Dogs in Cars

I saw this link and felt it important enough to pass along. Don't leave your dog in the car! I know how hard it is to leave those pleading brown eyes when you grab your keys to go, but think of the bigger picture. Nothing is more important than your dog's safety.

Day in the Ocean

Bella, victorious!

My friend introduced us to a new beach quite a bit north of where we normally wander. It's called Picnic Point and best yet, dogs are allowed on the beach. Everyone was quite respectful, cleaned up after their pups and had dogs that were well-behaved.


Bella barely got out of the water. Her best buddy, Amber, who normally doesn't play Fetch for quite as long, was game most of the morning. Bella swam and retrieved for several hours, then did a bit more in fresh water (as a rinse). Today she is still slowed down. Yesterday was too much fun.

Bella and Amber

Water Source

When given the choice, Bella prefers the hose to any other source for drinking. Here she is stopping the stream for a good gulp. That's my pup! If you look closely, her lips are flared to the side for maximum capture!

Quincy Goes Home

My friend re-homed her puppy. The pup, at less than 3 months, showed more and more aggressive tendencies. Biting. Growling. Attacking. And then she'd be sweet. What a hard decision it was to make.

Luckily her vet's tech works with aggressive dogs to re-socialize and re-home. She wanted a young female to work with and so my friend gave her Quincy. The tech promised she would keep the puppy if she wasn't able to re-home her.

For my friend, she'll be able to keep in touch regarding how the dog is doing. Of course she feels relieved, but also like she failed. I told her she's been a fabulous dog mom to three fabulous dogs. Not all dogs are meant to be ours. It is not our job to fit into the dog's life, but the other way around. She leads a very social life with lots of other dogs and children added to an unpredictable mix. It would be continually stressful constantly monitoring an aggressive dog.

4th of July and Hot Weather

We spent the holiday weekend away. Part of it was in the eastern Gorge area (hot) and part of it in the mountains (cool). Bella had several daily rounds of Chuck-it and retrieving sticks from the river. A doggie delight! Although firecrackers were going off, they were still pretty far away and she was completely unfazed. Maybe this is her hunting gene? Whatever the case, it was a huge relief after having nearly 30 years of dogs who were terrified by the bangs and whistling. Bella would look towards the noise and then continue with whatever she was doing.

The trip had a new visitor, Quincy. A good friend lost her dog this past winter to old age and she was ready for a new companion. Quincy is a 10-week old part Red Heeler and we're not sure what else. She has a bit of attitude which concerns my friend, obviously, but she's a great dog mom and reading up on puppies and signed up for puppy classes.

The past several days have been ballistically hot for here. I've taken Bella on early morning walks and afternoon swims in the lake. Other than that, we've barely moved. But this morning. Ah-h-h! It's a typical northwest kind of morning with a thick marine layer. Lovely and cool.

We've got a hike planned with another dog buddy. It should be a wonderful day.