New Year's Eve

The morning romp up to the Studio...


and goodbye to 2007 aroos from Ginny.

The windblown look

We're having gusts today....
Which makes BB and Luverboy look more punked out than ever.


Here's Luverboy with that tell tale spike mohawk look.


and the two of them racing with poor little pink footed hedgie.

happy face

Several people have asked me how Jinks is doing. He's doing really well. He's holding his own, he's active, he's pugnacious and his appetite hasn't slowed one jot. That's all wonderful but what I'm hoping for is what I see in this picture I took in September of this year. This is Jinksy's "happy face" when he's out in the field chasing, running, barking, flopping through snow and rushing back to me for treats. This is the face he has when he doesn't hurt, when he isn't tired, when he isn't anxious, when he doesn't have a care in the world. This is the face which is impossible to frown or mope around, this is the joyous Corgi smile, full of laughter, full of hope, full of fun. We're looking for the "happy face" which is different from the "dinner time" face of the "snuggle time" face or the "let's go home" face. Paws and fingers crossed that he will feel this good again.

Garbo

As you can see Ginny is fed up with having her picture taken....

But she is a bit of an exhibitionist.

Mr. Innocent

I'd say Jinksy's eyesight and speed are getting better. Yes, that is Puli fuzz dripping from his lips.... Please refer the the Dr. Jekyll post for previous attempts at mayhem.


Butthead. I'm certain a lot of this is dealing with his low vision and the fact that he's not feeling well. After all the top dog isn't supposed to show any sign of weakness. Well, he isn't. That doesn't make lunging at puppies okay and it can be a struggle to get butthead to back off. However, come bedtime, they're all curled up in a pile of brown and black fuzz snoring away like Soccer fans home from the pub.

duck duck goose

Duckie

Puli tug of war (or playing Roman Chariot style Ben Hur races I'm not sure which)

Puli keep away

Puli butts (or the "goose" part of the game)

If they keep up their stuffed toy obsession they may make it to the big time and have their own gallery opening. Actually I was blown away by this episode of dog genious and Donnie the Doberman

all clear on the western front

Well, it's been a busy 2 days. I started out yesterday to the Vets only to discover a dead battery in my truck. It was -17 F Thursday night so that's not a surprise but it still wasn't fun. By the time I'd gotten the truck going it was too late for the Vets. After a lot of phone calls and maneuvering things were rescheduled for this morning.

Jinks' bloodwork is good, his x-rays show clear lungs (yeah! no more pneumonia) and the ultrasound was clean. I am a happy dog mom. He's not back 100% but he's better. Now I just need to cut back on the rations- he's up to 31 pounds!

This is the moon on Friday morning looking west over the driveway.

Paws crossed

Jinks is certainly feeling better today. The pneumonia is a lot better and he's got a lot more energy. I think the only radical change I've seen is now that I'm feeding him more raw protein - that's all he wants. The boy wants meat. What a surprise.

Tomorrow we go back to the vet for another check up. Fingers and paws crossed.

Puli frolic

The Pulik are always frolicking- but even more so today.

Corgi frolic

Everybody is feeling frisky with cold and snow... it's in the teens today.


Ginny just wants to jump and roll everywhere.

Even Jinks is running up the drive just to run alongside Ginny.

Merry, Happy, Peaceful, Best....

Corgi aroos

Santa Bears
..and Puli puppy hippity hops





and the day after Christmas


things are back to normal.

Christmas Eve

Our morning walk up the hill... Jinks is definitely having more trouble making that walk. As you can see Ginny is sticking to him like glue.



This doesn't slow down the morning romp for the hellboyz.

Shadow warrior

Jinks is on some new herbal meds. He's a little slower going up the drive in the mornings but not much.



He still has a little congestion from the pneumonia but you sure couldn't tell it the way he's vocalizing.

santa bear

Nothing like a freshly plowed drive...



... a snowy stuffed santa bear...



and a game of keep away.

Corgi deep corgi wide

The snow isn't quite corgi deep this morning.



But it certainly was coming down last night as you can see by the "new look" Jinks is sporting after his late night potty break outside.

I think it may be time to cut down on the treats a little. When he got home from the ICU he was 24 pounds now he's up to 30 pounds.

snow balls

A run through fresh powder outside.



