Tropic and Panguitch Weekend

This time last Sunday Me, Murphy, Paulette and Vickie were on our way to South western Utah to the towns of Panguitch and Tropic. 7 hours in the van. whoa, I had no idea that was Vickies great adventure she had been talking about all the week before.

Don't get me wrong, if I have to travel, that old astro van Vickie found for almost nothing last year, is a great great way to get around if your a dog. We have room to walk around, big beds to sleep in and all the windows to look out that you could ask for, but 7 hours, for Petes sake. (Who, by the way is Pete)

We arrived in Tropic around 6 pm, checked into our little cabin at the Bryce Canyon Country Cabins and then headed to our host's Annette, Kirk and Connors for an incredible barbecue. They even cooked hamburgers for me and Murhpy and oh my were they good.

We then got to play ball in the park next to their house, I raced Connor on his bike, and then Connor hid in the park so Murphy and I could find him.

It was GGGRRREEEAAATTT.
Back to our rooms and a nice, much needed night of sleep. Vickie and I got up a couple of times so I could go outside. She thought I needed to go to the bathroom, but I just really wanted her to take time and look at the stars with me.

They have a ton of stars in the sky in Tropic.

We went to the High School first. See our real job was to come down and help with a fund raiser so the high school and elementary school could pay for sidewalks to keep the kids safe.

The plan was to have Vickie and Paulette, Murphy and I speak at the high school, then the elementary school on the "How to stay Safe" in the mountains. Then later that night, they were having am "Ice Cream Social" to help raise the money, with Murph and I as the guests of honor.

We had a great time with the high school kids. They asked us quetions and laughed and played with us for about an hour. Next we went to the Elementary. Vickie took a whole bunch of pictures of us with the kids so if you are from the schools and reading this, check out the video slide show below. And kids and parents, if there is a pictures you want copied and sent to you just email Vickie at jamiesyra@msn.com She promised to send you them.

After the demonstrations we all went for a hike up Bryce Canyon. It was real hot and Vickie didn't bring water for us. Can you believe that?

In Search and Rescue for 25 years and she goes for a hike in the wilderness WITHOUT water.

Needless to say, we didn't hike for more than a few miles before we had to return to the van.

The Ice Cream Social was really fun. I walked in and there was this table full of people eating ice cream and cookies. Well it didn't take me more than 25 feet before I was able to reach up and grab me a cookie.

Vickie was NOT HAPPY. Every one else laughed. NOT VICKIE

After all I was the guest of honor......Don't cookies, any cookie, anywhere by all rights MINE.

Off to bed and back up and on the road Tuesday morning by 7. We had one more school to speak at before we were done. Panguitch was about half an hour away. We found the school right off and boy they were fun too. I LOVE KIDS.

Before the kids came in for the assembly I found myself a big ole basketball to play with. After a bit, Vickie said I had had enough and she took the ball and put it in the water fountain hoping I wouldn't be able to get it.

WRONG

The drive home seemed a lot shorter, I guess it was because I slept through the whole drive. So did Murhpy. Vickie and Paulette stayed awake though. That is probably a good idea.

Things were pretty much the same when we got home. We did have some new guests that have come to stay for a bit. Becky is sitting with Charlie a little black and white Standard Poodle that I met at my obedience class.

Wiggles a pit bull abtly named has been with us for several days. She is so big and powerful but I never knew a girl could be so happy all the time. Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle. That is pretty much all she does.

Brighton has come for the weekend. He is a bit older but I think he has a lot of wisdom. Thing is, he kind of reminds me of how much I miss Zeus.

Ellie isn't a new guest but it was fun to have her come this week. She always brings fun times when she comes.

Rusty is an older friend. She has been here before. Sometimes she lets out this howl that echos throughout the block. It is a hauntingly beautiful and musical sound. I wish I could do it.

Then there is Hank, he is Rusty's brother sort of. Any way they live together.

Nephew Jared came up with his family this week and everyone but me went up to the property to ride the atv's and spot a moose or two.

Poor Adelaid. Every time they found a fun place to sit her, they would make her pose for pictures. I know how she feels.

