Our Agility Christmas Party

Saturday was our agility Christmas party. We all watched the weather forecasts all week and they always pointed to rain on Saturday. Stubbornly we hoped that the rain wouldn't come. The party began extremely overcast but no rain. The food was high up on the decorated dog walk -- a green tablecloth and a gargoyle with reindeer antlers made the obstacle into a great, dog-proof table. The dog walk was covered in yummy foods and the revelers were busy chowing down. An agility course was set up with an agility game. Jake and I opted to go first and my Jake surprised me by ignoring the crowd and doing even the really hard parts of the course. And then...the sky fell! An EZ-up was quickly erected, the food was moved to safety and ALL of us huddled together to keep dry and keep eating!



In the brief moment that the rain let up a little brave souls ventured forth with their dogs onto the agility course (even some of the spouses) and the dogs were given a chance to burn off some energy. And then the rain came back full forse so we all went back to eating! It's hard to resist when there's so much good food! We might have been wet and cold but our tummies were full!

Jake's Dichroic Glass Pendant

These some in red or blue and you can choose a silver or gold bail (the little thing that the necklace goes through). You can request a different color background.

Another great necklace of mine by Dominique Corner:


A very talented jewelry artist and ACD owner, Dominique Corner, is coming from Indiana to help me celebrate my 32nd birthday in a very special way. Dominique is helping me throw a jewelry party to raise money for Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound, a cause near and dear to my heart. You can make your own necklaces, earrings and bracelets from the awesome assortment of beads Dom will bring or you can choose from pre-made items Dom will have already made.

One of the best things Dom is offering is dichroic glass pendants with a blue or red ACD head. Each piece is unique and handmade by Dom. I have a very special one she made me for Jake with his blue head on a black background. Dom is about to make another batch of ACD heads and wanted to know who might be interested in having one. They are $20 each and you can choose red or blue. You can choose either a silver or gold bail (the little loop of metal that allows you to slide your pendant onto a necklace). Dom needs to have a number beforehand so she knows how many to make. If you are interested in one of these, please e-mail me at our rescue e-mail carolinasrescue@yahoo.com and let me know.

Even if you can’t come to the jewelry fundraiser, you can purchase one of the ACD pendants or another piece of pre-made jewelry from Dom and have it mailed to you or simply donate money to the rescue. Dom will be donating a generous portion of the proceeds to Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound. We’ll have hors d’oeuvres and a birthday cake. We haven’t decided on a place yet but it will be held in the afternoon on Saturday, February 9, 2008. Official invites will be coming out soon! Please contact me with any questions you may have.

Dom holds a Master of Fine Arts degree, and certificates in jewelry, metal smithing, and layout and design. She has also taken courses in glass fusion, lampworking, and wire wrapping, and has shown and placed in several galleries and juried art. Dichroic glass is a spin-off of the space industry. It is produced in a heated vacuum by coating glass with multiple metal oxide layers to create the desired color and effect. “Dichroic” means two colors. The unique, iridescent-like beauty of dichroic glass is due to the fact that it appears to be different colors when viewed from different angles or under different lighting conditions. In Dom’s studio, Spiritwalker Design, dichroic glass is carefully hand cut, combined, and then fused in a kiln. Each piece is a unique, one of a kind creation.

All Grown Up Jake




I promised Jake no costumes, no party hats, no silly pictures because he was a big grown-up boy now and nothing but serious would do for his 2nd birthday pictures. Luckily we have one tree that still has pretty leaves in the backyard and Jake didn't jump into the creek right behind him (that's a sure sign of maturity) -- no matter how old Jake gets he can still be bribed with marshmellows!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my boy Jake today! We got Jake in Feb 2006 and he was just 10 lbs of fur and kisses. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him and, although I had no intention of getting a dog any time soon, I had to take Jake home.

Little did I know how fast he could move at 10 weeks old and that I would have to learn a whole new way to use my camera.


Little did I know he was going to be an agility dog.


Little did I know I would find myself doing very silly things on the floor with my dog.



Little did I know we would go everywhere together.


Little did I know that Jake would keep me laughing every day (this is what we call his "Can someone come get me" picture?)


Little did I know that Jake would become the love of my life (second to my hubby) and that my life would have a huge gaping whole in it without my sweet boy.


Jake's Aunt Elizabeth made him a cross-stitch ACD ornament and his Aunt Roberta (ladies from our agility class) made him pumpkin and applesauce doggie biscuits. We're gonna take Jake to PetSmart and let him pick out a new Cow (every ACD needs FIVE stuffed Cows to herd). No matter how many times we let him pick out his own toy he always picks out The Cow.

