The King has returned

Do you remember Duchess and her little itty bitty puppies? We placed ono of the boys in a guardian home. He is 6 months old now. Here is was as a baby and here he is now He is so cute he doesn't even look real. He is 10 1/2 inches tall and 9 pounds. He came over for a little bit today to visit.

Here are Steve and Robbie, Rosie's remaining puppies.
Steve loves playing with stuffed toy fluff.
Robbie wouldn't hold still for a good picture.
Fill it up?
I'm teaching them not to bite. See?

Christmas pictures

Tinker Belle's (just found out from her breeder her first name is Tinker and her middle name is Belle. She is named after her mom, Bella) puppies' eye are opening. Here are their new pictures.
1st boy
Girl
2nd boy.

Jill is sick. Liuda took care of the dogs and puppies and I took care of JillyBean.

The fight for the test results

I'm getting just a bit frustrated. On October 27th one of our guardian dogs went for her hip testing. Her name is Chamois. She is from Velvet and Koby's Oct 24th
2005 litter. Her guardian family took her to the vet for me. I called
the vet's office before hand to make the arrangements and pay. They
were supposed to have put it all in my name, use her registered name,
and use her microchip number. I also paid extra to get expedited
results. Well, here it is a month later. After several phone calls over
the past 2 weeks I finally have the results. It is in the guardian
family's name, my name is not listed at all. It only has her call name,
no microchip number, no registration number. I'm not happy about this. It wouldn't do any good for me to call Pennhip because since I'm listed as the owner I can't make any changes. I called the vet's office and told them that while it is nice to finally
know the results and that we can breed her, this piece of paper is not
going to do me any good. I need the certificate to at least have her
registered name and/or micro chip number on it, preferably both.

Before this string of bad luck, I had all but decided to spay Chamois and not
breed her since she isn't the most beautiful doodle I've ever seen.
However, she has a terrific disposition, good conformation, and is just
a great all around dog. I decided to go ahead and do her health testing
and if they turn out really good then she should be bred. There is more
to a good dog than good looks. Do you remember Deni, the very first
puppy born here? Wellll, I can't really say she would win any beauty pageants either. However, she had great health test results and is very smart and athletic. She and Koby had a litter here before moving along and not all the puppies are ugly.
When deciding if a dog should be bred this is some of what we look at:
over all general health, temperament, parents, pedigree, health of siblings, hips, eyes, thyroid, coat quality, over all beauty, conformation. Each one of those things is just one part of the whole. If one area is lacking a little then she can be bred with a dog that is very strong in that area.
Speaking of Deni's puppies. Here is a picture I got today of one of her cute puppies born here Oct '04. His baby picture
Here he is at 2 years oldBow all grown up.
My babies are growing up.

Woo Hoo! We are famous. The news segment went well. I didn't look too stupid.

Reality

We had to come home today. (whiiiine) I wanted to stay.

I did miss the doods though and was glad to see them. They acted glad to see me too. Man, Robbi and Steve must have gained 10 pounds while we were gone. They are getting to be like dogs now, not just puppies. Tink's pups are getting big too.

The vacation continues

This trail riding is fun...but ouch

The family vacation

We went to a dude ranch with my dad and his wife, and my 14 siblings, in-laws, neices, nephews, etc... A couple stayed at our house to care for the doodles while we were gone.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Something that I think was really funny happened, but in the spirit of the family-friendly holiday I will spare you the details.

The puppies are doing well. Bessie is fitting in and seems to feel more comfortable. Robbie and Steve are cute. Ashes is in heat. Velvet is lovely.

TV

Da Vinci came over this morning. He, Tinkerbelle, their three puppies, Robbie, Steve, Bryony,
and I went to Indianapolis this morning. We were taped for a little
segment of the news. A reporter called last week (I guess I forgot to
tell you she called when Tinkerbelle had her first puppy) and asked if I
would be willing to sit down and talk to them about designer dogs. That
sent a red flag up and I was really afraid of what their slant would
be. I so did not want to be there and they start blasting me. When she
said she also wanted to talk to a doodle owner I immediately thought of
Beth from IDOG . She is
the one I got the Today Show to send to NY to be on the show with me.
Beth and her husband are terrific. They have trained their dogs to be
search
and recovery dogs a have started the International Doodle Owners group
and have started a non profit Doodle rescue organization. She is the
perfect one to talk about our doodles. I just figured there would be
several people there and I would be able to just sit quietly while the
others did the talking. Ha. Nope, that isn't how it worked. First the
camera man got some footage of all the dogs and puppies. Then he wired
me with a lapel mike and had me sit in a chair with the camera directly
on me. The reporter sat beside the camera out of view. She asked me
questions. I was nervous. Beth had a turn next. She did really well.
Hopefully she will get more airtime. We will be on sometime during the
10:00 p.m. news hour Monday Nov 27th on FOX 59 in Indianapolis.

