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| Storm and Breeze |
Storm, the Aussie, has anointed herself Admiral of the Castle. Tasked with defending it at all costs, she keeps a watchful eye atop her perch. She questions all that dare to pass.
Breeze, the Toller, is more of a...Joker. She assists in the Castle's defense by eating flies, gathering *all* the socks, and chewing any offensive sticks found in the vicinity. Her perch is underfoot.
Together they defend the Castle in my stead.
But some days, I'd rather just dig a mote.
31 comments:
Handsome dogs. And great names.
I know what Aussie is shorthand for but, not being a dog person, what's a Toller short for? And of course, as soon as someone tells me, I'll be able to facepalm and say, of course.
They're gorgeous! (and by now you folks have an understanding of my weakness to puppies, so I won't go on that flight of fancy just now...)
It's funny, Tollers (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers) are one of those breeds my fiancé jokingly accuses me of making up when I'm talking about dogs. Also included in that category are the Blue Lacey and the Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Storm is gorgeous... And Breeze! I can't stand the cuteness! She's darling. Great photo.
Jennifer: We've had 2 Catahoula Leopards. Amazing dogs. So kind and loyal. And we heard a lot of, "Cata what?" when asked what breed they were. :-)
Each year when we watch the American Kennel Club Dog Show, I swear there are dogs we've never heard of - or seen. In the case of a Breeze, looks familiar - but the name (Toller) definitely had me scratching my head!
Both beautiful - Storm with that regal head, and Breeze with that wise, whimsical little stare.
Picture of dogs together, especially with age differences, makes me reconsider the option of getting a "friend" for Little Dog. I've been on the fence about it since 2013. I wonder if it would help him with all of his little quirks - some of them are hard to explain. (strange about drinking/eating/flinches when touched sometimes, the list goes on)
Cute dogs!
Donna - Tinkerbell, our chihuahua was abused when she was young. My hubby since we've had her has been working with her to turn her into a real dog as he puts it. She always liked women, but was fearful of men. She was fearful of just about everything. It did her a lot of good being with our dogs who, when she would freak out would look at her and go "What?" She's pretty happy and well adjusted now. She's even learned to play.
Both these dogs are just gorgeous.
I used to have an Aussie- her name was Lady because my daughter was 4 when we rescued her and had recently seen Lady and the Tramp, and so insisted we call her Lady. That dog helped me raise my little girl, always on guard, so smart. She would alert me whenever Kate wandered out of bounds. She would sleep in the hall between our bedrooms because that way she could get to both of us should we become distressed. She could open doors and everything, and sometimes each of us would wake to find Lady curled up on or by our bed.
We lived against an old forest on park land, and there was a beaver dam on the back of our property. The Beavers kept tearing down our fence to use the materials for their dam. Lady tried to stop the Beavers one afternoon, and earned herself a Purple Heart and nine stitches. Beavers are fierce animals. Lady was the greatest dog. She had a stroke and died on my 40th birthday. I still mourn.
Ha ha! This made my morning!
A picture is worth thousand words (and you can quote me on that), and this picture speaks volumes. Good way way to begin my day.
Breeze: "Bacon, I smell bacon. Move that butt so I can get bacon."
Storm: "Cool it you little shit. You have much to learn of the ways of humans. If you are diffident to the smell of bacon they will give you some. Begging makes you look cheap and you are not one of those."
Breeze: " Bacon, I smell bacon. Move that butt so I can get bacon."
Lovely dogs, almost enough to get me past my cat phase.
LOL! Those captions are killing me. I'm laughing too hard to create anything. I'll have to come back.
Great picture, by the way. I hope you had to take 40 to get one this good or I'm jealous.
Storm: Ah, here it is. My castle.
Breeze: What's a castle?
Storm: What we're guarding.
Breeze: Castles look an awful lot like couches, I guess...
Just finished a book so good I'm despairing of ever being able to write anything someone will ever want to read.
Puppy pictures definitely help such moods. I mean, they chase squirrels they will never catch because it gives them joy, right? Because instinct compels them to. There comes a satisfaction from obeying ones primal urge, or rather, a despair that comes from denying it.
There are worse faults than being compelled to tell stories.
On to wrap up day job things before a week of vacation, where I can hopefully carve out a bit more editing time than I've been managing here. And where I'll get to visit my brother's puppies (soft coated wheaten terriers).
CynthiaMc thank you for sharing that. Little Dog was abused before we got him - according to the foster mother. She said he'd been placed in a "permanent" home, and then returned a year later. Then her story changed - and it was six months later. (her stories were inconsistent with a couple things) She said she thought the man there had abused him, and he definitely doesn't care for men much. (similar to your situation.) He tolerates Blaine - barely. (he's snapped at him before) She also was (IMO) too lazy to properly work with him to house train him. She insisted he had to wear a belly band. Those things ended up in the trash can at McDonald's five miles down the road from her house. In the beginning he had his accidents, but he caught on quick when I took him outside regularly. He's GREAT now, and has been since the first week we had him. I've only kept him by himself b/c according to her, "he wanted to be King of the house." Things that make me go hmmmm.
