I think it is very important that I start out this weeks blog with the really good news that Whitney is all done with her surgery and she is good good good. boy it was worrisome this last three months but all is well and she will be coming home from the Mayo Clinic sometime this week. I heard Vickie talking to her mom and was very dissapointed to hear that I would not be visiting her as soon as she gets back. Something about my bad manners and my jumping up to say hi. hmmmm I'm not that bad, am I?

I can't wait to pose for her again. I think she caught all of my good sides in the photo shoot we had just before she went in for heart surgery. course, it isn't hard to get my good side since everyside is good.

I have become the offical Greeter at Canine Country Club. I have been practicing with John and I think I have it down pretty good. What say you? Wouldn't you want to be greeted by me?

KC came to play the other day. He is getting pretty bossy, check out the picture below. He is always talking. "Bert, Get away from my chair" "Bert, Go over there" "Bert, Come Here, Right now" Pretty demanding for a little guy.

Not really, he is just yawning cause he was so tired after we played for an hour.

On Thursday we went out to Ross's place and played search dogs. He has all this land that goes up into the hills below Hill Air Force Base. It was a great place to train, but it was sooooo hot that day.

When I did my problem Grasshoppers kept jumping up into my nose and face and the air was sticky and dry. It was tough to work in the stuff but I did it......Oh yea, and I did it good....

I got to go look for Shantra and she hides really good, but I find BETTER....

I only made one small detour on my search for Shantra and that was because I could not ignore the really rich smelling runny pooh that some critter had left just off Shantras track. I just had to go roll in it......

vickie was not pleased......

After every search, Vickie pulls out my tennis ball and I get to chase after it for about 15 minutes. I love my tennis balls. I sometimes get a little carried away with my excitement. I sometimes can't control myself and I can't wait until Vickie or Shantra in this case, throw the ball.

If they take too long, well, I just leap up into the air, maybe five feet or more upwards and just grab the ball out of their hands. And sometimes, my aim is just a little off and I might accidently body slam who ever is trying to throw the ball.

And sometimes that person, usually Vickie lets out a scream of pain. Whimps.....

Vickie is always cautioning people to be careful..."Watch out, throw it quick" she cries. sometimes too late.

Even when we do our once weekly overnight camping trip, Vickie lets me play ball. I love my tennis balls, love them, love them, LOVE THEM.

I just can't get enough of them. Maybe I went a little too far with my LOVE of my tennis balls toward the end of the week, cause I really slammed Vickie hard at the park Saturday. Once in the face, once on the back of her head and I think the final blow was when I body slammed her bad knee.

She didn't get out and out mad, but she did have a tear or two in her eyes when she informed me that I was Grounded. Grounded, what does that mean?

Well I know what it means now. It means, walking on a leash, no trips to the park off lead, no running and playing for a week and NO TENNIS BALLS until I learn to be more gentle. She took all of my tennis balls and put them away. She makes me sit and wait for treats, she makes me wait until she invites me in the house, she makes me stay on a down stay when company comes. I hate being grounded. I wonder how long this will last.

I miss my tennis balls. This is going to be a really hard lesson for me to learn, but it is going to be just as hard for Vickie cause she will miss my playful and joyous excitement when I see the tennis balls as much as I will miss not playing with them.

I wonder how long it will take for her to break.......

I think odds are in my favor.

Love

Bert.

This week has been all about other dogs and not me. I am a little put out but Vickie says I'll get over it. I mean, I did get to go to Sourdough and I also got to do a demonstration up at Anderson Cove and a really fun evening of training with Murphy at the park.

So I guess I shouldn't complain.

It all started out pretty slow. We just worked around the kennels all day MOnday and Tuesday, but Tuesday night Vickie and I headed up the canyon. she was meeting a wonderful family who she has kept close to since the time Jamie helped find their son DAvid.

They were having a family reunion and had asked Vickie to come up and teach them about Search Dogs. I was so excited until I got there and saw how dissapointed they were that I came and not Jamie. I guess Vickie really should have brought Jamie cause after all, she did help find their son.

After that we went up to Sourdough and that kind of made up for the fact that someone wanted to see Jamie over me.....

vickie got the pictures mixed up so I guess we will come back to the Sourdough overnighter.