Bessie's hips

Bessie went to the vet today for her hip testing. She had her hips tested via the Pennhip method. The vet thought they looked good and said she will probably get good scores, yeah. I took a gamble getting her untested. Her parents and a couple siblings have had their hips tested and have good scores. I was sure hoping hers are good too.

Wwaaaahhhhhh!!!!!

Rosie's two remaining pups, Robbie and Steve, are getting so big and fat and cute.
src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb6c68405c200000015108Qcs2jdw2ag>Is
this really Robbie, or a stuffed animal?

src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb6d157458200000015108Qcs2jdw2ag>Steve
almost looks like a baby Kori.

Party has a new name now. src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb7802ca43500000016108Qcs2jdw2ag>Do
you think she looks like a "Bessie"? Teri (my sister) thought that name
up. I think it is a good one. Her name is Bessie now. Bessie got a
bath. She played outside much of today and got all dirty. She was so
cute outside. She was jumping around and attacking leaves and sticks
and toys. She had a great time.

O.k., I've been putting off the
dew claws long enough. Finally shortly before midnight I went in to
remove the dew claws - to cut their little toes off - to pull out their
thumbs. Man I hate that, can you tell? I walked in the bathroom
and...oh my gosh....noooooo........ The fourth-born, a little girl, is
dead. Just barely dead but dead all the same. I did CPR, gave
injections of NS and of glucose water. Nothing brought her back around.
I had decided not to keep any of these puppies for breeding, but if I
had I thought this little girl would be the one. I'm not exactly sure
what happened. I noticed all today that something just didn't seem
quite right with her. She had this short little cry and I never saw her
nursing. Her belly was fat like she was nursing fine and I wondered if
I just happened to only go in the bathroom between feedings for her.
Still, I kept telling myself that I needed to keep a closer eye on her.
She is also the one thatTink ignored when first born. This pup is the one that when Liuda happened to check under Tink's tail to make sure everything was fine, she found a pup still enclosed in the sac just lying there. Tink ignored her until I picked her up, broke the sac, cleared the airway, and got her going. Maybe either Tink
knew something was wrong with her and was going to let nature take its
course, or maybe she went without oxygen for too long and was never
quite right. Or, maybeTink layed on her. Who knows, but it is sad.

This really hurts. This makes 4 girls dead and a missed pregnancy all in the past 2 months.

Coming and going day

Sometime in the very early morning hours my sister came home from
running an errand for me. She went to TN to see Sherry at Dandy Doodles
and brought back a Party for me.
This is Party, an F1B Labradoodle. She is 9 months old. She is one week older than Rosie's first litter. I'm going to change her name.

I
went to bed shortly before 1:00 this morning and had to get back up at
3:00 a.m. to take Ernie to the airport. I took a money order with me to
pay for his airfare. They wouldn't accept it. Good thing I had enough
money in my checking account to cover it. yikes, and I thought that
would be a good idea.

Duncan went home at 2:30 p.m. His family
drove all the way from WI to get him. This was the first time they had
seen him in person. They were very pleased and said he looks even cuter
in person.

Mike went home around 3:30. They had seen him before
and were happy to be taking him home today. They are going to train him
to do therapy work.

Poor Steve and Robbie.

I keep putting off removing the new baby pups' dew claws.

Today I finished putting together the books I make for the puppies. Also got the puppy blankets finishd and dog their bags packed. Ernie got a bath and got his crate packed.

Tinkerbelle and her pups are doing really well.

Tinkerbelle has puppies

Wow, Tinkerbelle surprised us by having her puppies today. I'll fill you in tomorrow. All is well. Ssee our availabl puppies page and our chat page for more info and to see pictures.

Davinci spent the night last night and stayed again today to play. It was great having him around. I miss him. He is such a great dog. He went home this evening.