Carolina Halloween Dogs

Jake and our foster girl Kaylee attended their first Halloween party, cattle-dog style, when our Carolina ACD Club got together this Saturday for a Rally-themed Fun Day. We had a best trick contest, a costume contest, and a Rally class. Jake STUNK at Rally, preferring the all-out party of Agility. Kaylee did fairly well considering we've only had her for four weeks. Here's a few of the faces we saw in the costume contest:

Dinosaur -- Won Best Costume Award


Cookie Monster


Clown -- our R&R foster girl Kaylee


The Smiling Spider -- our R&R foster boy Jack


AND Jake wouldn't hold still in his costume for a picture (he wanted to go play with Cookie Monster)so here's pics we took at home in his various costumes:

Cover of 2008 Forever Home Wall Calendar -- our boy Jake!

Carolina ACD R&R is proud to present our 2008 Forever Home Wall Calendar. Thirteen great pages feature photographs of the dogs we have rescued -- some of have found their way into our own families, some have gone to great homes in other states, and some are still looking for their special forever homes. This wall calendar is available in our Cafepress.com store for $22.99 and all of the proceeds benefit the ACDs of R&R by covering pull fees and vet expenses. For anyone attending the Regional Specialty in Concord, NC, in November we will have some of these calendars on hand for sale.

The link to the Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound Cafepress.com store:

http://www.cafepress.com/cacdrr

Even if you don't want a calendar you should stop by our store and see each of the great ACD faces! Several of them still need homes and you just might fall in love with one of them.

It's raining here in South Carolina and like most of the US, we need the rain badly. So I'm trying to do productive things indoors. Besides making tugs and posting rescue things, I take breaks to play with Kaylee and Jake and do some training.

Kaylee is still learning to play tug but coming along:



Kaylee has been here four weeks so far and is learning to do just about all of Jake's tricks. We haven't taught her how to meow yet but give me time! Kaylee's down was one of the hardest things I had to teach her. Every time her front end would go down her back end would come up. She just learned down yesterday. Jake is her security blanket really so she stays very close to him.

Who Are You and What Did You Do With My Dog?

Jake and I went to agility class on Tuesday night as usual. Jake thought the tunnel and jump to the teeter totter was a blast and I swear I even saw him almost try to take the jump and teeter in one big jump. The teeter has definitely ceased to intimidate him. I got Jake offleash to work on our first set of jumps and tunnels. Then some other dog took over my dog's body and he stated VERY LOUDLY that he was not going to do agility tonight, he just wanted to shriek and play posture at me. The alien dog got a time out in the crate while everyone else took their turn. The alien dog got a second turn which was even shorter than the first turn -- back into the time-out crate. Our turn at the 12-obstacle set (we had to skip a few b/c it was raining) didn't go any better than the jumps. Halfway through the run, Jake took off into the bushes for a potty pitstop. His mind was just not there. Thank goodness Jake wasn't alone in his absent-mindedness -- his English Cocker Spaniel buddy Cosmo had a similar night. I'd like to blame it on a full moon or something but I'm not sure what made Jake lose his focus so badly. Oh, well, we'll try again next class!

Ingredients for a Kill the Ball Party:

1 Doggy Who Just Likes to Chase the Ball


1 Doggy Who Just Likes to Chase the First Dog


1 Indestructible Red Ball


Music for Dancing (Who Let the Dogs Out is a favorite, gets 'em barking every time)


Party Games (Keep Away is a good one especially for First Timers)


A Camera to Catch That Exact Moment When Exhaustion Hits All The Partygoers


Result:
Two Very Happy Partiers!


Private Note: The Photographer needs someone to hold onto the back of their belt and yank them out of danger when two dogs and a big red ball come flying at them!

A Proud Agility Moment

I know I haven't really mentioned much about Jake lately in agility class but this last Tuesday night was worth mentioning. Jake has steadily been growing in maturity and his ability to concentrate in class. Jake will start to zoom, get two feet away and either stop or come right back to me. This Tuesday we began with the teeter totter on which Jake has NO FEAR emblazoned on his forehead while he races across this obstacle. It's amazing to see and hard to stop him from doing over and over.