And the results when little BB comes inside.....

Puli basics

No, it's not a cross with a poodle... yes they can see... yes they can break glass with that bark.

There's an old Hungarian saying "If you're hungry steal your neighbors' chicken, unless your neighbor has a puli".



They are bred to herd sheep. Racka Sheep- not for the faint hearted...






They are also trained to move bulls around. Traditionally they work in teams of 3- one jumps up grabs the bull's nose and hangs on while the other two bark and nip at the hooves. This takes a certain amount of brashness in their personality. They're great jumpers.




Border Collies win herding trails, Pulik do not. It's not that Pulik don't listen they just have different ways of accomplishing goals other than "way to me" and "lie down!" A Puli will likely herd sheep by spinning like an electic blender with a short circuit and barking with a sound only equalled by fingernails on a chalkboard. What sheep wouldn't run away from that? If that's your tactic the only crucial thing is where you position yourself when you start to spin and scream. This is a maximum result for a minimum of effort.

It's never dull.

Dr Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde.



Jinks had major surgery on Thanksgiving, he had a transfusion, who knows how many pints of plasma, his white blood cell count was practically non-existent, he was bleeding in his lungs, he lost sight completely in his left eye and almost completely in his right and no one was sure he would make it. No one, except Jinks.

Almost three weeks later- he's a complete butthead. Jinks aka "Zatoichi puli punisher" is snippy snarling dominant butthead again and I'm back to commands like "Don't kill the puppy!, butthead."

Don't worry, the pulik are fine. Luverboy stays clear as much as he can and BB- well BB is a bit of a butthead himself and I'm convinced he just plays the game of "let's tease the Jinkster".

Good Morning Sopris

This is Mount Sopris above Carbondale. Named for "General" Sopris who "discovered" the hot springs in Glenwood.

It has a "rock glacier" and misses being a "Thirteener" by 47 feet at 12,953 feet altitude. It's one end of the Elk Mountain range- Mnt Elbert the highest mountain in Colorado is at the other end of the Elk Mountains. We're at around 7000 feet at the ranch. Although I've climbed around the Elk Mountains a bit I've never made the hike. I did "ski" up Elbert many years ago but that's another story.


It's warmer this morning (out of the minus' column)



Jinks is looking perky and Ginny is following him more and more instead of the other way 'round.

I've heard the "eep eep eep" of elk the past two nights. They normally come back through here for Christmas and New Years.

Grey day

Yesterday was overcast with flat light.



No fresh snow to play in so everybody made due playing with the hedgie and having a barkfest

One picture.....

BB and , well, I really don't need to say much do I?

Starlings and Shakespeare

"The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I’ll holler ‘Mortimer!’ Nay I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion." Henry IV

Which is why we have the European Starling in the United States. In 1890 Eugene Scheifflin imported and released 60 starlings in Central Park on the theory that every bird species mentioned in a Shakespeare play should find a perch in the New World.

Here they flock with Brewer's Blackbirds. They love my roof. Lucky me. Henry IV isn't my favorite play and the Starling isn't my favorite bird. The native species of Chickadees, Nuthatches, Nutcrackers, and Finches are nearer and dearer to my heart. We even had a Western Tanager stop by one year. The Mourning Doves are escapees from a local shooting range. Starlings are something we've seen increase recently along with Pigeons. This is probably directly due to the filling in of irrigation ditches and replacement by wheel sprinkler systems. Magpies, Ravens and Starlings have thrived in the less diverse ecosystem and the smaller birds are having trouble keeping up.

vegetarians?

I'm the only vegetarian in the house.



Since Jinks' cancer diagnosis I've made an effort to increase the amount of protein in his diet. The pet store had a 20 oz. bucket of dried chicken breasts on sale for $25 (made in China). I broke out the dehydrator and sliced up some chicken.



Because of the pneumonia Jinks is on a spectrum of antibiotics which is killing off just about every type of bacteria in his system. Bacteria are pretty important for digestion- so he gets a little yogurt. slippery elm and mashed banana to help out.



Omega 3 - fish oil- everybody is nuts about it. Well, the whole pack is nuts about sardines in oil. It does take doggie breathe to a new level however...