Tinkerbelle came over yesterday. She is staying until after she has and raises her pups. She is pregnant by Da Vinci. They did speak a bit but he is through with Tinkerbelle. He is more interested in Ashes. That is not nice of him. He can't have Ashs anyway. Tink barely looks pregnant. She isn't due until next Tuesday the 21st. She has a lot of growing to do.

Honey, the Josie Da Vinci
girl we have in a guardian family, came over this evening so I could
give her shots to her. She is incredibly gorgeous. She also weighs a
little less than Rosie's puppies.

Charity Event

Da Vinci came over this morning and played. He had his nose up Ashes' butt most of the day. Oh well, at least it was just his nose.

This evening I took Da Vinci and 2 of Rosie's pups, Ernie and Mike, to the Children's Bureau Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off and silent Auction. I'm thinking I already told you all about it and about all my stipulations for donating a pup for it, so I will spare you all that now. I brought these three guys just as demonstrations. This was a much bigger and fancier deal than what I thought it was going to be. We were the hit of the evening. All three of my guys did fantastic and each drew their own fans and each had people who wanted to buy them. After several hours I could tell that Da Vinci was getting tired and overwhelmed. He started facing the wall and had his tail pointed down. I thought that was a very nice way of telling me he had enough. I took him out to the van and let him spend the last part of the evening in there by himself. He seemed to appreciate that. The pups did great. They didn't whine or pee or anything. Well, they did pee, but only when someone took them outside to do that. The couple that won the bid for a puppy passed the application and everything. They have always had a dog but their last dog died. They have been thinking of getting another. This was a great way for them to help the Children and to get a great dog all at the same time. They are going to get Mike and have him trained to become a therapy dog. I'm tired, good night.

A misc day

Today was a day for odds and ends. I was really busy but didn't do anything in particular.
Rosie's pups got their second set of immunizations. The neutered boys got their stitch out. Poor Ernie. His stitch was deep and I had to dig to get to it. I couldn't have timed this any better. There Liuda and I were in full view of the front door. We had Ernie on his back with his little parts up in the air and I was digging around there trying to get the stitch out. Just then Bryony walked in from school. Niiiice, she really appreciated seeing that the moment she walked in. I was having troubles finding the stitch. Have I mentioned lately that I lost my glasses on the airplane on the way to FL? I went to the eye doctor last week and am now waiting for my bifocals. Whhiiiiine...I'm getting old. Anyway, Luida couldn't get the stitch. This was hurting Ernie and making him cry and Luida just couldn't bring herself to do it. I handed, or should I say "tried to hand", Bryony the suture removal scissors and asked her to do it. Surprisingly enough she refused. She did at least hold a flashlight for me. That helped a bunch and I was able to get it right out.

What?! Luida?! Did I mention Liuda? Could it be could it be? Yessssss!!!!!!!!! she loves me, she really loves me. One day I came home from taking the girls to school and there was Luida's BMW in my driveway. I was afraid to get my hopes up and thought maybe she was just here for a visit. I walked in the house and there she was in her work clothes, rubber gloves, and cleaning puppy poo. I was sooo excited and wanted to hug her.

Caught up

I am totally caught up with my diary now. This is Sunday so we didn't have any appointments. I've been working with the puppies teaching them to come and sit.

nitey nite

Veteran's Day

When I was in the Navy, I was stationed on Adak, Alaska. Only when I was there the whole island was nothing but a Navy base, no civilian community, no McDonald's, no Pizza Hut, no nothing. Even so, I would love to go back.

Today was bathie time and picture day for Rosie's puppies. They average 11 pounds. Here they are, they are still damp in the pictures.
Steve is still available.
Duncan, Uncle Charley, will be moving to WI.
Mike needs a family. He has that "go ahead and do what ever you want to me" attitude.
Robbie either need a guardian family, or I would be willing to sell him to just the right breeder.
Ernie's new family is going to keep the name Ernie. It rhymes with their last name and sounds really cute.
New Sally got a new family today and a new name. She is now Sadie and lives with a guardian family.

Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off and silent auction

Did you know November is National
Adoption Month? The Indiana Children's Bureau is having a Dave
Thomas Celebrity
Cook-Off and silent auction. When they called to ask if I
would donate a puppy to the auction I felt torn. Of course adoption is
near and dear to us. Yet, the idea of auctioning off a puppy is appalling to me. I listed some strict stipulations and they agreed. These are my requirements:
1)
The winner must undergo the same screening as anyone else. He/she must
fill out an application. I will not give a pup to anyone I don't feel
comfortable with no matter if he/she wins the bid.
2) The pup cannot be a gift for someone else.
3) I will not donate a specific pup to be auctioned off.
4) The winner must be matched to the right pup for them.
5) The winner will not go home with a pup that day. The winner must take his/her time and be adequately prepared before bringing home a pup.