The leaves were beautiful.

Vickie found the picture she deleated last week of the big moose she follwed around and as per some of your requests, She has a few videos of the big guys that she will put at the bottom of this entry.

I myself have decided to spend the rest of my Sunday laying in the sand in the front yard, so take care and have a great week.

Bye Now

Bert

PS The first video takes a bit of time to download. but it is pretty cool slide show

The next few are of some pulls sparing. WE might have gotten a little close

Something was wrong with Vickie this week. I could tell she was upset by something. Finally Saturday afternoon I figured it out. You know us dogs have a lot of special abilities that you humans are not aware of. We can smell things so much better than you. We are aware of our surrounding more than you. We hear sounds that you are often not aware of, and the one you probably don't know is that we know how you feel.

And I have known something is wrong for a while now. Kind of just out there in the wind.

Well, I can go on and on about how I know something is wrong lately, but that isn't going to make it any easier to tell you. So I am just going to say it.

Since I was a wee pup, there has been this really great guy that has come to the Day Care every weekday. He is huge and black and even though he tries to make you think he is a tough guy, he is really the most gentle sweet loving Giant Guy you'll ever know.

He was my mentor. He taught me about water, and you know how I LOVE water.

He taught me how to play with all kinds of other dogs regardless of their breed. Now that is an important skill.

He is Zeus. In mythology Vickie says that Zeus was allotted the dominion of the sky. This supreme god surpasses all others in spirit, wisdom, and justice, and prevails upon good men by persuasion, intimidating the evil by punishment.

Zeus the dog is truly a representative of the Zeus in Vickies mythology. He came to earth as a fourlegged version of spirit and wisdom.

And today, Saturday september 18th, 2010 Zeus went back to his dominion of the sky.

This gentle Giant who has been my friend for all my life, who loved little puppies, big dogs, children, and people of all breed has left us.

My heart is heavy and Vickie cries a little now and then. Zeus's family came by today to let us know he is gone, but I already knew. They carry a heavy burden and feel a deep loss and I just want them to know that I will miss him too.

But know that he is alright. I know I am just a dog, but Zeus was ready to go back to his kingdom in the sky. After all, HE IS ZEUS.

Good by my friend. Good by.

And added sadness, yet with a happier light is that Buddy has also left, only he didn't go to heaven, he went to MONTANA. Vickie says that is the next best thing. So I wish you luck Buddy, but be careful, your family says that there is a mountain lion that comes into town a lot and I figure, your just about dinner size.

On the REALLY UP SIDE, it was Cleo's birthday on Tuesday this week. I think she is like 9 years old, but I am not sure. She may be older, but she sure is a beauty. I mean, I know I am spoken for by Annie, but a guy can look, can't he?

Dougal sent some pictures from his last camping trip. He took a big loop that went through parts of Utah, then up thru Bear Lake and around. One night he even had a moose come into camp.

It got kind of cold in the night, thank goodness John had a really nice tent and great comfy sleeping bag. It was a fun time.

I took my CGC class again and the test was this Wednesday. I passed it about a year ago but Vickie said it would be good to take the class again. It was. I love Tonia, she is such a fun trainer.

Vickie go a little time off on Thursday so we headed up to the mountains to look for moose. I got to ride in the back of the truck for the first time and that was pretty fun. We were only going five miles an hour and I was able to really sniff my surroundings this way. I was very excited that Vickie let me do that.

Found out later the only reason I got to do it was because I had jumped in the moose water trough to cool off and then rolled in the mud. Vickie didn't want me sitting next to her so I win all around.

I think Vickie likes it when I come along on the moose lookin trips. She knows how to read me so well that she just watches me and I let her know if there is a moose in the area. When I give her the clue (my nose points to the direction the moose smell is coming from) then she slows down, parks the truck and checks the area out to see if I am right. And of course.....I AM.

This big guy in the picture above had 10 points on his big ole rack. Vickie was beside herself with joy. I was told to stay in the truck, which is fine with me, and Vickie got out and went in persuit of her picture taking.

