Blogger needs to go!

Blogger will no longer allow me to post pictures. Although my Picassa space is only 73% full, it evidently won't allow any more photos unless I pay an annual fee for more space. 

How incredibly annoying - but that's Blogger!

I Ate the Whole Thing!

In memory of Bart's Favorite Holiday, 

Denali will do her best to eat as much turkey as possible!

Pie (and Puppy) is Done!

For the last ## hours, I've been in the kitchen making multiple pumpkin pies. Denali and Elbee slept through the process, but Sage hung with me most of the time. As our official "Fruit (and vegetable) Dog," he was most excited when the canned pumpkin popped open - Yum!

Now the pies are done.

And so is Sage!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Moosh Puppy!

Certainly our two previous Cardigan females were affectionate, but  until we got Sage we'd never had a certified Moosh Puppy. You know, the sweet, happy, bouncy, exuberant little dog that wants to give hugs and kisses and cuddle with you at every opportunity.

One of Sage's favorite activities is hanging out with the family to watch TV. We're not big TV watchers, but usually we will sit down on Friday nights to decompress. Sage is usually herding us toward the TV room, bouncing and smiling in anticipation.

Once there he knows it's time to cuddle - and as a special treat, he gets the be on the couch. You can do absolutely anything with this dog, as Moe demonstrates.

But you do have to be careful...

Or you'll end up getting upside-down kisses on your glasses.

Like our other corgis, Sage watches TV- intently. Naturally he is especially alert to the presence of an animal of any kind. Seeing dogs make him scamper up to the screen, frantically trying to locate them inside the "box." 

Because he inherited the Grandma Phoebe gene, causing him to be particularly suspicious of anything that looks new and unusual (like moving a potted plant to a new location), Sage also responds to unusual stimuli on the TV. The other night there were some people transporting bricks in baskets balanced on their heads. Admittedly, it looked peculiar and Sage rushed up to the TV trying to figure out why. Sigh...life is never dull with a Moosh Puppy around!

Home for the Holidays means even more time to cuddle with our boy - and a continual stream of entertainment!

Denali in the News

Each month our obedience club posts brags from the members. This month Denali not only had some things to Brag about, but she got her picture featured. Just in time the photographer sent me the original so the final article will not have the photographer's stamp on the picture. (This was a preliminary version sent by the editor.)

(click to get a full-sized corgi)
Denali is the only active performance corgi in the club.

Big Week in Rescue!

Not only did we get the great mail from Scooter's new owners, (below) we also had the pleasure of meeting this gorgeous little BHT boy at the San Francisco airport and introducing him to his new parents.

It didn't take Oscar long to figure out that life had just changed for the better! Starting out as a stray in the mid-west, passing through the hands of two rescuers, he's now found the Real Deal here in San Francisco! He is an extremely handsome dog, with a temperament to match!

We had a great time meeting Oscar's new parents and his new canine sister, Cookie! Congratulations to Oscar on his new and wonderful home. And deep thanks to his new owners for adopting this nice dog!

Forpaws Got Mail!

Today this wonderful card came in the mail. This is a picture of Scooter, a great little guy who came from a situation in which his owners just didn't connect with him at all. When they surrendered him to a shelter in north/central California, he was in bad shape. He was terribly overweight and had an awful bacterial infection in his intestinal tract. Truthfully, it is good that I never met his former owners. Their ears would still be ringing with the sounds of my voice chiding them for treating this nice dog in this way.

But, this isn't about that. This is about the 180-degree turn that Scooter's life took when he came to ForPaws Corgi Rescue. He stayed with us till we were absolutely certain that he was cured and had lost a good deal of his excess weight. He still has some to lose, but his new owners are loving and conscientious and he will be a streamlined version of his former self in no time.

When they came from southern California to get Scooter recently, we were just delighted to meet them. SUCH nice people and exactly the home that Scooter had been looking to find. Today, this wonderful card appeared in my mailbox. It is so wonderful that I just had to share it!

This is the front of the card. A picture of Scooter on his way home.

Scooter is a dog that likes people much more than he likes other dogs. He was in foster care for awhile and became very attached to his foster mom. We always know when they've found their people when they do what Scooter did: The car door opened, he hopped in and never looked back. Instead he was looking anxiously at his new owners, asking when we were going to "go home." How do they know? I don't know, but I've seen it happen over and over with the rescues. Once their "people" show up, they know!