I'm
sure I said other stuff too, but I don't remember. I'm listed here
and even get an extra page here.

This morning Ashes had to go the vet bright and early for her pre breeding testing. When I picked her up later they asked if I was aware she was cycling. Uh, no, I didn't know that. They said it looks like she is only just now starting. She has a very little blood and no swelling. That explains it. That is why Noodles was such a nut case yesterday and why he and Ashes were flirting so much. I asked them to put a rush on the testing. I also had them draw a progesterone level. When I got home I sent an email to Meeko's guardian mom. I think they are on vacation now. Hope they hurry home.

Rosie's puppies are getting so big and are just adorable. They are going to be big dogs. They also look like they are going to be "gooder 'ole dogs". They have that look in their eyes like they will be the best dogs ever in the world, they will be a child's best dog friend ever. Do you know what I mean?

Here are a coupld of them:
Steve would make a good working dog.
Ernie will be moving to New York.
The pups got to play outside in the sunshine today. They loved it.

Still waiting

Lewis, the last of the Josie pups, went home today. I took him to the airport early early this morning. It was scary driving in the dark without my glasses.

After taking Lewis to the airport I hurried home and got Jill and Bryony up and ready for school, took Ashes and Velvet on a quick 1 1/2 mile walk, took Bry to school, took Jill and a Rosie pup to school (I take a pup or dog to Jill's school every day twice a day, just don't always mention it here), picked up Noodles (BrideGroom), went back home, picked up New Sally and Robbie and Lacey (who was dropped off here a few minutes earlier), and took them to the eye doctor in Indianapolis. Noodles was a complete noodle. He was really something. It was a good thing Bryony went with me to help. Somebody had called me as I was trying to get out the door to get the doods to the eye doctor. I was running late and was a bit distracted. Since he was really close to where the eye dr is, I had him meet me there. I felt badly that I was not able to completely concentrate on talking to him. I think it went o.k. though, he was able to see New Sally and Robbie. He was interested in being a guardian and just happened to work out well that we were able to meet up.

The CERF exams went perfectly on all four doods. They are done and out of the way for another year. Coco and Tucker are due to have their eyes examined next. Rosie and Francie will be due next April.

We had our very own doodle romp in our back yard this afternoon when we got back from the eye doctor. They had fun. Noodles was wacko. He and Ashes played and played and flirted and had a great time.

I was supposed to have a written report of that ILA kennel inspection within two weeks. It has been one day short of three weeks now and I still don't have it.

Lewis had a big day today. He went to Jill's school twice, the vet for his health certificate, and went shopping at the pet supply store. He certainly received more than his fair share of attention. He is just a pretty boy. He got to try out some crates and pick just the right one to fly home in. He goes home tomorrow. Oops, do you suppose I ought to let his family know he is going home to them tomorrow and that they need to go to the airport to pick him up? Here we are doing all this preparing and yet almost forgot to let his family know. I just called them and good thing they are delighted and good thing they are able to pick him up tomorrow. I was up really late tonight.
Bye bye Lewis, you were my favorite from the moment you were born because of your white chin, white 'r' on your chest, and your white toe.


It about killed me to have you neutered. I will miss you.

Wham bam...

It was 2:00 a.m. before I got to bed this morning, and before 6:00 when I had to get up.

According to the progesterone testing, today is Mera's peak day for breeding. Mera spent the night so she would be here when Meeko and his guardian family arrived today. They came over around 10:00 a.m. or so. We let Meeko and Mera say hi to each other while we went over to look at Rosie's pupppies.
I handed one of the pups to the mom and, oops yuck, he had some dried
poo on him. I haven't had a chance yet to bathe them
(sigh...remembering the Laaaazy River). I real quick like took one of the pups in my bathroom to give him a bath. When I was just finishing up with him, Meeko's mom came to let me know Meeko and Mera were doing the deed. So I walk in the living room, and where do you think they were? Yup, on the luuuuv couch. That silly Mera. I'll just bet it is a learned behaviour for her now. That is the only place where Da Vinci was able to reach her and now she must think that is where she has to be for it. It was really pretty funny. Meeko is a big boy and he doesn't need the couch to reach her. When they were done, I disinfected
the couch. I don't think I will ever have a cloth couch again. How in
the world could they be sanitary? Sure, not everyone has dogs doing it
on their couch. But still, people sit on them and maybe even put their
feet on them. So,Meeko arrived at 10:00 and was leaving already at
10:30 a.m. He arrived, said hi, did the deed, romped for a minute in
the backyard, licked the top of Mera's head and told her "thank you, bye" and was off.
Yessss....what a good stud boy he is going to be!