WHOOPS Vickie deleated the big picture of the moose so if you look at the slide show you can see it.

Next I told her that a momma and her baby were coming. We had a great time watching them. And if you want to see a few more pictures of them and a ton of pictures from the dogs here at Canine Country Club this week, check out the slide below.

It was a wonderful day and a great escape from the daily chores. The leaves were starting to change and everything smelled like fall. It was a great day.

I have a huge week ahead of me, I can't wait to tell you all about it next week, but I better get some sleep now because it all starts tomorrow. So off I go, but before I go I want to leave Zeus's family with my sympathies and my love.

Sierra, Jamie says you can come and play with her any time you need too. Michelle and Mike, I am here for you when ever you need to run your fingers through my soft golden coat. And Michelle, I know you are alergic to my coat, so you better take an allergy pill before you come.

With all my love from me and all of us at Canine Country Club.

Bert

Well not a whole lot to report this week. I mean, I got to go a lot of places and see a lot of things, but they were just those run of the mill kind of things. You know, obdience class, demonstration at the park, trip to the mountains. Same ole, same ole. Ho hum.

We had a lot of really fun guests come and stay with us this week. Like KiKi in the picture above. She was so nice and quiet and loving. She slept with Vickie so Scrappy had to sleep with me. I don't really mind. Scrappy isn't a restless sleeper or anything so its not like he kept me awake or anything.

this is Maximus. He is a bull mastiff and Vickie says he is going to be huge, HUGE when he grows up, but now, he is just a lot of fun and he is cuddly and squishy. He peed a lot and one night Vickie got up to check on things and stepped right in a little puddle. She wasn't real excited about that.

We spent a lot of time laying tile in the small dog room and I thought you might like to see how much they all like it so I asked Vickie to put it on a video. Max is really the star in the video. I wonder if I was ever that cute.

WE met Coopers first family at the demo and they were excited to hear that Cooper is happy and living the life in West Yellowstone. And they were excited to hear that Cooper is coming to visit in October.

I am kind of excited to see Cooper again too.

Me and Murphy get to pose a lot with the kids so the families can have pictures. This is my sweet and inocent look. It really works for me.So there I was showing the kids all about staying safe in the mountains when I look up and there is this one girl holding a chicken. Like a real live chicken. It is her best friend. She is like Vickie's friend Jill.

I like Jill, she gets me lots of toys and things to try out, but because of her and the fact that her and Vickie are friends and that she likes chickens, Vickie has given up eating chicken. No more chicken at the King household.

I mean, they are cute and all, but I liked them both in Jills Yard and on our kitchen table. (you know what I mean, cooked and all) but now Vickie says, NO MORE CHICKEN.

Last year Vickie gave up eating meat at home and that was tough on me, but now chicken too!!!

So I guess all I get is fish. Gosh, I hope none of you love fish and have them as pets. And if you do, then please don't be Vickies friend. Please. If she gives up fish, then all we will have around here is celery and chocolate.

While we were waiting to start the demo at the park, I met this really cute girl from Kentucky. she is training to be a search dog too. maybe one day we will get the chance to work together. Anyway, I hope to see her again......

The final fun for the week was when Garret came down from Idaho and we, me, KC, Garret and his dad, oh yea and Vickie all went to the play ground.

Most the time I stayed with Vickie cause Garret is a little afraid of big dogs, but when we got to the playground I got to pretend to be a shark in the waters under the playground equipment.

Garret would run through the playground trying to catch me and then I would try and find him.

Can you see him hiding in the yellow tube. It was a great game and I think that next time he comes, he may even want to pet me.

So, even though it was an uneventful week, it was still a full one. This week is going to be a very busy one for me and Vickie and the next week is going to be crazy busy. So I better go and get some rest, that is if Larry, Ty, and the other dogs that are inside tonight will move over and give me one of the beds.

Hope you have the best week ever.

Love Bert

Last days of August and First of September 2010

You humans are a very interesting species. Now, please know right off the bat that I LOVE Vickie. She is my best friend, she is kind, loving, thoughtful….well I could go on and on (especially because she is sitting here typing this for me and I want to stay on her good side).

