February Fun

It’s not often I comment about how fast a winter goes by.  This year feels different. Here it is mid-February.  Daylight lingers longer.  Football is over.  Baseballs are getting tossed around.  And the calendar gets packed with more events.  With all that though, it should be documented that the low in Duluth today was 15 below.

If I’m busy, that means Holly is busy.   We’ve had some time with young cousin Kimber which livens up the house and yard a bit!  Holly enjoys her time outside with Kimber more than the inside time but limitations and interactions are getting figured out.  Holly looks at me at times with a deep seeded stare as if she is apologizing for her entire puppyhood.  Once Kimber has left, the sincerity passes and Holly is back to stealing my boots, taking food from Gracie’s dish and shredding any paper napkin that may have slipped on to the floor.

With this new responsibility and maturity Holly is challenged with, I decided to stack even more on her.  Moreso me!  Twin Ports Dog Training Club sponsored a Fun Match last Saturday.  I pondered entering in Rally Novice for quite sometime before deciding both Holly & I needed to take the leap.  Some eyes opened wide when I walked into the club!   My rookie awareness on how this works stood out.  Holly & I had nearly a two hour wait until it was her turn.  I wasn’t sure where to enter the ring.  And most telltaling was my sudden inability to read a directional sign.  I still laugh at myself  for reading Sit & Down as sit-down and not,  Sit. Down.  It’s why they call it a Fun Match, mulligans are allowed.  In my case I needed two.  After Holly & I had finished our pattern, the judge congratulated me and was complementary on the run we had.  She said my two ‘do-overs’  cost us 6 points.  Holly had one crooked sit that cost us 1 point.   Sorry Holly!  She got extra treats.  And I rushed off to meet DeeAnn, Kristie and Georgette for a much needed Happy Hour at the Warrior’s Brewery.

Holly & Helen had a routine visit to the vet this week.  Both in good health and fully vaccinated.  Holly – 60 pounds.  Helen – 14.5 pounds.   It is a treat for me to take the dogs to go see Dr. Lisa, providing the trip is for routine, non-emergent care.  Dr. Lisa and I go way back to the days of my first ‘real’ job, UDAC days.  We did a quick chat and went down memory lane for a few minutes.  Dr. Lisa also knew Tess and was Helen’s vet prior to Helen living with me.  It’s not just UDAC memories we share.  Dr. Lisa has taken care of Bailee, Hannah, Boden, Glory and now Holly, Helen & Gracie.   I will also add Rainie, Keltie, Kooper and Kimber!  I doubt there is a better way to define ‘trust in care’ than that.

DeeAnn and I took a short road trip to Ashland, Wisconsin – I had a silent auction certificate that was expiring in March.  The dogs (minus Helen) and us had a quaint suite overlooking the cold lake.  Helen had a sleepover with Georgette & Tom, sparing her from feeling need to bark at every shutting door and muffled voice in the hotel hallway.  Holly doesn’t have much experience with overnights at hotel rooms.  She wanders and sniffs, waiting for the next car ride to occur. Walking the hallway had me on eggshells after Holly saw a little girl by a door and about took both of us into the room to greet her.   Fortunately, Rainie and Keltie were good role models for her, if they settled in she knew she should too.  The cold temperatures shortened the dogs outdoor play time.  We did find a large parking lot and open field on the outskirts of town.  We couldn’t tell what type of business it was, if it even was one any more.  It sure served the purpose for exercising the dogs – fresh pure snow, open field and well off the main road.  When we were done, the smooth glistening snowflakes were a chaotic mess.  Hopefully anyone coming to work the following day looked out their window and envisioned dogs having some fantastic frisbee fun, making the massacre something to smile about.

Challenges. Good health care. 40 year friendships. Getting away. Content dogs. Outdoor fun.  Reasons to smile.  And spring in sight!