The Laaaazy River

Aaahh, today was the best, except for the going home part that came later. I slept in as late as I wanted. It was after 8:00 a.m. before I got up, wow. I spent the entire morning lounging around in my fuzzy purple footie jammies hanging out with my four apartment mates (and Renee when she got around to coming over). So far 3 out the 6 of us has sold a puppy via cell phone and/or computer this weekend. I was not one of them.

This resort has a water park that has a Lazy River in it. Renee and I finally got around to going. As soon as we got there I called the others and strongly advised they come join us. I assured them they did not have to wear bathing suits or get wet. The winning points for them was that we could order food here. Everyone was hungry.
Anyway, Renee and I didn't waste any time checking out the Lazy River. It looked so peaceful and tranquil. One of my very favorite things is just floating on an inner tube and enjoying the sunshine (and not getting wet). So, it took some fancy moves but I managed to get on a tube and on the water without getting wet at all. Aaaahhhhhh...this is the life...just floating along...letting the sun gently wash over us...not a care in the world...aaaahhhhh...perfection....we float around the bend...and what is that sound Renee...do you hear that...what the...OH MY GOSH IT IS A WATERFALL! No...it is right in the middle of the river. Oh we hurry and try to paddle to the side with our hands. Renee managed to get to the side and she reached her hand out to save me. It was all so very dramatic. I managed to grab her fingers and pull over far enough to grab a fern. Ferns don't exactly have branches, but what ever it is ferns have it saved my life because I was able to grab it and pull myself over to to the side. So we kept a hold of the side and inched past the waterfall without getting wet. Whew...glad that is over...now where were we...aaahhhh...back to enjoying peace and tranquility. Hey! Not another waterfall...but...but...that is not fair and it didn't give us enough warning...noooooo...save me Renee....I...can't...make...it...splash splash glug glug. Well, that was invigorating. I went right square under the waterfall and got drenched. Somehow it wasnt' as bad as I thought it would be though. The water wasn't freezing and the sun is warm. I have to keep reminding myself that we aren't in Indiana. Hey, no fair, Renee didn't get sucked under the waterfall, she is dry. humpf! I'll have to try to talk her in to going for another round so I can shove her tube in the current so she can experience the waterfall too. One must get the full experience to thoroughly enjoy it. In the meantime, back to the peace and tranquility. When we rounded another corner there was a young man working there. They had these life guard people stationed here and there to ensure the safety of the guests. So where was my life guard when I was about to get drenched? Renee and I start giving him a hard time about us get getting wet. He made it sound like we were idiots for being surprised that we might get wet while playing in the w-a-t-e-r (that is what he said). Somehow I don't think he caught on that we were only teasing. When we rounded another corner we spotted the others so we got out (without getting wetter).

We found a nice area to lounge and we ordered our food. It seemed to take forever to get there. I only had about another hour before I needed to leave for the airport. Finally it arrived and just as we were getting ready to eat, Diane's phone rang. It was kind of funny. All weekend when someone's phone rang the rest of us would say "oh, maybe she is going to sell a puppy", and we got excited for her. It was neato hanging out with others who know exactly how it is. Our long awaited and expensive food had just arrived but Diane didn't mention it to the caller. She was very happy to talk to her about her puppies. Renee and I were following along. That was pretty funny too. When Diane told the caller "he is 11 weeks old" I leaned over to Renee and pretended to be the caller "what is wrong with him? why is he still there?". Then Diane, who was oblivious to anything else, said to the caller "there is absolutely nothing wrong with him, he just....". Then I leaned over to Renee and we both said at the same time "would you be willing to come down on the price since he is so old?" Yes, of course that was the next question Diane answered for the caller. We couldn't hear the caller but we knew what she was going to say next. See, there are others that live my life. This is the best part of the weekend. Just being with others who understand and know how it is. She likely sold the puppy. That makes just two of who didn't sell one. pout

Whiiiinnneee....I don't wanna go .....

