I, Hunter. Again

Jib here.

Mom and I went to the park. Mom and I are practicing for next weekend. I am in two dog shows. Mom says we have lots of work to do.

It was a new park. It has new squirrels. New, cheeky squirrels. Gray, chittering squirrels.

I saw a squirrel. I left Mom. I left her fast. Real fast.

I chased the squirrel. The squirrel tried to climb. It didn't climb fast enough.

I CAUGHT the squirrel! Between my teeth!

The squirrel squeaked. It bit at me. I dropped it so it wouldn't bite my nose. I caught it again. It tried to bite my nose. I dropped it again.

I caught it. It bit my nose. I dropped it and tried to hold it with my paw. It ran away.

So I caught the squirrel. With my teeth. Again. It squeaked. Again. It tried to bite my nose. Again.

Mom ran up to me. Mom caught me. She caught me by the back legs. She held on.

I dropped the squirrel. The squirrel ran away.

Mom didn't let me run after it. She held me. She held me tight.

I was SO excited! It squeaks!

Mom didn't let me go. I am glad she didn't bite my nose. I didn't bite hers, either.

Mom says that when we are training at the park, cookies trump Mom. And squirrels trump cookies. She was not amused.

Dogs Can Dance!

Jib here.

Mom and I went dancing. With a lot of other people and dogs, too. Mrs. Dogs On The Inside and Fyre were there; Ms. I Love Jib and Dazzle were there; Willie and Molly and Watson and too many to sniff were there, too. Mom even got hugged by someone who smelled like paint who she hasn't seen in a very long time. He was important. But he didn't have any cookies in his pocket.

Then Mom and I danced. I got cookies!

We heeled and backed up and serpentined and spun left and right and touched noses-to-hands and circled and had a grand time.

Mom says I was a star. She says she would love to dance with all the collies in her life, too. All at once!

I say, Keep the cookies coming!

New Family

Sailor here.

We have a new family in the umbrella.

Mom says they are Cain or Abel's kids.

Cain and Abel are last season's blue jays. They sit in the trees and scream at each other. All day long. One of them got married and built a nest in the umbrella. The umbrella where they were hatched last summer.

My Mom said the mama bird laid three eggs. And they hatched. All of them.

The nest is a mess. That is how we know Cain or Abel built it. It is scraggly and falling apart and sticking out all over. Like Jibby's ruff.

Mom says the chicks will fledge any day now. They have their flight feathers. They have their screechy voices. They know how to flutter.

I wonder what we will name them.

YAY!

YAY!!!

Mom's home!!!

Suitcase time

Jib here.

Mom is busy. I am having a hard time keeping up.

She is running upstairs and downstairs. And back up again.

She is filling a suitcase.

Zoe says that Mom is going on a trip. And the bigger the suitcase, the longer she will be gone.

Last time she filled up a suitcase, she went to a collie dog show with Aunt Judy. And she took me and Tavish!

Zoe says I will be staying home with Sailor to keep her company. Zoe knows a lot.

If that's true, I hope it's a very small suitcase.

So Far, So Good

Sailor here.

So far, so good, Mom says.

I am fine. Breakfast was great.

I think I'll go bark at the neighbors.

Hovering

Sailor here.

Mom is hovering. She is hovering over ME. She keeps asking me if I am OK.

Yes, Mom, I am OK.

Mom said that I had a seizure. I don't remember that. I don't even know what that is.

All I know is that I got into the dog car to see JD for acupuncture. And then I was lying down drooling and looking out the door and Mom was smelling scared.

I felt a little fuzzy and my balance wasn't great. Mom took me to Dr. Karen and she had her friends stick my paw and then I went for acupuncture and Dr. Karen came and said my blood was fine.

Yes, I know it is fine. I feel fine. Stop hovering, Mom, you are disturbing my sleep.

Mom says we are in the Wait and See mode.

I'd rather we were in the Wait and Feed mode.

Sleeeeep

Sailor here.

Mom says that now Zoe and I are senior dogs, we sleep more.

Zoe sleeps. She can't hear any more, so if Jib jumps over her, she won't wake up. Jib thinks this is fun.

Mom says I sleep more, too. She says I don't wake up easily, either. She says my hearing is not as good as it used to be.

But Mom says that when I sleep, I am the cutest dog in the world.

Happy Birthday, Zoe!!!

Sailor here.

Jibby here.

Mom says Zoe is sixteen whole years old.

Zoe says she's still a puppy.

Mom says Zoe is more than three times older than Jib. That's a lot!

Mom says Zoe is four years older than Sailor. That's a lot, too.

Mom is really good at counting.

We hope Zoe has something special for dinner and we get some, too.