This is what the card said. The signature has been obscured to protect privacy. I don't really need to comment. The card says it all. Do you think Scooter found his home, or what?

Enclosed was a generous donation to ForPaws Corgi Rescue. Certainly we didn't expect this and I was overwhelmed when I opened the card. I called Scooter's foster person and shared it with her. We were both incredibly touched.

These are the moments that remind us why we spend the hours, why we persevere when things aren't going well - because when the dog finds a home, there is nothing like the rewarding feeling that goes with it. It is almost as good as the day when each my own dogs joined our home.

And I am reminded of the day when Bart walked up to me in 1997. The voice in my head was saying, "Oh, he isn't what I'm looking for at all." Then he sat at my feet, threw back his head and showed me the biggest smile imaginable. The voice in my head said, "This is Your Dog!" (Or was it really Bart talking?)

Over and over again, that voice tells me when a foster dog has found its rightful home. Scooter, you're just as lucky as Bart! Congratulations on a wonderful home and a wonderful life!

HUGE Thanks to S. and C. for giving Scooter the home he was meant to enjoy, and for your generousity. You've just given another wonderful dog a brand new start!

Warm wishes to you, and a big belly rub for the Scoot-man!

It's from the AKC!

Denali's RAE Certificate came today! Whaahoo!

She is now officially

C-Myste Denali RAE, CGC

Click to enlarge

AND...

Today we also discovered that the professional photos taken of Denali's RAE Excellent class run-through were posted. These are great photos and I am delighted to have pictures of the RAE event! (Thanks to Barbara for letting me know of the posting. Nice shots of Charlie too!) The photos are free for personal use, so I'll be getting some full-sized originals soon!

The money shot! Love this one - especially since you seldom see the broad jump in use!

Beautiful job Denali! 

Truly, I never saw this day coming when you came home with us in 2003 and were just big enough to fit in my two hands! You continue to amuse, amaze and astound us!

It's on the Books!

Last night I got an e-mail from Denali's Rally instructor congratulating us on her RAE. Turns out he'd looked up the results of some recent shows and saw Denali's title posted in the results of the show in which we got the first RAE2 leg.

Looks like the AKC agrees with my record-keeping! Now I can't wait to see the certificate!

Duck Dog Does Good!

Yup, it rained - just as predicted.  And a high wind advisory was out for the Bay Area bridges. I was so glad we had the SUV, not my Beetle, when we went over the Benecia bridge! During the 1.5 hour drive to Vallejo, I kept hearing the flood warnings pile up on the radio. 

By the time we got to Vallejo at 8AM, it had been raining steadily for close to three hours and there was a little stream flowing in the street in front of the building. Thankfully, they let us drive into the fairgrounds and park right in front of the building on a paved surface, versus the usual dirt parking lots and mile-long trek to the buildings. I was so glad that I'd brought my knee-high rain boots. I had our setup all packaged in plastic garbage bags so I went in first and set up a nice dry spot for us. 

Then I went to get Denali.  My little Oregonian Duck Dog (new breed?) wasn't phased by the rain, or the puddles. She walked up to the little stream, carefully calculated the distance, and hopped right over. Prancing along as if nothing was happening she walked right in and played the "towel game" with me. 

Those chamois towels are awesome! Denali is a fluffy and she managed to suck up a lot of water on her way from the car. One rub down with the chamois towel and she was dry again. And the towel dried out in no time so I could use it again after her breaks. This item is a must-have at shows!

In the morning Denali was definitely "on" and she did very well, racking up RAE2, leg 3. I hung her ribbons on her crate to give her inspiration for the afternoon show.

She always gets nice cozy padding, in her crate, but she tends to push it all to the front and lay behind it. All you can see is her muzzle peeking out. Silly dog.

The inspirational ribbons paid off, as she repeated her performance at the afternoon show.

As a short dog, Denali was first-in for all of our classes. As things progressed it looked like our 95-point score was the one to beat in the Advanced Class. But ultimately there was a 3-way tie for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots, with the winning dog scoring a perfect 100 points! The other two dogs were full-sized Aussies. No way those 5" corgi legs can beat the time against that competition.

But when we finished our run, and I was attaching Denali's leash, the judge stopped on her way to the table with a little smile and quietly said,"Nice job!" It's not often that a judge gives compliments while you're still in the ring. Duck Dog done good! (I think this judge likes Cardis. She complimented Denali again when she gave us our ribbon for the last show of the day, "Very nice little dog you've got there.")