I've questioned a lot of things about his history in my mind. She said she had him on and off for about 3 years. We got him just after he turned 3. He'll be 7 in November. She had three Maltese, and she said he played and played with the smallest one - until she got bigger than him, then he refused. So. It might take some adjusting for him, but I have a feeling it might be the best thing for him too.
That was long. But I think about it a lot.
Storm looks a bit like my old Aussie Skye...sleep well dear prince.
Great photo, thanks for sharing.
Cheers Hank.
Good morning everyone! Yes, Storm is my six year old Australian Shepherd, and Breeze is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. In this picture she's about ten weeks old. She's now about four and a half months. They're bred primarily to look like foxes so they can "toll" the edge of the water (pat and splash) and scare up the ducks. You can't see it in the photo, but she has white socks and a white tip on her tail. Storm loves to play with her but she merely tolerates the puppy energy!
Wait...is this how people talk about their kids?
Also, THANK YOU all for all the helpful comments and advice on this blog. Reading the posts and comments are part of my daily routines and I have learned so much! I miss the Shark's wisdom but I do love seeing everyone's furry roommates :-)
Storm looks properly regal and Breeze looks as if she's thinking up ways to get her to move. Thanks for sharing this.
Breeze's little face is just killing me with cute.
A regal portrait, indeed, of the defenders of the castle. Storm and Breeze have both angles covered and look ready for action. Watch out socks, flies, and those who would be questioned!
Aussies and Tollers are great breeds, plus they're warm and fuzzy. What more could you ask for? Storm and Breeze are very cute!
Lovely photo. I think it could be an oil painting named something like "Imparting Wisdom" or "The Mentor." I think Breeze is a lucky puppy to have Storm as her example.
Love the captions so far, expecially "Bacon."
Lovely dogs. Aussies are so beautiful. And the puppy!
It looks to me like, while Storm is guarding the castle, Breeze is watching Storm's back so nothing can creep up behind her and attack. A real team.
Well, I learned something new today. I hadn't heard of Tollers before. I did, of course, know about Aussies, having raised them for 30 years until ASCA lost their minds and decided to accept being recognized by AKC as purebreds.
What a neat picture and they look like, and sound like, lovely dogs. I can imagine they are wonderful companions as well as castle guardians.
Jennifer, I have heard of Laceys and Catahoulas. People in Louisiana especially use Catahoulas for gathering cattle. They're remarkable dogs.
RachelErin
What's the title of the book that causes despair? I'm a risk taker.
AA, what a great pic! Not sure how you got them to sit still and *not* look at you. Storm is quite regal and Breeze's sweet puppy face is just adorable. The way the light hits Storm's whiskers, it looks like tiny icicles hanging from her jaws. So I guess she's a Winter Ice Storm. :)
Rachel, I second Joseph's request for you to tell us what book.
Has anyone else noticed how many lurkers Janet has lured out into the open so far with the pet pics this month? More friends for us to play with! As I told Catherine last week, there's no going back now. You all should tell us a bit about yourselves while the post topics are flexible. The basics, at least, like where do you live, what are you reading/writing, do you like kale?
Yes AA, come back and visit more often. Just because we are all nuts doesn't mean it is contagious.
If you are going to dig a moat though, it needs to be pretty wide. Doing it a mote at a time will take forever. I hate words like that. I still haven't been able to get grey and gray right. I guess that proves a need for editors.
In other news: the cat once known as SCB, for Spotted Cuddle Bug needs a new name. I was thinking of Mazda because he goes Zoom Zoom.
Last night that changed. He brought in a snake from somewhere. It was alive and very pissed off so I went to look. I was thinking that it was a black racer because it is the right time of year for small ones to be about.
It wasn't a black racer. It was a pygmy rattler. The snake that is the base of my plumbing accident story. The reason that mt left leg only listens to me when it wants to.
I am now thinking he should be STB for Spotted Trouble Bug.
Adorable pups, AA.
Now that you know we all like your dogs and so are friendlies, come out and comment some and join the informative chaos :)
Craig: A rattler? Oh wow. Trouble is right! And the cat is okay?
Craig: (I'm assuming you're okay, since you told us about it...)
Donna - Tinkerbell would cower when she saw a man. Hubby would bring her treats, moved to petting, then holding. She was never mean, only fearful. Son would walk around holding her. We knew it was working when she started going to him after work for play and cuddle time. She's his play buddy and my velcro dog. Sometimes she'll still yelp if she's startled but we'll go "What?" and she realizes nothing actually happened to her.
Yike! Craig!!! Cats love to "play" with snakes. I am very thankful there are no rattlers in my neck of the forest. All we have around here are garter snakes, which can still make me shriek if I step on one in the bathroom. I learned to never open the door without Mehitabel presenting herslf and proving her mouth was empty. Too many times I noticed she had a wiggling mustache too late. Bringing "friends" home is the reason I chose not to have a cat door.
Well, that and the neighborhood racoons.
Adorable dogs today. Even though I am a died in the fur cat person, I appreciate awesome cuteness.
Craig F - you're right! That's what I get for typing a story on my phone :-)
Thanks, guys. I'll try to chime in! You are all so fun to read, I giggle to myself way too much. I think the Shark's dastardly plan to lure out the shy woodland creatures has worked.
Abby
I can't look away from the puppy's face. The adorableness is mesmerizing.
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