The really stunning part came when we did the 16-obstacle set. I was commenting to a classmate on how well her dog does in general in the class. She said that Jake wasn't shabby either -- "He's just a free thinker", she said. I've lost my anxiety over Jake not doing everything perfectly so when we began the obstacle set I was calm and concentrating on what my hands and feet were doing. Jake did all of the obstacles, including the pinwheel jumps I got in reverse, and he added another table just for kicks at the end. There was nothing calm about me at that point! My little boy is growing up! There may be hope for us on the agility field yet.

Our class then set about working in a smaller area on 9 and 11 obstacle sets, mostly jumps. Some of the moves were pretty advanced but everyone's dogs did a stellar job even when we the handlers got turned around. Jake's last go at the jumps was going extremely well without me having to toss his bait bag even once. We began racing for the last jump. I zoomed past it. No Jake. I looked back over my shoulder just in time to see Jake leap for my rear end, mouth open. That little bugger was trying to heel me! Actually I think he was going for the steak pieces I had in his bait bag, which I keep on the back of my pants. Still, Jake was rowdy and full of himself, shrieking and eluding my grasp. Yup, we were done for the night. It's truly amazing how fast Jake can humble me -- proud one moment, totally embarrassed the next. =) I can't wait for next week though!

Rescue Fundraiser -- ACD Greeting Cards

Ever been standing in Hallmark, American Greetings or PetSmart and wished you could find a greeting card with even one cattle dog on the front? Let’s face it – it’s hard to find much sporting our beloved breed. Now you can buy a greeting card with NINE cattle dogs on the front! Our newest fundraiser for Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound is here!

Our ACD stars are (from L to R)Top Row: Posey, Nyle, Tilly ; Middle Row: Logan & Maggie Mae, Pepper; Bottom Row: Luna, Jake, and Max. Inside, the top of the card reads “Australian Cattle Dogs of the Carolinas/Love, Loyalty, Devotion”.





The cards will be professionally printed and available individually ($2.50 each) or in packs of ten ($20). All proceeds benefit Carolina ACD R&R. We are taking preorders NOW and will be ordering some to sell at the upcoming Regional Specialty in Concord, NC, in November. Please contact us at carolinasrescue@yahoo.com for information on how to place an order. Our preorder deadline is by Sunday, October 28th, so we can have them in time for the Regional Specialty. Anyone who wants to pick up their preorder at the Regional Specialty may do so and save on postage costs. These unique cards are a must-have for the ACD lover in you! What better way to feed that ACD need than to support cattle dog rescue AND bring a smile to your face?!?

Jake's Tug Pic Ties for 3rd Place!



One of Jake's Tug Pics we call "Mommy, can I please have tug?" tied for third place on AuCaDo's September Photo Contest. Jake's pics was in some stiff competition and I didn't think we'd even place. Stop by www.aucado.us and join us in the forum for great conversation and MORE pics of cattle dogs galore! Oh, and order your AuCaDo ACD Rescue Cookbook if you haven't done so! (link to the right)

Rescue Camp R&R Style

As Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound is rather new to the world of running our own rescue, we have talked a lot with other rescuers and foster homes to try to do the best job we can to help this breed we love so much. Not only are we finding information for ourselves but have found ways that we can help other rescues. Three of the members of our R&R committee volunteered to spend the weekend helping Michael Stumpff at Tennessee Valley Cattle Dog Rescue.

My hubby and I drove up to Chattanooga on Friday. Kaylee went hysterical being put in the car and we had to put Jake in the kennel with her to keep her calm. As long as Jake was touching her, Kaylee was fine. Soon they were curled up together like cats taking a nap and the rest of the trip was uneventful. My dad has a fenced backyard so Kaylee got her first chance to play with Jake and my dad's Border Collie Ian. Ian and Jake were chasing a ball and Kaylee was chasing Jake. I saw Jake gleefully dive into something and start rolling just in time to catch Kaylee from joining him. I was so glad because Jake was rolling in sewage and Kaylee couldn't have a bath yet. Jake definitely had to have a bath.

Kaylee and Jake:


The sheep running from Michael's dog Grit:


Saturday morning Joe and I got Michael's just in time for Joe to help Michael building a temporary sheep paddock. Michael attempted to move the sheep down to the shaded area but his blue boy Grit just wasn't able to move those sheep. We left the gate open and the sheep eventually all wandered in there with their canine companion Norman, the Great Pyrenees. Kristina and her ACD girl Lily and her German Shepherd/Rottweiler showed up next and helped product-test a Jake tug before purchasing. We got to witness some potential adopters pick up Red Molly, a red girl that hadn't been there long, with their other ACD Mick. Molly was positive she wanted to be Jake's girlfriend.

