Black on black...

Abby waited at home for her servant to arrive. Is this the face of
someone wanting to be fed, or what?

Night Sky

A gorgeous spring night waited as I left work.

Wildlife Sighting

Today on our walk we spotted a small beaver and followed him as he
headed back to his place. Here is evidence of recent construction, and
if you look closely you can see the little guy in front of the
structure. He is creating the ripple on the water.

Walkies

We haven't visited our walking trail for awhile now, with Elliott
needing so much looking after. Today a friend and I took just the girl
dogs for a lovely long hike. Here is Sadie heading out ahead of me on
her Flexi.

Sadie has 8 titles!

Companion Dog Intermediate (C.D.I.)

(a) The CKC will permit the use of the letters
C.D.I., signifying Companion Dog Intermediate,
to be used in connection with and after the
name of each dog, which has met the requirements
for that title as hereinafter provided.

1) Honouring
2) Heel Free and the Figure 8
3) Stand for Examination (off leash)
4) Recall Holding Dumbbell
5) Drop from Heel
6) Broad Jump
(excerpted from the CKC Obedience Trial Rules publication)

This class is conducted off leash and is a great bridge between the Novice and Open classes. The dog needs to be controlled off leash without taking the collar or touching the dog. Sadie still finds competitive venues very distracting and interesting, but kept her concentration together long enough to pass her trial on Friday and complete her CDI title. I am very proud of this lovely dog who is gradually developing into a fine working dog and who maintains her sweet demeanor and sense of humour at all times. A nicer girl I could not ask for.

Back to Earth with a thud

The wonderful conference is over, I'm back home, and I got my luggage
yesterday. This white crap started falling from the sky this morning.
It sure isn't cherry blossoms.

Therapy Today

Elliott is doing so well with his recovery and rehab. Today he spent
time on the blue round knobby wobbly thingie, then did some shallow
stairs for the first time, and used his surgical leg to push off and
climb. He did 12 minutes on the underwater treadmill and was relaxed
and walking steadily the entire time. The circumference of his leg has
increased by one centimetre and his good leg has gotten a bit smaller,
meaning that it is doing less work now that the surgical leg is
starting to do more work. This is great progress. We are almost
finished five weeks of the initial eight weeks of no uncontrolled
activity torture!

Home Again

Look how excited Sadie is to have me home. I made it home after an
amazing trip, getting in at 2:30 am in Toronto. There were huge delays
flying into Detroit, so I had to alter my flight in order to get home
last night. I didn't really want to stay overnight in Detroit. My
luggage felt differently; it's still there. I really hope I will see
it again very soon.

More DC Dogs

Outside the cafeteria at Nordstrom's at the Pentagon City mall. There
were so many great dogs to be blogged!

DC Dog

Seen at the National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art. A
native American hunter and his dog.

DC Protocols

On Thursday, I went to the White House and saw many Secret Service,
Police and FBI vehicles. There is a high level of security in the
area. There are rules. There are even rules about where your dog's
output may be deposited. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Washington DC Metro

Here's a shot looking down onto the red line.