I pried myself from the lounge chair and drove back to the apartment, showered, packed, and drove back to the airport. Yikes, I had to go out of my way to find a gas station to fill up the SUV. I'm running late and I just know I will have some type of problem when I turn in the SUV. Oh man, why did I do this to myself? O.k., I found a gas station, filled up, and found my way to the airport and to the rental return. Wow...no problems at all and it didn't cost anything extra for the SUV. wow. Now, I'm still running late.

I drag my luggage to the terminal and I am faced between using the elavator or the escalator. I figure the escalator must be faster so I climb aboard. Why is this a big deal you may ask? Because it goes up two stories...straight up...no getting off anyplace...just straight up two flights. My hands and feet are sweating for real now just reliving that nightmare. So there I drag my luggage on and go up and up and up and up...I'm a little over half way up...and oooohhhh myyyy goshhhhh...I just know I am going to die...this is it....my luggage is going to pull me backwards and I am going to fall back down the stairs and I am going to be killed...that is it...there is not a doubt in my mind I am going to die right here right now. I try closing my eyes but that makes it worse because I'm afraid I will lose my balance and fall backwards and down the stairs and die. (I have to keep stopping and wiping my hands as I'm writing this). I can't turn around and I can't get off. I just have to stay on until I get to the top and hope I don't trip at the top or get stuck and fall down the stairs and die. I try meditating and repeating to myself that I have never heard of or seen anyone falling down an escalator and dieing. I've never seen anyone falling down an escalator. but...I've never seen anyone getting murdered, never seen anyone get hit by a train, never seen anyone fall off a roof; but I know all those things happen. I was with one of my sisters once when she broke her arm on an escalator. Made it! Whew, I made it and I didn't die. Wow, I had to hurry and walk away from there because I was afraid I would trip or sneeze or somehow my luggage would force me back to there and I would die.

Had to hurry had to hurry I was running late. Whew, the flight was delayed and I was fine. Once on the plane I admit that I looked around for my glasses again. I was sitting in the same seat as before, but not certain it was the same plane. The flight was uneventful, thank goodness.

Ooohhhh man...I lost my van keys. When I got my luggage I ended up taking everything out 2 times looking for my keys. It was 11:00 p.m. or so when I had to end up calling Rick asking him to drive an hour each way to bring my keys. For some reason he didn't act too thrilled to see me when he got here.

I sold a puppy over the weekend and didn't even know it. There is someone I had been talking to about Lewis the Josie/DaVinci pup that is still here. She had submitted an application already but just hadn't been quite ready to commit. When I got home of course I made a bee line to the computer and saw she had sent in payment in full for Lewis. Well how about that. He will go home this week.

The house was not in bad shape at all.

The Romp and Dinner

I'm still in Orlando, Florida at a Doodle breeders convention thingie.

Wow, I slept in this morning. No puppy whines, no toddler getting in our bed, no alarm clocks, no husband snoring, no nothing but peace and quiet. We (not the royal we, my apartment mates) couldn't lounge around too long though. The Doodle Romp started at 9:00 a.m. and I was going spastic thinking we might be late. It was a beautiful day. It was perfectly sunny and warm. When we got to the romp I ended up taking off my shoes and going barefoot. I half expected a dog to run off with my Crocs, but they didn't. The romp was really nice. They had a service there with a guy walking around with a pooper scooper picking up the poos right away, very nice.
Here are pictures (not of the pooper scooper):
See how nice it is outside? I'm barefoot in November.

One of the breeders who helped put this weekend together trains killer whales at Sea World. She had the dog trainer from Sea World come to our romp with his dog and do a demonstration for us. It was really neato. I took their pictures because they are probably famous and I just don't know it.


Here are some breeders and some people (what, like breeders aren't people?)

They gave prizes away and I was a winner! I won a water bottle and Renee won a nice basket of doggie biscuits. We coveted each other's prize so we swapped. I feel badly that I don't know who donated it. I would like to thank them.

After the romp some of us were hungry and wanted to go grab something to eat. I didn't want to leave anybody out, so I went around to each breeder and invited him/her to join us. It was all very last minute. Imagine my delight at the restaurant as eventually almost all of the breeders showed up. It was great. It was so fun seeing in person the people I hang out on the forums with. I would so love to name-drop, but I better not. I don't know how shy some of the other breeders. Hey, if you were there and want to say "hi", feel free to post a comment with your website and email address included. I sat next to Renee. She doesn't come across as being shy. She is hilarious.