Group Wrestle:


Sara and Laurey weren't far behind Kristina and we began letting the dogs out "in shifts", as Michael puts it. Generally he lets about 8 dogs at a time out to walk the field and play. The dogs come out in a thundering herd. We had a nice lunch to which we all contributed something yummy before heading back out to begin the process of putting Frontline on the necks of all the dogs and convincing those same dogs to eat their Triscuit with heartworm medicine inserted inside. Sara got to name one of the last dogs we did, a blue boy that had been kept on a chain in some man's yard and never had a name. Buckwheat, as Sara dubbed him, was as wild as a horse and a few of us learned a new harnessing trick with a rope lead to help control an out-of-control dog. Another round of letting all the dogs out to run ended in supper for everyone in their kennels or crates.

At this point we were all covered in dirt and dog poop and had to race back to our hotel room for lightning-quick showers to meet Michael and Kathy at the local Chili's for dinner. Michael usually only has an hour and a half of "negligible" time each day to do something outside the dogs. I'm not sure why I got a shower really because Joe managed to fling barbeque sauce on my white shirt at dinner and Kaylee peed such a copious amount of urine that it overflowed her kennel tray and doused my car seats (despite having peed at Michael's outside an hour before). Joe took Jake and Kaylee back with him to my dad's because they both needed baths from Kaylee's accident and I had nothing left to clean up accidents. Kristina and I roomed together and had to make ourselves stop talking about agility classes so we could go to sleep.

Jake herding:


Sunday morning we all piled out of the hotel and headed back to Michael's at 7:30 AM to get in some more doggy chores before heading home. After letting the dogs out for their morning romp on the wet grass, we lent our best helping hand (not sure how really helpful we were) to Michael moving the last stubborn sheep from the big paddock to the little paddock Joe helped build on Saturday. Michael coached us through where to put ourselves and we're pretty sure we all at least earned our HIC and want to start putting it after our names. =) The next task was getting the now maturing lambs away from their parents. It was quite a sight to behold, watching Michael wrestle and carry those lambs to the larger paddock. Kathy's ACD girl Carrie was a big help with the last lamb lightly heeling whenever the lamb would stop. The lambs were not dog-broken or halter-broken. Sara and Laurey hit the road and Joe finally showed up with Jake and Kaylee. Kathy removed Kaylee's stitches and confirmed for me that the lump in Kaylee's ear is just scar-tissue from her ear being ripped. Jake finally got his chance to herd some sheep. I only have one picture b/c Kaylee lost her mind being separated from Jake. I had to take her far enough back so that she wasn't bothering the sheep with her high-pitched whining. Kristin's girl Sydney got a chance to herd the sheep as well while I began working on grooming the Border Collie foster Cutter. Cutter gave me a scar last time with his claws so Kathy helped me hold him. Next I got to groom the Great Pyrenees Norman and get all the burrs out of his bushy tail. Kathy made us breakfast and we began taking pics of the dogs that Michael needed for his Petfinder listings. Joe and I headed back to my dad's house and a much-needed shower before visiting a little with my dad and family. We headed home around 6 and got home at midnight.

And so Rescue Camp went. This is my second time helping Michael. The overwhelming nature of what Michael deals with on a daily basis is a true eye-opener. Michael has a system that works for him though. Not everyone can take on such a monumental task and have happy, healthy dogs but TVCDR does. I appreciate only having one foster dog at the moment. I love being surrounded my cattle dogs on every side but at the end of the day it's nice to snuggle with just Jake.

I have so many pictures that it's hard to choose the best ones but here's a few of the dogs that need forever homes.

T-star getting a belly rub (available for adoption from TVCDR):


Buckwheat (availabe for adoption from TVCDR):


Koree wet from the creek (available for adoption from TVCDR):


Cal (left) playing with his buddies (available for adoption from TVCDR):

Halloween Humiliation
I'm Batman! ( I never thought I would say that Jake's ears weren't big enough...)


Captain Jake Sparrow


I'm sorry to say I had to return both the costumes b/c Batman was TOO big and Captain Jack Sparrow was too small. It was fun for me while it lasted though!

Our First Tug Baby

Saturday, September 29:
Today Joe, Jake and I picked up Kaylee (formally known as Phoenix) from the vet's office in Providence, NC today where she had been spayed. We were surprised to find out that Kaylee had been 38 days pregnant.

