), is very wary of strangers, acutely protective of me, does not take direction or discipline well, pouts, hides, and runs any time I want her to do something, and chases anything that moves, which is a big "no no" in Search. You could say we have a love-hate relationship. Definitely not SAR material.

So, the search was on. We looked at hundreds of dogs from private owners who were hoping to rehome their pets, humane societies, and even looked at a women's prison that took in and trained working dogs. That was quite an experience. We saw an add for working Border Collie puppies on a ranch in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. We weren't optimistic but we went anyway. We arrived just in time to see the owner pulling up with his flat-bed truck pulling his horse trailer with four Border Collies riding on back. This elderly, weathered, chap-wearing cowboy climbed out of the front to greet us. They had been out all day rounding up his free range cattle to move them. And I suddenly felt like I was talking to John Wayne and was immediately in love with this charming fellow. We chatted for a bit and he showed us to the barn to find he had two different litters from two different moms. One group was hand shy, and when we met the mom realized they had picked that up from her. The second set was very friendly and a couple of them seemed to possess the play drive and confidence we were looking for. They were seriously up for consideration and we wanted to see their parents in action. Mr. Chap-wearing Cowboy grabbed his driver, dropped a golf ball and started nailing golf balls over the fence and out into the fields. I have never seen anything so precious or timeless in my life. This dirty, tired, weathered cowboy hitting golf balls in his chaps and watching his overly eager and competitive Border Collies fight for top dog position. I only wish I could draw the picture I see in my mind. I could have grabbed a lemonade, pulled up a chair, and talked to this guy for days. We didn't end up with a Border Collie , but I am thankful for the memory.