There seemed to be some sort of virus running through my dogs and of course, Onyx got it.  Back to some pretty severe splats.  I was super worried about her loosing weight but amazingly her weight held at 45 pounds.  She still has splats occasionally but I’m always elated when I see a stool that looks like a cow patty!  She is still shedding but we have brushed out most of the old fur.  Her skin is pretty dry, but seeing as she gets almost 0 fat in her diet this doesn’t surprise me.

She is active and happy and I love to brush and pet her and not feel just bones.

Crowe was 14.5 years old.  He had a great life here.  Before I got him he was an open class sprint dog but he didn’t particularly like that job.  I had already had his sister, Irish, so his owner called me up asking if I wanted Crowe too.  He was probably around 4years old when he came into my life.  He was a sweet dog that followed me everywhere.  He was afraid to venture anywhere on his own.  I called him my “velcro” dog for anywhere I went with him he insisted on being glued to my knee.  His sister learned to be a bit more adventuresome and loved loose walks and would venture off to smell new smells, but never far away.  Crowe on the other hand always seemed uncomfortable on long walks.  He seemed to say “when are we going back?  it is scary out here.”

He was in my 4 dog team at the peak of my sprint racing years.  Borax, Jazz, Crowe and Zorba were nearly unbeatable for many years in the 4 dogs class.  The other 3 have outlived him.

Over the last year he became gimpy and thinner.  But that dog loved to eat.  So he ate great quantities of food but was just lean and bony.  I figure that he probably had cancer but at his age I certainly wasn’t going to give him chemo!  I had bloodwork done a year ago and it came back absolutely perfect.  He looked as if he had a 2 year old dogs blood coursing through his 13 year old body.

So, we just continued to feed him, play with him, and had him stay in the warm dog barn on cold days and nights.  He became incontinent and we would clean out his barn kennel or his dog house on a daily basis.  But still…..he kept eating, woofing and generally enjoying life. 

But I came home from work Monday night and he could barely get up.  I gave him a bunch of doggie pain killers (he had been on medicam for 6 months) and the next morning he was pretty mobile again.  But I knew that it “was time” so drove him into town and had him euthanized.  He had a large bowl of prime rib for breakfast that day and even as the initial sedation shot was working he was eating massive quantities of biscuits out of my hand.

He is now young again and has joined his sister and many of his friends running free through forests and across streams.  We miss him.

At the moment we have 3 foster dogs in the house.  Copper (who leaves early Tuesday morning for Wyoming), Sassy, a 1 year old black pointer mix, who is looking for a home and Chino who we just picked up today from the borough shelter.  She is a 35 pound black pointer mix with white toes and pointy ears.  She is a wild girl that LOVES to play.  We have had quite an exciting afternoon with the 3 dogs playing nearly non stop.  Copper is probably around 3 years old and Chino is probably not even a year old.  So lots of puppy energy.  I haven’t been able to get any good pictures yet but I will try to get some posted soon.

Chino will be spayed on Monday and go to her new home.  She is just an all around super nice girl.  She isn’t housebroken yet but we are working on that.  This is just her first day here and she has settled in with the crowd nicely.  She comes when she is called and just loves people and other dogs.  Sassy is a bit standoffish in the house but more comfortable outside showing affection.  We let her “do her thing” in the house and never pressure her to be out and about.  In just a few days she is opening up and is right now laying at my feet.

Chino seemed to understand getting in the car and the porch step.  She came right into the house.  Although she was found as a stray out in North Pole, no one claimed her.  But I have a feeling she was a pet of someone.  She likes crates….just goes right in ours that are around the house (we always leave the doors open but some dogs just like to den) and in fact she was curled up with Star in one of the crates a little bit ago.  I think Star was a little confused!  (Star is 15.5 years old and likes her own space).  I am just always amazed when such a nice stray ends up at the shelter and no one claims them.

So, after 5 straight hours of play only interrupted by feeding, everyone is calm tonight.  It has been a long day for us humans just keeping up with their interactions and wild antics.  A very fun day.  We should all sleep well tonight.

 
 Copper has been a foster dog with us for a couple of months.  We have had a heck of a time finding a flight for him with someone flying to Salt Lake or close by.  So it has ended up that he will be flying to Boise with Don soon and finally arrive at his new home in Wyoming.  He will be in a home with 4 other dogs, one being Ruby (once Strawberry) that is from SCL also.  We have had a blast having Copper here.  He is a big galumph, goofy and silly.  He is a friend to everyone.  People and dogs.  Can be a bit of a problem on the trail when skijoring as he just wants to greet everyone with a big kiss and a happy tail.  He is learning the command “on bye” but it will take awhile for him to know running in a team and running free are a little different.

He has been a joy to have here and we will miss him a lot.

In the meantime we just picked up Sassy, a tiny pointer mix that is settling into our household.  She is a sweetheart and we are looking for a pet home for her with some possible side skijoring fun.  Pictures to come soon.