When we first met Kaylee she was very frightened (wouldn't you be after all that?) and the vet tech said she was refusing to walk on a leash. Kaylee, however, walked outside on the leash although rather timidly. She was shaking like a leaf. We spent a few minutes petting her in her wire kennel in the back of my car before hitting the road. We stopped at an Arby's a half hour down the road and found a nice picnic area with shade. We spent an hour loving on Kaylee and letting her and Jake get acquainted. We got the first of many kisses to come and her tail began wagging. When we finally got lunch, Kaylee jumped on the table and stole Joe' roast beef sandwich. We obviously need to work on some manners. =)

We stopped again in Charlotte for two hours to let the dogs stretch their legs and visit with an old friend. Kaylee kept running back and forth between me and Joe kissing our chins and leaning against us for some loving. She even included our friend in her kissing rounds after a few minutes of him being there. She is very velcro and walks next to you easily although she isn't used to a leash. Kaylee likes to look at you over her shoulder with a very trusting look on her face. We got back on the road and reached Columbia about 6:30. We got a few pictures before the sun went down. It was hard to get any b/c if she sees you she comes running to give you a kiss.

We've begun working on OFF, SIT, and teaching her the new name. She responds very well to "Kaylee, come" (better than Jake). Kaylee is a trashcan diver and we're working on nipping that in the bud, too. Kaylee met all three of our cats upon entering the house since they were waiting at the door for us. She was scared of our male cat Obie but touched noses briefly with our female cats with nothing more than passing curiosity. Even when Joe got her to sniff Willow she turned right back to Joe for more kisses. We might not have any chins left after all this kissing but we'll survive somehow. =) Kaylee is very curious and continues to investigate our living room and dining room (we babygated the area) stopping on every round to get petted by both me and Joe. Her tail has begun wagging, she's carrying it high, and her ears are up. Kaylee and Jake are getting along well, although Jake seems very confused about why he can't play with her yet. Kaylee has shown no food agression even when Jake poked his nose in her food bowl - - she just went to his food bowl instead.

Kaylee currently weighs 30 lbs according to the vet records. She's a tad on the thin side but I'm sure being pregnant and being spayed has something to do with that. I can feel her spine a little too well. Kaylee does have some tan on the backs of her front feet so she's not completely blue and white. Kaylee has a gorgeous tail with a body spot at the base. Kaylee has a single mask and a nice Bentley with a spot in middle. Another spot graces the other side of her head. She is dainty with a small mouth, small feet, and long legs. She's almost Jake's size if not a little taller. I am to keep her an inactive as possible for the next 10 days because of the extremely stressful circumstances of her spaying.

Day Three:
I keep finding new patches of red on her -- in between all her toes, the circle of fur below her tail, and sprinkled throughout her fur making it look like she rolled in clay. She has a small rice-size hard lump on one of her ears below the skin. It doesn't seem to bother her. Her ears do come up on the top of her head when she is listening really hard to something but she does seem to keep them spread out a little in general. Her teeth are in really good shape with only small patches of tartar build-up on them. She doesn't mind you touching any part of her body. She's well-muscled but thin. She's not so sure what brushing is all about. She's leaving her stitches alone for the most part and is easily distracted just by calling her name. She moves around like a hummingbird, darting here and there. There is nothing slow about her. I've never seen a dog even wiggle as fast as she does when she's happy to see you (which is every single time). She's a little confused on where to potty so we're working on potty training. We're working really hard on OFF and SIT and she's responding quickly to SIT. The OFF needs a little work since she's so desperate to be touching you at all times. If she can't be touching me or Joe, she's plastered to Jake. I'm sure Jake's totally confused about how he spontaneously grew a Siamese twin overnight. If Jake is sitting, she has to be sitting. If Jake is laying down, she has to be laying down. If Jake is eating, she has to be eating. If Jake is getting a kiss, she has to get a kiss. I have yet to hear her bark but have heard her whine and howl when I step outside the house without her. She's quiet when we put her in her kennel although she definitely doesn't want to go. She has got to be the messiest eater I have ever seen. She shoves her head into the bowl pushing all the food out onto the floor. She smacks loudly with food coming out of her mouth in every direction. Jake just stands near her trying to catch the flying crumbs -- it's a new game in the kitchen. Kaylee is not a food hound and eats in small amounts. She has continued to ignore the cats. So far she's not interested in toys, only human contact. So lots of loving it is!

Jack available for adoption:
Jack is a new rescue that came to Carolina ACD Rescue & Rebound from a kill shelter in Sparta, NC. Jack is approximately three years old, has had all his shots, recently neutered and heartworm negative. Jack has a bobbed tail. He is housebroken, and, since coming to Carolina Rescue & Rebound, is learning basic obedience commands.