But……

She still has so very much to learn…..Oh so very much.

Thank goodness, she pals around with the other “right and smart” people of her kind.

Like “For instance”

We were at a Puppy Party on Thursday. This is a group of really cool ladies who get together once a month with their dogs and we all play and talk and socialize and …EAT…

Now I am not always invited to eat with the humans, actually, I am NEVER invited too, but I have become very clever in the “Innocent" look with the head on the table, then the "scoop and grab maneuver.” By the time they realize that I am not just "Looking cute", but that I am scoping out the dinner table. I managed to grab a large white ball of chocolate, and swallowed it, all in one quick flick of the eye.

My human friend Robbie, brings a big bucket that they fill with ice, just for me to cool off in after a jaunt around the play area.….and maybe to keep their drinks cold, but mainly….JUST FOR ME…. We also have a huge yard in which me and my four legged pals run and play for hours in. This week the yard was filled with tennis balls. They were everywhere and I found each and everyone.

Too bad Vickie took them away from me each and every time. You would think I would learn not to let her know I have them. It is just that I am always so hopeful that she will throw the ball for me. Of course after a few throws, I become bored with that game and proceed to eat the ball. This seems to be what Vickie is most unhappy with, thus, she takes them away.

So anyway, the reason I bring this up is that on this particular evening Vickie learned something new about us dogs and how to respect us for what we bring into your lives. You see, we were all running a playing, feeling pretty good about things when one of us, I think it was Ray Ray, noticed a new and different smell.

There was a stranger that had appeared from no where just up the hill from Ray Ray’s house. Well, Ray Ray started to warn everyone that there was a new human in the area. Well a bunch of my other friends went to the gate and joined Ray Ray in the chorus.

Now normally, if this was Vickie, she would start hollering to me and Jamie and Abby to “Stop It” Stop It NOW”. Here we were trying to help her by letting her know there was a stranger in the area and her response to our efforts was to holler “Stop It”

Well not Ray Rays human. Nope…..she and Robbie had just read about how us dogs were doing it as a warning and that when you (Vickie) holler back at us to “Stop it” or what ever you might say…..you were basically just Barking along with us.

I mean that is how we see it. Your just trying to bark louder than we are so then it becomes a contest to see who can bark the loudest at the stranger……

So what did Vickie learn that night…..?

Well instead of hollering at us, Keli just calmly said….”Thank you…..Thank You…..

Yep, she thanked us for the warning and let us know that she too was now aware of the stranger…..

And you know what…..we all just stopped barking and went back to our play. Yep, that is all we wanted….just plain to let you know that someone or something was in the area.

Once you know that, then most of the time, we will then go about our business.

Now I know it sounds silly but it really works. Like just now the mail man came by and Tristy started barking at her and Vickie just said…Thank You.. in a cheery quiet voice and Tristy was so stunned that she stopped barking and came over to Vickie for a pet.

Vickie still has a lot to learn, but like I said, if she hangs around with the right people, well who knows how far she can come…..maybe one day she will understand me completely. Although, I am a complex boy so it is not likely, but it is possible. SOME DAY.

Oh and there was one other incident at the puppy party that I thought I would share with you. You see, Vickie has raised me in what is termed as a “Dry House” that means no drinking. Oh those mormons.

A dog should have a say in whether or not he or she should get to partake of the liquid gold but so far, Vickie has had a standing rule. NO DRINKING.

Her reasoning is that she feels I have no control over my eating and drinking habits. (This may be true but your not going to hear me admit it.) She says I wouldn’t be able to know when to quit and that I would quickly become an alcoholic. And maybe she is right because at the party, when I was sure no one was looking, I took a quick couple of laps out of one of the ladies glass when her back was turned.

She had left it just sitting there, nose level, right out in the middle of this little table. Right there in front of me. What was I supposed to do? I mean, really…….

Well, Vickie caught me sneaking a drink or two or maybe four, but I think she was embarrassed because instead of hollering at me and telling me to “Leave it” (which would clearly draw attention to me and the now half empty tasty red fluid) she just made a coughing sound which caused me to look up in her direction. Our eyes met and she nodded at me with her complete disapproval. Her face was pretty clear in its firmness so I left the rest of the drink alone.