As I told you last week, Whitney came by and took some fun pictures of all of the dogs who were there. She is going to put them on the Canine Country Club web site but you get a preview on my page first. So here goes......arent they cute

First we have Kodiak. Will you look at those eyes.

Then there is sweet Mitzi. She looks like such a sweet calm dog here but I'll tell you she can out run even me, and when she chases you and catches up to you, she nips you in the butt. I guess I can give her credit for helping me learn to run so fast.

The ever popular Zeus... He is still my idol

Daisey has been staying with us for almost two weeks. She is getting a little tired as you can see in the picture. Lucky for her, her family gets home soon.

Here is Qantis. She may be small but she is a tough little gal. She has all us bigger dogs lookin over our shoulders when she is out. I don't think she likes us much.

C, me and Scrappy. Come on Vickie, let us out. PLEASE

The ever beautiful, bewitching Cleo....

And Kodiak and Kenai. Pretty good shots, don't ya think. I can't wait until Whitney gets back.

She is out of town for a while but when she gets back, I think I'll let her take some more pictures of me so Vickie can frame them and put them on her wall.

So now we are back to Sourdough where this little squirrel is getting a drink from my water bowl. Well it is really for the moose, but I always take full advantage of it when we go up for the night.

How about this. A doggie Beach.

This next picture is from just one more time that I had to stay home. Tucker was doing a practice test for his search and rescue certification and Vickie said that I would be a distraction. ME, a distraction.....

Anyway, she went up into the mountains without me Saturday. She left a scent article for Tucker to smell, then hiked way back into the hills. Since she knew she could be there for a while she took a scary book to read.

She said it was really nice and peaceful while she waited, but that Tucker found her a lot faster than she had planned so she didn't get to read more than a few chapters. She likes Dean Koontz, especially the book he wrote about a really cleaver Golden Retreiver like me called "Watchers".

Scrappy went to "Anna's" the groomer the other day and got a really short haircut. We all like Anna. Now Scrappy smells pretty......

Well, heres hopin that Vickie has bigger plans for me this week.

Love

Bert

PS, I forgot to tell you about the training at the park. It was so cool, because I got to almost meet this amazing big black and white kitty. We were looking for some hidden articles when Murhpy and I heard something in the corn field. We both ran in to check it out, but Vickie and Paulette called us out immediately.

I was dissapointed because I was sure it was something fun in there, but when Vickie calls, I come. At least for the time being. Murhpy on the other hand didn't come quite as quickly and he was able to see the little kitty cat face to face.

There was something different about this kitty though. It had the biggest tail I have ever seen. You see, after Murhpy met up with it, the kitty must have been a little scared cause it turned its back to Murphy, raised its magnificent tail in the air and sprayed something out at him. Then the weirdest thing happened.

All of a sudden the world around all of us was filled with the strongest stinkiest smell I have ever smelled. Now Paulette and Vickie are really hollering at Murhpy to come out. And he did, but right behind him came the big kitty cat.

I swear the first time I saw it I was shocked. Its tail was as big as me. It was like looking at a fan of black. And oh the smell, it was just getting worse and worse.

I didn't realize it at first, but we had made the kitty mad and now it was chasing all of us. It went after Paulette and Murphy first, then because Vickie and I were just standing there looking at all that was going on, it turned and started coming after us.

Well we all just left the area as quick as we could. Now I don't know why everyone was so scared of the kitty cat, but I do know that I don't want to be anywhere that smells like that again.

I think Murhpy had to have a couple of baths that night........

Part Two Garrett at Dinosaur Park

Garrett meets his first wooly mammoth or something like that.

Peek-a-boo

IT was a wonderland of fun

Jared, Katie and Garrett

Lots of fun was had in the little store at the Park. They had a big bean bag chair in the middle of the store with big long snakes to rest with. Garrett and Jared were quick to take advantage.

Dinosaur Garrett

Part One

Well, it is always busy here at Canine Country Club. Saturday we spent the whole day trying to get the plumbing working and Vickie was not too happy at the end of the day when she had to pay for it.