Jack has shown incredibly nice manners, he gets along well with the other dogs at his foster home and in other public outings. He enjoys hikes and truck rides—and even loves his obedience lessons! He sits on command, heels, waits to put on his training collar and lead and has shown good herding instincts; he is soft with livestock and moves them calmly in his herding tests.

Jack is still learning basic obedience, but he is eager to please and is very quick to learn. He's an affectionate dog and needs a family with an active lifestyle or one with a lot of time to spend with him. He also needs a family that will continue his obedience training since he is in the early stages of training but he will make a devoted lifelong companion to his future perfect family. Rest assured Jack will return the love and devotion of his future family many times over!

If you are interested in adopting Jack into your family, please e-mail Carolina ACD R&R at carolinasrescue@yahoo.com. We require an application and a home visit.

Back in the Saddle Again

We've missed a couple of agility classes this round but we were happy to be back in agility class last night. The temperature has dropped and the breeze had all the dogs feeling frisky. Jake is improving with each class on his ability to pay more attention to me and less to the other dogs and people. This class he made more the jumps instead of running around them to catch up with me. We're able to use Jake's bait bag with much success to lead him through another obstacle when he's unsure. Jake is showing me some maturity. He still zooms but he normally just gets a few feet before returning in front of me to ask "What's next?" seated at my feet. NOW if the humans could just get it together, the dogs might get it right, too. Memorizing a course seems fine and dandy when someone else is holding your dog, you're walking the course looking at the numbered cones, and practicing your body language. You get out of the course, the course just goes out of your head, you're trying to just keep the dog moving and, voila!, creative course running by Melissa is born. I didn't even know how to apologize for the course I made up. Luckily, I was not alone and we're joking about making points cards to flash up for how creatively we mess up the course. Oh, well, next week will be here soon and hopefully my brain will be in gear and coordinate something with the rest of my body to make it look slightly more graceful and planned out.

Jake Tugs For Sale

I may be a little prejudiced on the matter but my Mommy makes the best fleece tugs ever. She makes them thick and meaty and braided very tightly. Mommy is generous with her fleece and is always making tugs for me and my ACD friends. But this week, Mommy outdid herself and made a whole crate of fleeces:



Mommy says I can't have any of these special fleeces, though! How mean is that? Mommy has made them as a fundraiser for the new Australian Cattle Dog rescue, Carolina ACD R&R (short for Rescue & Rebound). She said that not all cattle dogs are as fortunate as I am to have a loving home and fleece tugs in every corner. The money from these tugs will go to pulling cattle dogs from bad situations, training them while they are treated to lots of TLC, and helping them find forever homes where they will have a Mommy or Daddy of their own.




No matter how sad I look, Mommy knows I'm not really sad because I am spoiled rotten!




Stay tuned for how you can order your own Jake tugs and support Cattle Dog Rescue!

Whenever our cats howl for dinner, Jake always takes up howling with them. So we've made a game of "meowing". I threw in a few of his tricks at the end just for the heck of it.

A Note from Jake

My mommy hasn't posted a whole lot lately because she has been sad. Mommy's grandmother passed away last Sunday from something called "congestive heart failure". I have no idea what that means but I do know I will miss Mommy's grandmother. She used to sneak me spicy pimento cheese. She always had snacks hidden under the table cloth on her side table. She always let me jump in her lap and kiss her ears. She always laughed when I wiggled and wiggled. Now when we go to visit the cows in NC, that nice lady won't be there.

To cheer Mommy up, I let her dress me up in some pretty humiliating costumes and take pictures. Since it brought a smile to Mommy's face and marshmellows to my tummy, I sat as still as I could.

Kissing Cow T-shirts are here!

Jake has a new t-shirt out! All proceeds go to Tennessee Valley Cattle Dog Rescue. Visit his Cafepress.com store at:

www.cafepress.com/noworriesjake

On the front side is Jake's infamous picture of Jake kissing a baby cow. Above the photo is says, "The Australian Cattle Dog" and below the photo reads, "Characteristics: As the name implies the dog's prime function, and one in which he has no peer, is the control and movement of cattle in wide open and confined areas. Always alert, extremely intelligent, watchful, courageous and trustworthy with an implicit devotion to duty making it an ideal dog."



On the back of some of the t-shirts (whenever available as a option) it says, "Save a cattle dog. Kiss a cow. Support Australian Cattle Dog Rescue."



Please visit Jake's store and support cattle dog rescue!

Melissa