After lunch I was supposed to go get my bathing suit on and meet Renee, Karen, and Peggy at the pool. Well, I did get my suit on, wrapped a towel around me and drove off to where I thought the pool was. I saw a sign for the pro shop and was thinking the pool was behind that. The parking lot was nearly full and there were people walking around in nice golfing clothes. Somehow I felt uncomfortable with the idea of walking through an upscale golf shop wearing a bathing suit and towel. This isn't Motel 6. I was disappointed and got depressed and went back to the apartment and went to bed. Ahhhh, that was nice to go to bed in the middle of the day. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap. That was total luxury, but not a luxurous as napping by the pool would have been. I felt badly at standing the others up. I tried.

That evening we went to dinner and listened to two speakers. The first speaker was Dr Arun of the Florida Animal Reproductive Center I learned lots from him. The other speaker was a trainer who told us how/when to train our pups before they go to their new homes. I learned lots from her too. I'd say the weekend was worth it. It was so great to chat with the other breeders. One of the poor breeders got a phone call from home during dinner. His 14 yr old Poodle died unexpectedly.
Here are some pictures from this evening. I won't tell you who they are unless they let me know it is o.k.
Those are not pictures in the background. That is really real.

Ta Da!

We all lined our cameras up and one of the employees so kindly took pictures with each of our camera. The battery of my camera died so I wasn't able to take anymore pictures. This was good though.
They had give aways this evening too. I won some shampoo and conditioner that Mindi donated. Thank you Mindi, I have been enjoying them.

Speaking of being a winner. I forgot to mention that another breeder had shirts and hats made that she gave to each of us. Someone also donated Lupine collars and I won one. Again, I feel badly that I don't remember who. I think it might have been Alisa that donated them.

Leaving on a jet plane

2:30 a.m. came too quickly. Bright and early, 5:55 a.m., this morning I flew to Orlando to a doodle breeders convention. The sky was bright and blue and the sun was warm. The book I'm reading while doing the airport/airplane thing is "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan, star of National Geographic Channel's Dog Whisperer. It is great. You guys should all read it and watch his show.

We arrived in Orlando at 9:35 a.m. That meant I had all day to enjoy the sunshine. That airport is so big we had to take a tram over to the other side of the airport to get our luggage. (that is the royal we and our) O.k., so, I have my luggage and I go over to the car rental place. There all these counters for all these different car rental companies, and only one company has a line. It isn't just a couple of people, but a whole big long line of people waiting. I'm looking at my car rental reservation that I printed out yesterday. It says something like "bypass the lines, go directly to pick up your car...", so naturally I thought "well, I don't have to be like all those poor people, I get to skip the line". I dragged my luggage and walked way over to the garage to get my car. The chick there looked at my reservation and said I would have to go back over to the airport and wait in line. But...but...it says...she didn't care what it said. She said I have to go back, so back I went. It look forever, I was so glad I didn't have an appointment or any reason to be in a hurry. After I waited forever and signed the form I went back over to the parking garage. It was so weird, they said to just go pick out the car I wanted that was in the area I signed up for. They all had keys and I was just supposed to get in and drive away. They had tons of cars, but only two in the Premium section. There was just a little car that didn't look like anything special, and an SUV. Ooooo, that SUV had to be a mistake...I wonder if I would get caught if I took it....oooo but it was in the premium section. I looked around to see if anybody was watching...then I real quick-like put my bags in. This chick came over and looked disappointed to see that other car was the only one available in that section, she got in it and drove away. Well, that means this SUV is the only one in this section. Still I was just waiting for someone to come over and tell me I couldn't have that one. I got in, looked around figuring out how to operate everything then back it up and started driving off. This was too easy, what was to keep people from just diving away in them without signing up? Oh, I get it now, we had to stop and show our paperwork before getting out of the garage. Oh great, there is no getting away now, he is going to see I signed up for premium and not an SUV. But but this was the only vehicle in the Premium section. His computer must have been down or something. It was forever to get up there. The plane landed at 9:35 a.m. and it was 11:30 a.m. before I finally got out of there. He just looked at my paper work, did something in the computer (probably dialed the cops to report me for stealing an upgrade) and said o.k. I am free to go. I said "That's it?" oh gee, do you suppose I could have been more subtle? and he said "yes, that is all". off I drove. Oh, did I mention that I lost my glasses on the first flight? Yup, I have to take them off to read. I either put them in my shirt pocket or had them on top of my head when I was reading and waiting to board the first flight. I don't remember if I put them back on when I got up to board the plane. At any rate, they were no where to be found when the first flight landed. I really need them for distance vision. That means it is scary for me to drive without them. Well, actually, driving during the day in good weather is fine. So, anyway, off I drove. What an adventure to hop on a flight, grab a car, and drive to the resort. I drove right to it. It was about 1/2 drive and would have cost $78 each way for a cab or if the resort hired a car for me. No thanks, driving is fine and much cheaper. So I got to the resort and was really hoping to be able to check in early and take a nap before heading back to the airport this afternoon to pick up some other breeders. Just as I was afraid of, since I am not the one who made the reservations I couldn't check in. I had to wait. Shoot, I was so tired. I went out to the car and napped on and off for three hours until going back to pick up the others. I drove straight to the airport without any problems. It was early so I went to the food court and had some pizza and read more of Ceasr's book. It is a good book, you need to read it. Then I went down to the baggage claim area and found where they will be picking up their bags. Then I walked from that area to where I parked the SUV. I wanted to be able to impress them with how well I knew my way around the Orlando airport. Then I went back and alternated between reading the book and looking at the travelers and trying to guess which were the other breeders. I love doing that (trying to pick out people I know only from the computer and telephone). I thought I figured out who they were but just as I went closer to them some guy that was obviously part of their group joined them. I wasn't rooming with a man so I knew they weren't the ones. I kept seeing these two women, but I was looking for a group of three, and besides, one of them looked too fancy for a dog breeder. It turned out to be them. The other was over with a family delivering a puppy to them.