I didn't mind though cause I got to meet all kinds of new friends. The plumber guy brought his dog along and I showed her all around the place. She was a 9 month old beauty with short brown hair and big brown eyes.

Yep, my life is good.

Earlier in the week Whitney came over and spent the day taking pictures of all of the dogs that were here that day. She really loves her job. She gets right down on the ground and lets us lick her and jump on her while she takes the pictures.

Some of the dogs were sad about being left by their loved ones, but Whitney gave them lots of special time. Talking to them, petting them and telling them to wait a few more days and their families would come back.

She really knows how to treat us animals. We all voted and decided she is another one of the great two legged ones out there.

Vickie is exctied to see all the pictures. After she was through taking pictures of all the dogs here, we got in the truck and went over to the park so I could show her around and to let her get a few pictures of ME.

I mean, after all, I am the best looking guy here...right Vickie?

So I jumped over logs and then swam for her and just in general showed her "MY Coolness"

When we were all finished she did the funniest thing. We were all sitting around the swing just chillen and she started spitting water at me. At first I couldn't figure out if it was raining or not, then I looked at her and stuff was shootin out her mouth.

So I did what any good dog would do......I joined in the game and tried to catch it. check out the video below... what a fun time.

Check out her web site if you ever need pictures for anything. http://cahoonstudios.com/

So all that was pretty fun, but I was really counting on the fact that I had overheard Vickie say Jared, Katie and Garrett were coming for a few days. Garrett.....yahooy Garrett.

Little did I know that I would not be invited along to all the festivities.

They went for long walks, to breakfast at I HOP, to see the goats and new puppy at Richard and Bonnies and, DINOSAUR PARK..... without me......

I had to hear all about it from Vickie. I am pretty upset about this.

the first night they went for a walk with KC. KC got to go and not me......Explain that one.

They went to a park and played on the swings and then went to a little climbing wall that had a slide in it. I bet it was the best time ever.......

The next day they went up to meet Richard, Bonnie, Becky and Bens new puppy and the goats. I'd like to meet the new puppy and I have always liked goats.

Garrett was the star of the day and everyon watched everything he did with oh's and isn't he cute....ya da ya da ya da......

I know this is backwards with the part about Garrett at Dinosaur park first and then the rest but since I wasn't invited, I don't care if it is mixed up. so check out the Video of me and Whitney below, then read Part Two next and if you are confused, well......oh well...I'll do better next time, when I get to go along.

Whitney the Water Spout

We had a great time this week watching the sky's. They are doing a lot of work on our road and kicking up a lot of dust. Plus with all the wildfires the sun has given us quite a show. One day the cloud of dust moved across the sky like a burnt red fog. Vickie spent 20 minutes just trying to get a good shot.

Then there was the day that Michelle the dog came to stay with us. Michelle is the houdini of the four legged kingdom. She can get out of anything. She is here for a week and I am pretty sure that Vickie is going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about her safety.

Right now she is in one of the completely confined kennels with an indoor/outdoor are completely fenced, top and bottom. Why you ask? Well take a look at this picture.

Some how, some way Michelle got on top of the roof. Vickie had to spend the rest of the afternoon making a huge step ladder for her to come down. Michelle is shy of people and won't let anyone near her so Vickie and I sat and watched her for hours just to be sure that the moment she came down we could grab her and put her in a safe place and not run away.

It was really intense......

After that long afternoon, Vickie picked some fresh tomatoes from her garden and fixed her favorite meal. Tomatoes, cottage cheese, Johnny's flavoring, a few pices of cantaloup and topping it all of with a chocolate macadamia nut carmel. It seems to have made her feel a lot better after the Michelle episode.

On Saturday, Vickie, John one, John two, little Joshua, me, Murphy and Paulette all went up into the mountains to train. I got to look for John one all by myself, and I must say that I did pretty good. I started way up the hillside from where I finally found him and we had to go through some pretty dense stuff but every now and then i would get a real good wiff of Johns smell and I just knew I was on the right track.

When I found him he was laying in the forest like he was dead and it spooked me a little bit. I went up to him slowly crouching down ready to run if I had to, but he came alive when I got to him and I realized everything was ok.