Both shows were sponsored by the Vallejo Dog Training Club. They did something really clever that I hadn't seen before: Any one who got a placement received a little card which was redeemable for a little prize. You took your card to the front table and got your choice of items. In the morning they had a number of cute home-made laminated book marks and in the afternoon the 4th place finishers had their choice of little signs, each with a different dog-related phrase on it. The signs came with an itty bitty suction cup so they can be mounted in your car, or on any window of your choice.

At the end of the day it had stopped raining briefly. Denali hopped the little stream again, approached the car and gave me the "I'm ready to go home smile." I arranged her kennel padding for her, lifted her in, and she was so tired that she actually slept on it all the way home!

I got the last "Best Friend on Board" sign. I can't imagine a better description for Denali!

Great Day for a Dog Show

Tomorrow Denali and I will leave the house around 6:30AM to head for Vallejo. It will be raining when we leave the house, having started around 4:00AM. We will arrive at the fairgrounds (where the parking is in dirt lots that are not paved) around 8:00AM. (Rain boots and towels in tow.)

Fortunately the Rally trials are indoors, so we will swim to McCormick Hall. Good thing I have a dog from Oregon who thinks she is a duck and that I am a confident swimmer. I'll need to be while I'm hauling our setup through the puddles.

Based on the forecast it will rain ALL DAY! Not even a question - note the probability!

This is an double trial, an AM and a PM performance, which makes for a very long day. When we leave around 4:00PM, it will still be raining (check the forecast below). By the time we get home around 5:30PM, it might be just drizzling, and by midnight, it will stop. Monday will be dry - today it is dry!

(Click to get larger raindrops)

The good news - we're not showing in conformation. It's outside! 

Why is Molly Smiling?

OH YEA...she's smiling all right!

It's because she finally found her people! That's right, Molly has been waiting in foster care for awhile for these folks to come along. And now they have! Christmas is coming early for this sweet girl this year!

This one tugs rather violently at the heart strings for me. Molly looks a LOT like my first rescue dog, and my heart dog, Bart. And it turns out that in many ways she shares the same temperament. While she certainly does have some corgi in her, her personality is more heavily influenced by the Australian Shepherd piece. She is more sensitive than the corgi and needs a more intuitive owner. With the wrong person, she could develop some very bad habits. Bart was the same way. 

But the reward if you are a person who finds the "connection" to a dog like this is far greater than one can imagine. Had I thought that I absolutely had to have a purebred corgi when I was looking for Bart, I would have missed out on the single most powerful relationship that I will most likely ever have with an animal companion. Molly has just as much to give - and now she has the chance!

Congratulations pretty girl. Thanks to your wonderful new parents, you're about to discover the life you were meant to live. You will take a piece of my heart with you when you go!

Pupper Update #19 - Checking in on Morgan & Pups

The puppies are now 14 weeks old. Dodge and Viola went home together and are they ever a happy pair! Normally we wouldn't place littermates together, but in this case Dodge derives a lot of confidence by having a confident, but benevolent female companion like Viola, so it works out well for them. They got an awesome home and their new parents are thrilled with them. 

Logan continues to thrive in his new home too. He was the first to leave the group. Since he lives nearby, he gets to visit his foster mom often! And Abilene (Abi) went home the day before Dodge and Viola. She found her perfect match - we were so happy for her!

Viola and Dodge's parents have taken a lot of photos of their new babies and have generously shared them.

Viola isn't exactly thrilled with her wellness visit, 

but the vet sure thinks she's cute!

Dodge was equally nonplussed - nice ears!

OK, so we were good for the vet visit. Can we go now?

Viola is much happier now that she's home with dad! 

This is the sweetest puppy!

And there's always housekeeping to be done!

Meanwhile Lucas and Kismet are still looking for that just-right home. Lucas was SO close, but things didn't work out at the 11th hour. And Kismet absolutely must have someone with experience raising a spunky, strong-willed corgi!

Kismet is maturing into an absolutely gorgeous girl.

She is one of the two girls that got to keep her full tail!

As expected, Lucas is a very handsome little guy. Definitely the flashy one in the litter. Now that he's getting older he is also getting bolder.

No longer the quiet slightly shy fellow, he's now in full-tilt puppy mode examining his world with gusto!

As mom watches, Kissie and Lucas are working on their own version of pumpkin carving.

Fingers crossed that Kismet, Lucas and Momma Morgan all find the right homes for the holidays!