No one but her and I know of this little digression, well until now.

Anyway, I got just enough of a taste of it that I think she might be right. I can’t describe how it felt as it went past my tongue and down my throat but clearly there is something unique about it.

Check it out.....One of Vickie's friends sent this picture of a bear who also likes little buckets....

And also at the Puppy party I got to spend time with Cody (Dizzy) He is so so happy in his new home with Robbie. He is a much calmer conteted boy these days. He told me:

"Hey Dude, (I think by that he meant, Hey Bert) Life just doesn't get any better." and you know what,......I think he is right.

Here is a video of slides from this weeks, puppy party, my adventures in the woods, the dogs at the kennel and a whole lot of other fun stuff.

We had a really scary night this week. The wind was blowing so hard that when I went out side to go to the bathroom I had to lean against the fence to keep standing. The trees in the kennel were bending almost in half.

We were all huddled in the house later that night just listening to the storm when we heard this huge cracking sound.

Our big tree cam crashing down and the only thing that kept it from falling on the house and thru the windows was the strength of the old walnut tree that stood as a protecting barier.

We love that tree even more now than we have before. It has always been a great source of food for me and they other dogs when the golden walnuts would fall to the ground. I could open the shells and eat the tender meaty stuff inside all day.

The storm blew a whole lot of those nuts off the tree that night and they don't taste too good so I guess they won't be eatable this year.

It took John two days to clean up the mess left from the storm. Windows were blown out, fences were knocked down....and it was SCARY.....

But all is back to normal now.

So now comes the bright news of the week. That mean old Allred had to go to the vet and get shots and x-rays cause he somehow hurt his foot. Poor baby... Yeah like I really feel sorry for him. He so deserves a little payback for all the mean things he does to me and the others.

vickie has to jam pills down his throat too. Every day twice a day he gets pills and it makes him gag and he hates it and I love it......

Now don't think I am mean, I really am not, but I do kinda see a little justice in this. don't you?

KC and I got to take a walk down the Ogden River Walkway this week. Vickie mostly made me walk on lead cause she didn't want me getting all wet in the river then jumping in the car and getting it all messed up.

I wasn't real happy about that, but all in all, it was a pretty nice walk. And OH MY the flowers were beautiful. And it smelled so good and there were butterflies and hummingbirds. It was great.

On Saturday we met with the other search dogs and hiked the mountains above Park City. I got to track my friends Jared and Abby.

They set up a really hard problem for us but I did really good. Once I got started looking for them, it only took me 30 minutes to track them down.

You may not know that, but that is pretty darn good time. Of course I am not as surprised as the humans are, because I already know that I AM THE BEST SEARCH DOG IN THE WHOLE WORLD.

Of course after the searching comes the fun. Tucker and I played with his frisbee for a while then Vickie pulled out the long awaited for.......

BOOMERANG BETTY. I havn't seen Boomerang Betty for almost five months. I only get her when I have done an amazing job and so when I get to play with her, I know I done good.

And Beleive it or not (and you have to beleive it because I have a picture to prove it) right there in the middle of those big old mountains there was a muddy puddle. I was hot and tired after all the hard work I had done and was thinking how much I could use a dip in a nice muddy pool, when around the corner I turned and THERE IT WAS.

Muddy Muddy Muddy and deep and cold and WONDERFUL. It was like the PERFECT DAY.

by the time we made it back to the van to come home, I was totally pooped. There was just enough room between Jared and Abby for my to lay and once we got into the rythem of the drive, I was gone to my favorite sleepy place.

Jared and Abby spent the whole drive home very carefully pulling out all the burrs that I got into during the search and beleive me, there was a ton of them. They were so gentle that it only made my sleep even more comforting.

Like cody says......IT JUST DOESN"T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS.......

Dougal sent us a few pictures from his camping trip last week for those of you who want to see some really pretty country

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonzaremba/sets/72157624860155386/show/

And a cool video of his time at Bear Lake.