We played ball for a while and then I headed to the creek for some cool fresh water.

Then we went over and helped Paulette and Murphy look for John two and Joshua.

Joshua is five years old and I think he is great.....Maybe the greatest five year old I have yet to meet.

He sat up in the woods for almost an hour waiting for us to find him. He was quiet as a mouse and that was pretty hard for him cause he is full of fun energy. But he patiently waited until we got there, then him and me ran through the fields laughing and dancing all the way back to where we started.

It was a great day.....I was pretty tired when we got home so I just fell asleep on the lawn while Vickie pulled out all the little tiny needle like stickers that covered my whole body from some plant that was all over the mountain. It only took her one hour to find all of them. I hear that Paulette had to work on Murhpy for several hours. Those are nasty little things.

later C and I played games running through the house, pretend fighting and just in general having fun. C has been visiting for some time now, her dad is in the hospital and is very sick, so I try really hard to take her mind off the fact that he hasn't come to get her yet.

All the dogs in the day care were in exceptional moods today too. Everyone was having a great time.

I hope your day is good.

Love
Bert

I am sad to report that Jennifer, Michelle and Blake are only going to be able to come and walk all of us dogs for one more week this summer.

They will really be missed cause they take me and Zeus and the others to the park where we get to run along the trails and swim in the lake.

Darn it. Summer vacation is almost over.....

One thing I have learned since I moved in with Vickie and the others is that when the phone rings at 2:30 in the morning, there is no going back to bed. This sunday morning Vickie flew out of her bed when the phone rang mumbling things like "It is never a good thing when the phone rings at this time"

Well, thank goodness everyone in our family was ok, but another family was very upset because their mother, sister, daughter......did not make it home Saturday. It seems this woman was out hiking with a friend and they got separated.

One lady made it back to the vehicle but the other one was still missing and the search and rescue was called out. Vickies job was to wake up all the dog handlers and get them on their way so they could help look for the lady.

This was the second call-out in less than a week. It seems a lot of people are getting lost. Clearly they have not been listening when we come and teach people what to do if they get lost. Well, maybe the kids are listening because the kids are not the ones getting lost.

Summit County had around 6 people lost or missing this week alone. I better hurry and get certified so I can go help.

Anyway, the lady was found ok and all the handlers were told to go back to bed but Vickie and I were already wide awake so we just went out and layed on the lawn and listened to the quiet. It doesn't get quiet around here very often so it was kind of cool to just lay there, looking up at the stars till the sun came up

The only problem is by the time church came around Vickie was so tired that she slept through most of it.

Aron went home this week. We will miss him some, he was a fun house guest. He played pretty good with me but he was always so happy to see John when he came over. I think he had a crush on John, cause he followed him around and kept me from even getting close to him during his visits.

Rocky came and worked hard this weekend too. Vickie has given up on the front yard and the grass so Rocky moved the fencing around. Now we all get to go and play in the grass anytime we want to. Grass Grass Grass. Vickie says it won't last long cause Jamie, Abby, Scrappy and I pee on it all the time. She says it will all turn brown and die. Oh well, I am going to enjoy it as long as I can. She did have Rocky kennel off one area just for her. That is where we laid and watched the sun come up on Sunday.

Another fun overnighter at Sourdough. We found a new pond to swim in. The water was really cold cause it is a spring fed pond and it was late in the evening so I only wanted to be in it for a few minutes.

On the way back to camp we saw a bunch of deer. Even a momma and two babies. According to Vickie it is pretty late for the little ones to have been born. They were really young. We watched them for a long time before momma told them to hop into the woods.

Vickie would have gotten more pictures and better ones, but the battery in her camera died.

I get kind of tired of Vickie always saying she is going to go on another diet. It usually means that we don't get to have the good stuff around the house.

This time it was Nutri-Systems. She ordered the food online because it looked so good. She was sure she was gonna lose some weight .

This is what it looks like when they advertise it. Now that looks pretty good, wouldn't you say.

Well the jury is still out cause when it came it didn't look like that at all. She is going to try it a few days and then let you know.

Love

Bert

PS. One day later: Well so much for Nutri Systems....YUCK