Yeah, it is time to go back to the resort now. Keep in mind that I have already driven straight there and back already. That is over an hour in that vehicle with no problems. Well, we make our way to the vehicle and all get in. Then one of them says something about feeling nervous when she drives people around because she feels like they are watching and judging her. Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I don't feel nervous when I drive people. So what do I do right away? I turn on the windshield wipers instead of putting it in reverse. Then at one point on the way back I made a wrong turn. Oh well, at least we made it in one piece.

We got all checked in and each got our own key card. It is a cashless resort so we have to put everything on the card. It is a 2200 acre place, and very nice. Our room was great. It really was more like an apartment. It had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, living room, kitchen, balcony, and even had an oversized closet with a washer and dryer. I had a room, dressing area, and bathroom all to myself. It was wonderful.

We had dinner with a bunch of other breeders and it was really fun.

No puppies

Today was Holly's due date but it came and went and she is still not even looking pregnant. Tuesday when I took Mera
to see the same vet that did Holly's ultra sound, I told him that Holly
doesn't seem pregnant. He said that if she is only having one pup then
she could pop it out without ever looking pregnant or might only start
showing the day before having the pup(s). Great, that got my hopes up.
I emailed her guardian mom to let her know that and to be on the look
out for suddenly enlarged mammery glands. She said still no signs of pregnancy.

Today I finalized all the going-away plans. When I double checked with my husband to make sure he had his end covered - transporting the girls to and from school and a babysitter in case he wanted to go out - he gave me the deer-frozen-in-the-headlights look. Oh my gosh, it is not like he didn't know I'm leaving and it is not like he doesn't know he is a parent too. So, I made all those arrangements too. Jill's birthmom and her husband will be coming over to babysit. This will be the first time for that. I'm so happy they will be part of each other's lives. That topic is for another blog...back to the doods. Liuda will be coming over Friday and Saturday and Jill's birthmom's husband will be coming over Sunday (first time for that) to take care of the dogs and puppies.

Remember when I said somebody from ILA might eventually notice that one entry? Well...somebody noticed.

I didn't get to bed until after midnight thirty or so.

Rosie's boys got neutered today. Ernie, Steve, and Duncan are their names. I'll spare you the details, just insert the usual...I can't believe how quickly they are growing up...I can't believe how well they do after surgery...They are running around and playing like nothing ever happened....

Ashes looks and acts so much like Velvet. Just looking in to her face and her eyes is like looking in Velvet's face. Sigh...I love Ashes already. This is her puppy picture She was born 4-5-05. She is just going to hang out here with us until either after she retires or until after she is spayed. Hmmm, I guess either way she will be spayed before leaving us.